mlaw7

I've been thinking about something similar in my '78. What do you do about ventilation and preventing the electronics from overheating? Or is it even an issue? It doesn't seem like there's much in the way of air flow in there.

Are the Boston Acoustic 4" speakers you installed two-way? If so, did you have any issues with reinstalling the 1/4 window and dog leg trim?

Cut and sewn, which is what he recommended. Does require a little bit of trimming but not as much as I thought it would be. Came with padding, although it doesn't come attached to the carpet pieces. I installed the padding and then glued the carpet on top of it. Overall I thought it was a very nice fit.

Beautiful! Love that color - and those wheels too!! Awesome! Enjoy the ride. Portugal must have some great roads for you to take her on.

Thanks! Yes, those were speakers in the center console. You know, it actually sounded pretty good having them there. They once had black covers that had gotten trashed somewhere along the way. Didn't look bad at all with the covers when I could get 'em to stay on. Together with the OEM speakers the sound really was good - in a 70's kind of way! No shake yer bones bass or live at the Fillmore concert volume but perfectly fine for rockin' down the highway. Carpet is from Chester & Herod. Very knowledgeable and a real pleasure to deal with.

Sounds awesome! Yes, the '78 is the same body shape as the 240/260 series but like the '75-'77 280Z models has substantially larger front and rear bumpers.

A very nice time indeed! It was great to meet everybody - what a super group of folks. And what a BEAUTIFUL sight seeing that lineup of Z cars. Can't wait to see the photos. Let's do it again. I'm looking forward to meeting those who weren't able to make it this time and seeing some 260Z's in the lineup! Thanks Stephen for setting this up!

Don't own a 240Z - yet. I've got two '78 280Z coupes but if I get another Z car it will be a 240Z. There are actually still quite a few 240Z's here in the States. Same with the 280Z series and I imagine the fewest number would be the 260Z series. But good ones that aren't badly rusted, neglected and/or abused seem to be getting harder to find. Never been to NZ but hope to make it there one day. I hear it's really nice.

That is a beauty!! Reminds me of when I was in the U.K. back in '78 and fell in love with my drummer's 240Z. I'm still amazed at how he got his entire drum kit in that car. How does she feel with power steering?

Oops - you're right. Tomorrow (Saturday) it is. See you then!

I can't believe it - the interior restoration on my burgundy '78 coupe is essentially complete! Finally! I feel like a contortionist, as I've been in so many unnatural (and very uncomfortable) positions putting her back together. It's been well worth it though! The only remaining items are: 1) new parking brake boot (not yet ordered), 2) new pedal/footrest pads (in hand and ready to install), 3) find and install the screws for the quarter window trim (somehow MIA along the way), 4) floor mats and 5) touch up the P/S kickplate. Any recommendations on touch-up paint for the cardboard kickplate surrounding the fusebox? Here are a few before/after photos. I'm looking forward to our Houston area Starbucks & Z Cars meet this Sunday!!

I just went through this exact issue on my '78. It just may be the gauge. Does your ampmeter seem to work correctly? I was looking at replacing the fuel sending unit as I hear they do go bad and since good working voltmeter (or ampmeter depending on the model)/fuel gauges seem to be hard to come by these days. So I just put my dash back in with the old gauge and figured I'd have to live with it. I have noticed that the voltmeter did not seem to working correctly for some time. Then after putting the dash back in, I found a properly working voltmeter/fuel gauge. The good news is that I was able to swap it out easily. It's nowhere near as hard to do as I thought it would be. Even better, the fuel gauge now moves all the way to full and the voltmeter reads correctly! The whole job took a little under 30 minutes. So, I would question whether swapping the fuel sending unit is either easier or cheaper than replacing the gauge.

Thanks!!! This is extremely helpful. And now a related general interest question: Among the various rebuilt and aftermarket injectors/suppliers out there on eBay and from places like MSA, can anyone weigh in with recommendations on which ones to use or avoid? Again my goal is to not only help the community at large but also to use our collective market strength to raise the quality bar on these and other aftermarket/rebuilt parts as well.

I agree - OEM is the way to go whenever possible. As far as the parts sold by Black Dragon, I'll just say that you get what you pay for ... And don't forget to try Courtesy Nissan or a local Nissan dealer BEFORE buying many OEM parts on eBay or elsewhere. While it is true that many S30 parts are NLA from dealers, you might be surprised at what you still can get from Nissan dealers. Not to mention that what are held out as OEM parts by some eBay sellers are not always so. Some items - like center consoles - are actually LESS from Nissan dealers than from MSA or eBay sellers!!! Same with some emblems, body seals and other parts. And FWIW, I have found that the OEM hatch window seal not only fits better but (as you would expect) looks much more correct than the aftermarket seals sold by MSA and others. The difference is so noticeable, especially around the chrome trim, that I actually had the glass man remove the hatch glass with the Precision seal I first bought and replace it with an OEM Nissan seal. One of the best things I ever did!

Aye, but there's the rub my friend! My point exactly. It SHOULDN'T BE but often IS necessary due to the less than stellar QC on both rebuilt and new aftermarket injectors. So, can you please describe your testing procedure for us?

Prior to restoring my '78 coupe, I - like many of us here - had to deal with some pretty strong exhaust fumes in the cabin. It wasn't a problem with both windows up and wasn't very noticeable with both of them down. But with one window up and the other down, it was another story. Sometimes it was so strong I thought I must be crazy to love this car enough to drive under these conditions. After driving the car like that, my clothes and I smelled like an exhaust pipe. :sick: Not at all cool, especially when going to work in an office downtown! I've read many similar stories here. No more! Yesterday I had to drive across town to pick up a few items. Other than a few short drives, I haven't been able to really drive my '78 since taking her to paint/body shop back in November. But now that the dash is back in, I decided to lay in the carpet over the transmission tunnel, drop the console in and take her for a real drive. Besides just wanting to be behind the wheel of my 280Z again, I wanted to see, hear and feel how she drives now, the noise level and how the sound system sounds on the road. At first I didn't even think about exhaust fumes. Wow! She feels much more solid now and is a lot quieter, even without carpet and padding on the floors. And the old musty odor is gone too. Almost like a new car - seriously! The only thing missing is a few coats of QuietCar to the exterior wheel wells, as I didn't remove the vinyl to cover them inside the car. Road noise is still evident there. Cruising between 70-80 on the freeway was wonderful, and somewhere along the way I suddenly noticed that there were no more exhaust fumes with the drivers side window open. Same when driving around 35-40. I am now happy to report that there is indeed hope for even the most fume-ridden S30! The following seem to have made the difference. A major part of the restoration involved fixing a number of rust areas in the passenger side floorboard and upper rocker panel underneath the kick plate. Many of these were not evident until I removed the tar paper. Another rust area was found on the front edge of the driver's side door jamb under the door seal. And the beginning of a serious rust issue underneath the battery tray was nipped in the bud and fixed before any real damage had occurred. Among the rust spots in the spare tire wheel well, I didn't see any holes but I think even a tiny pinhole would be an entry for exhaust fumes. They're all history now. I imagine a lot of the exhaust fumes were coming into the cabin through some of these areas. New weatherstripping/seals all the way around. Some fumes were probably coming in through compromised areas in the old hatch seals. Replaced the taillight gaskets. The old ones were SHOT and I understand this is one of the major offenders. Sealed up the grommet in the passenger side floor for the fuel pump wires. Also noticed that the parts of the grommet lip for the wiring harness in the passenger side firewall were not properly seated. This left what looked like an ideal entry point for exhaust fumes. So I simply took a flat head screwdriver, carefully reseated the grommet and sealed it with silicone. New rubber inner shift boot securely fastened in place. Reseated the grommet for the antenna drain tube and made sure the drain tube was properly in place. I know that most if not all of these have already been covered in various posts and threads. I just want to add a voice of encouragement to say that this problem can indeed be fixed.

I love it! So, what are you looking for when you hit the switch? What tells you the injector is or isn't working properly? Don't you need some kind of fuel or liquid for this?

This is a general question is for all of us with fuel-injected Z's. My reason for asking is the hope that it will help save time, effort and money on fuel-related issues, especially for cars that have been sitting for a long time. I apologize if this has already been adressed elsewhere. After reading through various fuel system-related posts I did not find this exact issue so here goes. I have heard from many sources that the quality of rebuilt and aftermarket injectors for the 280Z, 280ZX and 300ZX series cars is erratic. So my question is this: Is there any way to test injectors BEFORE installing them? If so, it would be much easier and efficient to return any bad units. Might also encourage higher quality control on the part of rebuilders, manufacturers and suppliers. Thanks and I hope this will be helpful to our community at large. Michael

Hey Andrew, I ordered two gallons and used just shy of one gallon for the four coats I described. I thought it was going to take more. At one point I actually thought of just applying more coats till I ran out. Well, that idea was abandoned after the fourth coat! I am actually planning to POR-15 the outer wheel wells with a few coats of QuietCar as the finishing touch. However, I don't think it would last very long as a topcoat there. If I'm not mistaken, didn't Datsun originally paint the wheel wells the same color as the car? The wheel wells on my '78 appear to have what's left of the 611 wine metallic red finish. If so, then I'll opt for the original factory look and use what's left of the 611 paint I bought as a topcoat. I did start to apply QC to the roof interior but then had the same thought as you about the headliner glue not sticking very well. So I stopped after applying a little bit. The headliner is actually going on tomorrow, so we'll see. And just as an update, the dash is now back in together with a new heater control vacuum valve and hoses. Much easier to do this with the dash out!! It was a very good thing I decided to do this now as it turns out someone at some point replaced one of the hoses and used the wrong type and size!! I only noticed the hose was leaking AFTER I ordered the new HCV and hoses. It sure was nice to give Mr. Murphy a lick for a change!! Rear deck is back together, luggage straps are back in and the rear carpet is laid in for fit. The rear deck carpet from Chester & Herod has vinyl trim around the strap cutouts that replicates fairly closely the vinyl inserts used by Datsun. I did however have to use a razor to cut the actual slits through the vinyl and carpet. It's by far the closest to the OEM look I've found and I'm very happy with it. The door panels are back on as well as some of the interior panels. As recommended by Wick Humble, I bought a sheet of plastic drop cloth and cut out new liners for the doors too. Here's a little trick I hope might be helpful. I've always been bugged by the noise created by the free play between the interior door handles and linkeage rod. I have read various solutions to this but decided to simply try coating the pieces with QC. It worked! There is no interference with the mechanism and even still a wee bit of free play but it is MUCH quieter! And now that the door panels are back on, the interior handles sound and feel a lot more solid. And no more rattling!

The vinyl is probably not the problem. Is the hardboard backing torn around any of the holes that the mounting pins fit into? If so, the pins can't hold it against the door. This is especially noticeable in the area you're referring to. In that case, one solution is to carefully repair the tear(s) with a fiberglass repair kit. Once the torn hardboard is firm again, the pins should hold the panel flush in place as they were designed to do. As far as your other question, I assume you're referring to the fuzzy felt strips that cushion the door glass from the inside? If so, the easiest (as far as I know anyway) solution is to purchase replacement strips. I believe they are available from both MSA or Black Dragon. Then you (or an upholstery shop) can remove them and either staple or rivet in the new strips. Voila, just like new again!

Very nice! How did you wire this in? Any photos of the wiring? What did you wire the incoming antenna lead into? Did this require any alterations to the original radio harness? Can you still use your power antenna?

I've been researching and reading the posts about various security systems for our Z cars. Just wondering if anyone has come across any new or updated ideas/systems? Thanks!

Since bringing my '78 home from the paint/body shop last month, things are moving along at a pretty good pace. After all of the rust areas under the passenger side floorboard tar paper were discovered and fixed, the fun really began as I headed into the home stretch on this project. First, I used the POR-15 (semi-gloss black) three-stage process on the floorboards, firewall and transmission tunnel. As there were a few rust spots beginning in the spare tire well, I covered that area too. All together I applied two coats of POR-15, which was enough for a lifetime! That is some really strong stuff! Once the POR had a few days to cure, I began applying QuietCar soundproofing to virtually every piece of interior sheet metal I could reach with a brush. Floors, firewall, transmission tunnel, cowl area behind the dash, rocker panels, doors, around and behind the speakers, front and back of the hatch riser, the entire area under the rear deck, including the two compartments behind the seats, spare tire well, rear quarter panel behind the antenna, interior taillight panel and inside of the hatch behind the vinyl trim panel. Since I want her to be as quiet as a Lexus (or almost anyway), I applied four coats. The difference is striking. Before this, the sheet metal throughout the car resonated with all kinds of loud and unpleasant sounds and frequencies. Now they're almost entirely gone. After re-installing the stock Hitachi 4" speakers, I decided to connect the OEM Hitachi AM/FM unit to hear how the system sounds. Even my speakers sound louder and more focused. Needless to say, the car is much quieter on the couple of short drives I've taken her on. And this was without the rubber floor plugs, insulation, carpet or door panels. It's kind of like going from a concert in an old concrete auditorium with sound bouncing around everywhere to a finely tuned vocal or drum booth in a recording studio. At first I was going to leave it at that, since the QuietCar dries to a nice flat gray-black finish a little darker than the plastic taillight/license plate trim. After all, most of it will be covered by carpet or door panels other than the seat rails and under the deck riser. IMO, a nice tradeoff for a quiet ride. Then the other day I stopped at an auto paint store to pick up some SEM vinyl paint for my channel molding inserts. Truth was, I still missed seeing the burgundy paint in the rear deck area. So on a lark, I asked how much a pint of Nissan 611 paint would be with reducer and hardener. $50.00 later I went home and got to work. Since I don't have an air compressor and the QuietCar finish shows some brush marks anyway, I decided to brush it on. It's funny. She really seems happier to have her floors and deck painted burgundy as they were from the factory. And if she's happy, I'm happy ... Here are some photos of the floors before rust repairs, after applying the POR-15, and after painting the interior sections. No QuietCar photos as that was the last thing I felt like doing after treating the entire interior four times in one week. Will be replacing the heater control vacuum valve/hoses before re-installing the dash next week. I'm also working my way through a list of little things to address before putting the interior back together and hitting the road again.

Hey Carl, I know how you feel!! There's nothing like it. Your car looks stunning! Awesome! Gorgeous! I love butterscotch and ginger interiors, but with that deep blue color I'm partial to either black or off-white as Bonzi Lon mentioned. Grey would be very nice too. Enjoy the ride! Michael

No doubt! Although small claims court judgments are (at least here in Texas as well as in Tennessee) not the final word unless the time for filing an appeal has passed. It's probably similar in Idaho. Here's one for you - small claims court judges in Texas do not even have to be lawyers! Amazing but true.