ALConfederate

My Z's not in the world's best shape, either. I'm finding spots where Bondo was just slathered on, one-half to three-quarters of an inch deep in places, over improperly-prepared metal, with the predictable results. I've got a hole in a floor pan. All this is going to take time and money to fix. (My Z is one of those where the For Sale ad reads, "just needs a little TLC", where TLC stands for "tons of loot and cash".) But I'm finding the more work I do to her, the less I want to sell, despite what I'm finding. This car's going to be a learning experience for me, and at the end it will be something I can enjoy. At the end of the day, isn't that what it should be about?

I've got one off a '77. PM me with your best offer.

You did. I remember it quite well. Studioti, you get that one off E-bay? What was it going for?

Then I would certainly look at that booster. First make sure it's getting vacuum, then check to see if there's a hissing sound when the brakes are being applied.

No, I'll tell you what I'm thinking -- I'm thinking a starter gear and a flywheel that, for whatever reason, aren't meshing right. The Bendix turns just a little and then everything binds. Of course, I'll be the first to admit I don't know if that's even a possibility here. But I don't want to discount it, either.

Does the '71 240 have power brakes? What your car is doing sounds suspiciously like what happens when the power booster has a vacuum leak in the internal diaphragm.

So is the starter trying to rotate at all after the initial quarter-turn or does it just crap out at that point?

Yeah, that's the very first thing I'd look at. Let us know how it goes.

If it's any consolation I've done things like that too. I tore up a C5 automatic that way. Hey, I thought it was a part I would never need for a valve body upgrade. Boy was I wrong...locked the transmission at 65 MPH and totalled the car. I'm glad, though, that you remembered and will be able to fix it easily enough! Dave M.

If that won't work I've got one off a '77 that I'm probably never going to use. If you think you're going to need it (and it will work...), PM me and we'll see what we can work out. Dave

Here the local AutoZone carries an STP and a Fram element for no more than $7 or so.

Yeah, true, but why get technical? Dave M.

I hate you. It's going to be at least three weeks, if not more, before mine is road ready. Actually, congrats! That's what it's all about!

Okay, now that the simple stuff is out of the way, let's get to the fun part. The references for the following come from the '72 wiring diagram found here: http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/wiringdiagrams/72_240z_wiring.pdf 1) Have you checked for voltage at the fuse? 2) Power for both circuits routes through the combination switch (I believe it's a green wire with a blue stripe in and green/white out). With the switch off, check from green/blue to ground and verify voltage. Turn the switch on and check for voltage at green/white to ground. If no voltage, do a continuity check between the green/blue and the green/white with the fuse pulled and the switch on. 3) According to the wiring diagram, the dashlight circuit comes off the front/side/rear markers through a rheostat (dimmer switch) Look for voltage here. Disconnect the wires from the switch and see if your sidemarkers work. That might help you isolate exactly which circuit it is. Something may have shorted out at either location, it could be a bad switch, or it could be a bad ground. If none of the above checks helps, you're going to have to trace the wires, looking for a dead short or a loose/bad ground. Refer to that wiring diagram on the AtlanticZ site. I hope this helps you. I also hope someone with more practical experience on the 240s chimes in with some suggestions. Most of what I know about electrical testing comes from chasing faults around in 220/440 VAC pump control panels.

Okay. One thing I've learned about fuses is that they can be tricky little devils, and you can't always tell by looking if they're bad or not. Get your meter out and check them, just to be sure.

From what I've been told you need 36 PSI. No less and no more -- if you have more you run across problems like you're describing. Have you done a fuel pressure test to see what that pump's putting out?

When you say you checked your fuses did you do a continuity/voltage check or did you just eyeball them?

That means the links are good. Electricity always follows the easiest path to ground, and in the case of the links that path is easier through the links than through your meter.

I know this is an obvious question, but ever replaced the wiper motor? My thought is that possibly you have some moisture wicking in through the shaft seal and interacting with some worn windings or a brush and causing a short to ground. Likeliest though is a corroded ground, like Gary said. I would certainly check the motor ground first. Dave M.

That lock looks like somebody tried to gouge it out with a screwdriver. When you say you can't get it to unlock, what exactly is happening? Is it not turning, or is the cylinder turning but not releasing the lock? Dave M.

Well, without the resistor there will be no current limiting, so you'll have 12 VDC full-time. A 3 ohm coil -- you have carbs, right? You'll still see 12 VDC on both sides of the coil. You asked about amperage earlier; just for kicks and giggles plug 3 ohms into the Ohm's Law equation V=IR, with V = 12 and it comes out to 4 amps. Now you know. And Dave is right -- upgrade that puppy if you can! I started playing with cars when breaker points were all we had and the hot ticket was a dual-point plate for your distributor. You'll be much happier with an electronic ignition system of some sort! Dave M.

I like the maxifuse option. I just need to find out where the PO hid the other pair of fusible link wires. Well, I'm making progress. Last week I had her running, then had the problem with the coil. Got that fixed, then discovered it wouldn't rev much past 3000 without spitting and sputtering. A pressure check on the fuel pump seems to have found that problem -- about 16 PSI at the pump. I don't know if I want to spend the $250 a "new" unit's going to cost, so I'm eyeballing the MSD 2225 electric pump, which is IIRC a 38-40 PSI unit. Y'all tell me not to sell this car. I told a gentleman a month ago (before I really started working on it) that I would consider selling it. Now, I'm finding the more I work on it and the more I get done, the less I want to sell her. All I want to do now is get her back on the road and go on a ricer hunt.

Thanks, man. Appreciate that. Didn't mean to get too deep for y'all. In the future I'll try and keep it simple. "Z won't go. Help me make it go." It's just been a while since I've actually worked on cars beyond things like tune-ups and oil changes. Back when I was a young'un I worked on a lot of Mustangs and similar Ford products -- some of what I remember will transfer, some won't, and some of what I remember I just remember incorrectly. I was just hoping someone would backstop me and confirm if what I was thinking was right or if I was just being a lame poser with delusions of adequacy. My fault for not being clear and remembering that no one here knows me from Schrodinger's cat. But I do appreciate knowing I hadn't offended anybody somehow. That is good to know.

Aaaargh! That's right; thank you for the correction, sir. ALC

What is it, fellas? Have I violated some unspoken taboo on the Classic Z site? I see almost eighty views and yet no answers, not even so much as a "kiss my foot, you lame poser". But here's an update...it turned out grease & dirt were apparently shorting out the coil with a little bit of voltage leakage, and damaged the coil. From what I was able to find on the intarnet, that primary-side resistance should have been no more than 1.02 ohms and the secondary side should have been somewhere between 8K and 11K ohms. That reading was...over 80K! So I went and put in a Blaster2 coil -- that was the only thing I could find locally that would work -- and zap! We have spark! Gentlebeings, it was never my intention to upset or offend anybody; please accept my apologies if I did either, in any way. ALC