Mikes Z car

Yes indeed it was a Dodge Challenger. Thanks for the pictures.

Maybe a dodge charger? Been a while since I have seen the movie "vanishing point" with the charger in it.

This might be a bit heretical but the very front of the car with the bumper and surrounding chrome remind me for some reason of the Pontiac GTO sold in NA.

Hi all, I was reading the other thread on rear suspension rebuild and remembered that on the 71 240Z I had I replaced all 4 struts by compressing the springs and unbolting the top of the strut from the car. I didn't unbolt anything else. Then I pushed the strut down and swung the top of it outside the wheel well. I had to protect the wheel well lip by taping cardboard over it followed by taping sheet steel over that. Even though that worked two people would have been better as I wasn't strong enough to prevent the strut from contacting the wheel well lip though since it was protected there was no damage. Anyone else replace struts that way? Is that a bad idea as it puts strain on the brake line connection? Mike

I am the last guy who should say anything about carbs but what if you unhooked the springs and then turned the throttle shaft by hand, pushing in different directions that would simulate the forces that would be put on the butterfly in normal operation? Maybe push towards the engine, down a bit and also in line with the springs.

Mike, I really appreciate your pictures of both sides of the valence as I have been trying to decide if I have the welding skills to replace mine. Other Mike

Nice quick fix! Back when I had my 71 240Z which was rusted because I bought it in Maine I got one off the slow way by using a cold chisel and driving that through the side of the nut that wouldn't come off. When it finally split it made a loud "crack" noise. I didn't know about impact wrenches then much less that some worked a lot better than others.

I don't know how to powder coat in chrome but would love it if someone who has done that could post a picture of the results, I am curious.

SteveJ, Thank you for posting this! I just pulled off the turn switch stalk to clean/fix it a few days ago so this is really convenient for me. Thanks! Mike

Geezer, Thanks for the straight on picture. Mike

Geezer, Is the 5 SPD shift knob in your picture the same as the one provided with cars that were sold in Europe with a 5 SPD? If it is would you take a picture of it straight on looking at the map, not at an angle and post it here? If you can get more close up that would be great too! Thanks, Mike

EScanlon, Thanks, now that you mention it I have seen those small plastic slide pieces on switches. Mike

Azclouds, My car has the same problem, thanks for the picture and the writeup. My headlights sometimes work, they are the last thing wrong with my car, I THINK I have fixed everything else. Anyone know if packing the switch innards with dielectric grease would help prevent this from reoccurring?

Captain Obvious, That looks really good. Mike

Only thread in history with three posts by the originator and no replies. ha! Usually when I talk to myself I mumble so no one can tell what I am saying... I might clarify that I did get my hand brake switch to work with the junk yard part. The reason the brake switch was missing I think is because the handbrake cable assembly installed in my car by the PO is NOS or it appears to be as it looks like it is new out of the box. It has shiny cad plating that looks like it has never gotten dirty. For some reason it appears that Nissan chose not to install the brake switch bracket on the new cable assembly. Maybe they thought the old one could be re-used though I did not see how you could re-use a part that you could not remove unless you can do that by taking the whole assembly off of the car. I was not able to tell in 2010 if that would have worked. I think there is an echo in here...

To answer my own (old) thread I eventually discovered that the part that holds the push button switch is loose from the rest of the hand brake assembly but goes around the hand brake axle making it impossible to remove or install easily as far as I could tell. The solution was to use a hack saw at a JY to cut a switch holder from another car. I cut it where it goes around the axle and bent apart both sides of the slit until it went over the axle right next to the handle in my car. Works great.

I just got in okay

I didn't know about these options when I cleaned up the ones I got from the JY for my car. I used a wire wheel on them as they were really dirty looking and then waxed them with ordinary car wax. I probably removed some aluminum with the brutal wire wheel but they look ok to me though not satin I would say.

EScanlon, That is a terrific explanation. I wonder if what might cause the kind of rust on the A pillar seen here could be from a poor seal between the windshield rubber and the metal of the car especially at the top near the roof? I have been thinking about prying up the rubber seals on my car and pushing into the resulting crack some of that black stuff used in windshield installs wiping excess off as a means of improving the seal. Mike

Captain Obvious, Great pictures, has someone written up the booster relay mod somewhere? I realize it might be simple to figure it out. Mike

Ah, another item might be needed then, marshmallows in case there is an engine fire. I am an electrical kind of person so I would have a voltmeter with me. Never used one yet, just like the idea of having it there.

Hi all, I noticed today that I hear a relay click when I switch on the parking lights in my 70 240Z. Is that something the previous owner installed? I don't remember hearing a relay click when turning on the parking lights with the 71 240Z I had years ago. I have had my car 4 years and just noticed this click today. Mike

Determined to get carried away I used marine rated hose (rated for 300 PSI if memory serves) that is supposed to withstand ethanol. That stuff was really stiff though making it somewhat bearish to install. Maybe 300 PSI was a bit of an overkill? ha! If my car ever gets parked for 300 years in a desert the last thing laying on the desert floor after everything else has disintegrated will be that hose. heh heh

JLPurcell, I got lucky on that one. Usually it goes the other way, ten years later I realize I should have done something different. Heh heh. Per the spec sheet the LM317T has to see a load of at least 4 mA so a 320 ohm resistor is needed across the quartz clock battery connection since the quartz clock draws less than 1 mA per my measurement. The Shack schematic doesn't include this as most loads exceed the minimum requirement without the 320 ohm resistor. This is important because per the spec sheet if the LM317T doesn't see a load of at least 4 mA the output voltage will go up potentially destroying the quartz clock. An alternative voltage regulator might be two diodes in series with a 5K resistor with the clock connected across the two diodes?- this would draw less current than the LM317T. For reference a spec sheet for the LM317T can be found here: http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/snvs774l/snvs774l.pdf edit later: A couple of other ideas may be helpful here. The original 240Z mechanical clock draws about 11 mA, the quartz clock draws about 5 mA when used with the LM317T voltage regulator and the 320 ohm resistor mentioned above. Therefore the quartz clock is less of a drain on your battery than the original clock was even with the 320 ohm load resistor hooked up. Also, the "T" at the end of LM317T means the regulator will come in a package that looks like a power transistor and is easy to solder to. Other versions (without the "T") are for soldering directly to a circuit board and have shorter leads making them more difficult to solder to IMO. While I had the clock out I replaced the instrument lights in the three gauges. A hand mirror and a trouble light sure helped though I could have used an additional joint in my arm and a smaller arm also. I have the scratches to back up those claims too. Yes this web site is a terrific place for info about a Z! I'd still have my first one if I had had this level of support back then. Mike

My 240Z leaked like that when I bought it after a fill up because the tank when full filled that rubber hose at the very top and back of the tank and the hose leaked until the gas drained down to the top of the tank below the rotten part of the hose. I am not sure but I think you have the same hose even though you have a 280. I did drop my tank to replace it. However, I also cut an access door right above where the hose connects to the tank to replace it in the future (not too likely I imagine). Now I am twiddling my thumbs waiting for the hose to leak again. heh heh.