Mikes Z car

I have wondered if replacements could be made from fiberglass body filler using the old ones as a mold or covering the old ones with aluminum duct tape and painting that flat black. I realize it would be a lot of work. I like the idea of trying to make things that are hard to find. I have a 240, don't know if this already possibly impractical idea would work on a 280.

I used to be an atheist but I gave it up for lent.

Bought my first Z in 1977 in Maine (71 240) though I was only there a year or two before moving to southern states. The salt damage was to the floorboards and the outer rear wheel wells primarily for me. I did body filler to work to get rid of the damage over the wheel well arches and later hand rubbed undercoat into the wheel well seams and elsewhere. For the floorboards I just put an old license plate over the biggest hole under my feet. Back then I didn't have access to the vast rust repair knowledge on this website otherwise I would still have that car.

SteveJ, The Frostfighter can use one gridline but as Zed Head said you would have to use resistors to limit current. If you make that one gridline long enough (160"-246") by zigzagging you don't need resistors. Soldering the gridlines to the bus bars should eliminate grid line failures. Zed Head you are right resistors could make almost any configuration work including doing the install as intended by Frostfighter. The 2616 kit comes with a 20A fuse though I already have a 20A fuse in the defroster circuit. It looked like that that is what it is for as the PO changed the wiring. I am amazed that it seems smaller gauge wires are allowed to handle more current in a car than what you would find in a house. 14 or 16 gauge gauge wires with a 20 A fuse? I don't understand that philosphy. Mike

I am replacing the defroster grid on my 240Z with the vertical lines using the Frostfighter 2616 kit by turning the kit 90 degrees so it is vertical. Could someone please measure the current draw to a working rear defroster grid for a 240Z with vertical lines so I can verify the new installation won't overload the 240Z wiring? I plan on epoxying the brass bus bars to the glass instead of using the double sided tape provided and I plan on soldering all of the grid lines to the bus bars if that is practical. Also, the factory instructions call for 4 runs with 4 lines in each run with a minimum run length of 40" (and a max of 61.5") which is too big for a Z. To get around this I plan on six runs with 3 lines in each run to keep above the minimum run length total of 160" (4X40")- see drawing. On my car six runs will give 6X27" or 162". This will give 18 grid lines which are two less than stock however if I follow the kit plan for grid spacing between lines the width covered will wind up within 1/4" of the original defroster grid area. Turning this install idea 90 degrees so the lines are horizontal should make it fit a 280Z grid area as the total run length will then be 216" (6X36" the width of the back glass) which is within the maximum total run length of 246" (4X61.5"). Installing with six runs will require cutting the brass bus bars that come in the kit. My defroster grid is dead including the painted on bus bars. I figure solid metal conductors may last longer than the original grid. They make craft type narrow copper tape but I didn't want to try that. Thanks in advance for any assistance or ideas! Mike

If you wanted to use the prepared lines you would have to clean the adhesive off the side that faces the glass where they cross the bus bars at the top and bottom and I would think you would have to glue them to the bus bars with the versachem or other conductive paint. My grid lines are all bad and I am not sure the bus bars are good either. I get inconsistent test results with a volt/ ohmmeter. I want to start another thread on this, since I want to use the frostfighter repair system but need more information. Would you have to upgrade the wiring due to heavier current flow? Did they say what the current flow would be? If the current flow was too great would it be practical to put in a series resistor and if so where would one mount the resistor?

I asked the seller if the hatch grid lines were solid copper or painted on and he said they are solid copper. I wonder if they are the same as what frostfighter.com sells? I noticed the hatch defroster lines seemed wider and well defined compared to what is on my car but then the ones on my car don't work yet.

In the early 80s i was in Sydney Australia and lost about $900 in traveler's checks. They must have fallen out of my pocket while I was walking around. To get them replaced you have to report them lost to the police so I did. The policeman behind the counter asked me how much I had lost and what kind of traveler's checks. As I described what they were and the value he nonchalantly reached under the counter and threw them on the counter top. I was amazed as they hadn't been lost more than a few hours. I would always return a wallet.

I had an old Nash Metrpolitan (64?) that developed very stiff steering and the solution was to pump the driver's side lower ball joint with a lot of grease. Before that when the car was steered I could feel a momentary grab and let go many times as I turned and I could hear a clunk kind of noise. Mike

Looked at making a locking gas cap for my 240Z from an OEM gas cap without modifying it by putting in a metal insert and running a lock through it. If you use a small key lock like is used on a car cover it will fit through a gap in the top of the OEM gas cap handle without modifying it at least the one I have does. See picture for what the metal needs to look like. The piece of metal would need to be about two inches wide to prevent the gas cap from turning and would need to rest between the back of the gas cap area and the gas cap handle. Might have to put some rubber on the door and the metal insert to prevent the lock from banging on it. Should work and be very cheap to make though not as secure as an OEM locking cap I imagine. Mike

How are the two kinds different?

Great work and thanks for sharing the pictures! Mike

Is there a picture anywhere that is a closeup of the rubber and the metal molding and how they are put together? Both ends have a flat spot of metal, could that be drilled and a rod mounted all the way through (not sure it would help)? I have heard drilling stainless is a challenge. One of my squeegees does not contact the window at all; it appears to be too short.

The PO installed the seats I have. Anyone know what they are? They have great lumbar support and are cloth covered though i don't particularly consider that an advantage. They have good side support to keep you from sliding around in a race though I don't do any racing and would probably be happy with something with good lumbar support without the side support. In case it helps someone else to know how to mount them I am including a picture of the mounting adapter. There are two new holes in the original front seat support in the car for the seats, I will edit this later to add info about any new holes in the rear original seat supports on the floor. Mike

My early 70 has a long blue fused wire that goes to the blower. The long black wire looks to me if I am seeing it right like a load (rear defroster?) because it is an exposed male connector and might short a power source to ground if left unplugged. That seems logical to me but may not be correct. Mike

grantf, Thanks for the idea of replacing only the damaged area, that is less intimidating than doing the whole valence panel. There are a couple of valences in the area I have access to though one is damaged the same place mine is (I haven't seen the other one yet). I should be able to weld in the new panel if not I know who can. You are right, the rear of the fender next to the valence is a little damaged but I think I can push that out from behind. Taking my time with this as you suggest should help quite a bit. 5thhorsemann, thanks for the thought. It doesn't take much of a ding in the sheetmetal to make a lot of work! Mike

The car had two tailpipes side by side merged into one at the rear of the muffler when I got it with the original corners of the valence at the muffler's rear end bent back out of view and the welded on plate around the tailpipe hole I think was used to redefine the hole as squared off for the two tailpipes to go through. There are many holes in the valence around the tailpipe where the previous bodywork person used a slide hammer to pull out the valence. It didn't get pulled far enough out and that is why the bondo was 1/2" thick where the bumper mount bolt holes are. I took a 4 lb sledge to the back of the bumper mount point with a wooden drift where the two bolt holes for the bumper mount are to see if I could push it towards the rear of the car so the bolt hole surfaces are more flush with the valence surface like the other bumper mount. My reasoning is that if I can do this then the bondo needed then will be 1/4" max on the sheetmetal which I don't think will crack will it? The bondo that was on there had a crack in it I think because it was too thick. Anyone know how thick you can make bondo without it cracking? It may depend on what part of the car you put it as far as flexing? Replacing the valence is a little intimidating but may be possible even with my limited welding skills. Does the valence end under the license plate or does it go to the bottom edge of the hatch sill? What kind of grinder do you grind off the welds with, an angle grinder? I have read some drill them out. Thanks everyone for the great information. Mike

Pictures with metal plate from previous work removed and most of the bondo removed. Tank will have to come out I think.

Larry, Thanks for the information I appreciate your taking the time to share the details. I start taking off bondo today to see what is really there. I will post more pictures with the bondo off if it looks like it might be a good idea to put another set of eyes on this. Hopefully the mounting point bracket is all that got pushed forward, it looks like that might be the case since I can't see any obvious damage to the frame rail end though damage could still be hidden. Thanks for everyones ideas. Mike

Thanks for the idea of removing the valence and the gas tank removal idea, I hadn't thought of those ideas!. I was thinking of dropping the tank eventually. Attached are better pictures thanks for asking for them, they were needed I see now. I remember when I had my 71 240Z the rear valence was pushed closer to the car on the left hand side where the muffler was. This was straight across the car. There was no sign of damage but I suppose it could have been well hidden. Is the rear valence at the very bottom edge supposed to be straight across the car or is it supposed to graduate closer to the front of the car as it gets closer to the muffler? Mike

Hi all, My 240Z was rear ended before I got it though the only damage I can see is the drivers side bumper mount point was pushed forward 1/2 inch and there is a 5 inch diameter "soft" dent just under the bumper that can be seen in the right side of the picture where the paint has come off. I have done some body work before but I am not very experienced. I assume the soft dent could be pulled out with a slide hammer or whatever they call them but is there another option? The bumper mount point has a reinforcement plate on the inner side of the valence which should make it more difficult to pull out using a slide hammer I would assume. I thought of using a come along and a strong tree but I doubt anyone experienced would do that. I want to get the mount point moved back closer to the bumper (the normal position) so I can get the 1/2 inch bondo thickness reduced or eliminated to where it won't crack. Also the bumper mount point is missing one of the two welded on nuts. The previous body work person just had the nut loose on the inner side of the valence and the bumper mount butted up against the 1/2 inch bondo layer on the outside. I have read how to weld a nut on the outside of sheet metal using a washer welded to a nut which I assume I will have to do since welding another nut on the inner side would be in extremely cramped quarters. Anyone have ideas or experience with these kinds of repair? My questions are how do I move the bumper mount back to reduce or eliminate the thickness of the bondo for the bumper mount point, how do I install a welded on nut for it and how do I fix the soft dent with limited access to the backside of it. Any information appreciated! The blue area in the picture just shows the area of the bondoed mount point, the bumper and the mount attached to it are okay (I have a new bumper). Mike

Dredging up an old thread. I noticed yesterday that two of the six screw holes for the aluminum door sill that says "Datsun" from a 71 would not line up with the holes on my 1/1970 car. The bottom two (of three ) holes on the vertical part of the sill, the front one and back one on the 71 were each about two inches closer to the middle of the sill on the 71 than on my 70. In violation of murphy's law the PO of my car had used self tapping screws of the correct thread and diameter to hold non stock carpeting down in the same holes for the sill so I just used them to drill new holes in the right places since I had the screws that came from the 71 sill. I wire wheeled the sills with a bench grinder wire wheel and a fine wire wheel on a drill and waxed them to improve appearance as they were originally very dirty. Mike

The 1st 240Z I had was 100% stock but had rust that I did some work on. The one I have now has no rust but I was shocked when I bought it as to how non stock it was with lowering, mural paint job, racing steering wheel and seats. Some of what I found shocking has been reversed back towards stock but there has been a processing to accept some of the non stock items as a price for no rust. Almost a zen thing of some kind. Mike

ZCurves, What did you spray the Eastwood anti rust material with? Great idea, spraying the upper frame rail, I have been eyeballing that for treatment in my car. Mike

My HLS30 00907 has a red wire and a red with blue striped wire taped together in the same short harness that connect to the rear window defroster. I started labeling wires as I identify them. Seems only right since my job sometimes involves wiring. I have only the barest clue if they are connected to what you are looking at. I had to buy a wire tracer to figure out some of my wiring the PO changed. Mike