WillieBoy240z

Yeah, what EScanlon said.... This is fresh in my memory because I just removed the whole dash on my 72 and removed everything -- including the dimmer switch. While most of my components looked very clean, the dimmer was kind of corroded. My lights are dim like yours as well. I think you can test and clean it up as instructed and it should work fine. If you went to the trouble of replacing the bulbs, then this should be a piece of cake in terms of access. Disconnect the battery before you mess with anything electrical. Trust me -- I learned this "the hard way" a while back. I am happy to report that battery acid getting into your eyes after a shorted battery explodes does not always cause blindness as long as you can wash out your eyes within 10 seconds. This I know.... :-)

My preliminary discussions with other Z people and Corbeau indicate that all dimensions will be fine, except for the shoulder measurements. It may be just a hair too wide. Since these are awesome seats, I am trying to come up with a way to determine for certain if they will fit.

These are the Corbeau VX 2000. The base is 20 inches wide and 23 inches deep. It is 22.5 inches wide at the shoulder. 35.5 inches tall. It's gonna be a few days before I can measure my car, so I was wondering if someone already had the cockpit dimensions comitted to memory. http://www.corbeau.com/brochure/VX2000.shtml

If it ain't one thing, it's another.

You guys either must be mechanical geniuses -- or I am a 'tard. It took me about 2 hours just to remove the dash from my 72. And that was with the windshield already removed. Getting to all the screws wasn't bad. The hassle I faced was that many of the electrical connectors were way to stubborn to cooperate with me. A couple turned out to be melted and fused. And, to make matters worse, I think I should have removed the heater/vent/radio panel first. After getting the dash out -- I scratched my NEW PAINTJOB in the process :-( -- pulling all the gauges, vent stuff and harness was painless. If/when I do it again, I will have a buddy there to help maneuver it around. Doing that alone is very cumbersome.

Hey Skip. Great idea about altering the lenses. I have just removed all the gauges in my 240z and am trying to think of ways I can make them nicer/better/cleaner/etc. Do you know if your bulb and my bulbs are the same? I was gonna just get a bunch of new ones because hopefully they will be brighter. I don't know if bulbs fade over time (without burning out), but my dash lights are pretty lousy. I've also thought about the aftermarket gauge overlays in white. The Indiglo ones really intrigue me, but I have yet to see them actually available for the Z.

The reason I'm interested in "The Simpson Dash" is because it is radically different than the original dash design. All the gauges are in a cluster at the steering wheel.

I'm in Evansville -- where are you located? As I am in the midst of a ground-up 240z restoration, perhaps we should trade some notes in person. I too am considering sending my dash to the Aussie place. I just got my car back after being painted. Now concentrating on suspension, engine, interior, exhaust, etc. If you are interested, send me an email using the Profile function and I will send you my phone number.

Her's something I saw at kitcarz.com. At $295, it's cheaper than a dash rebuild. I wonder if anybody here has had any experience with it or has at least seen one up close. The small picture here does it little justice. http://www.kitcarz.com/dashboards.htm Any thoughts?

Yeah, sandblasting is definitely the way to prep them. But after you have that done, don't dilly-dally around. Prime them rather quickly. Those wheels will rust quickly after being sandblasted. I'd also suggest the epoxy primer route. But what type and brand of paint you decide on is pretty much up to you. For simplicity sake, I would consider a hardware store Rustoleum product or something found on the shelves at your favorite auto parts retailier. That way, you can quickly find more paint when "touch up time" arrives.

One you use the above tricks to get it off, if you have any glue residue, you might want to go to your local auto paint store and get some 3M adhesive remover in a can. Costs $6 or $7, I think, does the trick--and comes in handy with all sorts of glue removal issues.

Definitely worth $850. $1,000? Probably.