Namerow

I've had mixed results with computer matching. According to one paint tech I dealt with, the darker the color, the more difficult it is to get a good match. Metallic content adds to the challenge. My car came painted with an unidentified, non-stock dark green metallic, so getting a match has been a problem. I ended up asking a high-end restoration shop for help and they put me onto the specialist paint supply shop that they use. I removed one of my Z`s inspection cover panels and gave that to them to use for the paint-matching. Perhaps you can try the same approach. Find a resto shop that works with high-end customers and high-end cars, and then ask them who they use for their paint.

The seller said somewhere in the Q&A comments that he installed the later-style console because the original was in poor shape and a replacement was impossible* to find. * Impossible? Almost never the case. Expensive? You bet!

If we're lucky, this will trigger a rising tide that floats all our Z-boats If we're not lucky, it will attract a fresh horde of parts-car-quality Z's to BaT, thereby reinforcing the belief that all Z's are either victims of the J.C. Whitney catalog or just rust buckets and thus not worth more than $5K - $15K.

I missed the note in the write-up about the dash cap. Nothing wrong with that if it's properly done but, again, it takes the car an important step away from the 'all-original' status the has always seemed to be mandatory to get a Z's price firmly into the $30K - $40K range.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1971-datsun-240z-35/ I'm surprised that there's been no commentary so far on this car. It brought a ton of attention during the auction. It also sold at a price that -- I think -- lies well above the curve (not that that's a bad thing). Almost $40,000! The part that really surprised me was that previous high-dollar Z sales (i.e. those in the $30K+ range) seemed to be based on extreme originality. This car didn't have that. While it was very free of rust and had been very nicely restored and had a nice, shiny-new paint job, there were a number of details that weren't OE (most notably, the ZX 5-speed transmission - also: Konig aftermarket wheels, lowering kit, PU bushing kit, overside front roll bar, black-crackle paint in the engine compartment, aftermarket aluminum rad, mishmash of engine hose types, screwed-in-place bare-metal replacement battery mounting frame). In addition, it was a crossover car that had a mixture of Series 1 (angled halfshafts, metal engine fan) and Series 2 (seats, steering wheel, console, no-vent hatch, etc). Don't get me wrong. I wish that my car was this nice. But this one seemed to violate some of the accepted rules for when a Z will move in value out of the low-mid 20's and into the 30's (and the very high 30's in this case). Does this sale mark the beginning of a new era of S30 pricing, or did the car just show up in the right place at the right time?

Thanks. I probably never would have gone down this path if you hadn't created this thread in the first place! I was thinking that the vent grills in my car would have the clips intact, but I'd never taken a close look until I read your write-up and became intrigued. When I finally got around to it, I discovered that the clips were missing altogether (the PO had done a lash-up job, which included two-sided tape to hold the chrome grills in place). And by the time all of this became known to me, you'd sold all of your clip sets and I had to look for other options. The main uncertainty was whether the clips really needed to be made from tempered steel to work properly. Based on my what I've learned, the answer seems to be, 'not really'. My torch-and-quench tempering scheme seems to have been adequate, helped by the fact that the forming process creates a bit of localized work-hardening around the bent areas. And then, the legs of the clips don't have to spread that much when the clip is being pushed into place. In answer to your question, it probably would take me 15 minutes to make a new clip. Side business? I'm guessing there's not more than another 50 customers left out there in Z-Land, so not enough in it to be worthwhile. Maybe someone else will be interested in taking it on, though.

Buyer: 'Is that the real mileage on the car?' Seller: 'What would you like it to be?'

Now that Hardway has sold off his inventory and doesn't look like he's planning to commission a second run, I feel I can share my D-I-Y strategy with those of you who still need these pieces. The clips aren't terribly difficult to fabricate from sheet stock and they don't have to be made from spring steel (that comes afterwards). Here's how I made mine: 1. Using tin snips, cut 4 metal strips from 0.022" sheet (or close to that). After cutting, flatten the strips on a hard surface with an autobody hammer. Then de-burr all the cut edges with a file. x After cutting, flatten the strips on a hard surface with an autobody hammer. Then de-burr all the cut edges with a file. This had yet to be done for the pieces in the photo. 2. Fabricate a forming buck from a small piece of hardwood (softwood won't do). You'll need the buck to form the 'bump' in the closed end. The 'bump' shape is mandatory -- it provides clearance for the stamped flange that runs around the periphery of the vent opening in the hatch outer sheet metal). I used a power sander and a Dremel sanding drum to make my buck. When you're happy with the shape, mark the side edge for the location of the centreline of the hole that you'll need to drill in the clip after you've bent it to shape. x 3. Mount your buck in a bench vise, along with one of the metal strips. The vise jaws should clamp on one end of the metal strip and the buck simultaneously (keeps the metal strip in position during the bending process). x 4. Now shape each strip using, as appropriate, either hand pressure or your autobody hammer (use the flat part of the hammer for the outside bends and the 'pick' end for the inside bend). x x 5. Mark and centre-punch the hole center before you remove the finished clip from from the buck. Then, using another strip of wood of appropriate thickness as a backing/spacer piece, slide the shaped clip over the wood and then clamp in some fashion to prepare for drilling the hole. Because the hole has to pass through both the upper and lower leg of the clip, you'll need both the spacer piece and a backing board. It's preferable, but not mandatory, to use a drill press here. De-burr both drilled holes afterwards... 6 6. To finish up, give the clips a bit of 'spring tempering' by heating them up with a torch (get them just to start of glowing red) and then dunking them in cold water (sorry, no photo for this step) 7. Here's my end result... The total project probably took me 3 or 4 hours to complete (making the buck is finicky). Materials costs were ~ zero. Best part: The clips worked perfectly during the installation of my vent pieces.

As noted by others, you have a bit of a 'task' ahead of you in order to fix the stuck lever. The centre (tunnel) console has to come out first. Be careful not to break the plastic. You'll need to detach the choke lever assembly from the console. Remove the radio control knobs and fastener nuts, then remove the radio faceplate. Remove the knobs from the heat/vent control levers. Remove the Blower fan speed control knob and the retaining nut behind it. Remove the Map light faceplate and then lever the map light housing out of the heater fascia plate. If possible, pop the wiring connectors free and remove the map light altogether. At this point, you should have an assemblage of parts that looks like this (these are from a Series 1 car, so your parts may look a bit different)... x Now disconnect the four heat/vent control cables where they connect to the Heater assembly. You'll find three of the cable connections on the pssgr side of the Heater assy and the fourth on the left side. The securing clip for the cable that connects to the heater control valve (lower right side of the Heater assy) is often corroded. It will probably help to apply some penetrating oil first and let it soak in for a day before you try to loosen the screw. Remove the four screws that secure the Heater fascia plate to the Dash frame. At this point, the Heater fascia plate is ready to come out. As you pull it away from the Dash, it will come away complete with the Heat/Vent control lever assy and the four control cables. The cables are curved and somewhat stiff, so you'll need to tug a bit to pull them free. The radio and the Fan Blower speed control knob will get left behind. The lower part of the Heater fascia plate is like a ring and it can break at the corner(s) if you pull on the fascia plate unevenly or too enthusiastically. Here's what you'll be looking at (sort of)... x Experienced Z owners will see that my control lever assembly had experienced not just a bent cable (not visible in the photo above) also a mechanical failure of the topmost linkage (a guide pin had snapped out of the lever frame, allowing the top upper lever plates to separate. An intact lever assy looks like this (note how the slots in the two top link plates both fit over a common 'peg')... x Here's what a bent control cable looks like this. On my car, it was the bottom lever and cable (goes to the heat control valve) that had problems. The cable was bent into a full J-hook shape. In the photo, the lever asy has been turned upside down, so you're looking at the bottom... You won't be able to unbend a bent control cable. Easiest is to buy new ones (Z-Car Depot has them, maybe others do too). Or you can do what Zed Head and I did, which is to buy a roll of tempered-steel 'music' wire and form your own. Not easy, but not impossible either. The Series 1 system used 1.0mm wire. Later versions used 1.2mm wire. The ID/OD of the plastic cable sheathing is the same for both versions, so you can use 1.2mm cable inside the Series 1 or Series 2 sheathing. Make sure you find out why your control cable bent and fix that problem too. Otherwise, your new cable will probably bend just like the old one did. Unfortunately, the top control lever operates two inner air control flaps that are buried inside the Heater assy. It's not likely that they've jammed just because the pivot points got a bit rusty. Instead, it seems more probable that the one of the padded vinyl covers used on the internal control flaps has come unglued from the metal flap plate (common problem) and is preventing the flap from closing fully... To the driver (or passenger), this would have felt like the control lever wasn't moving all the way to the right or left in its slot, so they would have started tugging on it to try to get the lever to go to the full 'OFF' or (more likely) 'HEAT position'. If I'm right (and I hope for your sake that I'm not) you're going to have to drain the engine cooling system, disconnect the heater hoses, pull the Heater assy out of the car, and then pretty much fully disassemble it. Big job.

Better than a cheap, 'Who dunnit' private detective novel.

You might want to try to figure out why those wires got so charred before you cover things up. If they're in the vicinity of the driver-side headlamp connector, you've probably got issues with the three-wire connector on the headlamp pigtail. Or maybe a PO tried to install aftermarket fog or driving lights and made a mess of it (as in, short circuit). If the region of the harness that needs re-covering is relatively 'fat' (say, 1/4" diameter or more), the correct way to do the job will be by using loom tape ('wiring loom'). It's just like electrical tape but has no adhesive. Buy a roll that's about 3/4" width. It's inexpensive. Takes a bit of practice to learn how to apply it. There are a few on-line articles explaining the technique (try an MG or old Ford club website). Just don't use electrical tape.. It turns into a gooey mess after it's been exposed to engine compartment heat for a while. Nissan used thin, flexible black 'plastic' sheathing as the covering at the end of some of the skinny branches of the engine wiring harness. That sheathing turns rock hard with age and usually significant amounts have cracked and split away. Replacement sheathing is available in three or four different diameters from one of the specialty wiring connector suppliers (Vintage Connections or Eastern Beaver... can't remember which one). If you're not concerned about restoring the harness to OE specs, there are a variety of more modern wire sheathing solutions available.

My column shell parts had similar problems (the styrene plastic that Nissan used for the housing pieces was not a good choice). Although none of the towers were completely broken off, a couple were splitting away near the bottom. I managed to glue the pieces back into place using krazee glue. The repair is probably a bit fragile, but it's adequate. My lower shell piece had a one-inch hairline crack that needed repairing. I used krazee glue in the crack and then backed up the repair by gluing a piece of thin plastic sheet (from food packaging) onto the inside of the shell to provide some reinforcement. I also did some sanding and 'coaxing' on the towers and the shell mating edges to try to get the shell halves to fit together flat and flush. I gave the shell pieces a couple of coats of SEM 'Landau Black' paint afterwards. I'm still not totally pleased with the way the two halves fit together, but they're a lot better than they were at the start.

Why not shoot them an email and ask?

Although they were stuck to the metal, I didn't really get the feeling that the paper gaskets in my horns had any kind of glue or sealant used. I agree with Grannyknot that you don't want water getting inside. I debated about using sealant. I even thought about using thin-sheet neoprene foam rather than paper when I cut new gaskets. However, I was worried that a thicker or softer material might mute the horn, so I just used thin gasket paper (dry). After all was said and done, I ended up with the characteristic Z horn sound that I wanted, but I don't think it's loud enough to get the job done in modern traffic so I'm going to back them up with a pair of FIAMM 'Freeway Blasters'.

Agreed. I was thinking that he could extract a suitable contact point from some non-Z relay (pref. a from an older Nissan product) and then transplant it into the relay from his Z.

I would go for a generic dustboot (no one will know... or care). Probably $4.99 each. Have a look on eBay.

No car manufacturer adds parts that will never be seen (i.e. parts with no perceived value to a buyer) without a good reason. Nissan must have decided that their OE-design struts (which didn't use a cartridge-style shock absorber) were failing prematurely because of either water/salt-induced corrosion and/or dirt intrusion at the top of the strut. Of course, you will be installing cartridge-style aftermarket shocks made with modern materials and there's reason to expect that they're less susceptible to top seal failure than the somewhat old-fashioned design that Nissan used on the S30's.

A used relay would be the easiest solution. Whether you can get one without buying an entire wiper motor/transmission is another matter. Used relay? Five bucks. Used Z motor? Either cheap or expensive, depending on who's selling. The big vendors say, 'NLA'. A Honda motor may be your best bet. $90. Still, it's just a relay. Go to the local pik-n-pull and buy a dozen. You should be able to find a piece to swap in. Nobody will ever know.

Don't throw away the metal sleeves from your old grommets. The replacement pieces from 240ZRubberParts don't have them.

Steve or Dave Zs-on-da-Brain can advise. I'm a mechanical engineer and only understand hammers ... although I'm pretty sure that solder is not going to get the job done (not for long, anyway)

Possibility #1is that you somehow hurt or confused the wiper relay during your original tests. The humming noise could be one of the contacts inside the relay vibrating as it tries to close. Put your ear close to the relay can and see whether that's where the hum is coming from. If it is, then a deft whack with a hammer might coax the relay back into operation. Or not. If the hammer fix doesn't work, you could try opening up the relay can and poking around to see if you can coax the thing back into life. Probably better, though, to just replace it. If it failed after 2 tries during bench testing, it'll probably fail again after you put everything back in the car. Probably when it's raining . Possibility #2: The worm gear in your wiper motor's gearbox may have jammed. I don't know how this would have happened, but the fact that you got two successful cycles on your original test before you ran into trouble suggests that possibility that the gear jammed at the end of the second forward cycle (maybe when the motor tried to go into auto-reverse? or maybe something broke off inside the gearbox housing and got lodged in the gears?). It'll be hard to fix this by trying to move the motor and the output shaft by hand, because it's essentially impossible to rotate a reduction-type worm gear system from the output end. You might be able to free things up by loosening off the load-adjustment screw that's located on the outside of the gearbox housing at the bottom of the worm gear shaft. If that doesn't work, you'll probably have to take the cover off the gearbox to see what's going on. Possibility #3: This is a WAG. Maybe, by some impossible coincidence, you stopped the motor at the end of the #2 test at the point when the reed switch for the 'PARK' position was j-u-s-t beginning to open, and now it's electrically hung up between 'off' and 'on'. To check, you can try moving the 'Park' switch to a new location. Look on the underside of the gearbox casing and you'll see a pie-tin shaped cover that's held in place by three screws. The cover has two wires coming out of it (from the reed switch). The edge of the cover has five or six notches and there's an indexing mark stamped into the gearbox housing to serve as a reference. If you loosen the three screws, you can rotate the can to change the location of the reed switch. Try rotating the cover by one index mark. Re-tighten the screws and hook up your power source again for another test. If this works, make sure you return the PARK switch to its original setting before you button everything up. Let us know what you do next.

Thanks, CO. I'll take a look in my local auto parts stores the next time I visit. In the meantime, I made my own spring and installed the full wiper assembly back in the car yesterday afternoon. Given the way that the spring clutch operates, I decided that it wasn't important whether the spring is made from tempered wire or not. In fact, it seemed to me that it might work better without the tempering -- so I made my new one out of 0.065" hardware store wire. I'm a little concerned about the durability of the tang, but only time will tell and, hey, if it breaks off, I'll just be back to 'normal'. My new spring came out pretty darn close in ID to the original spring, so that was good. The stack height was close, too (the OE spring is 2 coils in height). I also took care to wind the coil it in the same direction as the OE spring. I debated about whether the shoulder of the eccentric washer should be greased or not, but decided in the end that no grease could lead to breakage whereas grease - if incorrect - would only lead to clutch slippage (i.e. 'normal'). So, with everything back in the car, I hooked up a 12V power source the the appropriate connections and turned it loose. All good in 'HI' and 'LO'. Then the big test, which was to engage 'OFF' (you do this by opening the motor relay's ground circuit). The result? Well, I'm not really sure. What I know is that the motor and linkage stopped, paused briefly, and then reverse-rotated to the 'PARK' location -- where everything just stopped What I can't tell is whether the spring-clutch ever kicked in. I tried several cycles, thinking that the new spring might need time to bed in. No detectable change, though. I was running the system without the wiper blades attached (just a clothes peg mounted on each of the wiper shafts to give me a visual), so I guess that's the next step. My new theory is that it may be necessary for the motor and linkage to have a load to work against before the spring clutch and eccentric cam will do their thing during the motor-reverse sequence. If I'm feeling energetic after I get home from work tonight, I'll go back out to the garage and give it another try, this time with the blades installed. More tomorrow.

OFF doesn't just turn off the power. It actually sends a signal to the wiper motor relay that then tells the motor to operate in reverse until the output gear in the wiper gearbox reaches the PARK position. I think you've either pooched the relay or you've got a mechanical obstruction in the system that's preventing the motor from operating in reverse. Do you have the wiper blades installed?

I wonder if the wire is acting like an electromagnetic cage, so that it sets up some kind of adverse electrical field in the zone where you get the dull spot? You'll probably say, 'Why don't I get the same effect when I plate a regular flat washer?' My guess is that this particular part is 'deep' enough in section that it shows some of the plating characteristics of a hollow tube. If you're still feeling 'experimental', try this: Sandblast one of the two parts to take it back to bare metal (hopefully, this will get rid of any residual problems in the dull-plating zone). Now try a centralized supporting system for the part when it's in the plating bath. I'm thinking you could take a length of wire and wind it into a coil that's about 10% bigger than the ID of the centre hole in the strut cap. The idea would be for the wire coil to be under enough compression when you put it in the hole so that it will grab the part. This is just a WAG... but that's what drives scientific investigation sometimes. (When you enter the world of DIY plating, I figure you deserve to call yourself a scientist. It sounds a lot more confident that 'wizard' )