jfa.series1

Tough to get those curves with aluminum! Jim

Blue - I recently had my original windshield and hatch glass re-installed by a pro who was well familiar with Z cars. Up front, he said he planned to use no sealants, only a generous use of soapy water to lube the gaskets into place. The gaskets I supplied were the PRP items sold by Black Dragon and others. FWIW. Jim

What you have done is "hot wire" the starter. Since that works, the "excite" wire you mention sounds like the ignition wire coming from the switch on the steering column. The most likely culprit is the electrical component of the ignition switch. It is easily replaced. Jim

One thing I forgot - a generous coating of heavy grease on all surfaces of the rack bushings will really help ease them into place. Jim

I just completed a full resto which included going with the complete MSA urethane bushing kit and Tokico HP shocks. If I had it to do over again, I would not do the bushing kit. The resulting ride for a street car is just too durn harsh. I completely agree with Dave on the steering rack - this is a MUST fix. Jim

The FSM makes a note of removing/breaking the carb linkage before lowering the transmission. Easy to overlook! All the steps in the FSM are straightfoward and easy to follow. Jim

OK Carl - a couple of engine pics, but only because you asked. You topped me in at least one area - you replated your fuel rail. These shots are of the "fully dressed" engine just before it went into the car. The carbs work was by Z Therapy. One item to watch on your MSA exhaust system. There is a welded-on hanger on the "S" pipe. For my car it was not in the correct location to easily attach to the hanger bracket mounted to the differential. I angled the MSA rubber insulator on the "S" pipe and got it attached but it placed too much stress on the original hanger and it split off at the molded rubber. I plan to get a bolt-on hanger fabbed and be able to attach to the diffy hanger. Jim

Carl - I think you are going to love the MSA exhaust system, the fit and finish is excellent. I purchased the same components and my car just came back alive in the last two weeks after 30 years of being stored. The exhaust really makes the most of the smoothness of the straight 6. Wait till you get it up around 3-4 grand! I don't think you will be disappointed. Our engine rebuild pics could be twins, I'll not try to steal your thunder with a post. Great job! Jim

Great detective work. Congratulations! Jim

Here is a tip to countour metal to a soft curve: put on some cotton or fabric gloves. As Enrique said - start at the front. Work the trim piece into position with long smooth stokes along the entire length. Don't just push down at any one point lest you break the tension in the metal (not too likely with this piece). You want to coax it into shape. Jim

Your description suggests there is a leak between the two pistons. Presuming you have the rubber cups installed in the correct direction AND there really is a slug of fliud between them (how does it get in there?), the leak may be in the bore surface. Did you run a brake hone thru the bore to eliminate any minor surface blem issues? My wheel cylinders looked good when I rebuilt them but I still had leaks until I went back in with a hone. Good luck on keeping your Series 1 running, we need to keep all them out there to "show the flag"!!! Jim

Mike McGinnis at Banzai is a really good guy and deserving of support for keeping hard-to find and previously NLA parts out there for us. He provides great service. Jim

Courtesy typically does this one time each year, no fixed date. The show was moved back a bit this time from last year's event. They coordinate it with the Z Club of Texas. Chase - I enjoyed meeting you and your dad today. Looks like you two have a great partnership going on the car projects. Jim

Arne and Steve, Thanks for the clarifications and great instructions on testing. I'll get into that this week. BTW - I do have the headlight and turn signal relay kits installed. Jim

Enrique - thanks for the for the straightforward clarification, nice and simple. Is there a fix for this situation? I want to keep up with the state of the electrical system. Jim

Thanks for the additional feedback. Jim

Success on both issues (well, almost perfect)! Removing the old voltage regulator and re-installing the adapter cured the ignition problem. Also, removing the temperature sensor and wire brushing the threads on the retaining nut seems to have cured the temperature gauge problem. Right now there is one remaining question: I am seeing about 1 needle width of discharge on the ammeter with the engine running. I am not seeing any movement on the needle when I increase revs. I have a new battery and it shows fully charged on my maintainer (charging light is off). Steve - I will try the voltage test you recommended. Should I remove the regulator adapter for this test? And yes, the oil pressure gauge works. Thanks, Jim

Thanks for the feedback, looks like you guys have identifed one or both problems. Yes, I have a 280ZX alternator upgrade. I initially had the regulator replacement adapter in place but was seeing no charge on the ammeter and discharge for lights, turn signal, etc. I presumed the adapter was bad so I pulled it and installed the original regulator, getting a modest charge showing and small discharge for lights, etc. Looks like I must go back to the regulator replacement adapter. Not being too good at auto electrics, how do I determine if I am getting a charge with the new set-up? On the temp sensor, I may have used teflon tape or other thread sealant. I will pull it and give the lock nut threads a good cleaning. Steve - if I understand you correctly, I should be able to measure voltage between the sensor terminal and ground? Can I test this at any time? Engine hot or cold, running or not? Thanks, Jim

I have two problems, am presuming right now they are not connected. 1. Ignition switch - the engine will not stop running when I turn the ignition switch off. Some background: the car just had the rebuilt engine installed and when we went to fire it up, the ignition switch worked initially to start the engine, then gave up on the starter circuit after a couple of cycles. I used a jumper to the starter solenoid for subsequent starts. We also noticed the engine would not stop when the switch was turned off. I pulled the B/W wire on the coil to kill the engine. My diagnosis: worn out ignition switch. Got a new one and installed it today and the starter circuit works great, however the engine still will not stop when the switch is turned off. Resorting to the B/W wire solution. 2. Temp gauge - the gauge initially worked when we fired up the engine and for several run cycles after. I brought the car home and started it the next day - the temp gauge did not work, same result today. As part of the rebuild, it has a new temp sensor in the thermostat housing. The wire to the sensor is in good shape and it has a tight connection. Details on the car are in my signature. Thanks for any help. Jim

CW - +1 on SteveJ's comments. I suspect he lived here recently to have such details about the two local clubs. Yes, ZCoT seems to have more 350 and 370Z owners in the active ranks. The S30's are still out there, they just don't come out as often. Even so, the ZCoT bunch still very much appreciates the older cars. The Cowtown club is much more active in the S30 area I'm told. They are too far from my home for me to try and get active with them. I am close to wrapping up my resto effort. Give me a PM and we can talk about a get-together. A good friend in Plano has a very early '70 car and would probably also like to talk cars with you. Consider getting up to Cars & Coffee in Plano on the 1st Saturday to meet other Z owners. Jim

Here is the link to the online parts catalog for the steering wheel. The exploded view should give you a good picture of the parts layout. I used this to solve the very same problem. Jim http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsunS30/DatsunFairladyZIndex/Steering/SteeringWheel/tabid/1748/Default.aspx

Been there, done that. +1 on all of Steve's great advice. Don't overlook eye protection - some disposable goggles is a must. Get a paper overall from somewhere such as Harbor Freight - with care you can use it a few times. This is the temporary booth I built to do my engine bay. A bit longer and I could have enclosed the entire car. Jim

I finished "dressing" my engine in preparation for the upcoming install. Now to get it off the stand and onto blocks for the flywheel and new clutch kit, then to get the tranny bolted up. Fresh carbs are by our good friends at Z Therapy. Thanks Bruce! Jim

Here is a new sale announcement from MSA. http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/CTGY/wes-01a Jim

Look at the trade-offs of purchasing a new OE-type insulator pad vs. making one up yourself. The OE product has pretty high density plus all the correct cutouts for all the mounting points and thru-wall connections. A couple of cautions on bubble-foil: it will break down over time and it will easily crush anywhere a light pressure is applied. If you want to go the insulated foil route, look into closed-cell polyethylene foam with foil backing available in 1/4" thickness. It does not crush or breakdown, has a good R-factor and decibel reduction factor. I used this on the entire floorpan of my car AND the firewall before putting my original firewall pad back in - it was still in very good shape. I can provide a link for the foil if you have an interest. For a DIY pad, consider 1/2" high-density foam sheeting from a hobby or upholstery shop sandwiched between a foil coating. Or possibly 2-3 layers of the poly-foil I mentioned above glued together with a spray adhesive. Jim