bavarian06

thanks everyone for all your help. i havent had the chance to diagnose the problem since this weekend has been pretty hectic. i did however pull the headlight and turn signal stalk and the fuse box. from first glance, nothing seems to be wrong with the headlight and turn signal stalk. all the wires are still soldered on, the tiny brown circuit chips dont seem to be blown/damaged. as for the fuse box, the actual clamps that hold the fuses in place are solid. the plastic fuse box housing isnt melted. the only bad part is the terminals leading from the long pig-tails. the pictures shows the points blackened from heat and there is corrosion. basically i'm going to install new male/female connectors, dielectric grease the points and hope for the best. near the passenger kick-plate area, coming down from the dash, can anyone tell me what this part is? i hear this component clicking when i rock the ignition switch from ON to ACC. is it possible this may be the culprit? you can see my mickey mouse quick fix (the yellow and blue connectors). basically the original connectors literally snapped off from being so brittle from all the heat. this strand of wires leads from the fire wall and up into the dash (where i assume goes to the fuse box, headlight switch, etc). i think something else might be loose or have a bad contact there as well.

What I couldn't figure out was why was I able to start the car, turn on the parking lights, but once I flicked the headlights on, the engine would die. Is this a voltage issue? Obviously some kind of current was being sent through, just when the headlights were on, it overloaded it? I have the parking light hardness upgraded installed already.

I think I found out what's wrong. The wire terminals from two thick gauge wires leading from the fuse box were corroded. Very similar to the wires leading from this fuse box (taken from another forum member), you see how the white colored wire's terminal are blackened from corrosion and burns. Maybe it's time to invest in a new fuse box.

I believe its a short of some type? I banged on the dash n sure enough my headlamps turned on and I was able to start the car. The bundle of wires found nxt to the passenger side upper kick panel had a loose wire, I reconnected and attempt to drive the car. A mere 1mile from my house the car dies again and everything goes dark. I have a late '70 Z.

My car will start but the engine will die out once i turn on the headlamps. The car will run with the parking lights on but once I switch it one more level to turn on headlights, it turns off. Any suggestions?

my pt exactly. i'm sure i can read a DIY manual and try to figure it out but often times, words in print leads to mis-interprentations. totally different when someone shows you how to do it and you try it yourself. its true what they say, people are visual learners. plus i dont want to damage my car accidently (i'll never forgive myself if i did that).

oh trust me, i would like that more than anything. my friend taught me how to change brakes and suspension upgrades and i have been doing my own since then. i'm just clueless when it comes to engine/transmission related. i bought a new cap, wires, rotor, point n condensor, and spark plugs yesterday. anyone want to teach me how to install it? a case of beer for your time?

I usually follow that 90% of the time but I want to ensure the longevity of my car. It's like checking and replacing anything before something catastrophic happens. Like good habit of replacing timing belts, water pumps, fouled spark plugs, etc. The service manual says to check gap and replace distributor breaker points if needed every 2K miles and for sure replacing it every 12K. And I just saw what Gary mentioned, spark plugs needs to be replaced every 12K. Guess I'll be buying the parts after all; maybe not install it right away.

When I took my car to get it tuned up, the mechanic mentioned in the near future I should consider replacing my cap, rotor, ignition wires, and ignition coil. Granted the car is 40yrs old and everything can use a refresh or an update in components but I'm wondering if its a good idea to get it replaced or rather necessary. I'm going to place a large order from BD and was thinking of getting all the parts at once. The car runs like a champ so I'm not too sure of the benefits.

thx andy, i think i have my wheels spec out. hopefully it will work. i'll finalize the numbers once i get my ZG flares.

thx for the image kenny, very helpful being able to visualize it. since i already bent the bar down, i'll just slip it through once i'm done refurbishing my console and ctr dash. i'll keep this in mind for future reference.

i was actually considering permanently removing the green half bubble lense cover. would it be too bright if i left it out? or are you suggesting i actually paint the insides of the green bubble? i was measuring the size of the bulb space yesterday night. i ended up buying smd led bulbs, just 20mm in length. i installed the parking light harness already, although honestly, i dont see much of a difference (hence why i'm changing the bulbs out). but i'm reading the harness is more of a preventive measure.

OP, did your tires rub the fender when you drive? over dips and speed bumps?

from the information from the OP, it seems that on a 8" width rim, 8 ET+5 (the net result after putting 5mm spacer) and 8 ET+15 (based on the information the rear still has extra 5mm space left before rubbing the strut) is the highest positive offsets you can run before you run into rims rubbing the stock strut. but is this right? the front allows for more aggressive offsets than the rear? this may be the case cause my M45 was like this when i was working on the offsets. from the photos from 70camguy, with a square setup, the front has more "tuck" than his rear (supports the above comment). but this may be attributed to the front having more negative camber due to a greater drop. 70camguy, do you have pictures before you put on coilovers?

You can use that wheel offset calculator to see how they'll compare to the RBR wheels. I believe they are 17x9 -13 and 17x9.5 -19 great find! i'll rummage through the forum and see what i can find. from the pictures, it looks like it will "fit", just need the ZG flares to cover the poke. i'll have to ask what suspension they are running and the tire wall height. what was the backspacing needed if you are running factory unmodified struts and springs? was it 4.5 or 4.25"?

definitely get new studs if you are putting anything bigger than a 5mm spacer, especially considering how short the original studs are as it. im running same tire, 205/60/15 with no spring rubbing. but i have 0 offset on my 15x8 rim. you have an offset issue.

Thx Dave, can always count on you with the answers. i'm just looking to make the gauges brighter, so 7 to illuminate things. the 4 others arent as important, for me personally.

I just got a pair of autopal and 5000K HID. I can post pics once I install them this weekend if you're interested OP.

how many 1445 bulb powers the gauge cluster? is it one for the speedo and one for the tach? i know the three pods (engine temp, fuel level, clock) have one in each. so it it a total of 5 to swap out all the instrument related bulbs?

Great find Kenny, thanks! phew, thought I had to cough up $35 for a piece of rubber.

i see. how did you remove the batch of wires from its source? its a thick strand. i know the newer verion Z had a disconnect harness. i had to bend the forementioned bar to pull the fuse and lighter through.

Great write-up! How are you liking the Illuminas? and the combination with the Eibachs?

Andy, do you think the poke will cause rubbing? i purchased ZG flares and will use them to cover the 4x4 looking rim poke. i'm thinking as long as the tires dont rub the original fenders on eibach drop, 15x8 ET-10 and 15x9ET-19 is the route i want to take.

Thats why I was asking for clarification if what 26th-Z posted is correct. Read my original post with the quote. Ok, good to know its 175/80/14, thx!

kenz240z, did you have to bend the horizontal metal bar (the one pictured in the left, held down by some type of glue) down in order for the fuse box and cigarette light to pass through?