cgsheen1

It's over $3.00 for regular here in Phoenix and our pipeline from California isn't busted... About $3.50 for premium. Before Biden it was near $2.00 for regular.

We have a Series One in the shop so after I saw this thread I looked at it's console. Never noticed the "park light(s)" embossment in the choke panel before now. The cutout for the switches is blanked off but the lamp icons are there molded into the plastic.

We just did this in the shop on Saturday - stock 280Z. It's a mite easier when you have the car on a lift but it IS doable without and without lifting the engine. "Patience is the key to joy." (Fortune Cookie circa 2015) Just make sure the number one piston is UP (so the crank shaft isn't in the way at the front of the pan) and you have the car as far off the ground as you can manage. Dropping the oil pickup is pretty easy, and there's actually a bit more room than you think there would be to get the bolts back in once you're ready to reassemble - refer to Fortune Cookie quote above. My fingers are fat and beat up in my old age and I could do it.

Every 260Z/280Z console I've had come through the shop has either: 1. Had the block-off plate missing. 2. Had a hole drilled through the block-off plate and/or had a switch installed by some PO. Same with my 260Z when I bought it...

We use Meguiar's Hyper Dressing on plastics and rubber. You can "thin" it with water and it actually protects and helps restore plastics and vinyl.

That looks like a fairly average S30 that you'd find in the Southwest US or California. The stock frame rails have definitely been covered with an aftermarket repair rail not unlike the BadDog rails. The floor has been patched on the left side as noted above. The undercarriage could use some attention but that's pretty common - make the top look good, people rarely look underneath. I've seen a lot worse even here in Arizona where we have almost no water... Those pics aren't going to tell you the whole story. You're going to want to look under the hatch at the sill corners, the door bottoms, the rockers, the dog leg in front of the rear wheels, the bottoms of the front fenders, under the cowl, under the carpet and seats in the cockpit and maybe the spare tire well. On a 280Z you might want to check around the windshield frame as well. Look for bulging of the paint in any of these areas.

He told me he's ordered foam gaskets to be made for them so I think he's getting close.

You'll find them in Factory A/C 260Z's and 280Z's. Mine has one that mounts under the steering column. Can't tell if it had one for the passenger cuz the ducting was all gone (destroyed by the Arizona heat) from that side. Mostly gone from the driver side too but the tee to the "foot vent" was still there. I have several of those plastic vent outlets in the shop as I tend to horde stock A/C parts. My son's 76 also has similar plumbing. And, no, the tubing that goes to those small foot vents is not rigid - it's flexible ~1 1/4" vent tubing. Like the larger stock vent tubing it was insulated. The answer(s) to low vent airflow in the 260Z/280Z are: Kia blower upgrade and replacing the stock center duct diverter with an UltraHeaven replacement. I hope Lucas (the engineer who designed this amazing ductwork improvement) will soon be selling those to all you 260/280 owners. I have the prototype in Goldie and airflow out the center vents is DRASTICALLY improved while maintaining stock airflow out the side vents...

We have a '75 "museum car" in the shop. It's all mostly original with only 8,400 (ya, I DID say 8,400) miles. Usually runs like a dream but it "heat soaks", "vapor locks" when the weather is warm and you drive it to the store and let it sit for 10-15 minutes and then want to start it again... I thought this was mostly an Arizona thing but MANY Z owners from all parts of the country (and Canada) have had the issue. Nissan made many modifications over the years in attempts to solve it. The problem was mostly solved when they started using ECU's that "primed" the fuel system and pushed air bubbles away from the fuel rail. Moving the fuel rail away from the exhaust manifolds was an even better idea... With the intake manifold sitting on top of the exhaust you'll always jump through hoops to keep heat soak to a minimum.

Your Tach is expecting the stock 1.5 Ohm coil to still be there. If your new coil is a different Ohm value it will affect the Tach operation. I had the same issue here in the shop.

I just installed the Newark Auto Products carpet kit in my early 260Z. The 7-piece kit is correct for originality but I am installing the 11-piece kit - or most of it... I actually like the carpet pieces for the sills rather than the vinyl it had and I'm not quite sure if I'll use the trans tunnel carpet piece - it's not supposed to be in a 260Z and I LOVE the small diamond pattern vinyl that the 260 has. (I personally don't care for the "large diamond" pattern vinyl of the 240Z's and would replace that with carpet in a second - but that's just me...) However, I really like their kit and definitely recommend it.

He doesn't. He mentioned a stock GM coolant sensor (like most standalone ECU's use) which is a standard thermistor type sensor with an analog signal (a variable resistor whose resistance changes with heat) - he just doesn't realize it's not digital... The stock Datsun coolant sensor has very close to the same characteristics as the GM sensor. I don't fault him for using the GM sensor - it's cheap, plentiful, standard, and well supported - even though it's not digital...

On BAT in particular and with people who know Z cars (especially in the US) I don't believe "4 speed or 5 speed manual transmission" is anything more than a very minor issue. Why would it effect end sales price other than perhaps marginally? Even though many have "chucked" their 4 speeds in favor of a 5 speed they are still available - as are 5 speeds. Anyone who wants to swap either way can easily do so. Most 5 speeds ARE the 4 speed - same transmission with the addition of an overdrive gear - at least until you get to the ZX "close ratio" 5 speed. (And who wants the "monkey shifter" series one 4 speed other than the ultra originalist...) And, unlike todays kids who think "OH! 5 speeds! Faster!" we know that the Datsun transmission 5th gear is an OVERDRIVE gear added specifically to lower engine RPM at CRUISE for INCREASED FUEL ECONOMY - not top speed. We all know that "spirited driving" in a Z car is done in the first 4 gears anyway (unless you own a turbo car 😉...).

Agree - 100%. I wouldn't do that, and I repair Datsun sheet metal for a living. (well, not really "for a living" - I'm retired - but that's what I do at the shop most days...)

Don't fret. The emissions regs here in Maricopa County aren't hard to meet for any decent running Z car. If you have collectors or vintage car insurance, there is no emissions test requirement to register. Most of the Datsun owners here go that route. I don't because: A. I daily drive my 260Z (specs below) B. It's stupidly easy for my Z to get through emissions. IF you don't want to go the collector insurance route you'll need to do an emissions roller test every year and it's the same test from when they first started this thing. My 1974 doesn't require a look under the hood, but my son's 1976 280Z does. They want to make sure all the emissions control stuff is there and working but most of them don't know what should or shouldn't be there in the first place so they just check you carbon canister and the vacuum hoses for the most part. My '74 does a roller test that is maintaining a 30MPH speed for the first segment and then idle. The later test is almost the same but they vary the speed during the test. The standards for HC and NOX are fairly lax here and not difficult to meet. I haven't brought an out-of-state titled vehicle into Arizona for quite some time, but AZ is fairly laid-back about such things. They don't require plumbers to be licensed by the state, it's right-to-work, any non-felon over the age of 21 can concealed carry without a CCW permit - but you can get one if you want, we have drive-thru liquor stores (something I NEVER saw growing up in Idaho...), AND the Dunkin Doughnuts no longer gets robbed once a week like they used to in the 1970's... Once you get here, check out Desert Datsuns (desertdatsuns.net) - not really a club per se, but a group of Datsun nuts here in the Phoenix area (although most of them are In the North and East Valley, a few on the West side). If you wind up in Surprise you'll want to get to know Greg Childs who lives about as far North West Valley as you can get and not be in Las Vegas. There's also the Desert Z Association in Phoenix. (Covid has affected us all regarding group activities but there are some of us still willing to get together for lunch and drives.) Definitely get that A/C working well - Kia blower and I'll let you know how to get one of Lucas Hayhurst's dash vents (I have the first one he printed - it's astounding how it changes the vent airflow). Don't worry - it's a DRY HEAT... (which doesn't actually mean a damn when it's hot-as-hell) They kept telling this Idaho boy "you'll get used to it!" - total BS... You just learn to live with it - much the same, but opposite, as living in the really frozen North - which means staying out of it as much as possible. The good news is that there's quite a bit of Datsun knowledge and experience here and some fairly nice guys to hang out with once in a while.

Are you working on it from the topside or underside of the hatch?

1. Little known fact in some circles: The green wire in that bundle comes from under the dash. In back of the center console there is an unused (in the U.S. model) 2-pin ("T" type) connector with a Black/White wire and (the other end of that) Green wire. The Black (ground) is attached to the unibody under the hatch somewhere. Black/White of course is battery voltage at ignition ON.

I should have also mentioned that it could just be the bulbs. When the filament blows they can do strange things. It's easy to check the filament continuity without removing the lamp from the headlight bucket. Just unplug the 3-pin connectors behind the grill on either side and test that there's continuity between the positive wire (Red on the right headlight, Red/Yellow on the left) and each of the ground wires (Red/Black and Red/White) and that there is NO continuity between the grounds. If you have a power supply you can also test both filaments of each bulb while you have them disconnected.

Randy, The power (+12v) to the headlights runs through the two 10amp fuses at the top left of the fuse block. Stock wiring would be Red wire to the right headlight and Red/Yellow to the left headlight. The ground(s) to the headlights come through the selector switch attached to the turn signal stalk. The selector switch swaps the ground between the low beam filament in each bulb ( stock wiring = Red/Black) and the high beam filament in each bulb (stock wiring = Red/White) (I may have those backwards - you know how my memory is). The selector switch is pretty simple and I can't see how it would deliver ground to one low beam filament and one high beam filament if the wiring to the headlights is all correct. I would start with the 3-pin switch connector under the steering column. With a multimeter you can verify it has a connection to ground (for completeness of investigation - if the headlights come on at all, they're obviously getting a ground from somewhere) and if it's competing both circuits when switched. It should rock between the the R/W and R/B. Disconnect the 3-pin dimmer switch connector from the dash harness. Check continuity between the ground source and each of the other two wires. When there is continuity to the R/W, the R/B should be open (dead, no continuity) and vice versa. Just make sure that the switching takes place and is reliable and consistent. IF the switch is acting properly, then the problem is likely in the wiring (or connectors). The path of the wiring is from the switch -> 3-pin dash harness connector -> to right side of dash in those myriad of connectors near the glove box (RW and RB are not in the same connector) -> engine bay harness -> right headlight -> left headlight. The path is straight except for a junction off to the high beam pilot light in the speedometer from the high beam wire in the dash harness. It's a drag but you can find and separate the connectors along the path and check wire/connector continuity point-to-point. ONE THING: Incandescent bulbs "are a coil" (positive and negative are connected through the filament) - it's easiest to check their wiring with the bulb unplugged. When the bulb is connected, voltage passes through the filament and you'll see voltage "on the ground side" - which means with all the wiring attached, you'll record voltage all the way back to both RB and RW wires on the dimmer switch and thus to the ground connection. The ground connection here is switched on/off by the headlight combo switch. Good luck (and know that you can just bring it in and we'll figure it out).

The keycode is also stamped on the passenger side lock cylinder. You have to do some disassembly, but it's not too difficult. Download the Factory Service Manual for your year.

Looks factory to me. I've had dozens of Z's torn down to this point. I've also done a roof skin replacement. Replacing the roof skin has nothing to do with the areas you've shown. Your last picture looks like a little body lead drip that they didn't wipe. And yes, the brown metallic is the original color.

In your bleeding process, did you bleed the master cylinder itself?

The one issue you may have is with the joints. In the early Z cars the connections were flare fittings and flared copper tubing. The connections to the condenser are flare fittings. I've never taken apart a '77-'78 A/C system so I don't know if they are the same as the '74-'76 A/C fittings but I would think they would be the same. With the 280ZX, they started using o-ring connections. The fittings on the condenser are probably o-ring. You could have the high-pressure lines that connect to the condenser custom made if the ZX condenser is the same form factor (or could be made to fit in the Z chassis). But you will probably be better off with an aftermarket condenser that's made to fit the Z car and it's flare fittings (if that's indeed what you have).

You're correct, chrome doesn't like to be hit - not with a metal hammer. That indent would need to be pushed (pressed - from the backside). Someone skilled might hammer that out but not the way you'd think. I'd advise against trying it yourself (if you need to ask the question, you probably can't complete the task...) Most formed metal likes to go back to it's formed shape unless it's stretched too much.

I hope these aren't huge - Galaxy S20, best camera I've ever had. See, my chopped off bumper strut is still there...