Captain Obvious

Haha! Maybe next year!

So any post show reports? I had to leave early because of competing car shows, but I was able to hook up with Sean240Z while there. We figured out that we were both forum members, but that was the only confirmed link I made. I did also talk a bunch with two owners with white interiors, but didn't figure out if they were forum members or not. Next year we need nametags or something... "Hello - My Name Is Captain Obvious" Haha! :laugh:

:love: Let it be known that I was Captain Obvious long before that imposter started using my name on TV.

Well the important thing to figure out is if it's a mechanical issue inside the tach itself, or if the tach is picking up some electrical noise from the ignition system and responding to it. In other words, the problem may not be inside the tach at all, but might be a problem with something like a condenser somewhere that's dried out over the last 40 years. Keep us posted!

Well despite the warnings, I'm planning to convert some of my 77 interior to white(ish), but the stuff from the 72 is different and won't fit anyway. The most interesting man in the world is my cousin. "Look, a finger!" "That's unsettling." "Ya think?" "All the time. Except when I sleep."

Sorry. All I can say is that I used that tach in my car for a year and never had any issues. The classic line "It didn't do it while I had it!" When it sticks... Does it only stick when the engine is running, or is it stuck now with the car sitting OFF. In other words, is it clearly mechanical only, or is there the chance that it's an electromechanical issue that might not be inside the tach at all? Don't go cracking your dashboard, but does the tach fall to zero if you thump the dashboard or steering wheel?

I think I'd swap my 77 black interior for white... What year is your white? Is that the 77 or the 72?

I hope that's not the tach you got from me... Is a refund in order? :bulb:

FastW, I find the above very well said. I sold my new Z so I could buy my old one. For all the reasons you listed above.

And a little off topic, but about battery cables... Last year, I switched to VW battery cables. They're fantastic. Best design I've ever seen. They've got great top hardware clamps and four taps for auxiliary wires. Room for zero to four additional wires on each post. I've got my FI power connected to one each +/- and I've got plans for some others. If you don't know what I'm talking about, let me know and I'll snap some pics.

Thanks again for the input guys. I've been thinking about it some more and I've come up with a problem with using the positive battery terminal... You don't ever want the sense wire connected on the far side of any fuse or link. In the event that the safety device opens up, the alternator will go full bore on trying to bring the sense wire voltage up. Problem is that the sense wire has been disconnected from the alternator output and the feedback loop is broken. I think I'll connect it close to the fusible link but on the same side as the alternator output. Like the 1995 diagram Zed posted. That'll account for the drop on the wires between the alternator and the link. Essentially it will regulate the alternator side of that fusible link.

Sent you a PM with some pics of the headlight covers. LMK what you think?

Thanks guys. Well at least it seems I'm asking the question in a reasonable way. You guys are talking the same thing I am. My timing on this is that I'm planning some electrical changes on my car and as long as I was in there, I was gonna take the opportunity to switch over to the internally regulated alternator at the same time. And I'm planning to go in pretty deep and have the opportunity to do the swap a little more elegantly than the traditional commonly used method of just yanking the voltage regulator and jumpering a few wires. That method, by the way, effectively just DOES connect the sense wire right to the alternator output right there at the alternator. It'll regulate the alternator output right there at the alternator, but doesn't account for load drops in the wires beyond the alternator. So nobody has actually found the other end of that sense wire in an original system? I'm guessing they buried a splice in the white/red wire just before that white/red gets to the fusible link block. You can tell from the wiring diagrams that the two are joined on the same side of the fusible link, so it's not originally connected to the starter or directly to the battery. Considering the above, I'm thinking the two locations that would make the most sense are right before the fusible link or at the fuse box. Would be nice to know what they originally did.

The internally regulated alternators (used on the 78 and beyond) use a sense wire to control the alternator output. If the voltage on the sense wire is too low, it bumps the voltage up, and if it's too high, it cuts the alternator output down. Question is... On the cars that came native with the internally regulated alternator, where did they connect the far end of that sense wire? My engineering sense tells me that it would be best to connect the sense feedback wire right to the "+" terminal on the battery, but that's not what they did. And unfortunately this isn't the kind of info you can glean from a wiring diagram. According to the wiring diagram, it's connected right to the alternator output wire, but in reality, it's not. It should be on the other side of whatever voltage drops are expected along the wires under load. Is any of this making sense? Does anyone have any idea what I'm talking about?? :paranoid:

Wow. I sure do! But I'm near Philadelphia...

Thanks for the additional info Matt. I think I'd pay $900 for someone to strip my 280. In the off season. Good luck with the project!!

Haha! I tried that. Didn't work. I still had to resort to other means. Not only that, but I also had to resort to prying in addition to hammering and the swearing. In fact, the only thing that worked for me was hammering, prying and swearing all at the same time.

From my experience, the typical "big day" is Saturday. Also when you register, there is a spot for your club affiliation on the registration form. Is there one club that is kinda "hosting" the Z's at the show? Last year, there was a club there (from New England maybe?) that had asked for everyone to put them down for club affiliation, and I believe there are some benefits to all of us to having everyone register with the same organization. So... After all that, question is... Anyone know if there is a club "hosting" Z's at Carlisle? Who should we list as our club when we register for the show?

Nice work Matt, Couple questions. How much was the media blasting? And what would have happened if you had delivered the car to them WITHOUT removing the undercoating first? Would the blasting taken care of that, or would the blasting have been ineffective where the tar remained? Was the rest of the car still painted when you dropped it off? I can't tell of it's stripped or silver paint. This pic of the front rad support... Is that a common rusty area on the Z's? I know some areas are common issues (like floors and doglegs), but I've not seen many pics of that front support.

I haven't decided if I'm going yet or not. I'd like to go, but I've got a time conflict with another car show that might make it impossible for me. FYI, Here's Carlisle's site for the event: Import & Kit Nats Still hoping to go, but don't know yet...

My test platform stands ready as well. Suspension is back together and she's on the road. Of course, I'm onto other modifications, but until I take the next thing apart, she's rolling!

I just put those numbers on my 77 and they fit fine without any modifications to either the inserts or the housings. Are you sure someone hasn't already shortened your tubes? Are you sure there isn't anything stuffed down into the insides of your tubes preventing the inserts from inserting all the way? Are the new KYB inserts about the same length as the old inserts you took out (assuming you took inserts out...)?

And they are pretty... In my mind, I put them in the same category as the Fiat Spyder, the Sunbeam, the MGB's, and others. Toyota made a roadster very similar as well. I'd never seen one of those before and just met a guy near me that has more than one.

Haha!! So you didn't know any more than I did and you bought one! Kudos!! I think I might have done the same thing, but I'm officially out of room.

When you're in A/C there shouldn't be anything getting through the heater core and coming out the floor holes. All the air should be coming out of the vents in the dash. Sounds like you might need some new sealing foam gasketing inside you're air box. Another option might be a vacuum problem with one of your door actuators. I don't have A/C so mine's all mechanical, but I believe the A/C equipped cars used both cables and vacuum to actuate the doors. Not sure if the door at the top that blocks off everything but the dash vents is mechanical or vacuum on your car.