Captain Obvious

Woah, woah, woah now... You're talking about just the clothes, right? Nobody wearing them. I just want to make that perfectly clear before this thread takes an ugly (and I mean uuuugg-ly) turn.

It's not temperature hot. It's a chemical burn. That stuff (like many other paint removers) is methylene chloride. Nasty stuff. Be glad you didn't get it in your eyes with that wire wheel on the drill.

Well that's extra special scary then. I don't know why pumping didn't work, but I'm just glad you got out of the whole ordeal with nothing more serious than a good adrenaline rush!

Man... Maybe I should start building engines. I'm not skilled in the art, but at this point, I think even I could do better than some of the other folks who are getting paid for it!

Wow. That's a real brown pants kind of moment. I believe the theory on the dual braking system is that you WILL (or can) still have braking on the other side of the system, but here's the thing... You have to bottom out the proportioning and/or warning switch mechanism first. And you may have to pump the brakes (maybe more than once?) in order to make that happen. In other words, you have to fill up all of the hydraulic space behind the floating piston and force that piston all the way towards the failed side of the system before you can build pressure in the working side of the system. And that won't happen on the first push, but might happen on the second quick pump? And that's all assuming you're cognitive enough to even pump the brakes... If I were in your position, I wouldn't be thinking that, I would be thinking "where am I gonna land this beast without hurting anything".

I've been keeping an eye on the progress here for places where I might be able to add value, but I just don't know where to start. Non stock connections buried down inside the harnesses? Smoke coming from the harness in the interior? Then the smoke stops and no problem was found? Questionable fusible links? I just don't know where to put a stake in the ground to get troubleshooting started. The only documentation I have is from the manuals, and the early manuals can be a little light on info. I'm really sorry, but If your car doesn't match the manuals, I just don't know how to communicate troubleshooting info. Maybe some pics would help?

I nabbed this pic off the internets a few years ago. It's one of the Z car parts vendors five lug conversion axle mod. Unfortunately I don't remember which vendor it was from, but I'm sure someone here will recognize it. I had thought that they added material for just one lug, but looking at it again now, it appears they actually added material for TWO of the new hole locations: Of course, the best option would be to use the completely new stub axles supplied by one of the other vendors (who's name I can't come up with either), but I know they're pricey.

(As you found out) as long as you have good connections, soldering isn't necessary. I used tinned stranded wires of a gauge that fit snug into the female contacts. Probably the same gauge you used... I ran like that for about a year before I rebuilt the entire harness to make those (and other) changes permanent.

I've seen a couple pics of 5 lug re-drills and they added metal for the fifth hole because it was too close to the edge. Are you planning to add material, and if so, how?

Cool. Glad it was that obvious. Simple problems are a welcome change to the complex and intermittent. Cliff, Thanks for the genealogy for "scalded dog".

I know post-edits can cause problems, but I think this was a case where I think it was necessary. I've gone back and tried to fix my incorrect info on how the 77 brake warning relay works so as to not cause confusion in the future.

Those jumpers look correct for the switching over to the internally regulated alternator. The blue wire that goes to the charge lamp should be jumpered to the white/black wire that goes to the "L" terminal on the alternator. And the white/red wire that is tied into the alternator output voltage should be jumpered to the yellow wire that goes to the "S" terminal of the new alternator. If you want details of exactly what you are doing by making those connections, let me know and I can go through the theory. And Zed, You're right. I sped across the wiring diagram too quickly and got two wires crossed. The most disappointing part about that whole brake warning discussion is that we've hashed it all out already when we were talking about alternator excitation currents through the field coil: http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/51963-internally-regulated-alternator-trivia-bootstrap-current/?page=1 My older friends tell me that memory fading will only increase with age....

Sorry, I'm not on my full keyboard, so I'm trying to type as few words as I can. You're right and I've removed the incorrect info to prevent confusion for people reading this in the future. And you're right again... We're off target at this point. Alternator it is.

Incorrect details removed.

Don't you just call it "cheese"?

That's exactly why I suggested putting the bumper back on!! Haha!!

Haha! I can't help you find the energy, but I can tell you that I understand completely. I've got my dash out right now to finally install my fancy new PWM dimmer and as much fun as that is, here I sit at the computer instead!

Note that the below has been edited to fix incorrect information: Depending on the year, they changed the way that "brake warning lamp check relay" is implemented, but all the brake warning relay does is 1) test the functionality of the brake warning bulb in the speedo before the engine is started, and 2) and warn you that you have lost power brake vacuum in the event that the engine has stalled. Your brake lamp will still light up just fine when you pull the emergency brake, and it will also still light up if the hydraulic brake indicator switch detects a fault in the braking system. All they were trying to do with that relay is provide you with a short term temporary "lamp test" mode that would allow you to verify that the warning indicators actually worked if necessary and warn you if you lost power brakes. I disconnected mine a while ago, and since I always pull the E-brake when I park, my bulb gets tested for functionality every time I pull the handle. As for your alternator connections, you're OK with that now, right?

Duh. The Obvious suggestion would be to put the rear bumper back on. (Just thinking about what changed...) The symptoms sure support a fuel starvation issue. Works great under lighter load, but the system can't keep up under higher fuel demand conditions. Other than a kinked hose, maybe you stirred up enough crap to clog your new filter already? Is it a clear style that you can have a peek at?

Oh, OK. Didn't recognize it as the turn signal because mine is very different inside. Not surprised it changed over the years. Here's what mine (from my 77) looked like inside: A blower motor change is on my list of things to do to. My current one still works fine though, so it's lower priority.

So you and I got just single nuts, while Jim got: And yes, that's a real product. And in fact, I've even seen it on the shelf with my own two eyes at one of my local food stores.

There have been several discussions about your exact lock problem in the past. I can't spend a lot of time searching right now, but if you do some digging and searching here about locks, you'll see threads that talk about that issue and some ways to fix it.

Good point. Discussing shades of colors is always a tricky thing. Could simply be the camera. I didn't get any photos of what I have yet, but I will when I get a chance. Another question. The switch with the burned contacts... That's for the passing light actuator on the end of the turn signal stalk, right? I don't have one of those.

Haha! Show off. Go ahead... You deserve to.

Haha! OCD and insomnia? A bad combination! I never bought a Z off the showroom floor so I can't possibly know for sure. And you're right... Not a big deal.