Hardway

I finally wrapped up a few projects on my '77 280Z. I bought the car to fix up/tinker with and eventually sale. However with all my other cars selling quicker than expected I now use it as a daily driver around town. On Saturday 2-11-2012 I repaired my door locks using the coat hanger wire method and posted a how-to doc for it with pics. I finished installing my new radio and door speakers. The car is definitely a budget project. I installed a Pioneer radio from Wal-mart that came w/2 6x9's and 2 6" speakers, all for $80. Since I did not want to cut bigger holes in the door I picked up a set of 4" Scosche speakers in the doors for $25. For a total investment of $105 it all sounds pretty good, even better than expected. I also installed my new lower front fender extensions and valance panel. Now the car not only looks complete but has tunes to listen to and can be securely locked when I am away from it. Things like working door locks, a radio, and other odds and ends are taken for granted in new cars. Getting these items installed and working properly in my Z gives a very good feeling of accomplishment.

It is a beautiful car no doubt. However seeing that you can pick up anything from a used Ferrari 308 to a late model Lexus for $27K there is no way that car is going to sell for what they want. It is obviously a professional level restoration, I think $15K is pretty fair as you could not build the car again for that amount.

Like so many other Z owners the locks in my ’77 280Z had reached a point where they no longer functioned. After some searching I came across the thread below. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?40683-Door-Lock-repair-for-S30-s This write up is for the second method shown in the thread by member DBCJMC. I successfully used this method to repair my driver side lock. Wanting to expand on what is involved in making this type of repair I have provided the following instructions below on repairing my passenger side lock. *Disclaimer: I am not an auto repair professional, I am not ASE certified, and do not take any responsibility for any damage incurred to you or your car while using these instructions. Work on your own car at your own risk. Tools & Materials Needed: Your Datsun Z locks removed from your car. 1 Wire coat hanger, same kind that you get from the dry cleaners 1 Drill or drill press 1 5/64 drill bit or bit equal to the diameter of the coat hanger wire 1 metal punch Bench vice Metal file Needle nose pliers Your favorite spray lubricant (WD-40, Liquid Wrench, etc.) 1. Remove the door locks from your car. If they are greasy and dirty take a few moments to clean them with some brake cleaner. You should be left with this. 2. Remove the retainer clip on the back of lock and separate the lock elbow from the lock cam. You will quickly see the reason why your lock no longer works. The notch in the lock elbow has basically chiseled away about 1/16 of material on the cam. This is from years of use and the fact the cam is made from a very soft metal whereas the elbow is steel. 3. Using your metal punch, mark and punch the location you wish to drill in to the cam. Make sure your mark is located far enough off the base of the lock to allow the elbow to go back. 4. Using your drill or drill press, drill a 5/64 hole in to the cam, keeping your drill as straight as possible if you are using a hand drill. GO SLOW! The metal is very soft and won’t take long to go through. Once your hole is drilled use your file to clean up any burrs. 5. Cut a straight piece of wire out of the coat hanger. Around 6” will be plenty to give you leverage as you bend it. 6. This is where your creativity comes in! Liberally spray lubricant in to the lock. Place the elbow back on the lock and center it on the cam. Insert the hanger wire in to the cam. The idea is to wrap the wire around the elbow but you must leave some slack on each side to allow the lock to return to center. If your wire is too tight the lock will not return to center and you will not be able to remove your key from the door. Use your needle nose pliers to help bend the wire. This is not a science and more of an art so be prepared to make one or two pieces of wire as you trial and error your way through it. Below is my first attempt. I did not keep the elbow exactly centered on the cam as I was bending the wire on the first try. So once I installed the lock in the door I could unlock the door with the key but not lock it. Seeing I would need to re-bend the wire it was easier to just cut off what I had and start over. Below is my second attempt and this one works perfectly. I also wrapped the end of the elbow with some electrical tape. This is not a requirement but I prefer to do it in order to remove the metal on metal contact between the elbow and inner door lock latch. The end result – fully functional locks for about 20 minutes worth of work and 1 free wire coat hanger. Seeing that used locks are selling for $50/pair and may still need to be repaired and new locks are $120+/pair this is a great alternative. If you have any questions please PM me or email: jeff.d.hadlock@gmail.com On to the next project!

Please post up some more info on this modification. How far down in the lock does the coat hanger wire go? Is it sunk in to the notch that is above the spring? Any more details or pictures is greatly appreciated.

I went to my local parts store yesterday evening with my old lock in hand. We found a set of 70's Chevelle locks to be the best match. Unfortunately the lock cylinder is about 1/16 of an inch to big in diameter to go in to the door. The hole would have to be enlarged and that kind of modification is irreversable once done. I went ahead and bought the locks as they were only $13 for the pair. I still need to fix my lock elbow so I picked up some Steel Stik from Home Depot and I am attempting to build up/replace the material that was worn away on the elbow and add a little more to make up for the worn material on the lock cylinder cam. It says once cured it can be drilled and tapped, we will see. It has set over night and is as hard as rock right now. I am going to use some jewelers files to re-shape the material to what I need. I will post my results later tonight or tomorrow once I can put some time in to it. If it does not work at the very least I need to track down some lock elbows. Still not sure on using the GM locks.

I may get a lot of mad/frownie faces for saying this. I hope these cars do not become super collectible. The word "collectible" has killed so much of the classic car hobby for so many people. You can't touch any GM muscle car in decent shape for less than $15K, basket cases are bringing $5K - $8K which in most cases is a $700 car at best. I have been trying to find a good clean 240z just about anywhere in Texas at a decent price, sub $8K and they are no where to be found. A guy here in Austin is firm at $5500 on a 240z that has a locked up engine and is an automatic. That is just crazy. Yes, these cars are becoming more rare due to rust, collisions, etc. But I hope the industry does not start hyping them up and put them out of reach of more people. The auctions have helped no one except the auction houses and TV channels that run them. They make for interesting and somewhat educational TV but watching people pay stupid money for cars that are plainly not worth it just hurts everyone in the end. In regards to the yellow 240z on Ebay. Obviously 2 people out there think its worth $10K+ I hope for fine examples such as that car that becomes the ceiling for these cars. I remember when the factory restored Z's came out and Courtesy Nissan wanted an insane number for one they had at the time. I know, supply, demand, economics, etc. But lets keep old cars as old cars, no matter how restored or nice and keep the prices reasonable for what they are, not what others think they will be worth.

Finding in locksmith in the Austin area is tough. I had thought about buying some GM locks as I have bought them in the past for Chevelle's and other cars I owned back in the day. They were much more stout. I may have to make a new elbow for my driver side lock. More practice at fabrication!

The locks on my '77 280z are basically worn out inside and out. I tried 2 different versions of the coat hanger wire modification to make my locks usable again but they are too far gone. Both the tumbler cam and elbow are hollowed out on the driver side. Short of welding the elbow to the cam I see no way to fix it. I see on Ebay there is a seller in Singapore selling locks for $60/pr after shipping but do not include the correct metal elbow. I spoke to Black Dragon parts and their locks have been discontinued. A seller has a set of used locks for $65 after shipping with the correct elbows but have no keys and who knows if the tumbler cam is good. Is there anyone that carries these parts separately or carries new lock sets that are ready to install? I checked all the other restoration houses and Courtesy Nissan, no dice.

I have it saved and have already utilized it. Unfortunately for alot of issues it refers you back to the FSM which I have already too. I got my radio install about 50% but have discovered through much trial and error I have a new defective speaker. Appearantly the voice coil inside is grounding to the case thus grounding the speaker out. I am probably going to leave the AFM alone for now. I dont want to crack back open since I sealed it up earlier today. I am still curious as to what the jumper wires are actually bypassing.

Thanks for the info guys. I had my AFM apart today and noticed the arm did not engage the fuel pump shut off switch unless it was motivated just a hair. I know it needs adjusting but I did not want to mess with it as I was not sure at the time if my AFM was my problem. Needing to drive my car today I re-instated the jumpers that were in place and with no fuss it started right up and ran smooth all day. The jumper are as follows. The blue w/white wire at the fuse box is connected to the blue w/red wire at the ignition switch. The white w/black wire at the fuse box is connected to the black w/white wire at the ignition column. I may try to tweak the AFM some more next weekend but for now I am tackling a radio install so I can have some tunes while driving around. I will post my results after I work on the AFM.

So I have another update. I checked the to see what kind of signal came out of the 2 wires mentioned above connected to the ignition switch if I turned the key. Weather the key is turned or not they complete a circuit and when checked for voltage at both wires there is nothing. One surprise came when I turned the key, heard the fuel pump run, started the car and it ran for 3 seconds very smoothly and then died. This leads me to believe my ignition relay is okay but now could be all sorts of other things. I have seen other posts about the AFM possibly being bad. Please post any ideas you may have.

I have an update. The 2 wires in the ignition switch that the wires were spliced in to was a blue w/red stripe anda black w/white stripe. I have just purchased a FSM on CD as the FSM book I have is for a '78 and have already discovered a few differences between it and my car. Best to have the correct book. Any ideas around this?

I have been working on the '77 280z I picked up a few weeks ago and went about removing not 1 but 2 aftermarket radio harnesses. While doing so I saw a previous owner had used 2 wires that were spliced in to the ignition switch at the key to 2 wires going in to the fuse box, a blue w/white stripe wire and a white w/blk stripe wire. I removed the wires and repaired the splices in the wires going in to the fuse box. From what I have read so far this was done either because the fuel pump relay is out or the EFI relay is out. How would I know which relay is out? Due to the cost of the relays is this a safe method of powering the fuel pump and EFI system? My guess is no. I want to make the car right since it is my daily driver right now and not put the car in danger of burning to the ground. Any info and guidance is greatly appreciated.

I have tried oiling and working it several times to no avail. I will try the hinge adjustment this weekend and see how it works. I appreciate the info!

The $3200 Z listed above is my car. It runs great, previous owner sunk quite a money in to it to get it that way. Now that it has new tires on it, TX inspected, and TX registered it is my daily driver. It does have rust but very repairable with 2 patch panels. I also have the front valance panel and fender extensions to put on this weekend if I have time. Once I get the valance panel on I will post new pics of it. If you are interested in it give me a call at the number in the ad. The price is negotiable.

The passenger side front corner of my hood does not got all the way down when I close the hood. I can push down on the corner and it will go down but stay. It leads me to believe the hinge is either worn out or damaged or the hood itself is damaged. However when I look at the hinge I don't see any damage and none of the holes are enlarged or hollowed out. The hood appears to be straight to the naked eye. Is there some sort of adjustment I am possibly missing? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I sold the wheels today for $170. The buyer plans paint & polish the set to use them on this his '65 Mustang.

Thank you EScanlon. You are on the money because there is a coxial screw together lead towards the back of the brackets. The antenna on the back of the car is spring mounted like a CB antenna. Seeing that the primary components are no longer there I will be taking it out this week. Just thought it was odd and wanted to know more. Thank you again.

I picked up a '77 280z this weekend and the seller gave me these wheels. On the front they say CSS in between 2 of the spokes. They are true 2 piece wheels as the center will unbolt from the rim. On the back they say they are 14x6.5" Max Load 1580lbs and have a part number 026832 stamped in 2 places. In addition 4.50 is stamped where the hub meets the wheel, I am assuming this is the back spacing. After some research I found the link below and confirmed they weigh around 18 pounds each. Has anyone seen these before? Are they rare? Any idea what they are worth? I am considering taking them apart, cleaning, painting, and polishing them. However if they will only yield a little money even in good shape I will just sell them as is. Thanks! http://www.toymods.org.au/forums/wheels-tyres-suspension-brakes-sale/58940-4-gold-mesh-14x6-5-3p-wheels-css-csa.html

I just picked up a '77 280z this weekend. It has what looks like a roof console but part of it is missing. I think something either bolts or slides over the exposed contacts. It has wires going to it but I have no tested it for power at any of the contacts. I had a '77 several years ago and it did not have anything like this. Anyone seen something like this?