Hardway

So I am looking to order some music wire from Grainger and running in to an issue that even their people can't fully explain. On their website, 1.295mm wire is shown as .051 inches and a gauge of 23. Their website actually shows it as 10.295mm but that is obviously wrong. On Inspire with Wire's website and others they show 1.3mm to be 16 gauge. 22 gauge on their site (they don't have 23) shows to be .64mm. According to dewitt tools conversion chart, 1.3mm is .05118 inches so it leads me to believe the gauge of 23 that Grainger is showing is incorrect. I only want to order wire one time as Grainger only sells it by the pound which provides well over 100ft of cable. What do I order?

First off, congrats on the purchase of the 240z! 20 years, that is persistence! If I understand it right you bought the yellow 280Z because you were waiting for the opportunity to buy the 240Z? In addition to the Z's you have other old cars and a lot of vintage motorcycles and you are trying to figure out what the market is like for each. I have had a handful of classic Z's and currently own a nice '71 series-1 240z. I watch the market for everything I am interested in or own so I know a good deal or an offer too good to pass up comes along. On the yellow 280z, low miles is definitely its best asset. If it has been sitting I would recommend getting it running and driving properly. If the fuel tank needs to be pulled, cleaned, brakes, whatever, get everything done. A low mile car in bad driving condition will never see its full value potential. That said, I think your 280z in ready to drive condition should bring anywhere from $15K on the low end to $25K and possibly more on the high end. An auction and lots of pictures, an honest description, and pictures of any original paper work will go a long way. Bring A Trailer auctions seems like a good fit for this car. On the orange 240z, you just got it. Again, having it in reliable driving condition is the only way to sell it and get top dollar. The 240z market is hot right now but things seemed to have cooled off a hair as more of these cars are coming out of the wood work and being put up for sale. I can see it has a little ding on the fender and the hood is missing a little paint. If it is truly rust free or very minimal rust that you can show in lots of detailed pictures, you can expect anywhere from $10K - $18K. If the paint and body were perfect, I think $18K - $28K can be seen from the right buyer. Here is my suggestion, get both cars up and running and drive both for several weeks. They are very different cars and will have a different feel. If you like driving one more than the other then sell the one you don't like driving as much. If you have 50 vintage motorcycles, maybe pare that down to 10 or 20 and keep the two Z's. My point is, don't make a hasty decision that you may regret later. Good cars are not losing value, they are only gaining so you have nothing to lose by getting them up to scratch and enjoying them some. Keep us posted on what you decide.

I hear ya on the triple Webers. If my car was not an early VIN car and so original, I would invest in a cam and some triples. Traveling for work and buying a vintage Z, there is something to be said for good planning and efficiency!

Congrats on the acquisition Plucker! Sounds like a to-do list is getting put together fairly quickly. Are you going to keep the FI system or run carbs? I think your plan of getting it up to scratch as a driver is the best idea. Once you have some seat time you will figure out how far and in what direction you want to take certain aspects of the car. Based on the picture and info I think $2K is pretty fair. Prices seem to be all over to map for everything these days. You drove 5 hours which means you really drove 10 round trip so as they always say "the best time to buy something is when it is in front of you" I look forward to your updates.

I like this idea your quote of the flawed design integrity of the original system. Where did you find your 1.3mm music/piano wire? I see that 16 wire is 1.3mm - 1.5mm thick. Looks like they carry this as picture hanging wire. Would this work or does it need to be hardened to keep it from bending?

It appears MSA is sold out of the long In/Out control cable. Something else I am seeing, in the pictures it has a loop that goes around the connection point on the in/out door. However, mine has a screw and threaded barrel with a hole in it to accommodate the end of the cable to be inserted and tightened with the screw. (Just like in the picture Namerow posted) I am assuming/hoping this means the loop will go around the outside of the barrel and I can put a small washer on the screw to prevent the cable loop from slipping off.

I am so glad you said this Namerow because I have stared at that same diagram in the FSM and thought the same thing. Hopefully some more owners can post up with what they have. In the meantime, I am planning to go to Grainger today and see what I can find regarding control cable alternatives. I know MSA sells new ones but there maybe something else out there that will do better and I can pick it up today.

Hey Captain! I have tried using the old dome bushing with the new antenna but the antenna tube is not as long and therefore the threaded portion does not go up high enough. If I take all the hardware off then it is too high but I might be able to fill in the gap with some washers or something, still looking/staring at it. Jarvo/Dave, your write up is what I need! I may not need to swing the antenna as much as I thought. I am going to work on it this evening. Regarding your wiring, the MX-1 I have is a semi-automatic antenna but with the antenna tube grounded and I give either the red or green wire 12v, nothing happens. However, if I incorporate the double throw switch that came with it and ground the switch, it works and you can raise it and lower incrementally. I had read another write where a owner used a diode/rectifier in light from the original wires to the antenna and it worked. Why did you have to use the relays? Do they essentially provide the intermittent power to raise and lower it at will?

Another thought. If I buy a new cable from MSA, it will be stronger correct? What about using a different cable like from another classic car or motorcycle? Taking the heater panel out is a huge pain and I would like for this to be the last time if possible.

You are only limited by your imagination, selection of tool, and the skills needed to use them. When I was planning to stick with my AM/FM/CD/BT radio I was going to install two 6.5" speakers behind the plastic trim panel. Using an Eggo waffle box (leggo my Eggo!) I started making a rough template for the driver side. After examining it I had my doubts if there would be room for the power antenna and I decided to install a factory AM radio so there was no need for something this big. I abandoned the project but your car came with one 5.25" speaker just like mine. You could use the original mount as a template to cut out another mount for the passenger side and have dual rear speakers. Some cardboard for making a template, a sharpie, some flat 20-22ga steel, and an assortment of tin snips should help you get what you want.

Which one did you buy on eBay? I see a lot of $20 power antennas and they easily go up to $30, $40, $50, and beyond.

Thanks Mike. Getting the strap to bolt to the stud in the bottom of the antenna/speaker well will take some work as they all come with the generic bracketry for securing it. My issue is getting the antenna to mount with the outside seal flush with the fender yet having the antenna at such an angle it allows everything to go back together with no interference. A quick look around on Ebay shows antennas with the type of mount I think I need. The half dome top mount seems to offer a wider range of mounting positions. Since my current antenna's chrome mounting nut sinks deep into the top mount, that is preventing me from getting the range I need. The half dome mounts simply tighten down against the top of the dome. I think I just need to suck it up and buy an antenna with the half dome mount like the one that was on the car.

Thank you Namerow for all the info and pictures. My car is a 8/70 build 1971 240z series-1. When I bought it none of the controls worked right as a previous owner had installed some cables that looked like generic choke cables from the auto parts store. The current set of cables I have are used. I picked them up from one of the mass parts sellers on Ebay. Looking at the last picture you posted, I have my super long cable on the bottom right hand side when the controller is sitting the way yours is. I thought the top RHS cable went to the hot water valve and the bottom went to the air flap door above the blower. Is this how yours is set up?

The cable has been bent before. This would be the 3rd time I have fixed it. I see the wear marks and I could try prying the arm away but I don't think that is my problem. The action of level itself is smooth. I think I am either routing the cable wrong or just need to buy a new one if it has indeed been weakened.

The new antenna is actually shorter than the original Harada. It seems that new one cannot swing as far forward as the old one. Its like the mount does not have as wide of a range or motion as the old one if that makes sense.

I don't see where Groove Shark sells new power antenna's. Did you buy a replacement mast for yours and install it? Mike is right, the factory switch does not work like the after market switches that comes with most power antennas. I am knee deep in replacing mine on my '71 240z. More info and pictures on exactly what you have will help in being able to provide suggestions on what to do next.

I have been trying to mount the Harada MX-1 antenna I picked up this week off Ebay. I already tried mounting a Metra PW-22 which had a flush mount and could never get it swing forward far enough or back towards the fender so it would be in between the fender and plastic trim. I had higher hopes for the MX-1 but it is not working out either. The old Harada that came off used a half dome mount on top and I am beginning to believe I this is my only option. Before I buy something else can you guys post up what yours looks like mounted on your car, both inside and out? Thank you so much!

I pulled my heater control panel to fix this problem. As I was reinstalling it I was making sure the cables and controls operated as expected. I went to test this and BAM! It bent again with little effort. This is the cable that goes on the lower right side of panel to the vent door above the blow motor. The door opens and closes freely and it has its spring mounted but the pushing action on the cable keeps bending it. Before I buy any new parts can someone post up the routing of the control cable? Maybe I am putting too many curves in it causing a build up of pressure. Thank you!

Fantastic work and picture Disepyon! Your works is certainly motivation for all of us. I agree with what others have said, a lot of people would have junked that shell and bought a different car but you pressed on with what you had and learned to repair and improve upon the factory design in some areas. You mentioned you were not happy with your english wheel from Baileigh. What specifically do you not like about it? What other brand do you wish you had gone with? I see a lot of pictures on the Metalshapers FB page and it seems like a fair amount of guys take some parts from an existing english wheel and then build their own. Have you thought about doing that or is it too big of a project?

Great Update! I just now got around to watching the video. I look forward to you getting some driving footage once everything is together.

Thanks hr369. After some more thought I think I am just going to run the AM radio with a new 5.25" speaker. I really do not drive the car that much and if I reach a point that I want FM and BT then I can cross that bridge when I get there.

I have not ordered anything from them in a long time just because I have not needed anything. Were they having the bumpers made just for them or will MSA or another vendor start selling them? In other posts about their closing on Facebook and other sites people had said their website was clunky and shipping options were limited. In the letter they posted on their site it was said due to the Datsun market shrinking or whatever. If anyone has been watching the market it is only getting hotter. It is a shame the owners did not seek out a buyer for the company instead of just closing the doors. There is plenty of money to be made with these cars by selling high quality parts, providing high quality service, providing an easy to use website, and providing true world wide shipping solutions. This is an ongoing discussion I have with fellow Z owners as vendors large and small disappear and are not replaced, it will leave only one vendor or possibly none. Thankfully Nissan still offers a good number of misc. parts but its only a matter time until they decide it not financially viable or they just do not want to deal with it. Nissan should embrace the classic Datsun community more and start offering more parts even if they were more expensive. I know the money and the business has to be there but as the cars gain more value there will be more interest in restoring them. Will they ever be as hot as air-cooled 911's, I doubt it but as we all know, classic Datsun's are not getting any cheaper.

Since I currently have all of the stereo equipment out of my 240z I am tossing around some ideas of what I want. I have an original and working auto-seeking AM radio for my car that works and would really like to install it as I think it makes the car look period correct and I could use the power antenna switch to raise and lower the antenna. However, when I drive the car I would like to listen to FM radio as AM does not offer much and utilize Bluetooth when needed. I have a nice Alpine AM/FM/CD/MP3/BT stereo that I have been using but I never use the CD player, really just FM and BT. My question is, could I install the AM radio in the stock location and install a CD-less BT stereo receiver in the glovebox and use a remote to change the stations when I wanted? What would be the best way to divide the speaker output? I plan on fabbing up some brackets to place two 6.5" speakers behind the rear cargo panels just like where the factory 5.25" speaker was. I would think I would need a switch to move power from one unit to another or it is possible both could be powered on and I could just have some sort of speaker switch that would go from mono for the AM and stereo for the FM/BT unit. Do you guys have any experience with Bluetooth FM only receivers? All ideas, feedback, suggestions, and pictures welcome! Thank you!

Thanks for all the info guys. Good idea on using a 1 gallon Ziploc bag Sweaty! I am hoping to work on the antenna some more this week as I am currently putting struts on my '99 Camry this weekend. I will post more updates soon!

Ever since I purchased my '71 240z the power antenna has not worked. I pulled the hatch panel out to reveal the original single speaker a Harada model 6424 power antenna. It does not have the bullet tip at the end of the mast but instead has a squarish cylinder. I tried putting 12v to the wires each way and got nothing. I had to open it up in order to manually wind the rest of the mast down so I could remove it from the car. With it on the bench I could see how much rust it had that might have lead to its demise. Before giving up on it I would like to dis-assemble it and possibly rebuild it. I was hoping to find a guide that ilustrated this as it seems very easy that something could go flying across the garage if I am not prepared for it. I could not find any guides or posts that discussed taking one apart. I looked around on Google and can find other teardown guides for vintage Cadillac, Mercedes, and Volvo antennas but not this one. I did find the post below of Jerry Purcell's re-assembly of an original antenna but the clutch mechanism on his looks slightly different than mine. Based on this and the absence of the bullet tip, I believe mine might be some sort of replacement. My car is a 8/70 build, #8011. Any help is greatly appreciated. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/46443-antenna-rebuild-restore/