Wade Nelson

I've owned 30 year old cars with sealed beam headlights just as bright as newer models. Brilliant white, not yellow. The trick is getting FULL voltage to the headlamps. If yo'uve got a .5 volt voltage drop due to thin wires, bad grounds (paint under the ground screw) , corroded connectors, etc. your headlights may be as much as 30% dimmer. So how do you do it. Wire in some headlight relays. Use 10AWG wire. Get new headlamp connectors. Newset of bulbs, they do get "tired" as the filament material plates out on the glass and blocks some % of the light trying to exit the headlight. NAPA and such places sell "headlamp relay kits" for wiring up foglamps you can use to add a relay to your "normal" headlamps. but even they typically use 12AWG wire instead of 10. The non-sealed beams with the bluish tinted bulbs really DO make a difference, stuff is noticeably easier to see at night. Esp if they're getting FULL alternator voltage. You don't need to get HIDs or go away from sealed beams. Just give a NEW set of bulbs full voltage. And if yo'ure in 240 or model with an external voltage regulator, tweak the set point up .5V for some real flame-throwers. My '82 Subaru beater, with such a setup, would turn night into day. It's an invaluable safety item if you do much driving at night. Cheers!

You've got a real mess there. I'd start by plugging the drain holes that allow oil to return to the sump, and then using can after can of brake cleaner on it, along with compressed air. I'd put an old blanket around / over the rest of the engine bay. Keep a fire estinguisher handy. You COULD use even stronger CARB cleaner but be awares that will eat paint of anything else it gets onto. After that I'd put the cover back on, pour a quart of kerosene into the oil, and start it up and let it warm up. Then drain and refill with fresh oil. You've got so much gunk and crap...it would almost justify an engine teardown. You knock big chunks loose and THEY are the ones that are going to clog uup an important oil feed and cause a bearing to fail. You're kinda damned if you do and damned if you don't at this point. If you plug those drain holes BE DAMN sure you unplug them. Put a note onto your keychain so you cant start it up without seeing the reminder.

On Highway 72 somewhere northwest of Corinth Mississippi I spied a white Z car sitting in a cornfield, looked like it had been there for years. All the corn around it was mowed down except for a few stalks too close to cut. Moved me to tears. Couldn't they at least afford a decent burial?

Make sure you don't have parts from the right brake on the left side and vice versa. This should NOT be happening!

I've looked at those on ebay. I have an electrical engineering degree --and have worked endlessly on auto electrical and electronics. My basic feeling was I was going to have to invest SO MANY hours learning how to use it, what it could and could not do, it would be equivalent to taking a college level course -- with a 4 hour lab... that's ASSUMING they haven't lost the manual... Normally, fuel injection, I want to FIX IT and get done. And 99% of that can be done with a DVOM. Fairly rapidly. Once you became an expert with the Kent-Moore, my god, you could go to Z-shows, plug in, and test cars one right after the next, be a super-hero, identify failing sensors, all kinds of stuff, but...is that really where you want to go? And chances are MOST owners would be unwilling to pay you anything NEAR what it would be worth to compensate you for all the time you spent mastering it -- like $200 to plug in.... and most the time tell them NOTHING! just imagine if you could find a former Datsun tech who had mastered it, and could short-cut your learning curve... so then you've got the issue of the box being incompatible with the later (83) Z's, and it would probably take a guy just like ME just to FIGURE OUT the nature of the incompatibility, and how to work around it....and avoid damaging later model cars ... unless it was just changing the pinouts on certain connectors... but its more likely airflow meter changes, etc. I decided not to buy one, and would, especially in light of the warning, suggest likewise. Unless you indeed DO have the time and energy to master that toybox and the inclination to become a leading expert on Z- EFI diagnosis. Maybe someday I'll have the time, but I'm more likely to spend it volunteering at a soup kitchen or group home than rounding the country doing Z EFI diagnosis for $10/hour or less. God willing, maybe I could do both.

Simichrome polish and a rag. Polish 'em like you would a shoe, wrapping the rag around the line. After you're done you could consider clear-coating them or plan on doing it again in 6-12 months.

Check the pedal itself, pull out the pivot pin, etc see if carpet is jamming it, etc. Yes, actually take it out or apart, not just the flashlight routine.

This thread deserves a Zombie award. Two years in the grave and suddenly it springs back to life.

I'm thinking turning aluminum drums on a brake lathe could lead to a real disaster. Fine aluminum shavings plus rusty steel shavings already in the bottom would make one helluva thermite reaction if it got ignited. Could burn right through the bottom of your lathe and THEN the concrete floor. I've never actually heard of it happening, although I have read about several Porsche magnesium engine casings that burned right through concrete floors when guys workign on 'em with grinders accidentally ignited 'em. Water just makes a magnesium fire burn even hotter, so don't bother calling the fire department. W

A permanent Road Trip forum? How about it moderators? I'm currently caring for an elderly father. When he passes, I plan to do a once-in-a lifetime road trip. Some of it in an RV, some on motorcycle, and some in my ZX. So what are your favorite blue highways? What backroads are simply NOT to be missed? I know the back road from Memphis to Little Rock, I plan to backtrack and hit that one. Parallels 40. Tell me about YOUR ultimate road trip. What places do YOU intend to see when you get the time, and $ to hit the road?

After I remove a fuel filter I blow through it in two directions, into a clean paper towell, to see what sort of debris is coming from the tank, and got past the filter. You can do it with a rubber hose or an air chuck, but beware, compressed air + vaporized gas = FIRE RISK. Normally there's VERY shiny metal, looks like gold, in the intake side, it's the remnants of the brushes / commutator in the fuel pump. Rust is a very bad thing If there's rust / debris on the output side of the filter, well, you might want to clean or replace your injectors. A single particle of rust can jam an injector open. At least run some injector cleaner through it. whatever you do, don't ever start and run an engine on 5 year old, stale gas left in the tank by the previous owner. Drain and refill. It'll start once, alright, and then never again as the varnish locks the valve stems in place. Lawnmowers OR Z-cars. Checkyoru fuel pressure, and do a vacuum test as well. KNOW you solved the problem and that it was just ONE problem instead of doing wishful thinking.

Take the hub off or take the rear drum off??? The trick to removing rear brake drums is to BEAT THE CRAP out of them. An air hammer works great. Knocks loose all that rust dust wedging them on. (Assuming, of course, you've retracted the shoes as far as they'll go using the star wheel)

Good writeup. You've just helped a dozen other owners in the future who will experience similar problems. 30 points to Zed for correctly calling this one.

I drove a 1974 TR-6 for five years. It's not half the sports car the Z is. But it is an authentic sports car, convertible, and absolutely great for cruising. In and around Arizona State University I didn't put the top up on my for over 2 years. Tonneau if it rained, or threatened. If I had endless garage space I'd definitely own one, just for those sunny, top-down days.

I'm gonna change my vote to a major vacuum leak. The engine is running lean, you stomp the throttle, and it gets a big gulp of even leaner charge because the AFM isn't measuring all the air coming through the leak. Instead of acceleration enrichment you're getting acceleration enleanment. I agree, exhaust systems RARELY plug themselves up, while catalytic converters demand near perfect mixtures to NOT get plugged up over time. One fouled plug can ruin a cat. ALL of these scenarios will be RAPIDLY revealed by attaching a vacuum gauge. So right now I"d be looking for a big fat crack in the bottom of the snorkel between the AFM and the intake manifold, a brake booster that's leaking vacuum, etc. I'd go spray all over the place with brake cleaner listening for an increase in RPM's. good luck!

Sounds EVEN MORE like a plugged exhaust system. Loosen some bolts at the down tube so it's got an intentional leak and go drive it.

I'd put a vacuum gauge on it right away. Take you 30 seconds. That would SHOW you any breathing problems, valve issues, etc. http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/186.cfm

I'd check for a plugged exhaust system / cat converter. Pull the 02 sensor out, let it roar, take it out and drive it.

What would everyone think about turning this thread into a FORUM entitled something like "The Road Trip?"

This thread is rapidly approaching that Zen-like realization that the trip itself is as, if not MORE important than actually arriving at the destination. Stopping and smelling the flowers. Taking photographs. Reading historical markers. Doing the cheesy things like stopping at Meteor Crater. Stopping and helping the guy with the flat tire. Talking to the developmentally disabled kid at the Mini-Mart who really, REALLY loves your Z-car. Seriously! If you've got the time, why NOT make the trip just as fun as what you intend to do at your destination. And lastly, consider this. What if you were to die in a fiery crash 10 miles from your destination. Would you be wishing THEN that you'd enjoyed the ride a little bit more? If you haven't read it yet, start with "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." The road trip isn't about how many miles you can accumulate each day. It's about how many memories you can create. The Z-car owner who gets to the destination last...WINS!

My favorite prank is to come walking into the coffee house: "Hey Steve there's a Z out in the parking lot just like yours." "I swear it's identical except for a big dent in the passenger door. *Steve goes running out...."

Betty White approved of this image.

When I was a young man I had a wooden knob. Hardwood. I avoided lacquers and stains although it occasionally did get some lipstick on it.

> most other things will be 'rlaxed" and things just overall last longer... Including the driver.

With the Jaguars starter fluid was seldom necessary. They'd self-ignite.