dmorales-bello

Thanks for all the ideas, guys. That what makes this forum exceptional.

Here's the final install. No hiccups, everything mounted right up and the electrical connection was as planned. Here are the pics. Added aluminum tape on the underside to increase light reflection: Mounted the lamp assembly on the metal base: Created an exit for the cables and attached to new harness: Slipped the foremost section of the mounting plate over the front headliner trim, connected the harness to the glove box light connection and I think it looks like it belongs there :

Finally found some time to work on the Z again and take care of the map light installation. After some trial and error I decided to use a sheet of stainless steel and shape it to fit inside the base of the lamp and extend forward over and into the headliner front trim above the rearview mirror base. The carefully bent plate wedges firmly in place without the need for additional fasteners. The maplight attaches to the mounting plate via two rivnuts and a couple of M5 bolts. After mock up I dismounted everything, painted the mounting plate, touched up some areas of the lamp and replaced the incandescent bulb with an LED. My wiring harness extension is ready and I'll do a final install tomorrow and post some final pics with the working light. Here are some pictures of the process so far:

You have Paypal money back guarantee and Ebay will back you if you file a complaint. Don't forget to give him lousy feedback which is what will be the most effective way to negatively affect his sales going forward.

Hi Gary, I'm not sure how much this might help you but I have Eibach lowering springs and Tokico blue (non adjustable) struts on all fours in my '78 280Z and I even though I love the ride (smooth, controlled, not jarring at all) the car's rear end still dips quite a bit under acceleration. I have a new set of 4 Tokico Illuminas (adjustable) which I will be installing over the holidays hoping that I can dial in a stiffer rear and reduce the squat. I'll let you know how that goes. David

Hey, if they wanted to make it really scary they could have used the image of a Pinto backing up toward you!

It's just a mediocre ad, guys. We've probably spent more time interpreting it than was spent in production.

The finish on the outside of the tank with the POR15 turned out pretty smooth. How did you apply it?

It's gone already!

Amazing job on that dash! Impressive.

Unfortunately (due to lagging sales) Black Dragon Automotive decided to close down only a month or so ago. There several other sites that carry Z parts but the largest is Motor Sport Auto (MSA). Her's the link to their site. http://www.thezstore.com/store/merchant.mvc?

I think you're totally correct and all of your points are very valid. Perhaps Mike's (Whitehead Performance) similar opinion with Patcon isn't mere coincidence. He might be reading this forum as well and pulled a Melania Trump! LOL!! Regardless, since the OEM provision for installing the light is most probably not there I will attempt fabricating a plate out of ABS plastic (3 or 4 mm thickness) that i will partially slide under the front headliner trim and glue (still have to decide on which type of glue would work best) onto the headliner itself. The light will attach to that ABS plate using 2 self tapping screws. Since the ABS plate or the light are not heavy at all, I think this simple set up should work well as a custom fitment for the map light.

That's an amazing job! Brings life to the cockpit! ' Grats.

I got a response via email from Mike at Whitehead performance: " There seems to be a thin metal plate that bolted into the rearview mirror location that then provided the two screw holes to attach the spotlight. A similar concept plate may have to be fabricated to install the spot lamp " So it's pretty much as Patcon had imagined. Pretty impressive! It would have been nice if this information had been disclosed by Mike in the description of the lamp to potential buyers. The only mention about installation reads as follows: " Fits in the center of the forward roof panel between the sunvisors with two self tapping metal screws. Wires will need to be run from the glovebox light, up the a-pillar, and over to the JDM spot lamp. " Anyways, I'll get on it during my Christmas break and fab up a base. I'll post pics as usual. Should be pretty easy and cool. Thanks to everyone for all the great help.

Patcon, what year car is this roof panel from?

That would be a nice surprise! Anyone out there seen the "insides" of a later Z's ('75-'78) roof panel?

Helpful drawing and seems to show that there's no additional base or plate for attaching to the roof. It would seem that the 2 screws shown go through the roof liner into what must be metal ??? Anyway, my maplight arrived yesterday and my daughter sent me some pics that show it at different angles (I won't be home for another couple of weeks). Not good quality pics but they give a better idea of the overall shape. I've also written Mike at Whitehead Performance again asking for information regarding installation of the light. Maybe he'll find some time to respond.

That's a pretty good guess. Makes fabricating a base a bit more involved!

I asked Mike (twice!!!) for pictures of the front and back of the light before buying it and he simply never got around to sending them even though he said he would. Too busy, I guess. I bought it anyway but will return it if I'm not satisfied with the condition or is missing parts that I can't fabricate.

That base would probably be quite easy to reproduce in plastic or wood and painted to match. The lamp does have 2 holes to screw into the roof. Is there a reinforcing rib of some sort under the liner in the middle that one could screw into?

I'm not sure but my glovebox light is already an LED and I will make the new map light an LED as well so the amps drawn will be minimal even if they are on the same fuse.

It's suggested by Whitehead to tap into the glove box light and come up the passenger A pillar trim, front roof liner trim and into the map light.

The picture I included in my first post is from Whitehead but it appears to be missing a type of base (between the lamp and the roof liner) which can be seen in the HS30-H pic from a manual.

You have indeed, brother! What manual is that page from? Thank you so much. Other than in pics, have you (or anyone) ever seen it in a car?

I found this interesting map light that I would like to install in my Z. According to the seller, it's an "optional item found on later S-30s and fits in the center of the forward roof panel between the sun visors". I cannot find any references online. Has anyone seen this light? Kats, Greg, any other JDM specialists out there?