Phil Z

My Z about a week old. I recently purchased a complete set of used gauges. My gauges, actually my oil & temp gauge was fluctuating after I thought I had solved the problem. So I removed my 46 year old gauge and installed a 46 year old gauge. Much to my surprise upon trying the oil & temp gauge, it worked perfectly. Then I tried hooking up the clock. It didn’t work. Because I have a functioning clock that I built I had nothing to loose and opened it up. I hooked a 9 volt battery to it and watched as the motor tried to wind the spring but it seemed weak. I tried it on 12v from the car. It acted the same. I removed the motor (simple to do) then carefully wound the gear the motor was supposed to wind. It started ticking, a good sign. Decided to spray the clock gears with 3n1 penetrating spray to get gunk off of the gears. Tried the motor again with the same results. Decided to take the brush assembly out of the motor. I didn’t see anything wacky but wondered if the motor was just tired. When the motor was operating outside of the clock, it ran well. Looking at the brushes and armature I could see there wasn’t noticeable wear. Thinking through how electricity works best, I took the brushes out and bent them closer together. Inserted the brush assembly back together and ran the motor. It seemed stronger. I attached the motor back into place. Using the 9v battery the motor was able to wind the main spring. That’s when the magic happened. Tick tick tick, a working original clock. I would have made a video of the motor repair but I would have had to bleep every other word. If anyone wants to tackle this motor fix I can help you do it bleep free. I am not guaranteeing your clock will work but it might. 1972 clock probably built early 1971. Phil Smith

BDJeff, when you get out from under your Z, consider registering it with the Datsun registry. Here is their link. Hopefully everyone that doesn’t know about this site will look into it. Welcome to the club. https://m.facebook.com/groups/121977164809467 Phil Smith

Thank you, I will leave it off. Phil Smith

What you explained to me makes perfect sense, unfortunately I have another issue now as I see your pictures of how it is supposed to look are different from what I have in bushing washers. My end links are original equipment. There were 4 bushings and 5 washers. Two of the washers are fixed in position.The picture I am including shows where I think they were located but this would allow the metal washer direct contact with the sway bar. I am pointing at the washer in question. This washer has a larger diameter hole but the new bushing doesn’t fit through the hole. Anyone else see what I am asking about? Note: this is the first time these bushings have been removed in the 46 years I have had this Z. 1972. Anyone have a picture of there original links and bushings? Thanks Phil Smith

I purchased the MSA urethane bushings for my sway bar and end links the photo shows one side with a raised surface. Does that go away from or toward the metal caps ? Or does it matter? Thanks for the help! Phil Smith

What happens if you turn on the left turn signal? Have you worked on any of the wiring? Remove the blinker relay thingy. See if it still lights up. Possible short in the system. Did you work on anything related to electrical? It’s a Z. Good luck. Phil Smith

Obvious thing to check is the screws that hold the bottom half of seat to the top half. Mine were just loose and tightening them fixed it. Phil Smith

Thanks Dave, I will call MSA first. Well after selling 4000 of them, it’s me, my bad luck. I did say I cut off the culprit. They may want a complete unharmed power wire back! Also, I am very happy with the Parking kit and am going to get the headlight kit eventually. Thanks again for reaching out to me. Phil Smith

I just posted about the Parking lights kit. If you decide to buy this kit, make sure someone performs a continuity test on the power wire before shipping. Phil Smith

Is it just my luck, or am I not the only one. I purchased the MSA kit. Plug and play they said. I hooked everything up per instructions. Turned on the parking light switch and I can hear the relay click but that’s all that happens. No lights to dash no lights front rear or side markers. Checked all of the connections. Changed back to original connections and it works. Plug in the kit again and it doesn’t work. Start writing to this forum.........wait a minute am I getting battery power to the relay? NO!!!! Go to the battery, connection is good. Go to the inline fuse. Fuse is good. What could it be? Put meter on the battery side of the inline fuse. $&@!?&$ no power. There was a break somewhere in the molded inline fuse holder. My 45 minute job turns into 2 hours. I’m guessing it’s a quality control issue that MSA needs to address with their supplier. So, I cut the fuse holder out and added a temporary fuse connector. All good for now. The main reason for posting this is to let anyone that may be buying this kit, to continuity check the power wire before installing. the culprit Phil Smith

Hello Denrée, are you restoring this Z for yourself or do you plan on selling it when completed? I have a 72 z also. You may also go to the Datsun 240z registry of America and add your information about your Z. Welcome to the site. Phil Smith

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1528299563880689 Phil Smith

Thanks for the comments. I used wrinkle paint. Autozone has it. The box is a simple project box. Phil Smith

I have been making improvements to my 1972 Z. I bought my Z brand new in 1971. I like all the improvements cars have today, so I have added a push to start to the ignition, a Retrosound Bluetooth radio and made a box to operate my original antenna manually and supply USB power for my other devices that will need to be charged. Let me know what you think of the work I did on the box. Phil Smith

From what I've experienced since I joined, everyone here seems to be very helpful. Welcome. Phil Smith

Bought these wheels in 1980. They are still on my Z to this day. Haven't seen any others like them. Phil Smith

Ok, looked closely at namerow drawings and see that i didn't have the red wire attached to the blue fused wire as is stated. Also found one of the 2 wires that connect to the fan motor were disconnected but not pulled apart. Fan motor working great. Thanks namerow and capt. obvious. Phil Smith

The end you see in the picture I provided is to the blower fan resistors. At the other end of the harness is a red wire and a blue wire and the connector to the blower switch and the ground. I have the red and blue wires connected together. I will look further into connections to see if the red and blue wires connect to wires other than each other. (Always take pictures before taking apart anything) That's a rule I forgot to follow. I will get back to you all a.s.a.p. Sent from my iPad using Classic Zcar Club mobile

Thank you all for your support. It good to know you are available and willing to help. Phil Phil Smith

No problems with anything electrical on my z except the fan motor. It was working earlier this year. I will figure out the fan motor, I was cleaning up my wiring which is pretty much unmolested when unwrapping this section I found this wire not connected to anything. Maybe someone has their heater harness apart and can confirm it is a spare wire that goes nowhere. 72 z. 9-71 production date. Phil Smith

The wiring harness that runs from fan switch to the blower has a wire blue with white stripe and on my harness this wire is coming from the connector at the blower. This wire is not connected to anything and I am not sure if it is supposed to. Including a photo to help explain. Currently my blower won't turn on. I can't see anywhere on the fsm that shows this harness. Not sure if I accidentally cut a wire. 1972 240z built 9/71 Phil Smith

I was 23 when I bought my 1972 Z for a really great price of $4144. It was the most I had ever paid for a car that is now considered a classic. The car was in perfect condition when I got it. I still have the Z today with no plans to ever sell it. I turn 69 this year.. Then . Now Phil Smith

If you have any questions about anything not mentioned, let me know. Post pictures of your fuse box update. Phil Smith

Amazon, Amazon, Amazon - bought the fuse holders from Amazon. You need 10 and they have 10. $6.99. I think 1/2 inch long screws that fit through the holes in the fuse holder, washer and nut on the back side. Take photos of the wiring before removing it from the current holders. I popped out all of the holders while still attached to the wires. I took a Dremel wheel to cut through the plastic just wide enough to fit the fuse holders in place. The screw holes should line up with the holes that were left from the original fuse holders. Once all 10 are in place, then you can start soldering wire for wire to the terminals on the new fuse holder. The battery wire is the hardest to do because it has to connect to 3 of the fuse holders. Easiest way is to strip the wire long enough and tin it with solder before soldering to the 3 fuses. When you install the blade fuses you will still be able to use your fuse box cover. If you have serious melting of your current fuse holder, you will need fix that problem as well. Picture of the front side only and the fuse holders from Amazon. Phil Smith

I have a 1972 z that sat in my garage for 25 years. ( I know! Why?) Last year I got it running and driving. The problem I developed with my gauges was that when power was first applied at startup, the fuel gauge would respond then slowly drop back to E. I could not find anything wrong with the sending units. After taking apart the gauges I found that there was a poor connection between the tiny wires that heat up and make the gauges register and the studs that connect to those wires. The easy fix was to clean the contact points between the stud and the tiny wires, then soldered them together. Hope this is helpful anyone with similar problems. I soldered the fuel, oil and temperature connections and they all work perfectly. See picture. Phil Smith