Zs-ondabrain

I was talking about the tower pod (vinyl) Here's a few shots of my drivers side kick panel speaker pod. I built it for seperates (mid and tweeter) and the cross-over goes up under the dash. They will be installed and working before I head to California for the MSA Nationals.

When I do build them, I'm gonna try to make it into a moldable item. So I can reploruce them quickly. If they turn out the way I'd like them to, They'll sell like hot cakes, according to certain gestures here and there. I'm thinking black vinyl with a 1/8" or 1/4" foam. With a simple 2 screw mounting via a mounting plate that bolts to the strut tower using the strut nuts.

Try MSA at www.zcarparts.com. They are one of the authority's when it comes to Z car parts, Hense the name .........

What year Z do you own? If it's a 240Z, there are 2 or 3 styles, all depending on the year. Luggage Straps were typical and Previous Owners usually removed them. Older 240Z's (70' and early 71') did'nt have the rear deck storage doors that the 71' and up have. That's 2 different kits right there.. Pics work great when asking questions and so does the model and year. Good luck, Dave.

I just love the idea of having a big system that no one knows about. The only thing you can or will be able to see is the front door speakers and the deck. I also plan on building kick panel speaker pods. I made a set for a friends 260Z, but the good news is that the 240Z has more room in the kick panel area than the other Z's due to the lack of the fusebox being on the right panel. The 260Z's clutch pedal also hangs lower before bending to the right. By my figures, I'll have 2 front kick pod speakers, 2 door speakers, 2 rear panel speakers, 1) 12" sub in the wheel well, 1) 4 channel amp behind my seat and a mono sub amp behind the passenger side seat, my Pioneer AM/FM/CD player with XM under the dash. I think it's time for the alternator upgrade. Especially considering my H4 headlights, KATS driving lights, MSD 6A and Mallory Unilite Dist. I just love talking about my car so sorry if it seems like I'm rambling or repeating myself. It's gonna fricken ROCK in there. Especially if I go ahead with the strut tower pods. I'll start working on a proto-type A.S.A.P. Dave

In between all the body I've been doing, I've also been working on this idea..... Read the whole thing before deciding..... http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24059&highlight=280Z+speakers As for your comment, mimregi You are correct about the sound quality but with the front speakers that I have, The rear speakers act more like rear fill. The sound is worse without the rear speakers. As for the fit near all the fuel lines, I mentioned Pioneer "SLIM" style speakers. They fit great without interfearing with the fuel lines. Alpine and Kenwood also make a speaker that is thin enough to fit beautifully. The 6X9 box offered by MSA and Z-Specialties are Identical, the enclosures are made here in the Northwest near Lake Stevens, Washington. Z-Specialties pushes alot of them because Oliver, the owner, Knows the guy that makes them. The Manufacturer pretty much only sells them to Oliver and MSA. Make sure you carry around a Philips screw driver with you cause you have to remove the 6X9 enclosure to get to the spare tire or put the carpet back properly. Let me know what you think of the Strut tower speaker enclosure. If I get enough requests, I'll start getting to a final product..... Dave.

YUP! Thank god for AAA and my best friend who drives a tow truck. I always keep up on all my maintenance (both tires and motor). I usually only drive within a 30 mile radius and if I'll be traveling any farther than that, I carry a spare. I'm nuts, but not totally stupid :stupid: You were right about Pioneer making a "Spare Tire Sub" I'm not sure if they still make it but it was a great idea at the time. My wheel well sub enclosure only takes up 2/3 of the wheel, I'm also going to move the amp that sits next to the sub in the wheel well to the area behind the passenger side seat. Which will free up room for a small jack, and other tire repair stuff. Not to mention flares, flags, oil, spare plugs, rags, wire repair items and fuses. And I ALWAYS carry a small tool bag that has every metric wrench and socket neccesary to probably tear the whole car apart with. ALWAYS!!

I own a 70' and it too only came with 1 speaker on the left rear quarter. So I took the speaker plate and duplicated it in reverse using 1/8" ABS plastic. I did this because I did'nt want to put holes in the plastic interior peice. I then used "Slim" style pioneer 5 1/2" 2-way speakers. With the exception that they are aimed at each other, they sound pretty good. But me being me, I went ahead and put 4" kicker A400 2-ways in the doors. The P.O. had already cut small holes in the door panel so I figured it could'nt hurt to fill the holes. I also made a fiberglass enclosure in the wheel well for a 12" MTX subwoofer. It only fills the well 2/3 of the way, which left room for a 200 watt sub-amp to sit next to the box in the wheel well. I obviosly had to run all new speaker, power and RCA wires but I used stock locations and wrapped them to look like a stock harness. I also ran a pin switch wire for the alarm and new power antenna power wires. But after all this, you only see the door speakers and pioneer CD player, which also has XM Satelite Radio (tucked under the dash) and I'll be putting in a 4 channel amp behind the seat where the car jack used to go. Then I'll make a cover for it that will resemble the old style jack cover. I'll most likely use 1/16" ABS for that.

No problem, and I usually stay away from the FSM. Hands on or taking pictures as I go seams to be the best way. But there's always classicZcars for all the other unanswered questions ya have. Good luck, Dave.

And don't forget............ 1) the drain tube for your power antenna. 2) wheel well area, mainly the DOGLEG See attached picture, this is what I'm dealing with before I shoot primer before the paint job. 3) The fog machine is an excellent idea, you can rent one from a party supply store or music store that supplys lights and such for small cover bands. It only leaves a powdery residew which can easily be blown out later on. I get the same problem with mine but every detail is being looked over as I do the body work for the upcoming paint job. Isn't this lovely, found it while sanding out what I thought was a paint bubble. Turns out that it's a great spot for exhaust to come in, time for more sheet metal.

don't mind the funky looking bulb or circuit board, It's for LEDS

The ground wire or switch wire (wire that allows the switch to operate the light) is not an exposed tab. It connects to the assembly, on the back side, on the oposite side of the the switch itself. I'll repost in a minute with a picture of the wire connections. Be right back, Dave.

I've been informed that the game will be released in February, At about the same time that the Forza Showdown Series will be on SPEED CHANNEL. I never heard back from Mark (Sound motorsports AUDIO) about the 240Z game clips and pictures. I'll ask him again next week

So roughly, It's only a matter of time before the circuit fails, whether that be a fuse blowing, a metel switch contact no longer working or the worse scenario, something melts and or catches on fire. Don't get me wrong, it may NEVER have a problem. Weird things like that happen all the time. Hell, I drove home in my 510 with a hole in the block once without failure, but had I drivin one more mile, It most likely would'nt have made it. But I'll never know. So what me and Jim are saying is, Don't push your luck, especially with a 33+ year old system. It only takes that 1 extra mile. 1) Make the switch like new via a rebuild or new switch 2) Rewire the circuit in question with new wires 3) Clean every contact in the circuit, connectors, fuse clips, everything. 4) maybe even go as far as pulling the fan motor apart and cleaning the hell out of it. If my situation were the same, I would'nt increase the fuse size till I reinforced the rest of the system. But that's just me. Dave, (Dogma420) I was never under the impression that you were starting an argument, and I always listen to some ones point of view. Don't sweat it. Dave AKA DatsunDave (OLD nickname, rarely used till recently)

Dave, Congrats on have such a nice electrical system. Unfortunately, Most of us have to deal with the (Previous Owner) problem. Every Z is different and weather conditions and the treatment of those Z's vary by each owner. Not everyone has a garage or the upkeep knowledge that is now available to us. As for your heater fuse, if your wiring is in good shape, then you should have no problem with a 25 amp fuse instead of the 20. But those of us with weak systems, that have been used on a daily basis in bad weather Year round, (I live in the northwest where rain, wind and cloudy days are of the norm) don't have the pleasure that you enjoy yearly. We don't hate you for this, but it does'nt make our lives any easier. But thats what each of us is here for. Most of wiring in our systems can be used with higher amperage fuses but I would'nt suggest it. If I had the metal contact plates in front of me, I could give a better assesment of the peice. I ussually just reform, smooth out, sand, file or what ever the situation calls for. But being as how no one has sent me a switch for repair yet, I cannot give an acurate assesment yet. Dave.

What type of relay set up did you use for the headlights?

I totaly agree with the "Looks better" opinion. After installing afew in the tach, it's much brighter, cleaner, slightly blue and definately more visable. I've yet to install the others into the small gauges, but when I do, I'll remove the green plastic peice, to allow as much light as possible into each gauge. Dave.

jackboxxx, I could be wrong but I think there is 10 or 11 all together. They are bayonette bulbs. Like an 1156 single filiment but smaller. Speedo has 1) high beam indicator 2) turn signal lights and 2?) regular illuminating bulbs = 10? could be 3 reg. bulbs. not sure yet. Tach has 2? 1) each for the smaller 3 gauges BA9 indicates a bayonette bulb and (9) indicates the 9mm size now ya almost know........:pirate: MRIZ, which ones did ya order? the wide view or green leds?

Arne hit it on the nose.... Don't go any higher than the original 20 Amp fuse. Doing so will cause the wires to heat up even more before the fuse blows. Resistance in the system causes heat, kinda like friction, friction causes heat, heat causes meltdowns, meltdowns cause fires, etc etc. before running it on high for too long, double check all the connections for corrosion or weak points, such as squeezing the female terminal so that the male is hard to put in. This assures a tighter fit and less resistance, hense no more blown fuses. Just keep extra fuses in the glovebox. This is all common knowledge that I'm sure you knew but I always go over it again to help those who are not in the know. Resistance is the major reason behind my headlight and parking light harness's. It's also why I have recently offered up the Combo and T/S switch service. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?p=200711#post200711 Dave.