Zs-ondabrain

1) you need to pull the whole taillight assembly. 2) remove the center clip carefully from the backside. 50/50 chance that the plastic post will break off. Try Needle nose pliers on the clip while pressing the rear plastic inwards, to get as much plier as possible onto the clip. 3) Run the assembly under hot water for about 3 minutes then pry the lens from the rear plastic assembly. It will slowly pull apart, as the glue has softened. 4) once seperated, you'll see how the chrome trim is attached to the lens. press the chrome trim peice into the lens while using needle nose pliers on the inside to grab the 2 or 3 clips holding the trim on. I use a twisting/pulling motion to remove the clips. for reassembly, simply use a small deep socket to press the clips back on with even pressure. You can reheat the adhesive hot water, a small butane torch if you keep it moving (this is the way I do it and a heat gun is too hot over too big of an area, and may melt and distort the rear plastic assembly. I've done this about 20+ times with excellent results. You can easily clean the lens with hot water and dish soap to remove the exhaust fume stains. Then you can Polish and clean the lense more thoroughly with Maguires Cleaner Wax. The Chrome trim peice can be cleaned with warm water, dish soap and 0000 steel wool, Don't scrub it, just use a little pressure to wash years of crap and exhaust away. Dave

Cause you're still too North of the Equator. Sorry. Almost anyone with a used head should have an oiler for ya.

Actually, That's almost the exact set up I have. with the exception of 3 cores vs. my 2 core. Kicks on at 185 and drops it down to 175 very quickly. Same fans and radiator and I'll be damned if I can find it on eBay anymore. Everyone has 3 and 4 cores now. Yet my 2 core works friggin awesome. oh well, what ever eBay thinks we need.... Beautiful engine bay Tim. What are you using for an overflow can? I went to the auto parts store and found Lawnmowerfuel line (Clear tubing) and I love it cause it shows that I have fluid and if I have air bubbles as well as if the fluid is moving either way. If you can't find the right overflow can, try the hot rod shops. I used 4) Chrome plated 3/8" long bolts for the water pump pulley. looks like you did too? Looks great. Dave

ineesting, hopefully it retains its original rigidity and strength. They are obviously meant to hold up to engine temps. so it should work fine after forming. Let us know how things turn out. Dave

although some of this may seem obvious and you may have already tried it, just let me list it and you decide wether you've done it or need to try it. 1) Is there Power at the green wire on the turn signal flasher? if yes, then go to step 2. If no power then trace it back to the fuseholder (3rd fuse down on the left, under the HL fuses.) 2) Using an ohms meter, is the white wire solid from the flasher to the turn signal connector? (3 wire connector - white, green/black, green/red) 3) are the 3 wires good from the switch side of that connector to the actual metal switch plate on the turn signal switch? use the ohms meter to make sure the wires aren't connected on the inside (bad switch) 4) test the green/red and green/black wires from the t/s connector to the T/S bulbs at the tach. Are the bulbs good and do the brass center contacts in the bulb sockets seat in a centered position? and not ground out on the body of the bulbs?? If all that checks out. The green red and green black stay the same color all the way to the front of the car, so check the wire with an ohms meter after removing the front bulbs. Check to see if either of the 2 wires are grounded. The G/R and G/B also go to the hazard switch. check between the t/s switch and the hazard switch for shorts or grounds. Always unplug the switches while checking for bad wires. They also stay the same color all the way to the rear. Check those bulbs and sockets as well. The only thing I can think of after going thru all this is that the hazard switch is bad or you have a bad bulb or socket. Dave

The adaptor was designed to work in YOUR z, it's only the 73's with electric fuel pump and dual relay set-up that needs to worry about any issues. So no, you don't need to worry about the yellow wire. As for upgrading to the Parking light and headlight upgrades, I personally think it's a neccesity. It's just a matter of time before regular driving and use of the parking lights, wears the wires, connectors, fuseblock and contacts in the switch, down to a bad state. resistance is what you get after 40 years of use, sitting around, etc. You can only do your car a world of good by installing the upgrades. I will personally never own another Z without installing the relay upgrades. It's just safer and better for the car and it's electrical system. Dave

I was told by many folks here to keep this up to date. Still selling the Headlight and parking light upgrade harnesses thru MSA. Still selling the ZX alternator upgrade plug and Sidemarker conversion plugs thru MSA Still personally doing the LED taillight, front marker and sidemarker conversions, personally. $80 for the sidemarker inserts, $125 for the front marker light conversion and $275 for the 240Z taillight conversion. ($300 for the 260 and 280Z taillights. Thanks again to all my current and past customers and a big welcome to new customers in the new year. Happy New Year everyone, Dave

I was told by many folks here to keep this up to date. Still selling the Headlight and parking light upgrade harnesses thru MSA. Still selling the ZX alternator upgrade plug and Sidemarker conversion plugs thru MSA Still personally doing the LED taillight, front marker and sidemarker conversions, personally. $80 for the sidemarker inserts, $125 for the front marker light conversion and $275 for the 240Z taillight conversion. ($300 for the 260 and 280Z taillights. Thanks again to all my current and past customers and a big welcome to new customers in the new year. Happy New Year everyone, Dave

I was told by many folks here to keep this up to date. Still selling the Headlight and parking light upgrade harnesses thru MSA. Still selling the ZX alternator upgrade plug and Sidemarker conversion plugs thru MSA Still personally doing the LED taillight, front marker and sidemarker conversions, personally. $80 for the sidemarker inserts, $125 for the front marker light conversion and $275 for the 240Z taillight conversion. ($300 for the 260 and 280Z taillights. Thanks again to all my current and past customers and a big welcome to new customers in the new year. Happy New Year everyone, Dave

I was told by many folks here to keep this up to date. Still selling the Headlight and parking light upgrade harnesses thru MSA. Still selling the ZX alternator upgrade plug and Sidemarker conversion plugs thru MSA Still personally doing the LED taillight, front marker and sidemarker conversions, personally. $80 for the sidemarker inserts, $125 for the front marker light conversion and $275 for the 240Z taillight conversion. ($300 for the 260 and 280Z taillights. Thanks again to all my current and past customers and a big welcome to new customers in the new year. Happy New Year everyone, Dave

I was told by many folks here to keep this up to date. Still selling the Headlight and parking light upgrade harnesses thru MSA. Still selling the ZX alternator upgrade plug and Sidemarker conversion plugs thru MSA Still personally doing the LED taillight, front marker and sidemarker conversions, personally. $80 for the sidemarker inserts, $125 for the front marker light conversion and $275 for the 240Z taillight conversion. ($300 for the 260 and 280Z taillights. Thanks again to all my current and past customers and a big welcome to new customers in the new year. Happy New Year everyone, Dave

The 240Z alternator Upgrade plug (ZXP) is only an issue with the 73' 240Z's that use their electric fuel pump and have the dual relay set-up. The issue has been resolved by others by means of disconnecting the Yellow wire at the relay (on the passenger side) and connecting both ends of the cut wire into a switch to cut power when the car is not in use. Others have wired it into an Oil Pressure switch that only activates the relay when oil pressure is present, and shuts it off when oil pressure is lost. For safety matters. Unless your fusebox is melted thru, you can still use it in conjunction with the Parking light upgrade harness. And The LED taillight conversion is Both a great idea to minimize voltage loss and resistance AND to upgrade to brighter, cleaner, longer lasting, safer taillights. Both Upgrades can be used for an even better lighting and less power consumption benefit. I use 100,000 hour, 18,000mcd LED's in my taillight conversions, so they will last a long time, compared to standard glass bulbs. I still charge $275 for 240Z taillights, $125 for front maker conversins and $80 for the LED Sidemarker inserts. Customers who have done the LED conversion, and later done the Parking light upgrade have reported another increase in brightness in the taillights, dash lights and front and side marker lights. and severe amperage drops thru the PL fuse in the fusebox. And we are affiliated with MSA as they are one of our Proud sponsers and we're happy to have them here at CZCC. Dave

You'll Benifit either way. My upgrades will help your cars in many ways but the Alternator upgrade will charge the battery faster and at lower RPM's, which means better lighting at idle speeds, as compared to stock alternator output. Start with the Headlight and parking light upgrades then do the alternator upgrade later and you'll see another improvement. If you go thru MSA, they'll likely already have some in stock. I almost prefer you use Motorsport to purchase the upgrades, as they order in bulk and it's better for me and Classiczcars.com Dave

I actually touched my 260Z project car today, but only to keep me from tripping over the broom that was near it. Just no time to fiddle lately. But I WILL make time. Lots to do before Canby. I really want to make it to Canby with the 260Z this year but unless things pick up around here, it ain't gonna happen, again.... :disappoin Dave

No shrouding needed on my Z. You don't even need the fans after 30 MPH. This new aluminum radiator cools no less than 25% more efficiantly than stock and my temp gauge rarely moves any higher than 180, if that. Shrouds are good though. just not on my Z.

Internally regulated will allow you to eliminate the Voltage regulator across from the alternator, on the fender. Both MSA and I sell the Internally Regulated Alternator adaptor... Externally regulated is the stock set-up. Most like to upgrade to the Internally regulated alternator for better amperage for better charging, lights and general power use. I did it in my 70' because I have HID lights, fog lights, 800 watt stereo etc, etc. Faster battery charging is great when you're using your stereo to entertain the neighborhood. Dave

I would use the FSM to find the Accesory relay, find the output wire and trace it back to the radio area. There Has to be an Acc. wire in that area. Maybe a bad fuse, bad relay or connection?? You can also just tap the acc wire near the ignition switch and run that tapped wire to the radio area. The other option is to run that tpped wire into a relay (post 85) ground (post 86) connect that battery power wire into (post 87) and the red radio's power wire to (post 30) This set-up will make that tapped acc. wire into a 12 volt signal wire and the main power for the radio will come from the battery. and be switched on by the ignition, via the relay. And fuse the power wire. Dave Just make sure to fuse it for safety. DAve

I also found this statement all over the web..... "Product Note: Production: -07/1973, Remanufactured The original alternator is a 50-amp Hitachi unit. Bosch alternator AL 232 X is the equivalent replacement. 60-amp Bosch alternator AL 236 X can also be used in its place where higher alternator output is desired. Reuse of the pulley and fan from the old alternator may be required." So it sounds like a 60 amp alternator. most likely Externally regulated???

Their tester usually has a meter on it that should tell them the output of your alternator. And they may also be able to cross reference the part number.

I used medium Density rubber squares (softer than a tire and harder than a condom ) about 1" x 1". Sandwiched between the support wall and aluminum radiator. and new Stainless 5/16" bolts with lockwashers. The fans are lightweight and barely weigh over a pound and a half each. So weight is Not an issue. The New radiator came with the fans and mounting hardware, which included 9) 8" long plastic rods with ball locks, similar to a roud zip-tie. 8) Plastic feet that lock onto the fans with many options for mounting them to the fan. 9) locker feet for the rods (1 extra) 1) sheet of 1" x 1" x 3/8" foam pads to go between the fans and the radiator fins. Very similar to this set..... I sucked them to the radiator pretty good, they won't be moving any time soon.. I actually checked them last week, no movement, no wear or damage. The fans are so close to each other that they act like their own supports, one supports the other from moving. They came with 2-pin connectors similar to the 2-pin connector on the back of our Alternators. I had the matching ends in my supply bins and the connections now look like they are suppost to. They don't use much power and the 12 gauge power wire to the Relay is more than sufficiant. I would easily suggest this set-up to any Z owner. Whether it be regular or very how weather conditons. Like I said before, sitting in a traffic jam, 95+ degrees outside, stop and go traffic, and it never went over the center line on the gauge. I was very impressed. Dave

Clean, simple and uncluttered. I like it. Go with that. Pick your end result and stick with it. Too much deviation from the original plan will only slow you down and cost more. Trust me, words of experience. Dave

That's kinda what it sounds like. I would just pull it and attempt to clean and regrease it, then pull the wiper linkage as well and clean and regrease that as well. If the damage is not too extensive. The rotating shafts (on the wiper arms at the cowl panel) wear out due to bad bronze bushings. Clean and lube as best you can. Wear and tear, resistance, old parts and lack of grease are the big issues in the wiper system. Dave

I think that the Griffin was inificiant because of it's size. I think it held so much fluid that when the thermostat opened and swapped hot for cooled, the rad was so big that it wasn't able to cool as easily as a smaller unit would. Make sense? I hope so, cause I'm confused. The new 2-core, being a little smaller and thinner, is able to cool the fluid more efficiantly. Being as how it is closer to the size and shape of the 240Z's original radiator, it fits better and does what it's supposed to do, almost too well. it seems to be about 10 to 15 degrees lower than stock. The Dual fans are held on with the usual plastic push pins with the flat washer style clasps on the front of the radiator. The Thermal switch is the Probe style that goes Into the radiator via the upper hose and a small rubber wedge with a slot cut in it. THEY WORK AWESOME!!! I was able to sit in traffic for over 20 minutes, in 98 degree weather and the fans would kick on every once in a while and cooled it PDQ (Pretty Damn Quick) The gauge never mover past the middle line due to the fans doing a great job. Aluminum Radiator and fans $145 ?? (eBay, seller in CA.) Thermal switch $30 (Napa in Marysville, WA.) Some power wire, inline fuse and a relay $7 (My own stock) 2.5" x 10" Polished Aluminum overflow Can ($50 @ Dreamers Hot Rod Shop in Everett, WA.) Total of $232 before tax. Best cooling system I ever owned. Dave

How slow was the wiper motor Before the alternator swap? I ask because they get slower and slower and will pop fuses due to the motor being too hard to rotate. Maybe taking a day and pulling the wiper motor and rebuilding it (cleaning, blowing it out and regreasing) might do you and the fuse some good. Resistance is a big issue in the 240Z's, as well as all S30 Z's. As a sidenote, clean all your connections and terminals. Seriously, Take a day to open each and every connection you can get your hands on and clean them. Some people use DeoxIT-D5. Look it up, it's a great contact and connector cleaner (slime, oxidation, char, etc) Grounds are another trouble spot. Pull and clean all associated Ground points. One below the battery on the frame. Run better or bigger power wires and keep the battery terminals and posts clean and coated with a Battery terminal coating (protectant) Dave

ME... NOT SEXY!! unless you argue with my wife. My Car......Sexy as all get out. I was talking about the car silly, But thanks anyways. By the way.... Why am I NOT sexy? Dave