Zs-ondabrain

We have Value Villages all over Washington State. That's where I find all my 28/32 Levi 501's. I buy in bulk there. And I donate alot, damn kids keep growing out of their clothes. If it weren't for Value Village, my 5 kids would probably be naked half the time. They're great when money is tight. Great find, Dave.

So it turns out that someone over at HybridZ has done this to his Buick and plans on doing it to his 260Z as well. This picture is in his Signiture, the far right of the picture shows his Red Cold Cathode lights lighting up the interior beautifully.

What store did you go to to find a 7+ year old Magazine still sitting on the shelf? Are they that lazy or did you find this a long time ago, and just now got to share? It's early and I think I'm confused. :stupid: Dave.

Not neccesarily "another Awesome upgrade by Dave" but more like "an Awesome Upgrade. Cause it is Awesome. And me of all people, Missed the hole, by "that much" LOL

Like I already said before, The blue inverter box would easily slip into the dome light hole and be hidden up inside that roof support, so the only wires you'll see will be the white tube light wires. And those can easily be hidden with some black sleeving because the wires unplug from the inverter. I also found out that the new tube lightscome on when the dome light switch is depressed. So they can be turned on at any time. GNOSEZ.... The 3mm lights actually sit in an 11mm? protective tube. You're set.

Get the other motor for now. $300 for a running 2.6 and tranny is a good deal. Then rebuild the original numbers matching motor? and set it aside till you can afford to put it back in. Truth is, the numbers matching block can be bored out and built up and no one wil be the wiser cause the numbers are still matching, and that will help when selling the car to someone looking for a numbers matching Z. Dave.

I don't see why not. They sell a single tube as well, and the blue box could fit into the hole that the dome light sits in. I'd mount the tube on the plastic, facing the front. Or do the 2 tube kit like mine and do one on both sides of the upper support to light the front and the hatch area as well. Dave

I went to the Magazines website and found some good info. I also found the "Buyers Guide" in a PDF. http://www.practicalclassics.co.uk/downloads/datsun240z_buying.pdf

I've NEVER hit the speaker once. I quess apearances are decieving in the pic. The speaker sits higher than it apears and I can even use the Dead Pedal when needed. Brian... Not in a 240Z you don't. Gary, The one place I did'nt check was the JY or Pull a part. I would have settled for less or even a basic under dash light like Brian mentioned, but I'm totally happy with the route I went. Very clean white light that's not blinding in any way. can't even see the bulbs unless you get on your knees and pray. Jimmy, I found something on superbriteLEDs.com but they are pricey and I'm broke at the moment. the upgrade would include inserting the bulbs from the inside out. Not a plug and play thing, tell ya more when I find the info I'm looking for. MEZZZ, I wish you did too, the Cold cathode bulbs are a DYI thing. Just order them from the site above, cut the red and black wire at the large plugs (when you get it in the mail), mount them like I did, run the red wire to the cigarette lighter wire or any constant 12 volt source. Run the black wire to the P-side door pin wire and you're done. And thanks, I try. Dave.

Unfortunately, They are similar to neon tubes and the protective tube will only withstand so much before it breaks. My initial thought was under the seats, facing outward but I store stuff there and your feet will interupt the lights. The doors would be great but doors slam, feet hit doors, and the tubes are 12" long. then there's the wiring as you mentioned above. The two tube can only be about 21" to 24" apart from each other unless you buy the single tube kit (about $4) I love them. I must have went to the dark garage about 4 times last night, just to open the doors and admire the scenery of a well lit interior. Dave. Heres the pics of the lights under the dash area on the drivers side. and another showing how you can't directly see the light tube unless your eyes are even with the door handle or seats.

You guys have GOT to see these in person. The difference is Day and Night. They have a 30,000 hour lifespan and considering the fact that you only open the doors to get in and out, they'll last a lifetime. With a price tag of less than $8.00 for the pair, and basic shipping around $7. Then again, it's another reason to keep the car clean, cause it lights up the floor boards very nicely. Anyone have any other lighting upgrades to add? Dave.

Being winter, it's dark sooner and longer than normal. So with that in mind, I really notice how dark the interior is when I drop my keys on the mat in front me. After digging for a minute and finally having to get out of the car and reach down to get the keys, I figure it's time for an upgrade. Some of you will like it and some of you won't. But the plain and simple truth is "The dome lights in these cars SUCK azz" So I got online and started looking for your basic 12 volt interior lights. this turned out to be Mission Impossible. So I used Goooogle to look deeper and found this site.... Directron.com and this link will take you directly to the lights in question. It's a Computer supply site and I found 12" (12 Volt DC) Cold Cathode Tube lights. Used to light up the inside of a computer case with a clear plastic side panel. The Cold Cathode tube only require 5.0ma which is practically nothing. The picture below will show before and after as well as cutting off the "T" plugs from the inverter that normally plug into the inside of the computer. They put off a Beautiful white light when placed under the dash. I mounted the first tube at the bootom back corner of the glove box, using the supplied Velcro that came with it. It sits just on the back corner but not on the down facing panel of the glove box. Out of site but able to light everything up. The blue inverter box sits in the dash area just above the radio. The wires from the inverter to the tubes are only about 12" each so the box has to be placed in the middle of the dash. **DO NOT CUT THE WHITE WIRES THAT GO TO THE TUBES** THEY ARE SPECIALTY HI VOLTAGE WIRES!! The drivers side was different. The tube sits on the upper side of the steering columnm, with the wired end touching the mid-section of the defrost tube and the other end just barely touching the curved dash support on the left of the steering column. So I Velcro'd the wired end to the plastic defrost tube and doubled up the Velcro on the other end to reach the dash support better. Best $15 I ever spent on lighting up a very dark interior. They sit low enough to even light the dark seats, just enough to make sure I don't end up with seat belt up my butt, AGAIN!! Here's the pics.. Dave. If you have any other lighting upgrades, please post them here, as the title of this forum should pop up when ever someone is looking for lighting options.

Speaking of Dome lights and not trying to Jack the thread BUT............ My dome light was giving crap as well. So I got into it and fixed it but started thinking "The dome lights in these cars SUCK azz" So I got on line and started looking for your basic 12 volt interior lights. this turned out to be Mission Impossible. So I used Goooogle to look deeper and found this site.... http://www.directron.com/clk12wt.html It's a Computer supply site and I found 12" 12VDC Cold Cathode Tube lights. Used to light up the inside of a computer case with a clear side panel. They only require 5.0Ma which is like Nothing, practically. The picture below will show before and after as well as cutting off the "T" plugs that normally plug into the inside of the computer. They put off a Beautiful white light when placed under the dash. I mounted the first tube at the bootom back corner of the glove box, using the supplied Velcro that came with it. It sits just on the back corner but not on the down facing panel of the glove box. Out of site but able to light everything up. The drivers side was different. The tube sits on the upper side of the steering columnm, with the wired end touching the defrost tube and the other end just barely touching the curved dash support on the left of the steering column. Best $15 I ever spent on lighting up a very dark interior. They sit low enough to even light the dark seats, just enough to make sure I don't end up with seat belt up my butt, AGAIN!!:tapemouth:eek: Here's the pics.. Dave.

It's on 3/30/08 at the Golden Gardens park in Seattle. Register at the park the day of the event. No real registration needed unless you want to enter to win a prize. It's more of a show-up-and-shine event. The usual rules apply like no showing off, burnouts etc. Just remember that the event is usually centered around SX and ZX as well as 350Z's and a lot of honda's and other imports. Lot of drifters, racers and plain old people wanting to check out others cars as well as show theirs off. Good event to just show up, park, meet new people and talk about your Z to the inexperienced import owner. Dave. Why don't all of the 240 and other S30 owners here on this site, who are going to go, write me and we'll all figure out where we can meet up and Convoy in together. Ithink that would be sweet and we'll definately get our fare share of looks. write me at wolfin32z@yahoo.com and we'll figure it out

Come on Bleach, you gotta help us increase the Z presence there this year. I'll be there unless something more important comes up. There were about 5 Z's there last year and I as well as many other would love to see a lot more there this year. IAN, All I was pretty much saying was "I gave you a HELL of a deal on the car" you could have at least kept me in mind or gave me first dibs on No Longer Needed parts. That's what I would have done, but then again, that's just me. Dave.

OK, so you tore the crap out of my old Z. Nice. But what did ya do with everything ya tore out? What are ya doing with the L28 and carbs that were in it? Seats? I spent some good money and time rebuilding those. Dash? Heater assembly? Dash Harness? Write me and let me know what's available if anything. If I knew you were gonna rip everything out, I would have done it for ya. I could always use spare stuff around here. By the way, that L28 I got from ya was trash. All the cooling ports and areas were rusted thru almost going thru th cylander walls and the block. Oh well. I could still use a decent L28 to rebuild though. Dave.

I'll actually have to agree with A7DZ on this one. It's all outlined in the statement ("You get what you pay for") I too have seen many a crappy job come out of Maaco and Earl Shibe BUT...... I have also seen some beautiful jobs come out of the same building. The nice ones were the ones who actually forked out real cash and weren't looking for that "Just paint the damn thing so I can sell it" Paint job. The statement holds true for about 80% of the shops in question. Some shops just plain old SUCK. but most will give ya what ya pay for. I was given a $4500 estimate on repairing all the dings and a top quality paint job on my 70'. And that was just a rough estimate on a walk around the Z. I got a $1500 estimate on repairing the damage and painting the new hood after that kid backed into me, from one shop. The other shop gave me a $3500 price and the same repairs but they included the high price for top quality work, baking the paint on, and rebuilding my cowl induction hood. I quess it all comes down to "How high do you want the quality to be, and how much are you willing to pay for that quality work?" Maaco can do a great job, but like any good shop, you gotta pay for it. Some shops won't do "quick, easy and cheap" But Maaco will cause there is money in it. You won't pay a "Big Shop" $300 to install an alternator but you'll fork out $50 for the mechanic next door to do it on his time. And he does quality work as well as quick, easy and cheap. See what I mean? Dave.

I met a lot of the guys a Canby last year (07') Maybe we'll have to get everone together again this year as well. Mine just rolled over 170,000 last night, After an 800 mile round trip to Roseburg, Oregon, yesterday. Does that count as low milage? It's low if you consider the average car is driven 15,000 a year. (those who work out of town, 5 days a week) Dave. Give me a call Jon.

This is what I found, Maybe there's a link in there to find out more. Dave. http://www.datrats.com.au/OS%20GIKEN%20ENGINES.htm

And a little more North Western would be nice for those who don't wanna travel 100's of miles away just for even a peek. I live 100 miles from Canada and LA and LV are too damn far. Something close would be great, Dave.

Hey Will, Me and Justin54321 are looking into making Clear Dome light covers to replace the cloudy white OEM covers, found on most S30's. Are you doing anything like this or did you even have plans? I ask because I'd rather see your clear lense then attemp it myself. Dave

Can't remember all that was mentioned on 9 other pages but here's what we got so far. I still do the LED taillight conversion for $250 LED sidemarkers on my car were the 1"x2.5" 12 LED markers found at the local KENWORTH (Big Rig) service center. about $8 per corner Dash lights are Ba9's and I personally used the "White Wide Angle Ba9's from www.superbriteleds.com I'm still working on (just haven't had time to complete the project) front LED marker/TS lights. I also now make the SCP Sidemarker Conversion Plugs for the 240Z's. It converts the sidemarkers to Turn Signal/Sidemarkers. PM me for more info MSA and Superbriteleds both sell an LED Dome light conversion kit for about $20 +/- That's all I got off the type of my head. Dave.

Just go to your local GoodWill or Value Village, or bargain (used stuff store) and grab a travel clock. I have one here if you can't find one at K-Mart or Fred Meyer. or whatever. Dave.

Thanks Arne, Itotally forgot about that too. I needed it posted because the early Z owners (69' to mid 71') don't have the option of a White face sticker because ours starts at 20MPH and MSA don't offer it. I obviously found out the hardway and had to make this one. I scanned it, and converted it to white without all the other writing on the gauge that can't normally be seen anyways. for those who want to, they can print this directly to card stock or a vinyl sticker for use on their early 240Z gauge. Dave.

Sure, just point your finger at the guy with the "BIG" picture. I hope ya washed it first. Yah, It was my fault. That was the smallest picture of the clock I had on hand. It was late and I did'nt have time to reduce the photo to a respectably smaller size. But on the other hand, I can totally tell how dirty the plastic is, now. Dave.