cygnusx1

It depends on the year I think. 1983 base timing was advanced more than the others. 24 degrees BTDC +/-3 degrees advanced @700rpm for a manual trans. in 1983. I like to run mine around 27-28 BTDC with 93octane. I think the earlier ones were 21 BTDC.

They are vinyl. I think they are available in leather as well...or they were.

You also don't want it to leech into the gaskets. It will eat gaskets too.

I have detailed two engines in the past few years with great results. Both engines were done outside the car, inside a garage with hand spray bottles. No hose used. I use a large baking pan to catch the runoff grease and collect it in a used oil container. This can be done inside the car but your back will be killing you! 1)Orange-type degreaser. Spray and let soak overnight. 2)Poke at all the grease with a very stiff bristle brush. 3)Repeat 1 and 2 until the grease is very loose and runny. 4)Foamy engine cleaner use as directed on can. 5)Hot water in an old windex bottle. Spray the cleaners and grease off the motor. 6)Get the grease out of the nooks with small brushes and Orange-degreaser. 7)final rinse and let dry. (brake clean works well after a water rinse) 8)Zinc prep treatment for the bare metal. (POR has some) 9)Primer spray or engine paint kit. 10) Mask off and paint. I like aluminum brake paint for the head and silver parts. I just finished this one last week.

80's vintage BMW 320i recaro seats in pleather fit the Z style very well. I have them in my 280Z. They are HARD to find, expensive, and require some bracket fab. Here are my MSA covered 240Z seats that I just finished. I reused the old foam but added some carpet pad foam in the bolsters. Not as nice as the pro ones but...I did it myself.

Maybe spacing the whole manifold off the head might help a little, but a great portion of the heat comes via convection off the exhaust manifolds.

Here is my $15.00 third brake light that is a peel and stick! Yes, it's that easy. PEEL AND STICK! Inside the hatch and invisible when it's off. These are super tiny 12v SMD lights. Direct wire. More info: http://nyzcc.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=426 I liked them so much I bought some for the headlights!

Yes, this is the perfect forecast to prepare the area. We might be able to uncork the Z's for 2010. You also need to give the puddles a day or two to dry up. It looks like this Tuesday or Wednesday may be perfect.

The softer your springs and shocks, the more bending abuse the T/C will take. I ran polys all around until I saw what happens a couple if years ago. Then I switched to rubber in the back. Peace of mind.

Thanks Kathy & Rick! I really appreciate the comments. I actually paid a visit to Silver Z in the shed this morning to pull the Panasport wheels out. Gave her a pat on the back for good measure. Silver Z has never met Red Z. I Don't think she suspected anything until she saw me pull the Panasports out of the shed. :paranoid: I hope she doesn't get too suspicious. Managing multiple relationships is tough. How am I going to keep the mistress a secret? What will she say when she finds out I put her old engine into the new Mistress? Stay tuned for this Springs episode of General HoZpital.

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Pics

The eagle has landed....but when I got to the tail feathers I found some rust. This car has no rust except for the tailgate sill. It looks like a long time ago, someone stepped on the sill, bent it dowm, cracked the seam sealer when they straightened it up. The water got in and the rest is history. I scraped it all out, treated it, painted it, and re-sealed it. It should hold off for a few years while I lok for a job and save up for a full paintwork.

LOLz on the toothpaste BUT you weren't too far off! I found something that worked well. I used some Gojo hand cleaner with mild abrasive in it and it worked wonders on the outside. Put some on a cloth and work the surface. The inside was already acceptably clean.

I suppose I could paint them...but that's cheesy. If I did paint them, I would put a vertical tape strip on it as a mask, then spray it semi-gloss black (to make it look like modern black plastic). Once the tape was peeled, it would leave a window to view the fluid level....just a thought...not original but probably better looking than a stained tank.

Has anyone found a way, or a way not to, to clean the old washer tanks and other white plastic parts in the Z that have discolored with age? Is it even possible to get them nearly white again?

I found chrome paint. The problem is that it is very delicate without a topcoat. When you try to topcoat it, it dulls a bit. Here is an example. These are white plastic spoons painted. The one on the right has been clear coated. This one was painted and dipped in epoxy.

Thanks everyone. It was the easiest wiring fix ever. The PO had clean-cut the wire and tucked the tail under the vinyl without even taping it off. Why???? No idea. It's yellow with a blue stripe (green if you squint ;-) ). Luckily I had some authentic Datsun vintage yellow wire laying around. I soldered it, connected it and instant Handbrake warning light! So far I have been over ALL of the wiring forward of the rear deck riser and THAT was the only cob-job in the entire car! Amazingly clean. I still don't understand why the center console connector set does not match the available set under the dash. I think it's a different year console. I will adapt the wiring WITHOUT cutting any factory stuff.

That's funny, my 72 FSM wiring diagram calls it Yellow/Blue and your diagram calls it Green/Yellow. Is your diagram for a 72? Gotta LOVE the wiring in these cars. Functional but bi-polar!

Thanks! I will go digging in the right side harness then.

1972 240Z: Where does the parking brake switch wire run? ...from the console OR does it come across the floor from the passengers rocker? Mine is missing, so I need to either find it, or run a new one. It's a Yellow/Blue wire supposedly... THANKS! :ogre:

Off topic warning: When I installed an engine management system in my 280Z Turbo, I ran 10 gauge feeds from the battery, both positive and ground, to a distribution center inside the car. I then used terminal blocks, to "octopus" smaller wires out to all the functions. The positive main is fused and then, the distribution block is fused for each circuit. I returned all the grounds back to the local ground distribution block (also grounded to the chassis) which returns the current directly to the battery. I have had zero problems with noise, or blown fuses.

Thanks. rockauto.com has the fuel pump inertia switch for $23.00. Small price to pay for safety. Unfortunately they also want $25.00 for the connector but I can make that up. AIRTEX Part # 1S3906

I searched "fuel pump wires". Didn't find out any detail on how to make the pump crash/stall safe on a 240Z. I figured that there was a way through the alternator output, but the oil pressure switch is a neat trick too. I also see listed, at rockauto.com some pump control switches that look like roll-over protection. They may be mercury switches, not sure.

My 72 will be getting Webers so I installed an electric fuel pump. It was nice of Datsun to give us pre-installed wires for the pump. They run from the radio area back to the fuel level sender area. A black and a green wire with T-Connector up front, and bullets in the back. Now that the pump is connected to the bullet connector out back, what should I do with the T connector up front? I need switched power for the green wire and I suppose I can just ground the black wire. But this is a fuel pump we are talking about. What is the proper way to wire a fuel pump so that it stops pumping if the engine stalls? In the 280Z, Nissan used a switch in the AFM. What do we use in a 240Z?