HusseinHolland

Going to change the trans & diff oil shortly - both whine, the trans moreso in 3rd, the diff most of the time. The Redline 75W90 got rid of the whine - not because the fluid was low? Just curious mine looks like it's been seeping for years. Should have done it when the rear suspension was apart - would have had easy access to the fill plug back then. I have a couple quarts BG shift II GL-4, so I'll use that for the trans, and I have Redline Shockproof HD, so I'll use that for the diff.

I prefer to drive with at least the parking lights on, so same deal - I have left the lights on by accident several times already, including today when I went out for coffee on my "lunch" break (10:30am - I'm a high school art teacher). I'll replace the feed to the buzzer switch with a tap from the parking light feed at the combination switch.

Now I have to wonder if that was part of the issue with the HEI module slow cranking. It starts so much better now. I'll see how it goes with the AM cold start.

I swapped the earlier starter back in, and this one cranks very nicely, regardless of starting after a short sitting period. I'll send the defective one back to RockAuto

75 has 3 wires - at least my 4/75 does

Found a new construction 280ZX gear reduction starter on RockAuto, WAN Global - I've used that brand before with my Honda K24 swap, so I have some faith in it lasting. I'll just swap it out when it gets here next week.

Going OT - that is a very good idea. Do you recall offhand how you wired it? Buzzes when key removed w/parking light circuit?

Now that I've driven the car for days in row, commute to work, local & mixed highway driving - I have found that there is what I would call a heat soak issue. When restarting a hot / normal op temp engine after a few minutes of sitting (after getting coffee, for example), it will crank REALLY slowly for a couple of revolutions, then pickup to normal cranking speed. Having redone the wiring with suitable gauge cables, added the starter relay to offload the switch, and changed the breaker on the starter leg of the battery cable to a higher amperage, I can't see what else it could be besides the starter itself. I did replace the one that was in there with a reman (RockAuto - Remy 16209) in June of this year. I'll have to see if I can measure the draw from the starter, duplicating the symptom when I have equipment available to test it is the trick. Maybe I'll just swap out the starter for the reman that was in there. A gear-reduction version would be nice, but I'm not sure I want to splurge since it only needs to be in there for a year or so. On the other hand, this is a real PITA to deal with, so maybe it's worth it, if one is available

Thanks for the input - I do see what you mean in your pics - I wish I'd seen it earlier before I spent $35 + on the other color 😞 Did you mean Rustoleum brand? When I search 261413 carbon mist comes up under that brand? EDIT - I scrolled further through your post, and see that you did mean Rustoleum Brand I don't get the flat top comment, unless that indicates you can be contrary? 😄

Thanks for posting this info - I'm in the process of reworking my 75 tail panels, so I bought the paint you have recommended. Mine are only primed at this point, and also need a crack repair, I just noticed... Have to redo the 'chrome' as well - mine had a bunch of wrinkles

Finally figured out a solution for the annoying seat belts in the Z - I've been mulling over a way to deal with the fact that the seat belts suck - for both Ann & I, the shoulder belt rides into our necks. I guess they are meant for ppl with taller torsos. I tried making a guide bracket that uses a hidden 12mm welded nut below the 1/4 glass, couldn't make that work. In any event, I realized the S2000 seats I put in my Volvo pickup, have seat-mounted belt guides and I don't need them there, since the Volvo belts don't have this issue. drilled 2 holes into the seat frame/tub

Thank you for the caution Steve! I have H4 7" housings from my X1/9 original pop up headlamps. So, I would just need to get the Auxito H4 LED bulbs to make this happen 🙂 - Any chance you have a pic of the lighting?

Nice sleuthing! Having not removed headlamps on a Z yet - based on your post, it all removes from the wheel well with the splash guard removed, obviously. I'm looking at Holley 7" 'retrobright' style LED lamps. Not a fan of LED's at all, however an acquaintance has them on his Fiat Spider, and they look good and project well. Having reduced current draw compared to converting to H4 80W's makes sense.

Put the new GM HEI module on a heatsink with heat sink compound, and made a strip to bypass the ballast coil. I'll test it out soon. Trying to get the interior back together at the moment .

Installed the vent, and cut & welded the glovebox. Not perfect by any means, but functional repurpose the cut sections to clear the ducting test fit to check clearance before adding additional fill section

Rainy days. I made a bracket for the right AC under dash vent. Not sure why the factory one has an angle bend, I made mine flat & long enough to put the vent somewhat centered under the glovebox. Used relatively heavy gauge SS sheet metal, that way I don't have to paint it folded one edge for rigidity, like the factory bracket Hopefully the rain gives over later today to I can install it, and then get the glovebox modded to clear the AC ducting, and installed. When I put the DS duct elbow in, I dislodged one of the tach illumination bulb holders, so that has to come back out so I can access the bulb holder, or I can pull the tach out. Problem with that is the lower ridge of the tach body is scraping the vinyl of the dash opening 😞

Do you have pics of your frame with the outer seal? I'd still like to see how it goes. Which piece is the 'sash"? EDIT - never mind, I went & looked at the catalog - that's what they call the frame. 47 & 48 are called door window rail/guide As far as the lower section goes, If I can find pics of how the separate lower section combines with the upper, I would expect it will assist in figuring it out. Presumably the lower section was altered due to the lock/latch changes.

OK - looking at pics of a 77-78 frame and the earlier frame - the later frame has a separate lower section #47 & #48 in the catalog Only one bolt at the front inner instead of two on the earlier style. Rear ends a few inches below the 2 vertical mounts that likely align with the 2 on mine, and has two additional horizontal bolt points. If I can get the later lower guide channels maybe I can make it work

So, having driven the car to work Tues-Thurs, the starting time is not that bad. It's really only the cold start in 40ºF temps that is somewhat lengthy. I think I maybe being a little picky for an almost 50 year old drivetrain. I dunno. It's pouring rain today, and forecast the same for tomorrow, so Sunday I'll get back to it. Thank you Zed Head The primer kit I knew about, as some Volvo PPL have used it. Personally, $70 for that is way too much, plus it's bulky (and tacky) 🤪 - so, I'll figure out a more discreet primer some way shape or form.

Thank you. Unless the door inner skin/structure was also substantially altered and/or the glass shape also changed, I can't see how it couldn't be made to work. I just can't find any detail pics, besides the threads where the discussion revolves around fitting later doors to to a 240Z Not sure that matters, unless you mean perhaps the 76 version would be more likely to fit a 75 door? I'll have to look again in the parts catalog, I would expect there is a chassis break listed for the frame change

Got the last window seal done today - passenger 1/4 glass & frame seals. Cleaned up & painted the bracket weld areas on the frame as with the DS

Question - will the later frames fit the 75 door? Same attachment bracketry built in the the frame? (4 mount points at the front, 3 at the back vertical, 1 facing inward top rear of door skin) I'd just as soon update mine to the later version, especially since the coating on mine is compromised & has surface rust. If the frame with physically fit the door, and it's just the brackets that are different, I could always cut them off the old frames. Also, if you have a pic that shows the channel w/seal - can't tell from the part manual exactly where it goes. The seals I bought don't appear to be long enough to go the full length

I did find that the smaller vent hose grommet was torn - so I sealed that for the time being Also, I had removed the bumper shock & bracket on the DS, that left 3 holes that fed directly into the muffler cavity. Filled them with sealed plugs

Thank you - the antenna drain I plugged sometime ago, the PO put in a manual antenna mast. I'll look at where the EVAP lines come through the floor, and the harness grommet. T/light gaskets are coming... Today I got the door sealed back up & put the door card back on. I need to find a grommet for the lock button Found this in the bottom of the door yesterday - the tab has no tension anymore, so just as well I bought complete new ones Before I put the door all back together I massaged the two dents as best possible, used a heat gun on the outside & a screwdriver handle to work the metal from the inside. Lower dent was between the visible dot & the belt molding Fitted the Volvo 240 crank handle, and a replacement armrest - this one I found in black, so I didn't have to paint it/

OK - so the one (of several) annoying things about driving this is that is smells like exhaust in the cabin. When I drove it earlier in the year, I just left the windows wide open to negate it somewhat. I've already replaced the main door seals & hatch seals, and the driver's window channel seal. I hadn't replaced the passenger door channel seal, so I did that late this afternoon. I'll find out tomorrow if that helps at all. Besides that, the only other thing that I can find info on that can cause it is the tail light gaskets. Apparently fumes will get sucked in past those. I ordered new ones, I need to remove the rear panel & lights anyway to redo the chrome & grey metallic on the panel, so I'll do that when the gaskets arrive . Took the passenger door apart. Didn't have time to document much on this side, it took me about 2 hours, and the Mrs was getting testy Have to put the interior panelling back together tomorrow also drilled & tapped the window winder M5 x.8 to accept the Volvo 240 crank handle. The Volvo shaft has twice as many splines, but it fits snugly on the shaft, so I'm not going to have to cut & weld as I did with the DS EDIT - I did shove the rear molding in place between the frame & door - but I couldn't tell from the form factor exactly how it was supposed to fit. Any chance someone has a pic with theirs in place?