SteveJ

On the other hand, flat tops done right give very good performance and reliability. If they are there and working, focus on lots of other things (rotting rubber, etc.) before dropping a few hundred to replace a working component. Captain Obvious, are you ready to share what you've learned about the flat tops, yet?

These can work pretty well to find out where a wire is going to.

Is there any chance you can trace out where the other end of the mystery wire goes to? Did the 71 ever have a speaker in the back?

Just go to Espirit's website. His parts aren't cheap (This isn't a complaint. This is just a warning about potential sticker shock.), but he's got plenty of things you can't find anywhere else (since he goes the extra mile to get reproductions done that no one else will try to source). In this case, the brake cable is here. I've made a purchase from him in the past. No problems. I don't recall anybody else complaining about a transaction with him, either.

I think that matches up to what Philip posted.

Philip, look at the upper right hand of the wiring diagram from the supplement. I'm not sure what Step L really is, but it has that wire color combo.

That helps. The white/red wire is for the seatbelt warning timer unit.

Pictures are good. Pictures with a description of where they are in a car are even better. For example, I don't have a 280Z, so I have to rely on the FSM to give you suggestions. The terminal on the ignition relay is for a ground. It is a good chance that the white/red wire is for the headlights. Knowing where the wire resides under your dash would help to confirm. Edit: How did you check your fusible links? The correct way is to remove them carefully and do continuity checks.

First, make sure you have the polarity correct on the battery. The positive should go to the starter. Second, check your fusible links. After that, purchase a multimeter and learn how to use it. That way, if you need to do more advanced diagnostics, we can give you better suggestions, and you can give us better feedback. Edit: I forgot to mention that a factory service manual (FSM) is your best repair guide.

Philip, where are these wires relative to the body of the car?

Have you replaced your fuel filter?

John, for the doors, look for the thread on hear about the Kia Sportage weatherstripping. I did it for my 260Z. I had to trim out excess with the 2 door model weatherstripping. I don't know if the 4 door is closer to the exact size or not.

I have only ever read about using a Honda motor. Where did you see it mentioned about using a Miata motor?

If Philip could supply the size & thread pitch, you could probably find them via McMaster Carr.

Points are not used on an electronic ignition. That is why I said "IF". They are not spark plugs. Points look like this the first picture below. They reside under the distributor cap and rotor. The second picture is a 280ZX ignition. It is commonly used by people going from the stock ignition to an electronic ignition. Other common upgrades to eliminate the points are a Pertronix ignitor and Crane ignition. Use Google to find examples of those. While there are some deviations between the wiring diagrams and real life, the FSM wiring diagram is the most accurate source for stock wiring. As far as the wire colors and where they go, I pulled those STRAIGHT off the FSM wiring diagram. The only exception was mentioning the condensor. If you have an electronic ignition, you'll need to 1) figure out which ignition system you have and 2) search for how it is supposed to be wired.

There is an important detail missing. Is this a stock ignition system? If so, have you checked the gap & dwell on your points? For a stock system In the start position, the green/white wire is energized from the white/red wire at the ignition switch. It goes through the tachometer and on to the black/white wire that goes to the positive side of the coil. In the run position, there is a black/white wire that is energized from the white/red wire at the ignition switch. It goes through the ballast resistor (dropping down to about 9 VDC) and on to the green/white wire. The black wire does go from the coil to the distributor. The ground you are looking for actually goes through the condensor (capacitor). It would go off of the negative side of the coil.

Yeah, your car has been painted...by my wife...Morgan Fairchild. Yeah, that's the ticket. - Tommy Flanagan's Paint Shop.

I just hit the report button, mark it as spam, and move on.

Okay, I thought that the 3 3/16 ones tapered down to 75mm to fit in the hole on the front side.

Did you look at MSA? They have a few.

Ron, You should first check to see if you have voltage at the temperature sender in the engine bay. If you have voltage there, the next thing I would do is to use a potentiometer in place of the sender to see if varying the resistance gets the gauge to move. You can test to see if the gauge works by utilizing a 6 or 9 volt battery on the gauge when it's out of the car. You can also check for continuity between the connector in the dash and the temperature sender.

Thanks for the tip, Phil. I replaced the hood release cable on the 260Z with a 240Z hood release. It works, but the bracket doesn't fit as well. I tried lubricating the old cable, but it didn't seem to improve. I'll have to try flushing it with some solvent and try again.

If the fluid is brown from age, he'll be able to tell sure enough when the fresh fluid comes through...that is providing the lines are not clogged with rust.

I saw your car on Craigslist. You might just be glad you're keeping it. Come by the Georgia Z Club meeting. The next one is November 3. You don't have to be a memeber to drop in on the meetings.

Are you using a tool like the one pictured to check your flow?