AxtellZ

Dunno about the charge light, but guess it would be the alternator/VR going or gone bad. As far as the starter, i'd guess it to be going out too. My 74 260 got like that, some days she'd spin the first time, others i'd hit the igniton a dozen times to get a start. Like yours, when it cranked, it worked fine. I got a rebuilt starter from www.rockauto.com for about $18US, she hits first time every time since then! Good luck, Jeremiah

There is a company here in western NY called NY Strip. They use a high-volume, low pressure plastic bead blast, so no metal warping or stretching. It won't take out rust or body filler i guess, but does a nice job on paint removal. They quoted about $700US for a Z sized body, and will epoxy prime for another 5 or 600. Eventually that's where my 73 will go, i'll let everyone know how it works out.

and what he means is: When she's 15, you wish she was 36, but when she's thirty-six, you wish she was 24. 15 36 24 Sorry about that Bonnie:classic:

headlight buckets, yes. valance pieces, no. the valance changed size & shape as the bumpers grew larger and the turn signals moved.

Both! this is my homepage, both at home and at work... I am sure the other pharmacists just love to see it when they log on, and to see me, my wife and my Z as my wallpaper.... Maybe i AM an addict- now where's that Methadone??

Ditto. 'nuff said. Good luck- that's some quandry to be in, isn't it? As my father would call "rich man's troubles"..

My name is Jeremiah, and I too, am a Z addict:love: I bought my 73 in 1993, after lusting for a 240 since i was about 7 years old. She was in decent shape, but had usual New York rust:cry: I spent 8 years driving, playing, fixing...got the mechanicals finished, new floors, carbs, springs & struts, poly bushings. I finally got her in line to have the bodywork done and painted- had to schedule 10 months ahead! After 9 months, one of the guyz in the local club ( www.zccr.net ) had to sell his 260. So, being the addict type, i jumped at the chance to buy ANOTHER z, using my saved body/paint money. After all, he had just painted, etc! So my 73 still waits, but she is not forgotten.. Just have to wait till 4 kids spare me enough $ again :sleepy: And when i'm not working or toying with the carZ, i spend my computer time here (and searching for ebay z bargains)- This site is my homepage- anyone else?

Yes, its the BR wiring that causes the car to run only in the "start" position. The bad newz: i can't tell you the correct wiring procedure. I do know that on my 73 a few years back, 1 wire from the BR would wiggle loose occasionaly, when that happened it would only run when at "start". Try a search of this site about balast resistor, start, etc.. i think there's a few threads that will help you. Sorry i can't help more, good luck!

I agree with Carl, that "sounds" like a rocker/valve area rattle- Have you pulled the cover yet? In my experience, i always expect the worse, only to find these cars are tough little buggers, and have thusfar had only minor troubles... I wish the same for you. Good luck! Jeremiah

I'm with Keith on this one! If you have any means at all to stash parts, keep all you can- if for no reason other than Ebay- it's amazing what will sell. And i can't tell the amount of times i have needed some obscure part, or had a friend that did. A gauge, a knob, some interior panel, light, the list goes on and on... Hell, i've been known to send distant friends climbing through the mountains to an old parts car to fend off snakes and bees, just to find a certain gauge, or maybe turn signal switch.....Hey Keith, have you heard this story beforeLOL ? You, my friend, are a great man. Thanks again for your help!! Anyway, if you can part it into storable boxes- keep all you can! my $0.02US, Jeremiah

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2414548893 for 260, but i *think* it would fir 70-78 Z cars..

Well, yes, they do look better on the Z- but we hoped they were some rare, valuable (sellable) piece. Of course on Ebay, you can always find someone glad to overpay! Thanks for the help! Jeremiah

OK, i guess i am impaired, but the pic appeared this morning for me:stupid: So i have put it in my gallery, since i can't seem to make this happen here at work. George- those rims are known as "Turbine" style here, i have a set exactly like that on my silver 73:love: I believe that there were a few manufacturers that made similar wheels; Appliance, Western Wheels, etc. I got mine on Ebay a few years back- Thanks, Jeremiah

Damn!! Glad to see you're back:classic: Hadn't chimed in yet, as i have the same thoughts and prayers as everyone else here.....but know that there are loads of friends here pulling for you! Take care, be well, and good luck in getting back behind the wheel. Zya, Jeremiah

Hi all, we just picked up an early 74 260Z, rust bucket- but some useful parts at least. Has rims i've not seen before, can anyone identify them? (14 inch) I'll try to attach the pic... again..

I did this a year or two back, involved plenty of cussing, i remember. I jacked the front of the car up, then used a variety of wooden dowels, board strips, etc,to pry and poke at the latch and eventually got the sombitch to pop open. Good luck!

As a follow-up, to keep everyone tuned to the outcome... Read your directions, don't *assume* your helper did:stupid: Once i got the optical trigger aligned well with the rotor and dist/cap post- all runs well, for now.. The bad newz: My helper installed his weeks before me, on his recently refreshed & installed L28 turbo block. His didn't run well at all, so he *ASSUMED* he installed the distributor/oil pump shaft off a tooth- he pulled it & moved it, got the car to run (still poorly)- Then came down and found i had read the instructions, and his problem is the same- but now he has to move that shaft back, then align his ignition eye!:stupid: :stupid: OUCH! Moral of the story: Maybe some days it pays to read the instructions:classic:

Ok you Aussies- before you bail out from this thread, you must explain the "raw prawns" and "stone the crows"......I am sure it must be Z related, in some way.... Oh, and on the Pilot/John Denver/Mr Rogers/blahblahblah, it's time to agree that some of us disagree, shake hands and sit down to a beer together. I'll be home at 8:45pm Eastern Standard Time- everyone join me tonight, I'll be thinking of you all:classic: Jeremiah

I posted this to the mail-list too, here is Cary White's response: I have the same optical unit (though I use the Hi-6 box) and the placement of the little eye is crucial. I would suggest that you put your distributor back to center position and fiddle with the placement of the eye until you get it running good. If I'm not mistaken, the distributor cam turns clockwise, so moving the little eye along it's mount in a counter clockwise direction should advance your timing. Hope that helps. p.s. once you get it right, you will love this setup. you'll never have to mess with it again. Cary Methinks i am going to try to get it right, but carry the old parts from the dizzy in the car with me, as "insurance":stupid:

Damn Carl! Isn't that just a kick in the nutZ!? See, my late 260 already had Datsun electronic ignition, and i had planned to keep it stock (since it worked fine), but my wife bought me the XR700 unit as a birthday gift:tapemouth Not to "look a gift-horse in the mouth", i happily installed the unit. Happily, that is, until you came and rained on my parade. Not what i was looking to hear, you're right! But, as long as you've been here- does my assessment sound correct? Think if i move that optical mount i can get the timing closer, at least to get the car back home? Anyone else been happy with the XR700??

Hi all! OK, here's the story: late 260Z with 72 SU carbs. Been hibernating since November, got it out last week for Spring, also to install my new Fireball XR700 ignition. Pulled forward after starting it, and had no brakes:cry: So i went ahead and installed the ignition unit, and got it to run well in the garage, though i had to turn the distributor ahead as much as i could to get her running well. Parked it and ordered a rebuilt master cylinder, called a buddy with a muffler/brake shop to install the MC since i am working too much this month:sleepy: So last night i have a chance to drop the Z at his shop, its near freezing, but dry, so my wife drives to pick me up. Car was really hard to start, but then it idled along fine once running. I start out, to find it really bogging and coughing at low RPM's under load. Now, if i had it over 3000rpm, she screamed along like an L6 should, and driving along flat roads without trying to accelerate, it was fine. However, driving up a slope, or to accelerate with the engine under 3K rpm, it stumbled, coughed, etc etc.. I am *guessing* my timing is still retarded, and it runs well at high rpms from the vacuum advance.. Seems logical, since when the XR700 units optical trigger is mounted in the distributor, it is located in an arbitrary position, so perhaps i need to "slide" it back in its mount to gain some room for setting the timing? Can anyone give me an opinion as to yes/no/maybe?? Don't have a timing light, so i've no idea where it is now- just got it to idle in the garage, then on the virgin voyage, the above story. Any and all insight appreciated here- THANKZ!!:classic:

And from www.zhome.com: From: "Lawrence M. Cooper" Subject: Tachometer Hookup & Jacobs Ignition Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 09:42:42 -0500 I've been reading several threads recently on problems with stock tachometers and on problems with the Jacob's system. First let me say that on my ITS prepared 72 240Z, both work flawlessly. Now a little background. Many years ago I found out that there are at least two types of tachs for the 240Z and 260Z. One type is a four wire positive trigger tach and another is a three wire negative trip tach. The 4 wire type has one wire that sends positive voltage to the tach, one wire is for ground and the other two leads are the trigger loop, one coming and the other going. I can't say off hand exactly where these two feed to/from but they are shown in both my 72 and 73 factory manual wiring diagrams. They are also poorly pictured in these manuals. From past experience I have found that this type of tachometer is very unreliable. I have found this true in Mazdas and Datsuns. I have found the 3 wire type of tachometer to be much more reliable and more adaptive to aftermarket modifications to the ignition system. The 3 wire type has a positive lead, a ground and a negative trip lead that runs directly from the negative terminal on the coil. Strangely, however, I have not found a Datsun wiring diagram or picture depicting this three wire tach. Has anyone out there seen one? OK, here is what I have done with my 72 240Z. I removed my old 4 wire tach and replaced it with the three wire. I ran all new wires to the tach to assure proper circuitry. One wire from a trustworthy + supply, another to a nice ground, and the third directly to the negative lead on the coil. Here is where a problem crops up. Remember those two wires, on the 4 wire tach, that formed the positive trip circuitry? Well that loop is needed to keep your car running. Apparently the primary ignition circuitry runs through this loop (weird). I had to just complete this loop and the car started right up. I now always use a 3 wire tach. You can easily hook up a shift light to it as well as the Jacobs electronic ignition. OK, here is where I'll get some arguments. I don't use points. I use an Allison XR-700 (now called Crane?) optical trigger inside my stock distributor housing(per ITS regulations). I have used this on several 240s and 510s. It works great and I have amazingly not changed the timing for years. I will never go back to points as they were unpredictable, poorly manufactured and needed constant fiddling. NEVER again!!! Soon after rebuild, my current ITS engine developed a slight misfire whose exact cause could not be isolated. I tried my backups: carb/manifold assembly, distributor, Allison trigger, coil, wires, etc. Nothing worked as the engine would stumble when accelerating through about 3000 rpm and would finally hit what felt like a crisp spot only when reaching above about 5500 rpm. I don't have a dyno so my seat of the pants is about as accurate as it gets. I decided to try the Jacobs computer, coil and wires, $500 - ouch! I suppose I could have tried the MSD that some of my competitors use but for some reason I didn't. The car started right up and since I was still using my old trigger, it didn't need re-timing. It idled smoothly. The tach(3 wire) worked perfectly. I took it out on the road and in 4th gear at 1500 rpm it pulled aggressively and smoothly up to 6500 rpm. Gone were all hints of hesitation. The engine sounded crisper and felt much more powerful. I then ran this test as well as full throttle tests starting in lower gears and was amazed at the performance. Since this time my car has run flawlessly and has won many races. I can honestly say that the $500 I spent is the best money I ever spent on this car. Look at it this way. A new set of Hoosiers will cost you just over $500 and how many sets will you run over time? And no, I don't get any kickback from Jacobs. Coop

Have you looked here: http://www.geocities.com/zgarage2001/engine.html I'll cut & paste what i found: HOW TO HOOK UP THE E12-80 MODULE and D2 DISTRIBUTOR INTO A 240Z? (If you have a 280Z or 280ZX don't do this mod) The module must be mounted on a 1979-83 280ZX distributor (won't work on points or D1). Connect a key-off +12V supply to the "B" terminal on the distributor IC module and coil +. Then connect the module's "C" terminal to the coil's negative terminal. Make sure the metal rear of the module is clean so it can ground itself to the side of the distributor. Remove the triangular hold-down plate on the base of the distributor. Burnish it, as well as the spot where it contacts the distributor and replace. This helps everything ground well to the block. Use quality spade lugs and wire with TIGHT crimps, and solder the wire/spade connections if possible. Don't solder or crimp onto the module though, just make sure the spades fit on tight. A 240 tach will not work with this setup since it's loop wiring can no longer connect to the coil. Replace it with a 75-78 280Z tach and connect the tach sensor lug to the - terminal on the coil. If the tach jumps around, solder a 7500-10,000 ohm resistor inline with the sensor wire to reduce the signal voltage. If it still won't work buy a Autometer #3990 black face tach. WARNING: if you have a MSD or Crane, DON'T hookup the module or tach to the coil. The 450 volts will fry it. Follow ignition's hookup guide instead. 280Z TACH INTO A 240Z I would recommend getting rid of your old 240Z tach. Vintage, but not designed well, they're inaccurate and start jumping around as they age: Replace it with a 1975-78 280Z tach. Put the new tach in the 240 metal housing, and swap the faceplates to keep the redline accurate. The needle pops off, don't damage it. A drop of rubber cement might be needed to put it back on. Don't use superglue or you'll never get it off again. Connect the tach's sensor lug to the negative terminal on the coil. NOTE: Make sure you reverse the power leads on the back of the tach, compare them before you swap for a reference. The little "loop plug" from the 240 tach should be plugged back into the wiring harness in the dash, otherwise the car won't start. If you have trouble getting the tach to work, a simpler solution is to replace it with a 5" aftermarket model like Autometer makes

Try here: http://www.classicdatsun.com/ They sell the SEM dye, and could give you excellent info about its application. HTH, Jeremiah