EScanlon

Ok, someone shoot Z Kid for everyone else that shuddered at the thought of parting out that car for the damage it shows. Yes, it's nasty, but it doesn't look as though you should junk her for it. The front fender can be obtained from a donor car, the rear fender can be either straightened out or again grafted from a donor. What condition are the rocker panels and rails? That's more of an indicator. Hope you fix her.

While locating the pictures of the two styles of tail lights, I came accross this other picture of another style of tail.

Ok, now you guys know the light I'm talking about. It took me some time, but I finally had someone respond and tell me that these are lights that get turned on when you park your car on the street, i.e. curbside. And that you must illuminate the side of the car which is on the street side versus the side walk side. I'm not sure about the reasoning for this, but that's the story I was given. So, that means a double switch. The location of that switch is on the console. At least on the EARLY 240 consoles. Here's a picture of the panel on the console I am referring to. You will note that this car has the Choke, the HAND THROTTLE, (which is a SELDOM seen item in the U.S., although not non-existent), the second generation Rear Window Defog switch, (because it's the illuminated variety, the first generation had a non-illuminated switch), and lastly, the space for this parking light switch I'm referring to. Note that the hole has been filled in with this 1" x 1" black plastic plug. This is the same plug that I've seen on dozens of 240's. What I'm hoping to get out of this post, is that someone will be able to post either a picture of the ACTUAL switch, so that I can try to find a similar, OR that someone will admit to having a spare or knowing where to get one and willing to help me obtain this. Thanks in advance.

Now take a look at this light, which the original owner referred to as a Japanese Tail light. Please note the ADDITIONAL bulb wiring in the top center.

This is going to be a couple posts long in order to post pictures and explanations. If you look at the rear tail lights on the 240, you will note that there are actually 5 bulb openings, not just the 4 everyone is aware of. This is even more evident in the two pictures I'm posting. The first picture is the back of a set of tail lights from a U.S. car. Please note that the wiring is for 4 bulbs, but that there is a gray colored plug in the middle top, between the two bulbs.

The one that mounts on the throttle / choke panel on the center console to the right of the Rear Window Defog switch on the early 240's.

The one that mounts on the dash above the Hazard Light Switch. Thanks in advance.

Another of those never seen in the U.S. items. The parking light switch that mounts on the early 240 console (70 to 71) which operates the separate right and left parking lights (actually that extra bulb in the tail light, and I presume also on the front light), is an enigma to me. I've heard what it does, but I've not located a picture or anyone that can describe it. If any of you Aussies or U.K. folk have a picture, or better yet a working spare that you would sell, let me know, I'll pay the shipping. Thanks in advance.

This is addressed to our members who don't reside in the U.S. as I've not met nor heard from anyone in the U.S. who has seen one. In fact probably Alan in the U.K. will know. Thanks in advance. The Fog Lamp Switch, the one that is supposed to mount above the cigar lighter on 70 through 72 240 Z's, does anyone have a picture of what it looks like? Better yet, anyone have a spare one they're willing to sell? I'll pay the shipping! Any information would be appreciated.

With the latch cable broken, unless you can get underneath the car, reach up and around the engine / transmission and then stick your finger or screwdriver into the latch mechanism to actuate it, you'll have to do what zedrally mentioned. At the front, behind the grille remove the four bolts holding the hood / bonnet to the hinges. Once you've done that, get a piece of wood to push up on the hood as far as you can raise it without damaging the paint on the hood or the cowl. Then, from either side, with a 10mm wrench (not a socket, not enough room) remove the mechanism from the hood. Notice I said to remove the latch from the hood / bonnet and not remove the latch from the body. The reason for that is that the safety catch will still prevent you from opening the hood. By removing the two bolts holding the latch to the hood, you'll have freed the hood completely and can now either lift it off the car OR re-attach the hinges. If you're working by yourself, it's tricky and wieldy but you can remove the hood by yourself. If you don't have a lot of forearm strength though, I wouldn't recommend it. Once you've opened the hood / bonnet you can repair / replace the cable. Check the cable to determine what actually happened. Did the little lead ball finally fall off, or did the cable break? If the lead came off, you can adapt a bicycle cable stop (collar & screw) for brakes to do the job. If the cable broke, now it gets more difficult as the mechanism for the handle holds the other end. It's easiest to find a replacement cable. Hope this helps.

Although it may seem ludicrous to repair the lighter assy, it is in fact easy. The lighter assembly is comprised of 3 parts. The Holder has two parts, the inner sleeve, which surrounds the lighter itself when it's inserted; and the outer sleeve which clamps the inner sleeve to the dash or bracket. The outer sleeve is attached to the inner sleeve either by a nut at the back which screws onto the inner sleeve, or by the outer sleeve having threads. The outer sleeve exists in two variations, one has a light bulb holder that attaches to it, and the other does not. Typically, the sleeve with the light bulb is used on the dash, and the one without is used in the console next to the fuse box on early Z's. Both of these have a wire soldered or riveted to the side to provide ground. Although it may be grounded by contact with the metal hardware that holds it to the dash or bracket, it is a very good idea to provide a direct ground for it, due to the high resistance / current the lighter draws. There's a reason why it has it's own fuse. The inner sleeve is the one that holds the lighter both before, during and after heating. (I know kind of obvious) The inner sleeve has a U shaped clip at the bottom which grips the resistance coil housing on the lighter and keeps it held until the coil heats up and causes the U shaped clip to expand and release the lighter. There are also 2 to 3 pressure tabs that grip the lighter along it's sleeve. The U clip is the positive electrical connection for the lighter. The body of the inner sleeve, via contact with the outer sleeve provides the ground. The lighter itself, although addressed as a single part, is actually two, the knob and the lighter heating element and sleeve. To repair the lighter itself you simply buy a new heating element or knob. The sleeve is part of the heating element. The sleeve has a spring which allows the resistance coil to extend outwards to contact the U clip on the inner sleeve. Additionally the sleeve also has a groove along it's circumference for the pressure tabs on the inner sleeve to grip. Over time, the typical failure of these lighters is either the heating coil burns out or the inner sleeve's U clip or pressure tabs loose their spring and no longer hold the lighter. To repair the heating coil you buy a new element. To repair the U clip, as long as it's not broken, you bend the wings on the clip in so that they will grip the heating coil. Just be careful of this as it is possible to bend them in too tightly, which will result in the lighter NOT popping out. The last one, the pressure tabs are the ones that grip the lighter sleeve so that the lighter doesn't fly out of the holder. To repair these, again you re-bend them in so that they grip the sleeve more firmly. Although it is difficult to over bend these, it will make it harder to remove the lighter if you over bend. The repair you need to make is to tweak those pressure tabs into the center of the inner sleeve so that they grip the lighter more firmly than they currently are doing. You can do this with the lighter in position as long as you make sure NOT to touch the U clip at the bottom. If you do, you will definitely short out the lighter with all the ensuing problems of an electrical short circuit. Sorry for the length of this, especially for so simple an item as a cigar lighter, but hope this helps you guys. Enrique

This is a perfect example of why you need / want to get the Parts Microfiche that is for sale here. By looking up the individual models you can readily compare the part number. If they're the same, then bingo, they'll work. The first part of the part number is the same, what seems to change is the suffix, which is the color code. You may find that as Daniel pointed out that some of the other parts also have to be changed to accomodate the different year panel. If you're changing the panel due to availability, be aware that you CAN get the correct ones for the early years. Hope this helps, but do yourself a favor, get the CD from Mike here, it's definitely worth it. 2¢

Tracing down the reason a wire shorted out can be a real spaghetti pull festival. The White / Red wire you mention is the main feed for the fuse box as well as the Ameter in the dash. These are critical as they run the rest of the options attached to the car. While you may still be able to run the car, (the ignition circuit has it's own separate feed from the White /Red coming from the battery) you are in definite need of repairing this. First of all, determine if the cigar lighter wire was the one to short. To determine this, look at the condition of the wire itself. If it is just melted, as you describe the W/R; as opposed to Fried i.e. crispy burnt; then it may have just overheated due to proximity to a wire that overheated. A crispy burnt wire is a prime indication of a short. Since this was to the cigar lighter, it isn't inconceivable that either a piece of metal or something fell into contact with the inside of the holder. This would definitely cause what you've mentioned. By the way, although the end of the cigar lighter has a screw for it's connection, that is not the mounting screw. The cigar lighter typically is held onto the bracket (if by the fuse box) or to the dash (if above the hazard switch) by the two parts of the barrel. There is an outer barrel, with ridges, typically the yellow zinc plated color, that slides over the inner silver holder. The silver holder will usually have a chromed or polished outer rim. The outer barrel holds onto the inner via either a nut at it's back end or by screwing onto the inner. The ground for the assembly is usually soldered / riveted onto the side of the outer barrel. The electrical connection at the center of the inner barrel is for the hot wire, or positive. Sometimes, there will be a small housing on the outside of the outer barrel to hold a light bulb. This bulb is to illuminate the holder when the lighter is out of the housing and the lights are on. To short out a lighter all you have to do is drop something that will make contact between the clip at the bottom which grabs the head of the lighter itself, and the outer wall. This can also happen if someone forces the lighter in and bends the tabs on the clip until they contact the outer wall. To repair what you've already encountered, I would replace the melted and fried wires as far back as they are damaged. Make sure you use wiring of the same type and gauge. Don't substitute solid strand for stranded,don't step down from 16 to 18. The opposite of these aren't as bad, as a general rule, you can sub stranded for solid and go from 18 to 16 gage but you need to be aware that you CAN change the dynamics of the system. The ~IDEAL~ solution is to find a complete wiring harness from a donor car, as this way you can correct many problems. Just be aware that there ARE subtle differences between the years as well as automatic and standard harnesses. Hope this helps, feel free to ask further questions. Enrique

You've figured it out mostly. The Blue, White and White Black wires are for the power, and the speaker. The Blue is the positive, negative is through the chassis when mounted. The blue additionally should have a "fuse" which in reality is a coil to reduce interference from the engine. The White Black is the positive for the speaker These three go to a triple connector where the three female spade connectors are inside a male plastic holder; this complete connector is called a Male. The 3 connectors look like the outline for a letter U. (Like=> | _ | ; but the underline is further down) The Red Blue wire goes to a male bullet connector which then plugs into a red / blue wire for powering the light bulb which illuminates the dial. You didn't mention the antenna switch, but it connects to another 3 wire connector but this time the connectors are all on top of one another. (Like=> } | | | ; if it were laying on it's side, the curlicue denotes the indent in the top of the connector to align for polarity) The antenna should be obvious. Hope this helps.

Well, you learn something new every time you try to do something slightly different with the Z. I own a 71 240. The original dash had several nasty cracks that would be a pain to fix, let alone do them right. I also own a 72 parts car which had a pristine dash. Difference between the two was only in the lack of the Hazard Switch Label Indent on the 71 dash that the 72 DID have. Or so I thought. Wanting to "upgrade" my console area, I purchase a Heater Control Panel for a 73. This panel is illuminated and it has the same basic shape / look as the 70-72. However, it is slightly different. The Heater Cable Control Bracket, which is the metal part for the control arms and the light bulbs is just about 1/8 to 1/4" wider than the face plate. This becomes a CRITICAL difference when you consider how the panel and console are assembled. Most people tell you to install the center console first, THEN the radio followed by the Heater Control Panel. With the original 70-72 Heater Control Panel and Cable Control Unit, this is not a problem as the unit will slide right in. (Granted you have to guide the cables in.) With the 73, that difference in the Cable Bracket makes it IMPOSSIBLE to slide in. You must instead NOT install the console first. You first install the radio, then you insert the cables and then slide the Heater Control Panel UP into place. Once there, you can secure and very carefully install the console. Now, if you have a 70 or 71 Dash, it's possible that this will not be a problem for you. However, if you have a 72 dash, it's more than likely you WILL have this problem when installing the 73 HC Panel. The 70 / 71 dash has a very subtle lip for the HC Panel to rest against. In fact, it's covered up with the vinyl that covers the entire dash. You can feel the edge of the supporting metal, but it is at best a slight ridge. On the 72 dash, this lip is now a distinctive EDGE, and the vinyl is cut right at the edge. The lip is approximately 3/16" wide on each side. I had considered grinding it off, or even hammering it down, but decided that that may create more problems than it's worth. So, live and learn.

I don't know how you guys have decided Ali is a girl. Have read just about every post Ali has made and I can't find anything to indicate that Ali is of the Female Gender. I might be wrong, if so I apologize to Ali. Enrique

Oxidized paint can be a challenge if you're not experienced with how to deal with it. First of all, you need to determine if there is ANY good paint below the oxidized layer. The only way that I know of doing this is to take a section and polish it. Although there are rubbing compounds out there that require machine application in order to be effective, the problem is that I would definitely NOT recommend it to the novice user. You can very quickly burn through the paint down to the metal if you're not careful. Rubbing out a car by machine is something best left to the experts. Go to your local well stocked automotive parts store. Find a small tub of Rubbing Compound, and a bag of cotton or terry cloth rags. Wash the car, then apply the rubbing compound per the instructions to a small area. I would recommend you find the nastiest spot on the car. If, once you're finished with that area, you are left with a nice even color with some shine, then you're relatively safe in presuming the rest of the paint will buff out as nice. This is a very VERY labor intensive job. Although you could use a low speed orbital polisher, in my experience, these will not remove very heavy oxidation without doing the job two or three times. Your arms will be SORE for a couple weeks, but once you've done this right you shouldn't have to do it again for a few years, or as long as the paint will hold out. Unfortunately, the paint doesn't age evenly on the car. Where the hood, roof and upper portions of the car get oxidized very quickly, the sides don't. This can cause problems in that it may appear to discolor tops with regards to the bottom. Most polishing waxes out there do a small amount of removing oxidation, but when the car is oxidized to the point where it looks like the paint job is a FLAT paint job, then you need to use the rubbing compound. Even with machine compounding, there are times when the paint is too heavily oxidized to be polished out. You'll literally remove the paint and expose the primer beneath. There is also a line of waxes out there that purport to fill the porousness of the oxidized areas with color. Although these will mask the oxidation, they do very little with respect to removing it. Turtle Wax sells one called Polishing Compound. I've used it and have been quite pleased with the results, just remember that there is NO WAX in there. Once you've polished, you MUST wax, or the oxidation will return. Meguiar's also sells a good product, don't recall the name right off hand, but it is part of their Detailer series. Just remember to follow it up with the rest of the product line. Hope this helps. Enrique

Talk about things I'd rather forget....... By the way Brian, is it truly a rubber hose OR one of the smaller fuel supply and return lines by the sending unit. This is important as I can help you out with the repair very easily. If it's the rubber vent lines, don't skimp and do JUST the one that is leaking, get them all done. While you're at it, check your filler neck. Although this is an expensive part (~$90) it is a critical part. Enrique

As you did with the other vehicle you can do temporary repairs that are good enough that they last for years. The problem with that, is that they make you overconfident on their TRUE capabilities and before you know it, you're using it for bigger and more hazardous repairs. A pinhole? Sure, JB in either of it's formulations will do the job. So will several other epoxy type repair compounds. However I wouldn't use it if it compromised the strength of the item involved. Since you are obviously looking for the least invasive method of repairing, I would first DRAIN the gas tank. Afterwards check the other strap and ensure it's snug and sound. Then I would remove the strap that's covering the hole. Once the strap is out of the way, I would very VERY carefully scuff the area surrounding the hole after having ensured that, as you stated, that it is in fact a foreign object puncture and NOT a rust through. If it's a rust through, find a new tank. In scuffing, DO NOT USE A GRINDER or anything that can throw off a spark. (This should be an oxymoron statement, but sadly as too many people know, it isn't.) Once you've scuffed the area as clean as you can, get a small piece of inner tube rubber that is at least an inch or so in diameter. (Again, this is presuming a PINHOLE.) Mix your JB, apply and then cover with the inner tube patch. This way when you replace the strap you won't be exposing the JB to direct contact with the strap which could chafe or vibrate it loose. The POR 15 folks have a tank sealing kit which will do a good job, coupled with their regular POR for the exterior and a dab of their fibreglass cloth, I wouldn't hesitate to use that for small pinholes. Their epoxy is also strong enough to handle that. One last note, when you replace your strap, make sure that it doesn't have any kinks or bends on the surfaces where it contacts the tank, as well as the rubber / canvas padding being there and in place. By the way, I'm not sure what you were referring to with your reference to the tank support. Enrique

Andy Russell; the Datsun Dude at z@datsundude.com has NEW ones. Phone: 480-980-6512 Or through Z Cars of Arizona; emailus@zcarsofarizona.com Phone 480-816-8668

No problem Victor. Unfortunately at another site there was a post where the responder suggested removing the heater cable control unit from the back of the face plate in order to remove the face plate from the dash. Since this is next to impossible for a normal human with only one elbow and one wrist on each arm, I had to reply. Upon rereading your post, it may have been my misperception of what you posted. In either case, it's a good reply to him from both of us.

It's much easier to remove the four cables attached to the Heater Controls from the devices they actuate and then remove the panel as an assembly. The 4 cables are connected 2 on the left side of the heater box itself, 1 on the right of the box to the water control valve and the last one, the longest goes to the fresh air flap which is behind the fan motor housing. Once you have those 4 cables removed, you can just remove the 4 screws holding it and the map light after having removed the nuts holding the radio faceplate and radio. Then it's a simple pull and disconnect the harness to the heater switch. If you have the illuminated panel then you only need to also disconnect the light wire plug. Using the 9_0° screwdriver works, but I honestly find that to be a major pain to reach in there and get the bit into the screw AND try turning it. Having had the console and dash out several times, trust me on this one, it's fastest to remove the cables at their ends than trying to disassemble the heater control plate. While you are in there, do yourself a favor and check all your instrument light bulbs. Then if you are really ambitious, disassemble them and paint the insides of the cases white, they'll shine brighter and you'll really appreciate what you've done. Good Luck, feel free to post if you have further questions. Enrique

Having seen Mike's car, let me tell you that, at least on my monitor, the pictures don't really justify how sharp the paint job is. I guess I could play with my monitor until, on MY monitor, the pictures come close to my mind's eye recollection of the intensity of the color. The color is closer to a very bright shade of McMaster Carr catalog yellow. If you don't have a McM/C catalog, imagine a nice BRIGHT Canary Yellow. It (in my opinion) is one of the nicest yellow paint jobs I've ever seen. Actually second only to one I personally painted with just about as bright a yellow paint. (Sorry Mike, personal pride and all.) Good Job!

The true 73 side markers had rubber boots attached to the rubber mounting pad. Sadly, these are NLA from most sources, (at least as of 4 months ago). If you are looking for 73 specific be aware of this as the 70-72 did NOT have the rubber boot covering the backs of the reflectors or the wiring.

Both with the heat gun AND the razor blade. When using the heat gun, use it at it's LOWEST setting, keep it moving and do not under any circumstance keep it on one spot for longer than a second or so. Most heat guns out there can readily produce heat in the hundreds degree farenheit and will literally BURN the paint, primer or stripe. Using the gun at it's highest setting will cause problems as the amount of time between Ready and BURN is about half a second. Your intent with the heat gun is to cause the adhesive on the vinyl stripe to soften enough to allow you to peel up an edge and then with slow and constant tension pull up on the vinyl and remove it. The razor blade needs to be used very carefully. Especially if you've used the heat gun as then the paint has been softened some by the application of heat. It does not take much for the cutting edge to BITE into the paint. Personally I would avoid using the razor blade. You can also look into a couple other products. There is a product out there sold specifically to remove the paper price stickers adhesive. It is basically a penetrating oil, but the advantage is that it soaks the label and the adhesive and ~cuts~ it. WD-40 will also do this, although if your intent is to eventually paint the car, be aware that WD-40 has silicone in it and you need to be aware of it's proclivity to producing fish eye. 2¢