EScanlon

Have you connected the (-) side of the coil to the Dizzy? That voltage while cranking is off, should be 12v, 0 on the resistor (it's being bypassed) is correct. What about the coil to dizzy cable and the other spark plug wires? New, or re-used? FWIW E

Easy way to distinguish it, if it has Intermittent Wipers, then it's more of a 73 than a 72. Note that the YEAR isn't very specific, as US manufacturers changed production cycles in late summer (July/August) to coincide with Sept/Oct new model releases whereas Nissan was using a calendar year cycle (at that time) and in addition to that, many items were slowly changed through attrition of parts. 2¢ E

If memory serves, from other posts, the electrical Switch IS the same up to 78. Not sure for 79's and up. E

Zach: You mention a 73, yet your profile says 72... so addressing it as a 73: Check post #3 on this thread: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29496&highlight=73+wiring You'll find a schematic for the 73 Z as page 2 of that post. If you then trace the wiring for the ignition switch, (which coincidentally is highlighted by the thread poster) you'll be able to see which wire colors go to where on the coil. Without going into a lot of detail, your 4 and 5 connections are part of the ignition circuit once the car is running (12v+ running through the resistor to drop the voltage), and those are the connections to the resistor. By the way, it should be a Black/WHITE wire and not Black/Yellow. Could your wire just be a bit grimy/aged? There are actually TWO Black/White wires that go to the coil and resistor, as well as a Green/White. The resistor receives a B/W and a G/W, the other B/W goes to the + side of the coil. As you have the coil wired, you've essentially "hot-wired" the car, except that you haven't provided a ground for the distributor, which connects to where you have the condenser connected to. It should be a Black wire coming from the coil's Negative post. (Wire #3) Remove your jumpers and try to reconnect per the schematic and see if that will get you going. HTH Enrique

Do you have AAA? How about a friend with AAA+? Otherwise... a tow rope, a dark night and a friend with a car. FWIW E

Aldo; Duplicate posts will only get you disjointed answers. Stick to your other post: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=36618 E

WHERE you search for the car is probably the most significant factor in your search. Minnesota, 10k lake country with it's extensive winter season and (I presume) also extensive use of road salt... is probably not going to be the best place to search. Kind of like Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois etc... also known as the RUST belt. (And I've omitted some states.) The steel in these cars wasn't: a) rust-proofed sufficiently from the factory; properly rust-proofed at the dealer upon delivery (My wife owned an 84 Sunbird that was Ziebarted the day it was bought showing rust 5 years later. Other examples abound.) c) thick enough to withstand a lot of salt exposure and the subsequent rust. So start searching elsewhere, be prepared to drive or have it shipped to you. Your best bet is to search in the SouthWest (Arizona, New Mexico, Western Texas, Eastern California, Southern Nevada) and expect to have to buy a new interior. Where their climate helps keep the STEEL rust-free, the heat and sun literally turns plastic and vinyl to dust. The NorthWest is also good, in that it is quite possible to find a vehicle with little to no rust and with a good interior, but it's going to be a word of mouth type sale as opposed to a publicly announced one. Not that it doesn't happen, but rather that the vehicles you find on Craig's list, e-Bay or Auto Trader will have their share of issues. SouthEast? I'll let those members chime in. AFAIK, there are some excellent examples out there, but further I couldn't say. I think between Carl Beck and Jim Frederick they've probably stashed / found all the plums and Will is working his way up to their level. NorthEast... that's the suburbs of the RUST belt. What rust they don't generate, moves there from the Midwest portion of the Rust Belt. I think a "classic" in that part of the country is both "Low-Mileage" and under 5 years old. There ARE exceptions, but as a broad generalization, it's a brief synopsis of what you'll find. The most important piece of advice is that you should buy the BEST CONDITION and MOST COMPLETE vehicle you can afford. Leave your emotions at home, they'll only cause you to buy a project because you can't stand the thought of seeing it go to the crusher. FWIW E

Ron's list only shows 19 pieces total, even with the duplicate door weatherstrips, and not 30 as you mentioned. Once you've inventoried and cross-checked against the list, why not take pictures of the remaining ones and post them. That way everyone can help identify. E

Gary; Campbell Hausfeld is typically sold in Fred Meyerand Wal-Mart in our area of the country. As far as quality, they're better than the ones you buy at Harbor Freight. However when it comes to price the Harbor Freight paint guns are very inexpensive. You can get a small "HVLP" (their name for it, when it is only a gravity feed gun) for about $9-15. The larger guns can be as low as $15 up to $30. Depending on how much use you plan for it, you could also opt for their "Kit" which includes one of each. They also have an upper and lower level of quality. If memory serves it depends on the color of the anodizing on the body. In either case, take care to disassemble and clean the gun FIRST. Make sure there aren't any stray bits of machining metal still in the orifices or passageways. Also make sure you wash it thoroughly with lacquer thinner to ensure there isn't any leftover oil. (The HF QC aren't the best for for that, and they're typically dripping in oil preservative.) Reassemble the gun and play with it to get used to the spray pattern and adjustments. Another major reason to not use the PREVAL sprayer is that you need to thin the paint down sufficiently to be sprayed out the spray tip... which is the same style as a spray paint gun. This makes the paint "flash" faster which can cause dry-lines which in turn make it seem as if you "striped" the car. Add in metallic paints and you have even more problems. The water separator filter at the end of your air hose right before your gun is a good idea, however, this should be your last filter. See if you can get an in-line filter/separator in the air hose supply at least 15' or so from the compressor, followed by your paint gun supply hose. (Placing the water separator at the exit from the compressor will NOT do the job you want... the air has to cool somewhat before the humidity will condense in the separator.) You can even use those red "tennis ball" filter/dryers (disposable). FWIW E

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/search/cta?query=280Z&catAbbreviation=cta&minAsk=min&maxAsk=max http://atlanta.craigslist.org/search/cta?query=Datsun+Z&catAbbreviation=cta&minAsk=min&maxAsk=max

and: I would doubt that it would be as inexpensive as you make it out to be. 2¢ E

Sorry but I beg to differ on Lacquer Thinner. It WILL damage most finishes, some immediately, some if left on for a while and others if you rub. In this situation you're asking for at least the last two in order to remove the adhesive left behind, which would damage the paint. Additionally, you don't know what finish is on the car and to assume it's ok to use lacquer thinner.... Use Mineral Spirits, WD-40, 3-in-1 oil, Wax and Grease Remover, a good oil/grease cutting detergent, or the like, but anything that evaporates quickly has a SOLVENT in it which should be your absolutely LAST resort. Don't get frustrated and therefore aggressive, even using a simple hair dryer on low setting might be enough to liven the adhesive enough to remove it. Goof-off although you have to be very careful with it is good. The Orange oil compound mentioned will also work. Even the baby oil would work, but stay away from any fuel, solvent or flammable product until you've exhausted everything else. But the key here is to start MILD and then work your way to strong. FWIW E

Plan A Step 1: Determine if the RHD is the main reason to want to keep this car, if so: Open a beer, raise it and bid Rusty farewell and safe journey then remove all the RHD specific parts you have AND try to cut out the firewall or at least take lots of pictures and measurements after you part Rusty out. Step 2: Search Craigs List, E-Bay and all other venues for locating a Z car and find the best car you can find that matches it exactly for the YEAR. The 2+2 option would allow you to use more of the parts that Rusty donated, but the more critical ones (dash, accelerator pedal, grille, cowl etc.) would still work (except for brake lines which would require a 2+2). Step 3: Disassemble the new car to the firewall, cut out the critical holes to adapt to RHD and weld the LHD holes up. Step 4: Transplant the RHD parts into the new car Plan B: If the RHD is NOT a requirement, then follow steps 1 and 2 above except you won't need a lot of measurements. Step 3: Sell RHD parts for $ and keep those you can use in both models. Step 4: Use money to make the new car better. Sorry, but the car you're showing in the pictures is a very likely money-pit. If there is a distinct "love" for it, then have at it, but you've been warned that you will spend MUCHO dinero (i.e. BIG and I mean, B I G bucks) bringing it back. Both rockers show the advanced signs of rusting out from below, i.e. you're not even seeing how far that rust is back there. For every dime size hole you can see you can expect 4-8 square inches of deep "surface" rust on the backside. Those rockers are gone, those front fenders might be repairable, the hatch is obvious. The door skins also need help. What's not so obvious is that the rear fenders starting at the quarter windows are starting to go... right at the bottom of the window. The floors have already been patched, the hatch sill already shows signs of crumbling. At a WAG, I'd be pleasantly surprised to hear that your sheet metal repairs were UNDER $20k, and that would probably NOT include surfacing for paint or primer, just the actual cut and weld. If you have the time and can throw away the money.... go for it. But that ONE picture into the rocker panel (108 of 124).... YIKES!! Not trying to hurt your feelings, just trying to advise you the best we can. FWIW E

The 73 dash is the first year to have an illuminated Heater Control Panel. The thickness of the surrounding area around the HCP is very slightly different, and that may be more a function of the two I've worked on than a standard across all 73's. As Chris has mentioned, the Hazard Switch changes from a Toggle Switch to a Push/Pull Switch, but the mounting ring and hole are close enough in size that you can swap out to either style. (As a side note, the Pull Switch for the Hazard uses a Fiber Optic strand to illuminate the knob.) FWIW E

When you mention "tapping into the ignition wires", I presume you mean wiring it as the schematic you posted specifies, if so; yes it would work. The resistor is bypassed in the START mode of the ignition switch, i.e the points/dizzy get full voltage sent from the ignition switch first through the tach and then to the points. In the RUN mode, the voltage is first sent through the resistor, then to the tach and then to the points. E

It is intended to halve the voltage to the distributor points, as a result it generates HEAT (that's why it's an open coil resistor wire in a ceramic holder). You don't want that underneath your dash. FWIW E

I posted a Want ad for a friend of mine who is currently working on his car. My friend's car is a 73, but he insists that his tach is a 3-wire. Which seems to run contrary to what one would think. All of the wiring schematics I have show a 4-wire. I can't find anything that would help settle the question and I haven't had a chance to look at my friends harness or tach. One of the comments on the ad reads: Which upholds my (and other people's) thinking. So, the general question to the rest of you is which tach is correct? Hopefully we can get a consensus so my friend knows what to get. He's looking for a replacement because his original tach was always intermittent, even for the prior owner. TIA E

Did that latch get a shot of silver paint? I don't see the rubber bumper on the latch portion but it seems to have the right shape. E

Check out: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32187 Dave posted the images for some scans from a Clymer's manual I did years ago. They're the ones that complement the one you post. E

Ditto on the above and also take the distributor's rotor out and leave it at home in a safe place, or with your (trusted) friend. If anyone tries to take it, they may discover the battery disconnect, but the chances of having or locating a dist. rotor are slimmer. FWIW E

You may be able to use NADA since Kelly does not list vehicle values before 1989. Here's the NADA search for 79 280ZX: http://www.autotraderclassics.com/find/vehicle/vehicleSearchResults.xhtml?utm_source=nada&utm_medium=links&utm_content=nada8&utm_campaign=partnership+link&startYear=1979&make=Datsun&model=280ZX&address=98685 The least expensive is $2995 in Seattle. Their Price Guide page shows the folllowing prices: LOW - AVERAGE - HIGH $2,725 - $4,775 - $7,475 Here's the link: http://www.nadaguides.com/default.aspx?LI=1-22-1-5013-0-0-0&l=1&w=22&p=1&f=5014&y=1979&m=1254&d=802&c=13&vi=79115&z=98685&da=-1 It will take some effort to get the proper payment, but it's what they owe you. Your Granddad shouldn't be the one to pony up the difference. My 2¢ E

There is a gasket that holds the filler neck to the bottom of the side panel plenum and then the upper ring is held to the filler cup with the gas cap ring. Both of those need to be addressed before you can get it to move up. Side to side movement will be severely constrained (and be careful of any movement as you can stress/crack the tube) due to the edges of the lower panel opening. Remove the gas cap ring entirely. The lower "clamp" only needs to be unfastened but not removed from around the filler neck. As far as heat, be careful, ANY kind of spark will ignite the vapors in the tank and no, I'm not being overly paranoid. My heat gun puts out 1500 watts and even a stray piece of dust will quickly "flame out" in that kind of heat. While you will be moving it back and forth and not staying in any one position, you might just get a small dust flame and ... Keep the tank away from that area while you heat the neck. While you're at it, examine it for any kind of cracks or signs of old age... $90 isn't too much to spend to be safe. FWIW E

Do a search on this site for insurance threads. You'll find that if you just document what other vehicles of the same year / model are worth you should be able to prove your car was worth more than just $500. The low-ball offer is common for a first offer from the insurance company, if you ACCEPT it, then you are agreeing to their evaluation of it. Their evaluation is based on age and ASSUMED value. Do not just accept their offer, NEGOTIATE your settlement. PROVE the value of your car, or at least demonstrate that your car wasn't another rust-bucket old car that "purportedly ran". If you have pictures of your car and can document it's enhancements etc. you should be able to get a much better offer BEFORE you accept their offer. Remember, they are counting on your simple acceptance of their offer and thinking you haven't got a chance to prove otherwise. That is how they save money on paying out on claims. FWIW E

DO NOT use liquid nitrogen. Aside from the very real hazard of giving yourself a nasty "cold burn", there is the additional problem that it will very literally freeze the metal to where a sharp impact might crack it (not shatter like glass). The dry ice method is more than sufficiently cold. Besides, it's much cheaper and readily accesible (Baskin Robbins for one usually has it to transport their tubs of ice cream). As far as a chisel, pointed hammer or claw... just a simple rap with a rubber mallet from below the floor pan will literally pop it right off. The other instruments could potentially damage the metal. As far as replacing the mat, there are various products out there; but replicating the original? If the intent is to "restore" the floor tar mat to look like the original ... well, it's your time and money. Most folks just re-cover the whole floor and avoid having any openings where water can once again creep down to the metal. To take the tar mat off to simply reprime the surface and then replace the tar mat? You're going to a lot of trouble for very little, if any, gain. Just my opinion, but you'd be better off protecting the metal, and use some stronger protection than simple primer (primer IS porous), such as POR, Zero-Rust, Rust-Mort or the like. For the tar-mat, use Brown Bread, Dynamat, Q-pads manufactured by Evercoat, or whatever generic tar-mat you can find. Just my 2¢ E

Closed Cell Foam. The same stuff you would buy to put between a camper / top and the sides of a pick-up truck. You can get it in various thicknesses and widths. Do NOT use plain old foam as it's more than likely OPEN cell foam. Another name for open cell foam is SPONGE, definitely NOT what you want under your fender. The Camper / Top closed cell foam can be obtained at RV shops, but it can also be found at home building supply homes since that's the stuff they pack around air conditioners etc. You can usually tell if it's closed cell or open cell by looking at the foam itself. If the bubbles are generally even sized and tiny and it has somewhat of a shine (gloss), then it's closed cell (very obvious on one side of the foam usually). Open cell has a tendency to have irregular shaped bubbles and in different sizes. As a second test, squeese a small piece of it. Open cell will generally spring back readily, closed cell will take more time. Note that this is a general rule of thumb and not a definitive mode of identifying between the two. As far as thickness don't get carried away. While it does need to be thick enough to give support to the fender in those areas, you do NOT want it so thick that it ends up crushed and therefore pushing on the metal as the distortion on the metal WILL be noticeable. Lastly, since you have the fenders off, do yourself a favor and extend the cowl drain hose all the way OUT from underneath the fender. Here are a couple of links to help you understand what I'm referring to: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19467 http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24649 And some pictures: http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2601&cat=500&page=5&sortby=v&sorttime=all&way=asc http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2602&sortby=v&sorttime=all&way=asc FWIW Enrique