EScanlon

WAG: Crud inside the tank clogging the pick-up tube / in-tank screen? E

Mat: You'll get more and better information on that at http://hybridz.org/ where they have a wealth of information and lots of people who've both done it AND raced it. Here, we do have a couple, but they're in the minority (and not because they're not welcome). Hopefully they'll chime in, but I'll bet they second my suggestion. E

Tim: You've asked this question in 4 different ways and posts now. While everyone has been polite in telling you their reasons for the answers they've given, and the consensus is to not waste time, money and effort by trying to rig something up, but to simply find an OEM piece that works and fits for your year of car. You've been ignoring that and hoping for a different answer. Well, here goes. Hopefully you will not be offended but will instead, understand that we're trying to help you. You keep asking: do I have to replace it with the OEM valve or can I do it a different way. Well the answer is simple, do it whatever way YOU can figure out. However, if that is NOT the answer you wanted to hear, then read on. Yes, you can replace it with a manual control valve. Which one, where to obtain it, how it mounts, how much it will cost, how will you operate it, what other modifications will you have to do in order to make it work.....ALL of the answers to those questions are unknown to the majority of us here. The reason is simple, we've not done it that way. If you wanted to really go cheap just replace the valve and the firewall "thingy" with some heater hose and a pair of Vice-Grips. Then just squirt some of that construction type foam insulation around the hole in the firewall to close off the engine smell and possible exhaust fumes from the cabin. Granted, it will be a complete nuisance to have to adjust the Vice-Grips before you get the amount of heat you want, but it is a workable 'MacGyver" solution. Not pretty, but functional. Don't like that one? Well, why not simply bypass the heater plenum and just route the heater hoses BACK to the engine and disconnect the heater entirely. A bit of duct tape on the firewall opening and Presto=Zesto! you've "fixed" it. No, there won't be any heat in the car, but surely that's a luxury you can do without. After all, we're looking at doing this on the "cheap". Still don't like that answer? How about looking up the various boneyards across the country and querying them as to the availability and $ for that part. Let me warn you that 1) the part may be one that the boneyards do not consider salvageable for a reasonable amount of $; and 2) they MAY salvage it, but the price is high...high enough that a NEW piece is suddenly a viable option. Lastly, don't forget that you'll be getting another 30 year old part, unless it was replaced by a prior owner of the car in the boneyard. To that end, have you checked with the boneyards that specialize in Z parts? Danny's Datsuns is down in Oregon, but he may have gone out of business, at least he was intending to. Have you posted a "Wanted" classified in the various Z forums and clubs? Have you done any of the leg work to find any of this information or are you hoping someone here will do that for you? How much are you willing to pay for that service? TANSTAAFL What's that? None of these options are what you want? You want it to be as original as possible? Well then it seems as though the only option for you is to either obtain a used part or buy a new one. I've given you the basic outline of what you need to do. There's a wonderful feature on this site called "Search". There is a LOT of information there for the wonderful price of....your effort to find it. Heck, you may even find that someone posted a viable work-around some time past. But the bottom line is this: There are only 2 solutions here, one is to buy an exact replacement part or not. We've consistently told you that the OEM part is the way to go, you've insisted on asking it again and again, hoping for a different answer. The solution to your question is for you to go out, research it, and then POST your findings and work-around. That is how the majority of us here have helped the other members with their cars. Look up Cowl Drain, Fuel Vent Line Replacement, Headlight Harness, Alternator Adapter to name just some of the different ways that we've found work arounds and improvements. Now, before you consider this a flame or a scolding, it's just the plain unvarnished facts and truth as I see it. You're welcome to not like it, you're welcome to ignore it, I'm not trying to p!ss in your Wheaties. Take it as a bit of friendly advice and help. FWIW E

I used Wick Humble's "dum-dum", i.e. strip caulk. Since my fenders matched fairly well and I was more interested in sealing the exterior from interior wheel well splash that fit my purpose. 2¢ E

Mikel Just how much Duct Tape / Bailing Wire and Bondo / Chicken Wire were you planning on using? Sorry, but you'd be better off selling the parts from that car and then looking for a better shell. You'd likely get your money back and a bit more, which would then allow you to do the job properly. While you may feel that I'm ridiculing you or that everyone is trying to discourage you, what we're all trying to say is that unless you have or are planning on spending $2k or more just on the sheet metal and welding you will need (those floors are just waiting for you to hit a pot hole to fall out), you would just be throwing away your time and effort and money. Sell the parts, use the money to find a better suited candidate for refreshing / repairs and go at it, but this one, sadly, appears beyond hope... regardless on how strong the engine may sound. Or save the parts and your money and buy a better candidate when you can afford it. Remember, those of us on this board have seen many cars with this amount of rust on the surface.... that turn out to be rust bombs just waiting to implode. The amount of rust that you do NOT see is what will kill this project. Rocker Panels are structural especially with the T-top, and with both frame rails and floor pans rusted out, they're bound to be equally bad. Which means that the only thing holding the front end to the rear end may be the T portion of the roof and the transmission tunnel. 2¢ E

When you get a chance, are those reflectors on the back lower portion of the rear fenders? E

Nice find! They ARE a lot of fun, and quite an experience in refreshing them. While there are similarities to the Z, there are also several "bonehead" problems that you'll encounter that I've not seen in over 2 dozen different vehicles. But they are addicting. I'm currently working to finish the refresh on my 67 1600 and have a 68-2000 in the wings waiting it's turn. E

This actually sounds like your Hazard Light Flasher, although it could also be the Turn Signal Flasher. (There are two.) E

Have someone press down on the hatch as you actuate the latch, that should allow it to release the catch. Removing the lock won't get you better access, although you could then press down on the hatch AND press down on the latch mechanism yourself. Don't know how you would pull off the entire tail assembly without damaging the car or the panels as the rivets that hold the tail-light finishers are covered by the hatch. If you can remove the screws holding the latch catch to the body, you can then open the hatch and R&R the latch mechanism. A good shot of WD-40 may help also, it sounds as though it's sticking due to old grease. FWIW E

Congratulations on your new contact breaker plate....did that fix the problem? E

The Sports Roadster 1600 L16 engine has the thermostat mounted at the water tower which is the highest point in the cooling system. This may seem totally unrelated, but one major problem with the L16 engine overheating is due to the thermostat having been mounted up-side down. (By the way, one hint given to Roadster owners is to drill a small 1/8" hole in the thermostat to allow for air to "burp" thorugh. Normal "burping" procedure is to insert a screwdriver and push down on the thermostat spring, which is when owners usually first discover an inverted thermostat.) Why would this matter? Well, since it is the SPRING in the thermostat that actually contracts and then allows water to flow, if it is on the "wrong" side of the water tower, it will take longer to heat up to opening temperature, and therefore will allow the engine to heat up beyond what the thermostat is designed for. Not sure if this is the case with the L24/26/28 engine, but if it is.... FWIW E

Have you tried opening the Fresh Air Vents on either side of the dash? E

On your 72, you'll need to remove the plastic inner panel protecting 1) the tail-lights, 2) the dome light and 3) the one on the Right hand side of the hatch area. To do this, locate all the plastic rivets holding each panel in place and push IN the center pin. Yes, this will cause them to fall out the back of the rivet. You can usually retrieve them using a ladies nylon knee-high taped to the end of your vacuum cleaner hose, to act as a screen. You'll also pick up bunches of crud back there, but in the long run it will help to get the car clean. If you don't want to worry about the pins, you can sometimes find black Styrene Rod at your local hobby store and cut your own. Remove the panel carefully, as it will undoubtedly be prone to cracking or breaking. You'll not be able to remove the side panel until you've removed both the tail and dome light panels. Depending on how the hatch weather strip was put on, you may have to temporarily remove that as well. Once all that plastic is out of the way, you will have direct access to the Evaporation Tank and the Fuel Filler Hose as well as the vent hoses to the evap tank. Now, since you are in NM, you may want to re-think removing the evap tank. The evap tank is specifically to recover the gas vapors that warm gasoline is prone to give off. With the temperatures in NM sometimes ranging into the upper 90+ (and higher), you'll literally be PRESSURIZING your fuel system. Since there is a return line from the carburators to the gas tank, and the only other vent is AT the carburators, there is a good possibility of pushing gas past the float bowl. I'm sure others will chime in, as my knowledge of this is not as extensive as theirs. However, I hope they note of where you live and make their recommendations based on that. FWIW E

I'm not familiar with the 76 HCP, but in the Series I and II (pre-260) there was no way of getting heated air out of the center or the eyeball vents unless it was very VERY hot outside or the car had been in the sun all day. Both the Center and Eyeball vents were for fresh air only. Heated air from the Heater Core was only available through the Defrost Vents or to the "Room" flaps on the side of the plenum. It may be that the later style 76 or even 260 + changed that, but someone needs to verify that. 2¢ E

Take it to a store and have them test it, if it fails the test then replace it. E

If you are not planning on fixing the tranny before July, remove the dead battery and wait till you are going to get her going again. The dead battery in the car may cause problems and it is simpler to remove than to store in the car. As far as starting the car weekly while in storage, while that is good for keeping the fluids and the surfaces inside the engine lubed, unless you run the car for a good while and at high rpm's, you won't have restored much charge to the battery. The main problem is that the alternator isn't putting out a ton of current until the rpm's get higher....as when you are driving...and that is when the regulator shunts the power to the battery to recharge it. Simply idling, the battery isn't receiving enough power, if any, to recharge it. For that reason many owners use a trickle charger, while others remove the battery connections and do a full charge on the battery before spring. Even then, with most lead acid batteries you also run the risk of sulfation due to simply sitting without being used and it's having lost it's charge. HTH E

I would say that it depends on how much experience you have with Z's, and how easy the 5-speed conversion will be, and how well you are able to work without touching the new paint. That, of course, depends on how much experience you have with the Z's. Your profile doesn't say much other than you own three, so it is possible. Pulling an all-nighter works only if you are familiar with what you are doing AND you aren't trying to do the job at arm's length, otherwise it's a sure bet to getting frustrated, tired and worse... taking short cuts that can bite you down the road. There's a reason for the expression "Haste makes Waste". New paint that has only had a couple of days to cure....well it's going to be very touchy....and you're planning on leaning over the fenders to install an engine? Make sure you don't wear a belt, or jeans with metal buttons or rivets, or have anything in your pockets and absolutely do NOT put grease or oil on the fresh paint. Also be careful of leaning on top of a fender cover, you might imprint the fender cover's cloth backing onto the paint, or find that it got stuck, or that you ...... When you say you removed everything, does that include glass? As in windshield and hatch? Yikes that's a couple of hours even when you ARE experienced. Same thing with door glass, and weatherstripping and emblems and.... You'll want to remove the hood so you can swap in the new engine...have you given thought as to where you will be parking it so that it is NOT resting on an edge or surface of new paint? Do you have a friend that's going to stay up to help you? Or are you planning on doing this by yourself? I can understand your eagerness, but I would caution you to reacess your hurry. Then again, if you can pull it off .... great! You'll have a lot of fun, that weekend and more. But if you end up marring a beatiful paint job simply because you rushed the whole job..... you'll cry for years. Take your time, do it RIGHT, and you'll enjoy it for years. You might miss this years convention, but you would be set for the next one and all the other shows and fun runs. 2¢ E

Hehe, think of it as Rubber, Vinyl, or Plastic parts on older cars in your area......, while you may have heard of them, it simply doesn't happen very often.... While we sometimes have to worry about snow between fall and summer, at least we don't have to worry about losing power in the middle of summer and losing the A/C..... :laugh: E

Here's a direct link: http://www.shiftco.com/hood_river_run/ This run was due to meet AT Hood River and take to the road from there. Take note that there was also going to be a different run by some folks going similar paths, or at least as far as I've been told, that is NOT this one. The other run was supposedly going to meet in Vancouver, WA for folks coming North/South on I-5 and then heading East on WA-14. I have no knowledge of that event other than "I heard that..." from another member. FWIW E

The fusible link portion is ONLY from the Starter to the connection at the wire harness. That is, the plastic single spade locking connector connecting the fusible link to the harness, to the Ring connector at the starter. The rest of the wiring you describe is normal wiring, although 10/12 ga or so. If you DO have 12v+ at the Regulator (with sheet metal as the ground) then your fusible link IS functional. That you do NOT have 12v+ at the W/R wire (again to body ground) at the fuse box implies the Alternator's internal wiring. FWIW E

I understand that you are trying to determine why your headlights aren't working. What you're not understanding is that your diagram with "ON" and "OFF" doesn't explain if you are using a testlight that draws power from the circuit it is testing to light up, or if you are using a continuity meter that register ON for continuity and OFF for no continuity, which normally requires a test light with it's OWN power supply independent of the circuit you are testing. The first test light doesn't check continuity it checks for power, and power with relation to a ground or the return portion of that circuit. The second one just checks for continuity and doesn't indicate if there is or isn't power present in the circuit (although it may get affected by the presence of power in the circuit). That's not continuity that's voltage you're registering there, and voltage with respect to ground. The W/R is always Positive with respect to ground, when in the SECOND position it connects to the Red wire and power is then directed to each headlight via the fuses. There is no "magic bullet" when it comes to wiring. You have to look at the schematic time and time again simply to trace where the wires connect to each other. Others would just be doing it for you and wouldn't have your car there to check their findings. Tracing the wires at the combination switch to their respective sources / destinations will show you that only three wires affect the headlamps. That will give you an idea as to what you should be seeing/measuring. You'll note that there are TWO fuses for the headlamps, one for each side. They BOTH receive power via the Red wire coming from the Combination Switch. Do a continuity check from the Red wire contact at the switch to the fuse box and you'll see that they do connect. Then when you trace everything back (fuse box to headlamps and back to the combination switch) you'll see that BOTH headlamps return the ground portion back through the combination switch to the Dimmer switch...which connects to a little black wire from the Turn Signal Switch to the Headlamp / Wiper Switch. That is a good step. Too often it's a visual check that is the problem. You don't specify if you have switched the Headlamp switch to it's second position, if you don't you won't have any power to check. But presuming that you did, then check for continuity from the fuse box to each of the headlamp connectors at the front of the car. This will require alligator clips and long leads, but it will help isolate the location of the wire break. I'm trying to help you, but you need to do some of the legwork too. Give the above a shot and see if that doesn't help. E

The biggest problem with your test, is that you don't specify WHAT it is you're testing for. Add to that that you don't reference with respect to WHAT you are testing against. ON = What? Voltage 12v or continuity? Continuity with regards to what? Voltage with regards to what? Have you checked the wiring diagram for your year? Did you check and/or replace those fuses? (Note a VISUAL check of the fuses is worthless, these glass tube fuses often look OK, but in fact are NOT.) Have you checked to see if you have power at the headlamp connector? Not trying to p*ss you off, but we can't see your car from where we're sitting, which makes it extremely hard to diagnose. 2¢ E

Hopefully this will answer some of your questions in the pictures: Img-1962 (the first one on the Left) The pic detail gets lost in the corrosion, but if it is a brass "sleeve" that the wires are inside of that is then crimped, then YES it is a factory connection. These were used instead of soldering. Clean them off with a soft wire (brass) brush then re-tape. Img-1962 (Middle) Green corrosion is common with brass/copper. Clean off with brass wire brush and re-tape. Liquid electrical tape is ok, but it takes hours to cure. A White/Red wire DOES connect to the Alternator directly from the fuse box, it's the Secondary power feed to the extra circuits and wouldn't normally be the reason for not starting. (Ignition is on the Primary power feed, the White wire to the Fuse Box.) The two wires are probably one for the fuse box and the other for the Ammeter. Img-1966 (Right hand) This one I'll pass on. It may be for part of an A/C system, but I do not know for sure. I'll see if I can find my schematics later. What year car is this again? E

Phil; If the plastic insert breaks again, you can give it added strength with a pair of nylon wire ties the Zip-Strip variety. If you use the "flush" style it makes it a bit easier to tighten up, but IME the 90° seem to have a stronger hold. Usually only two or three are needed to wrap completely around the plastic insert. I've used JB Weld before to repair and fill in missing material from pieces of plastic that have fallen off. FWIW E

Have you checked the regulator arms (the scissors) to see if they're straight? Only one has a bend to it, and it is noticeable and obviously a press brake bend. Aside from that, to push the front edge of the glass up, the rear sash (the little one) needs to come down. The regulator has some adjustment also, but it is negligible, but push it UP to push the rear of the glass down. The "hitch" you mention can be caused by either a bent arm, a bent sash (front OR rear), a sticking roller or even a stripped handle or regulator gear. You might also check that the "teeth" of the regulator both on the spline gear and the stamped metal. If one of those is bent it will cause a hitch, although if on the spline gear will be cyclic and on the stamped metal will only occur one time. Check those out and see what you find. E