EScanlon

Or simply that the needle has been relocated on it's spindle to read 400 rpm at 0. Moritz: Did you compare idle readings? What about more data points to see if your discrepancies are constant or isolated to certain ranges. Will your digital tach be accurate below a certain RPM? That might put doubt on the balance of it's readings as well as the original tach's. But to both Moritz and the d240zx2: I wonder why you both require such a tight tach reading. Or are you shooting to redline it? If so, you might want to consider that the "redline" is just an approximation of what was considered too fast for the engine to be revving as oppoised to a definitive point of engine destruction. An engine that is well maintained and in perfect working order won't have a problem with occasional bursts into the "redline", but another engine without the same care and health might blow up at a much lower RPM reading. But neither one will do well with constants and prolonged surges into the "Red". And don't forget that it's over the total history of the engine that you have to consider it's health. A poorly abused engine that is now being cared for meticulously will operate for a longer time, but won't be as strong or healthy as one that was maintained very carefully since day one. Just my 2¢ E

Carlos, change the contact that gets closed from the Green/Red wire to the Green wire, otherwise you'll never get that horn to blow. Also, when you draw the diagrams, note that the wire color pairs you use should be distinctive as to Primary and Identifier Stripe. As your diagram is drawn they could be read as either Green/Red versus Red/Green or Green/Black versus Black/Green. All 3 wires at the Horn Relay are primarily Green with an identifier stripe, hence Green/Black or Green/Red and not the other way around. In otherwords, make the identifier stripe a smaller band of color to identify it as the stripe. HTH E

Is that a dash cap in the first picture post #13? Those center gauge eyebrows aren't as crisp as I recall them to be in a non-capped dash. Also the rivets holding the tail-light surrounds, is it my imagination but are they just slightly too large from the original ones? But Will is mistaken, the spare does have Japanese air in it. E

Hey, it's well meant, and nobody is presuming evil intent on behalf of the owner/seller. Anyone else notice the Series III Hazard Switch and the Series 1 Hazard Switch as a "Fog Lamp" switch? E

Get a copy of Wick Humble's "How to Restore Your Datsun 240Z". While this may seem a brush off it isn't. There is just so much information there to be had, that to post it here....well, you'll just get a "Search the archives!" type of response as the archives also contain a lot of information. FWIW E

Definitely check for that Black wire's corresponding connector. The Hi/Lo Beam switch requires a Black wire connect to the Combination Switch as well as a joint connection to the Windshield Washer. (As a check, you might check your W/Washer to see if it is operating.) E

Check the OHM and Wattage ratings for the speakers you've used. The original radio only put out 3.5W Mono and used only one 5-1/8" 4 ohm speaker. If you try to use a stronger (wattage) speaker the radio can't drive it, same applies for the Ohm rating. Only if you are using TWO 8 ohm speakers hooked up in parallel could you use an 8 ohm rated speaker, but even there you have to be careful not to step up the wattage requirement. Check out Radio Shack. You can get a very inexpensive 4Ω 5-1/4" speaker with a rating of 5 or 10 watts which will be more than sufficient for the OEM radio for under $10 or so. HTH E

I've found that if you simply run a tap into the threads, this often is more than enough to provide a good contact for most applications. However, if they are sheet metal screws, then you need to ensure the screw actually cuts through the paint. This way you don't have to scrape off a bunch of paint around the screw. What about your spark plug wires and coil wire? Are they also new? FWIW E

The reason I mentioned the B/W wire check is that it is one of the most often overlooked re-connections. There are TWO wires both B/W that each connect to the Coil and Resistor respectifully. If you hook them up in reverse, you will not have any spark while starting ONLY while running, but since you need it during the Start you might get an intermittent "spark" when the key is slightly released. (Remember other posts where people have had cross over connections at the ignition switch? That's what I'm referring to.) The only other thing I can think of right now is that since it looks as though you painted the engine bay and frame rails, have you checked that all your grounds are making proper electrical conduct? A continuity check will tell you a circuit is there, but you might have to check with other values (resistance/conductivity) to see if there is enough of a circuit to support the current required. HTH E

Tom, sorry there isn't. The "best" that you might glean is from a visit to www/Zhome.com and check the year and month of manufacture for your car (on the data plate in the driver's door) against changes or standard equipment. E

Paul, I would suggest to get it running first then do the upgrade. First check to make sure the points have enough dwell on them then check to make sure you've reconnected the B/W wire at the Coil correctly. To do this, first disconnect the wires at the Resistor. Then, with the Ignition OFF, do a continuity check between the Green/White wire at the Resistor and the Black/White wire at the Coil. If it does NOT check (give a tone, or light up), then check the B/W wire that was connected to the other side of the resistor, you will probably get a tone there. If so, swap the B/W with which you got a tone to the + side of the Coil. You SHOULD have continuity between the G/W at the Resistor and the B/W wire at the coil (this is the "loop" portion of the circuit through the Tach). This is a simple check but it ensures that the coil, resistor, tach and ignition wiring is hooked up to the right connections. Then we'll go from there. E

Sabrina: I don't know this for a fact, but I've heard that if you have a "blown" 240 engine and buy a "short" block from the common engine sellers, they no longer sell 240's nor will they accept the 240 block as a core. Again, this was told to me and I don't recall whom nor if it is valid or not. However, that would explain why some people might have exchanged a 240 for a 280 block. While most people who do that swap would probably opt for the fuel injection etc, some might just want the additional engine displacement, or have replaced the short block. FWIW E

This translates to: I disassemble the car REGULARLY, it's finished when I can no longer find anything to unscrew, unbolt, or pop open, then I re-build it all only to discover that the "ticking" noise I heard was the new wind-up alarm clock I put out in the garage... Maintenance is defined as the weekly disassembly of components that most of us would seriously debate for a week or two and put off even longer. Upgrading, is also on an ongoing basis and defined as: That part is not currently installed on my car and it's bound to be better than the one on my car because I haven't yet disassembled my car to the point of being able to replace that part, therefore I must disassemble it..... All of these combined symptoms are known in the PDX area as Berglund/Moisant syndrome, with a mild case of Frisbyitis. I'll now exit stage left while I duck and run......:bandit::ninja: E

Or you could just disconnect the charger clamps from the cat, put on your glasses and then re-connect to the battery! But I agree, if it hisses...look out! E

Sorry for your loss. Contact the police dept, and see if they can do anything. If not, at leas the dept. of licensing and inquire as to the license plate information. With that in hand, file a lawsuit in small claims court for the vet bill. HTH E

Ron; One big word of caution there, the main problem with that hatch piece is that the spot weld join to the vertical tail-light mount metal is usually just caulked and as a result a TON of rust hides in the space between the metals. Additionally, the caulked seam is on the underside of the piece and behind the tail-light finishers and is often overlooked and ignored. I've seen "rust-free" actually be "rust hidden under a thin metal skin". 2¢ E

Mike: Jim Coffey contacted Banzai some time back about the part and their price...bottom line, they don't charge what's on the web-page, and IIRC the difference was significant. His log on is A7DZ if you want to run a search for his comments. 2¢ E

I might be interested. PM Sent. E

You're in luck, contact Charlie Osborne at Zedd Findings. He's in Canada as well, so you'll get better prices. Let him know you heard of him here. http://www.datsunzparts.com/ HTH E

Don't forget that it's a 3-part set. While you can make some things work, others require more work and effort than it's worth. You don't mention if you did replace all of them or just the dash one. If you replaced the set then just find a tach that works with the loom. If on the other hand just the one, then replace it. E

Did you replace the entire harness? Engine and Rear components at the same time as the Dash? If not, you may have other problems other than the wrong tach. I don't recall anyone modifying a 3-wire tach to function in a 4 wire loom. Sorry. E

I think that you're not being told part of the story. From the fault you found, dead short on the hot lead from the alternator to ground, it sounds as though there was a surge of some sort. Conjecture: He got a "jump" from someone and (s)he/they figured the Positive pole of the battery was out visible and not under the fender, hooked up the jump battery positve to the battery negative and the jump negative to the alternator. Alternator's hot lead and fusible link now are the weak link...smoke ensues, fusible blows, alternator wire melts, jump owner disconnects and you get the call..."I don't know what's wrong Dad! I didn't do anything....." Just a WAG, but ....??? E

Why not post what you found that corrected the problem. Even those "bonehead" type items can nip many of us if we're too careless. FWIW E

This was inverted, it should read: DougN has it dead on. Regarding Black as a color option, don't forget the extra bodywork needed in preparation for the black paint. E

And this is not necessarily correct either. Window gasketing is available in various different extrusion profiles. Some require the locking strip, others have the locking strip extruded at the same time the rest of the gasket is made. Some don't require a locking strip because of the method of mounting to the car. While not ALL gaskets require the locking strip, if your gasket was built to REQUIRE the locking strip....it has a purpose. There are also gaskets that ACCEPT an ORNAMENTAL STRIP that has nothing to do with the locking feature on other gaskets. Here's a link to the JCW site showing some of the various types: http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product/tf-Browse/s-10101/Pr-p_Product.CATENTRY_ID:2008548/p-2008548/N-111+10201+600003827/c-10101 Here is one that does NOT require a locking strip, although the original replacement may have had one: http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product/Pr-p_Product.CATENTRY_ID:2008665/c-10101/Nty-1/p-2008665/Ntx-mode+matchallpartial/N-10101/tf-Browse/s-10101/Ntk-AllTextSearchGroup?Ntt=window+seals Here's a link to the locking strip selection, showing both chrome and black: http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product/tf-Browse/s-10101/Pr-p_Product.CATENTRY_ID:2008669/p-2008669/N-111+10201+600003827/c-10101 2¢ E