EScanlon

Ok, before I get too detailed on the photos, take a look at the following pics and see if that helps get a few more connected. E

Based on your intent to swap out the transmission, it sounds as though you're looking for a car that you can zoom around in. The change to the carbs is more for ease of maintenance than in acceleration response. While the AT does have plenty of zoom in it, the Manual puts that zoom in YOUR hands to control, which is what I think you're looking for. Then you mention the improvements between the model years, and it sounds as though THAT is also a prime consideration. With those to base an opinion on...go with the 280Z. Let the 240 go to someone who is looking for an older, less frills car while still retaining the ease of the AT. My 2¢ E

Rebuild the switch. It's a lot easier than it sounds. You can also swipe the guts or the switch itself from another console cover. E

Are you heading for strict build date correct? Or are you looking for everything functional and even some added updates? Maybe it might be easier to find the Engine and Rear harnesses to match the one you have from Arne rather than the other way around. Normally it's the Dash harness that gets so cobbled up from amateur repairs. Then again, post pictures of the connectors side by side and maybe we can assist in getting the engine / rear harness you have to work with the unmolested dash one. E

Actually John, it's Steve that deserves the credit for that gem. I simply paraphrased and repeated it. His succinct statement is a condensed version of my verbose ramblings. As far as what Stickerman says, that is exactly why I rambled so vehemently. I don't think we've thrown gas on a fire as much as had an open and somewhat lengthy diatribe that needed to be had. This forum IS a very prominent source of information on the Z, mostly the "early" 240 series, but more and more encompassing the 260, 280 and even a very few of the 300 owners. Heck, we've even seen a few 350 owners comment here and there. This site as a result, kind of like Noblese Obligé, MUST hold it's content to a higher level of content than any other site. Because of the fact that this site is in the forefront of the search engines results, it WILL receive the lion's share of the traffic from the searches. That traffic is what the advertisers who promote their wares on this site count on. Advertisers for the most part, and search engines to a small degree are what help offset the cost of running this forum...I would presume. The actual finances of the forum are Mike's business. But I'll bet that ONE little lawsuit from a disgruntled seller with a sharp lawyer could bring this whole thing down faster than we could apologize. Not saying that would necessarily happen, but the innuendo's have a tendency to get bigger and bolder. That is why I spoke up as I did. E

Q-pads don't have an aluminum skin. They're strictly a tar film with a thin plastic film for protection. James, sorry!! Was asking more on the time difference than location. E

I did just that, but I applied tar mat (Q-Pad) over freshly cured POR and used a heat gun on the adhesive / mat to soften it up so I could press it tight. I haven't had any problems I'm aware of (no weird rattling, or problems). I also did it on the inside of the hatch, rear fenders, and firewall. The car is VERY quiet, so much so that you can actually hold a conversation AND have the radio on. Isn't it like 10 am Monday where you are James? E

Kats, would you by chance have more close up pictures of the rest of the badges on display? Wow, what a find. Thank you for sharing E

Good point, but I'll bet that many are pleased in the overall increase in value of the car, even though that may not have been their primary intent in buying it; while being displeased in the extra expense of refreshing and maintaining it. That is, they bought the car because they had a longing for the car and not because it was inexpensive. They were able to realize a wish/dream earlier than later because the prices were low. But it seems that Arne agrees with me in that it is our own outspoken attacks against sellers, etc. that MAY cause people to shy away from buying them. After all being a member of a community where the backstabbing, and insults are so open....why would you want to be involved? Steve...KUDOS!!! Those are my thoughts almost to a "t". If I may, I would ammend the first sentence I bolded to: We should strive to be critical and FACTUAL when discussing cars offered up for sale, identifying obvious discrepancies and omissions, while remaining completely NEUTRAL with regards to a seller's intent. Only if we KNOW of something for a fact that is being "hidden" INTENTIONALLY, would we question those motives. Always with the basic understanding that caveat emptor is the correct approach in all potential sales. The second sentence I bolded is again very prominent in my involvement with this forum and threads. As Carl has mentioned, I also feel that people who are interested in these cars do a simple Google or Yahoo or some form of internet search with "240 Z", or "240Z" as the search criteria and you'll see THIS site and Z-Home as the first and second links returned. The Wikipedia has come up first a couple of times I've searched. The point behind this is that it behooves us to act civilly, respectfully and openly inviting to new members. Yes, we welcome folks once they do show up. But if one were to search for "for sale" as the search criteria once on this site, you'd be buried with unacceptable commentary. As your last sentence points out...criticizing a car's flaws need not be a character bashing exercise. MY 2¢ E

I agree with Ron, and if you insist on painting with POR, make sure you actually DO move the hinges through their range of movement often (every 10-15 minutes for several hours) during the curing cyle...otherwise...they'll be SOLIDLY stuck. Don't know if I would want to try to hammer them loose, you may end up having to strip and start over. I did this recently when I painted the inside fender and door hinge areas on a Roadster and I wanted to make sure both the Hinge Plates and the Door Latch Plate were both protected and still allowed full range of movement. I moved the plates periodically and often...and the next day I still had to smack a couple to get them loose...so be aware of this. FWIW E

I agree with on the inside of the outer skin. The inner skin...wow! that was a chore I'll bet. Whether on the inside of the door surface or on the passenger side of the surface...ouch. I just used an old shower curtain as a vapor barrier, but not for noise control. Interesting. E

Sorry Carl, you missed the point entirely. Please read on. Yes, we're all presumably here to discuss Z cars, not figure out how people are intentionally trying to cheat, lie or otherwise deceive others when selling a car. That's the main crux of what I pointed out. If that is how you see the content of this thread, then maybe I'm the one that has the wrong insight into how to discuss the value of a car. Then again, I've never been a car salesman. To me, alluding "insurance fraud", "scams", schill bidders, skepticism as to the truth behind the pictures, allegations based on the number of pictures, presuming a dishonest intent on behalf of the seller...are all indications of a non-accepting disposition. None of these have anything to do with the value of, nor what to look for in the car...they all lead people to think that if the car has been washed or detailed, then the seller is hidding something. That's is simply NOT necessarily the case. Does it sometimes happen? Yes it does, but that doesn't render everyone who is trying to sell a car guilty of being dishonest simply because they washed the dirt and grime off. Sorry Carl, that take is entirely your own misunderstanding. That's not what is being said, nor implied. What IS being implied...directly...is that as a group we seem to speak out of both sides of our mouth, or with a forked tongue. Let me try to explain. If a car shows up on e-Bay by an unknown person...it's a free for all to see who can best come up with a "cut-down", or a "Yo mama..." type of joke regarding the evil, dishonest, and untruthfulness of the e-bay seller. Yet, a member mentions a rust bucket and we laud it's potential value, praise it's future potential and generally encourage the member as to what a good find he made and how he should go ahead and devote time and money to it. (go back and read the further posts to the thread I reference above) I am not saying to NOT mention the flaws...I'm saying don't attribute wrongful, evil, dishonest, or untruthful motives to those that address the flaws. Many times those flaws are obvious, and people unwittingly attempt to repair them. Mostly they are doing it to maximize their sale potential...NOT TO DEFRAUD YOU. They, like many members here, feel quite good about some of the work they have done. And that is where I asked how we would treat a member's car. Whether offered for sale by him, or by his executor, or.... I'll bet that if we know whose car it is, the treatment will be much more benevolent than any other car that we've discussed. Again, this is your misunderstanding. Even with some of the cars you have had a hand in selling. Whether as a commissioned salesperson, contact point, or go-between, many times the buyer comes back and mentions further expenses they choose to make. Should we start wondering why there wasn't a full disclosure of additional expenses they chose to incur? Was your intent evil? Did you purposedly HIDE something from the buyer and they then discover it? Probably not. I'll go so far as to say that this offends you, as that is undoubtedly not even something you would think about. And there you have my point. (And please note, I am NOT implying you are deceiving folks, your record stands alone, and the praise is noteworthy.) With ANY car purchase; new, old, restored or refreshed, part of the act of taking ownership and feeling pride in just plain owning or in actually doing some work with it, comes the part where you do something to, in your mind, make the car...YOURS. Whether that's a pair of fuzzy dice, new valve cover, metal tire valve caps, paint job, new interior or just simply a wash and wax, it's what you've done, and now the car is and feels yours. Sometimes those expenses are things you knew when you bought the car. Other times, they can be a surprise. The soft clutch turns out to be a totally worn disk and not a bleed or a new slave. The little clunk from the rear end isn't a loose half-shaft, it's a bad transmission or differential. Were these intentionally with held? Maybe and more than likely MAYBE NOT. I'm sure that you'll agree that the sellers in the transactions you were involved in did NOT have any evil, dishonest or malevolent intent inadvertently forgetting that .... "Ooops, yes, the clutch DID get changed at 40k because my wife rode the pedal while learning how to drive a stick and we simply forgot about replacing it. Sorry about that". As opposed to: "A car with 80k on the ORIGINAL cluch? I don't think so, there's something fishy going on here! What kind of a SCAM are you trying to pull?" "Seller said 'New tires' but at 50k miles? Also a new muffler? Hmmm, must have been raced everywhere! The guy is trying to rip you off!" and not, "Tires got flat spots from sitting, muffler rusted out from old age and mice, we replaced them to make the car nicer and ready to drive." That's the kind of negative attitude I refer to. Nothing to do with value, market or otherwise, simply the negativity of the whole thread. You're correct in that we should be helping interested people, potential buyers to get the best CAR, my point is that it is not about the best STORY about potential conspiracies designed to defraud them. While there are people out there who DO need to be reminded to be truthfull, it isn't EVERYONE. That is the crux of my point. Let's not continue to assign malicious intent to oftentimes innocent actions. Then again, isn't that why Car salesmen jokes are always filled with how the buyer gets ripped off? Because after all, Grandmothers on their way to church on Sunday use the slicks, the fart can mufflers and the stroker engines to make sure they get heard before they arrive....right? Telling the truth is ideal, yet with people so willing to try to see wrongdoing in simple declarations....THAT'S what can hurt us NOW and in the end. It paints this forum's members as a bunch of harpies just willing to pick apart any car that isn't their own. What we build in respect for our knowledge base and speed of response gets washed away by the cutting edge of these "discussions". Let's address the obvious FACTS and not the innuendos; note the painted bumper as not being correct, not as the guy is obviously trying to pull a fast one. Note the fresh black paint in the wheel wells as a common practice in new and used car lots everywhere and not...it's hiding something. Sorry Carl, you missed the point entirely. It isn't about pointing out the flaws, it's HOW we go about pointing out the flaws. It isn't about the individual car's market value, it's how we belittle each and every flaw and render the car as a potential bomb waiting to explode. It's how we conclude that every car being sold MUST have flaws, it can't possibly be that nice. It's how we allude to the seller's dishonesty and intention to deceive. It's how we PUBLICLY and OPENLY demonize and degrade the people who are selling their cars. It's how we denigrate, belittle and go further out of our way the higher the price being sought. That's just plain old - WRONG. Whether they are original owner's, heirs of original owner's, executors of estates, second owner's or people who have gone out to dig out that "barn find" or even Grandpa's car who after years in the nursing home finally agrees that the chances of his driving it again are slim, but he insists that the car be washed and waxed and please shoot some black paint in the wheel wells because he wants a last set of pictures that match the ones when he picked it up from the dealer....I'll be willing to bet that most of these people are trying to find an easy and quick way of maximizing the money they receive for the car. Sometimes that's through e-Bay (whether we approve of it or not), othertimes it's through Craig's list (for all it's limitations) and other times it's through the newspaper ads or the help of individuals such as you and other's. Could that be why you don't often post potential sales here? Or would the point I'm making be the reason why potential sellers would NOT want to post here? There may be a bad apple or two, but from the last few threads that discuss car sales....you would swear that all sellers are like the corner drug dealer trying to sell you a bag of good sh!t. Many sellers and also you, from what the people whom you have helped buy a car point, DO have the utmost honest and benevolent attitudes towards making sure the new owner benefits. That is why painting all sellers with the broad brush of dishonesty is unfair. As a side note: The Z's prices have been rising slowly and steadily over the years. I recall when I bought mine that getting a $7,000 loan (not what I paid) was only secureable by using both the Z and an Acura Legend as collateral as even the HIGH NADA Price was only $5k or so. Nowdays the values are at $9,950 as the AVERAGE and HIGH is ... $18,325. So it IS getting better. (http://www.nadaguides.com/default.aspx?LI=1-22-1-5013-0-0-0&l=1&w=22&p=1&f=5014&y=1971&m=1254&d=2208&c=13&vi=79022&z=98685&da=-1) FWIW, and apologies for the soap box. E

I read threads like this one and marvel at the amazing capability of folks to belittle, disect and otherwise denigrate a vehicle presented to them via pictures, that has been cleaned up and attempts made to make it more desireable to prospective buyers. Yet, based solely on a member's description of an admitted RUSTED vehicle, we praise it's virtues and potential: see http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?p=246068#post246068 It seems that ANY attempt at making it sellable is a negative. Opening statements such as or speak volumes about our willingness to find fault and "chinks" in the presentation.Heck, I'll bet that the vehicles that can survive the kind of suspicious inspection that gets formulated are few and far between....if any. I wonder how many of these folk's vehicles would. How come nobody suggested a drive out to inspect the car? It may have at least lent credence to the disection as a form of discussion, but other than that most of the comments are nothing but conjecture based on the ability to doubt the image presented. Are there flaws, you bet. The Chrome on the bumpers is a very sad tell-tale, that might be a very innocent .... oops! or an intentional effort at correcting a poor chrome job from 35+ years ago. (And that has been known to occur so often that we recommend, painting, powder coating, re-chroming, etc. just to make it presentable.) Not every vehicle that gets stored and forgotten in a garage gets put away properly. Nor do they get maintained every week, month...sometimes year. Will some items in the car deteriorate just from sitting around being exposed to the air? Yup. If not properly put away, (and we have dozens of threads on how to do just that) we all mention what problems you may expect. What if this car is an attempt at correcting a poor storage procedure? It might not be all damaged goods. I wonder if we would belittle it as much if we found out the car was one of our member's who was having it sold by a 3rd party simply to avoid the hazzle of the sale, or an estate sale. Would we belittle Bambikiller's vehicle in the same manner? I know his vehicle had had a lot of work done on it, and still needed more work when he passed away. Sorry, but there's enough negativity in the world without fomenting it here. If you want to point out questionable items, fine, do so. But attributing evil intent, or an intent to defraud, or a willingness to cheat....that's what's just plain old ugly and distasteful. My .5¢ (it's not worth a full penny) E

Ron; Actually, it IS supposed to be a Blue wire. This is one of those anomalies I was referring to. Follow the R/L wire coming from the Acc Relay and note where it connects to the Blue wire going to both the Blower and the Defrost circuit....THAT is where it changes color. Nice huh? There are numerous instances of this. But nobody has pinned down where the Ignition Switch gets it's power from. This is one of those...."Can you find the Spot?" games. I'm asking it this way to confirm one of my "deductions" based on about 6 different diagrams. E

Check that the nylon washer isn't shifting on you as you accelerate with your foot. And you surmise correctly. Once the engine has started, additional Choke (gas and not a mix of gas/air) does not help the engine warm up any quicker. But your post bears repeating, and I added some emphasis. Remember, the Hand Throttle is the equivalent of a BRICK on top of your Accelerator Pedal. It does not have an automatic cut-off circuit. FWIW E

Should be in the fuse box area beneath the warning light panel. It is an in-line fuse holder and not a part of the fuse box. It may be mounted to the side of the fuse box, but that's unusual. The Accessory Relay, in your year should be on the upper part of the Passenger Kick Panel. I believe the Heated Window Relay is also mounted there, but I'm not 100% sure. There were some crazy changes in 72/73 that make it difficult to ascertain exactly what and where. In that time frame, the connectors for the harnesses went from being loose and then just held to the body by the rubber clamp "fingers" to being incorporated to a "Buss" box on the Passenger Kick Panel. FWIW E

While you're at it, please help ascertain for sure where the junction for the Heater Blower branches off from. Does it branch off BEFORE the Fuse Box or AFTER the Acc. Relay? There are numerous "???" items that take careful compilation from several diagrams to try to ascertain what "should" be happening, and it's still sketchy. Even the wiring diagram I point to shows TWO Heater Blowers. Both yours and Ron's show ONE. However, none show a clear connection for the power going to the Ignition Switch. Track that down just for grins and then try to answer "Where" does the Ignition Switch receive the power it then uses to start and run the car. Typically a "T" or branch is shown by a round dot over the connection to identify it from a simple cross over of two lines in the schematic. They avoided using the little "jump" marks to avoid really making a mess of things. Unfortunately after multiple scans, copier copies of originals and copies of copies, the end result is a grainy hard to discern wiring schematic. Then with the advent of computer scanning, those errors are then scanned and someone overwrites a grainy image with new vector line graphics and a mistake is now promulgated as fact. Can you read what the wording on the side of the Ignition, Combination Switch, Turn Signal Switch grid boxes is? How about when the error causes problems as in the case of the two White/Red or White/Black (depending on which schematic and generation copy you see) going to the tail-lights? Which one is which? The result is that there are many schematics out there, some with tell-tale errors and others with obvious omissions and others with duplicate/contradicting information. This also isn't isolated to the S30, the 311 (Roadster) also has the same problems. I've been trying to compile and discern as many as I can, but it takes patience to carefully pore over each little line from beginning to end and to do it on a computer rmonitor....and I haven't even begun to look at the 260 or 280 diagrams. Any volunteers? The final result is that while some assumptions are valid and easily verified, others take several different diagrams and vehicles examined before a guess can be put forth...and sometimes that's what it ends up being...an educated guess. FWIW E

Stephen, wasn't trying to downgrade what you did. You did fine. But Spanish is my first language, and it wasn't hard to write down the lyrics I heard. Some might argue that some of the terms were actually plurals or not. E

Yup. Take a look yourself. Right below the space between "DIAGRAM" and "(For..." in the title, you'll see a small box labeled "Acc Relay", with 3 wires connected to it. All 3 wires have "L" as their color designation. The relay takes 4 wires to complete TWO circuits...2 wires each circuit. The balance of your wiring diagram is correct in that it shows the SECOND relay added to the 73's downstream of the FIRST Accessory Relay, and the proper wiring for the switch rocker being lighted up. The problem with the wiring diagrams, is that it usually takes looking at 3 or 4 before you start noticing little inconsistencies. Both yours and Ron's need to be blown up real big before you start noticing subtle wiring details. While the one that I linked to does not show the Choke Light, and the Second Relay, it will be easier to trace than the later one. Not trying to step on toes, the wiring diagrams are just one of the more painful of the topics on the Z. Once you think you found a good one, you find an anomaly. Has anyone ever noticed that some of them make it seem as though there are TWO Blower Motors in the car? FWIW E

Spanish: Yo te quiero, yo te adoro, te quiero, te adoro, mi vida "I love you, I adore you, love you, adore you, you're my life" Tu cariño, tu besito, tu sonrisa, me tiene como loco "Your affection, your kiss, your smile have me crazy" (arabic) yo te quiero, a ti, mi niña "I love you, you, my girl" yo te quiero, a ti, mi niña "I love you, you, my girl" E

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?p=157255#post157255 Use that one instead. Credit for that old post goes go Onuthing and MDBrandy. Ron, Steve, both of the ones you uploaded have errors in them. Steve's shows the Acc. Relay as only having 3 wires going to it, all Blue wire. Ron's does not show how the Ignition Switch receives power. It's missing the connection for the W/R wire from the fuse box. 2¢ E

Stephen; Is the cap a Baseball Cap style or more like a Beanie Cap, or a Yarmulke? I didn't notice a bill of any sort. E

Filipe: Having seen which bracket measurements you were looking for, I am wondering if you're trying to replicate the part? If so, why go to so much trouble when it's ONLY purpose is to hold on to the cable sheath in line with the Accelerator Pedal Clevis. You could use a pair of Zip-Ties and achieve the same thing. But that's just my 2¢ E

Check the Cowl Drain Tubes. These are located up behind the "eyeball" vents on the extreme ends of the dash. You will probably have to get on your back and with your head tight against the firewall shine a flashlight up there. You will see two rubber elbows that come down and exit via the side kick panel. If those rubber elbows are cracked or holed, that may be the source of most if not all your problem. There are other problems, but that one is one of the most probable. You can check these by flooding the Cowl Bucket. The Fresh Air Intake Shroud could also be a problem, but that would only affect the passenger's side and only through the Heater Blower, so check that last. As a second note, you may also have cracks or rust holes in the Cowl Bucket itself. To find these, remove the Cowl, insert a bare light bulb into the Cowl Bucket and once again get on your back in the passenger / driver floor areas. Look to see if you see any light. If you do, it's a hole. Lastly, if the tops of your Fresh Air Vent Tubes (they run from the front of the car by the radiator, all the way to the passenger compartment) are rusted through, due to debris sitting in the top of the "drain" gutter, then the water may be seeping in through there and then through the Fresh Air Vents. The only way to check these is to have a friend pour water onto the support underneath the Access Doors on the fenders while you get on your back. FWIW E

Careful with that graphite powder. Too much and you'll have contact between several of the contacts that need to stay independent of each other. 2¢ E