EScanlon

From my experience, the reason for the rubber cushion between the bumper and the body is to protect the paint from the vibration between the two metal pieces, as well as scratching as you locate and mount the bumper(s). A simple piece of rubber is all that is needed to perform that duty. However, if you've ever tried to put a bumper on, then you know how difficult it is to get your fingers up in between the fender (front or rear) and the side mount of the bumper. That, IMO, is why Nissan made these "wrap-around" rubber washer/gaskets. That way you can put them on the tab and not have them fall off as you locate the bumper and, inevitably, touch the fender with the tab. From a strictly "original look" point of view, the reproduction parts will LOOK correct, and perform as they are needed to perform. Additionally, they will simplify a task that requires you have 4 arms and eyes on the end of stalks to avoid scratching your paint. From a "will-it-work" or "or-equivalent" point of view, the rubber gaskets, washers, etc. that provide a CUSHION between those two metal pieces will work. Granted, you'll have to be extremely careful in mounting the bumper, and be able to get your fingers way up in there to put between the two pieces. FWIW E

I've also run into the Fuel Pump having it's GREEN wire and the BLACK/WHITE that it connects to AFTER an in-line fuse (which is presumably what would plug into the 2 wire connector) show up like that. Here's a few links to some images that give the Single and Multiple Wire Connectors: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/a...3&d=1127530293 This shows the multiple wire connectors AND the color codes for the wires in them. This next one identifies the SINGLE wire connections: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/a...4&d=1127530293 And this is it's legend: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/a...5&d=1127530334 But, from my experience, Arne, I'll bet that if you check the Black White it shows 12v+ power when the ignition is on in the RUN mode, whereas the Green shows nothing. But if you go to the Fuel Tank Area and check continuity with the green wire at both ends..... FWIW E

No worries, I was just being lazy. E

A and B (going from the small pic in your post) are from the "Series III" when they changed the interior dash configuration. Note, the Series III denomination is something I've heard/read references to and can't be sure what years/models it applies to. Part A is the Fresh Air Vent and Map Light components that go on the dash first, then part B inserts into the space in the lower section. The Radio went below in a separate surround. E

The antenna might simply be that the nylon shaft inside has snapped off OR has come loose. E

Geez Michael, as a long time member here you should KNOW that even simple "Yes/No" questions here become Unabridged Opinion Polls! And what's more, each answer has some form of validity that can be discerned. Fimz's response is one that a lot of people nowadays are going for....next to obsidian black. In fact it's due to that opaque Limo Tint being applied to ALL of a vehicle's windows that has caused the legislations enacted against it. In Iowa about 20some years ago, there was a case of a State Trooper that walked up on a car that he'd stopped for a traffic infraction, only to have the occupant roll down the window and the Trooper then faced a handgun .... definitely NOT the beginning of a friendly exchange. Then again, the STOCK windows had a very light tint to them, as well as the windshield having that blue band across the top. The UV protection is something that you can't ignore. With the Dash's proclivity to cracking due to heat absorption/UV damage, you can't ignore simple measures that would reduce/eliminate that. However, it's illegal in many states (AFAIK) to change the tint on the windshield. You may do it, and you may even find places that will do it, yet it's still illegal (and don't forget the reduced visibiliy at night). So, Ed's response is "spot on", as it addresses both. But, to toss in yet another item, I think part of it applies to how "original" you are planning on being. In southern states I'll bet that many dealers offered the tint option, even though it may have been performed by a third party. Carl Beck's knowledge of dealer practices would be invaluable to determine if that was something that they offered. But, whether the dealer did or didn't isn't relevant if many owners would automatically have their windows tinted. Before you think that this wouldn't be something people would do, stop and think about this; Have you ever gotten into a vehicle with VINYL seats wearing shorts on a hot sunshiny day? The tint wouldn't eliminate the sizzle of frying butt, but it would reduce it to a simmer. Heck, Michael, you're in Texas....why don't YOU tell us. So my item is this, many people in the 70's DID tint their windows because this was the "cool" thing to do....aside from any UV protection, privacy, and other ideas. Therefore, a "period-correct" vehicle, with the modifications that a vehicle IN THE 70'S would have exhibited, WOULD have the tinting. In fact, MIRROR TINT (yes, the silver foil reflect your image type) was very popular, although now I think that's the main one police officers look for as that one is literally a smoking crack pipe in a police convention, meaning that they can readily discern that it's been legislated against. (Other tints, even the limo tints are very hard to discern as being "over-the-line" when viewed as single panes and not the complete vehicle picture--which was the intent of the law...i.e. vehicle occupant's actions should not be hidden.) Personally, a well done, SUBTLE tint takes my vote. E P.S.: Will, I'll offer #8 to your food poll: 8. Any food that dries quickly to a hardness that rivals cured stress concrete and requires a jackhammer to remove.

Congratulations!!! Post when you get a "Round Tuit". The car can most definitely wait. Send some hugs and flowers to your Ladies from all of us here. Enrique

The above sounds correct for a generic RADIO wiring. However, the earlier Z's had very basic wiring and some "modern" style wiring (back in 1970). The BLUE wire is the 12v + for the STOCK Radio. It grounds via a Black wire / through the Chassis Mount. The RED/BLUE wire is for the Dial Illumination Lamp. The Antenna Switch receives 3 wires, BLUE (12v+) and BLUE/WHITE and BLUE/RED for each direction of the antenna. Newer Stereos require changes to work in the earlier Z's. The antenna needs to be replaced. Newer Stereos require a FULLY AUTOMATIC Antenna which the original Z's was MANUAL. The Fully Automatic connects to the radio via a Blue Wire to sense when the radio is turned on and then with it's constant power source (which the original Z was not equipped to provide) then raises the antenna. When the radio is turned off the antenna retracts. In the quoted information, this is the Blue wire, but you would still have to send a constant 12v power to the antenna in order for it to work AFTER the radio was turned off AND the ignition was also turned off....so that the antenna will go down all the way. The radio needs to be provided with a constant power source NOT connected to the ignition for it's Presets, settings and clock. This is the Yellow wire mentioned. Sometimes this constant power is NOT the one to power the radio when it is turned on, in that case it then needs a secondary power source linked to the ignition. That's the Red wire mentioned. In order to help you with what you have, you need to provide a bit more info as to what you DO have and what you plan to install/remove/ change. E

Mike makes a good point on the switch, but it could also be related to the Map Lamp, the Dome Lamp and switches as well as the wiring for the "room lamps" (courtesy lamps not installed originally, but wiring is there) as well as the Glove Box lamp. Interestingly enough the Key In Buzzer and Switch are also on this circuit. But you DO have a problem, as continous power to the WW pump will not only burn out your motor, it will also empty your tank quickly....and we don't want your Z weeping all over the road. () E

Don't forget to post what finally fixed it for the NEXT member to have similar difficulties. That's what makes this site such a valuable reference. E

Jim: More than likely your Fuel Pump shorted out and caused the fuse to overload and melt. The Fuel Pump is wired pretty much directly to the ignition switch AHEAD of any relay's in the car. That Relay on the Pass. Kick Panel is more than likely the Accessory Relay which powers the Radio and the Heater Fan, or the Rear Window Defrost Relay, both of these receive power AFTER the ignition switch returns to "Run" Start by checking the Fuel Pump at the Right Rear of the Car. Be careful as you are dealing with the Fuel Line, but get 12v+ to the GREEN wire of the pump. If it runs, then you need to continue checking. If on the other hand it's DOA, then you may have found your problem. Hopefully this helps. Enrique

ezzz is correct, there is a ground down by the fuel tank sending unit, but I don't know exactly where or if it's the only one. You might check near the metal tubes that go through the floor for the vent tube hoses and see if there's a ground screw and wire near there. Even though it's a Ground, I would recommend you FIX the original one rather than make a new one. Cobbled up wiring is ALWAYS a pain to troubleshoot later and only YOU would know/remember that you added a ground in other than the OEM place. 2¢ E

Ouch! I hate to say this, but in my experience the tach got fried. There's a difference in voltage from the "upper" circuit board to the "lower" board and if you accidentally short them (by inserting a screwdriver from the back) you'll fry the resistor/transistor (not sure) between the two boards. I did that to one of mine (checking if the tach was "adjustable") and unfortunately, it toasted it beyond recognition of what it was, making it impossible to replace. Once it "zapped" this is exactly what it would do, Ignition ON tach to it's maximum, and back to 0 when ignition turned off. I hope that this is NOT the case with yours. Maybe some other member can post some thoughts also. E

Ok, let's try to get this "organized". Front: The 2 FRONT SIDE markers are : OK √ The 2 FRONT TURN/PARK Lights are: OK √ Rear: The 2 REAR SIDE markers are : ?? The 2 REAR TURN/PARK Lights are: DIM X Ground at the Fuel Tank Area: ?? Bulb Contact Points are: CLEAN + BRIGHT √

Arne, you said it better. One point though, although the Daniel Stern lighting suggestions are generally good, they're not ALWAYS correct. His Relay upgrade schematic won't work on the Z's wiring, as was evidenced by one member not long ago. I saw the blinking side marker schematic and Gary was thinking of trying it and we just never got around to doing it, so I still don't know if it's viable. E

Other possibilities, the Hazard Light switch, the Turn Signal Switch and the Brake Light Switch. This would be for the Turn Signal /Brake lights. For the Running Lights....the Combination Switch. Did you recently do some work in the steering column area? E

Do you mean the Tail Light FINISHER? Which just surrounds the tail lights and doesn't hold them? If so, the "original" were a smaller version of the interior rivets. They were plastic, and required a pin to spread the 4 quarters of the rivet shaft. You pushed the pin through and could then remove the rivet. Many people use pop-rivets, since usually it's only when you repaint the back that you remove the finisher, but "technically" it's incorrect. I've also seen people use regular Phillips Head Screws with the decorative contoured washer both interior and finishers and they look quite good IMO. E

Miles: Boy does that shed some interesting points to the lighting differences. There are various members who WANT to turn their side marker lights to turn signal use as well. Unfortunately, I ~believe~ that US-DOT requires the side marker lights as continuous and not just turn signal use. E

I think a 12mm for the hinges, but I only put up my hood when Gary puts his up. That way people can see a "Plain Vanilla" engine to his "Dryer's French Vanilla Limited Edition". We got rained out today at PIR, BUT they gave out $5 coupons for Beaches to those of us that showed up and VIP Passes for next week. When FunZ1Z showed up after I did, the gal at the gate thought I was trying to score a second coupon and VIP Pass. E

BD280Z: Your main intent in removing the previous paint job should be, IMO, to SMOOTH the body surfaces to .... as close to perfect as possible. To that end, I would recommend you use a D/A Sander using at least 180 or even 80 grit paper to remove the bulk of the paint. This may seem (and is) escessively coarse to Jackboxx and others, but this way you will have removed the bulk of the paint on the car. This presumes that the current paint on the car is ... SHOT.... and needs to be removed at least to the primer base / metal. What amount of paint you leave behind will be because of imperfections in the metal that need to be filled in order to produce that blemish free "mirror" surface that a beautiful paint job requires. That you're using the "old" paint is really not important...AS LONG AS IT'S STILL ADHERING PROPERLY. If it isn't, then you DO need to remove it. Afterwards, since you are not completely sure of the composition of the various coats, I would heartily endorse the use of a Sealer coat. It's purpose is to seal/encapsulate the previous finishes from your final coat so that they don't interact unfavorably....that is checks, crazing, lifting, fish-eye etc. You could use Epoxy Primer as a Base or a Sealer, and it would be an excellent idea in case you sand down to bare metal, but if you only use it for the metal you expose then definitely use Sealer over the whole car. The intent is to have a uniform base over the whole car to ensure uniformity in the paint color, sheen, etc. Between a Sealer and a Sealer/Primer and Epoxy...well this is where you'll find variations based on opinion. Personally, I prefer Epoxy over any bare metal, then your body work (although body work THEN epoxy used to be the "rule of thumb"), followed by one or more coats of Primer (or even High-Fill Primer), sanded down to perfect smoothness, THEN coated with Sealer and followed by your Paint Color and Clear (although single stage paints can produce beautiful results WITHOUT clear). Different paints may require different preparatory bases, as well as colors of primer or sealer or base paint. But that's why paint jobs are a true ART, even when they're just a "plain" paint job. JMO Enrique

I've used various different metal polishes, from Brasso to MAAS, Mother's to POR's Artesan and a host of others. Without exception, they won't do a good job unless the basic metal is ready to BE polished. Pitted, scratched, corroded or otherwise rough metal and you are ready for a very hard and very disappointing experience. MikeW gives you some excellent advice, make sure the metal has been smoothed and prepped for polish. Then, be ready to get DIRTY! or as he's pointed out, shell out the $ to have it done professionally. If on the other hand you ~insist~ on diving in, then Deedee's post summarizes it perfectly. I would recommend the POR Artesan as being a little better than the Mother's polish in the little tub (not the one in the squeeze bottle), but the Mother's also perform's very nicely. MAAS, and Brasso, although ~ok~ were clearly outshined (inadvertent pun but VERY appropriate) by Artesan and Mother's both. Between MAAS and Brasso, I'll take the MAAS as it actually did leave a good shine without a lot of mess. However, MAAS' Metal Protectant (not the polish) is superb and I highly recommend it. FWIW E

And just look for the BLINDINGLY BRIGHT Yellow Z (aka: Arrest Me! Yellow; or Honest Officer, I know ~nutting~ about that mile long tire scratch Yellow...)and you'll find Gary. I'll be the subtle 920 Gold Z to the side (if we get there together, and I ~know~ about the aka's on this color, so let's not go there). Oh, and due to ~some~ jealous members Gary and I won't have our hoods up. (You happy now? Bryan? Arne?) E