EScanlon

Emphasis mine.Bob: That's EXACTLY what I've been telling people here for years! Personally I hope that you DO get that and more! More to the point, I wish I had the money to bid on your car, but I don't, but if your car goes up in value, mine, even not being a VZ program car, nor even in the same "class" would go up in value too. I agree with the individual that mentioned that the real detriment to Z prices going up are the Z owners that nay-say any increase in their value. I'm not planning on selling, but I do want to garner a bit more respect for my car at open marque cruise-in's. FWIW E

That's surely due to this picture: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=15045&d=1163612617 But I can assure you that it isn't "regular old epoxy", regardless of what the picture seems to portray. SEM Bumper repair, IS mixed from two halves, but after curing it does retain a rubber type feel to it and does bend to a degree. "Regular old epoxy" and I presume you're referring to something such as JB Weld, or the like, cures HARD. 2¢ E

And yet another one..... E

Other ones: While I Am There I Might As Well For What It's Worth E

The Swivel Studs are used by Roadsters, except instead of the self-tapping screw, it's a machine thread w/nut. The Roadster guys refer to them as "Twisties", while the "Posties" are the "Lift the Dot" Single Studs, also with machine thread. Thanks for the link; Enrique

There are a few posts on the horn mechanism. Do a search to do some more research. But, in a nutshell, it sounds as though the horn wiper contact, the one behind the steering wheel mount isn't making contact everywhere on your steering wheel hub. Cause could be a crooked mount, or missing copper on the contact plate. FWIW E

Carlos; If you do not connect the wires that normally connect to the BR to each other, the coil will NOT receive power when the Ignition Switch is in the RUN setting. That is, you may get a spark to START but as soon as you let go of the key and it returns to RUN it will stop. So, to recap, connect the B/W and G/W wires that normally connect to the Ballast Resistor to each other. Now as far as timing. If you have indeed checked that the #1 piston is at the top dead center on the compression cycle, then the rotor should be pointing at the plug wire going to the #1 cylinder. Checking #1's position is easy once you know this trick that Gary (Beandip) explained to me: Remove the spark plug, (and also the distributor cap so you can keep your eye on it) put your finger over the hole to seal any air going in or out. Crank the engine over by hand using a ratchet on the main crank bolt. When you begin to feel pressure building up under your finger, the compression stroke has begun. When it reaches it's strongest point you may not be able to keep your finger in place, but that's ok. Now take a look at the rotor on the distribuor and note it's position as that is the #1 spark plug. The rest are based on the firing sequence: 1-5-3-6-2-4 and the distributor moves counter clockwise. (Was it Bambikiller that came up with "Too Young, Too Old, Just Right! as a mnemonic to remember the sequence: 15-36-24?) Check this FIRST, as it's a "basic" item. You may already know all this and if so maybe it will help the next person to read your thread. HTH Enrique

Use the proper product from 3M to get the best results: http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3M-Super-77/Super77/SprayAdhesive/Product-Selector/ Plug in METAL as your first surface and FLEXIBLE FOAM as your second. You'll get 3M 74, 90 and 73. FWIW E

Bo; No doubt you used the Spray on Chrome Paint (Krylon IIRC). Pretty nice stuff, I've used it myself on another project and have even applied Candy over it and it looks quite nice. I can see the Chrome Spray's benefit on the Front Turn Signal backs as there are times when the reflector (if it is still there) is either rusted, de-laminated (chrome layer gone) or simply missing. On mine, I was lucky in that I only had a small area or two that had delaminated and they took well to metal polish, as such all I had to do was apply some metal protectant (not polish). I did, however, paint the flat surfaces of the backing with the Polar White paint. Same with the tail-lights. I've had people think that my lights are on ... during the day. The key with the Chrome spray paint is that it allows the aluminum particles to align well and essentially "skin" together forming a mostly continuous surface. That is probably the key requirement for good reflectivity, and the reason we polish metal, glass and even painted surfaces. Silver paints alone don't do that, and trying to sand them smooth generally does not generate that evenness. In fact, sanding silver is a general PITA as it can quickly show "layers". But to highlight my point on Silver being "Grey", spray a scrap piece of metal, wait till the silver dries and you get a nice glossy and shiny finish. Then spray it with Clear. The end result is ... Grey. FWIW E

Stephen .... EXCELLENT!!! Thanks, Enrique

Roger: While lots of guys have made some attempts at using LED's and trying to get the angle just right; removing the green lenses, and even trying light up instrument faceplates, I think my solution is the easiest and biggest bang for the buck. No offense meant to the other guys, but if you're not looking to change the color, add special effects, or wanting to be blinded by your dash, then try my method. I simply painted the inside surface of the instrument cans with the brightest gloss white paint I could find. I used a paint called Polar White that commonly gets used on the underside of R/C Car's Lexan Body shells. Since it's white and glossy, it reflects every bit of light that shines through the green globes inside the instrument cases. I even use my rheostat to turn DOWN the brightness. There's a couple of points to bring up: Silver paint has been touted, however, in the color wheel scheme of things Silver is Gray. Additionally, most brush on silver paints that I've seen aren't very reflective. Spray can paint can be, but now you have to remove EVERYTHING including the green globes AND still mask in order to use it. However, most silver paints still don't reflect light as intensely as bright white does. Add to it that the green globes are actually filtering the light so that it is tinted green and you've reduced the actual light being reflected ... off a grey surface. LED's are bright, but they are also very directional. The end result can be bright areas on parts of the edges, but they don't "fill" the edge as well as the bulbs did. I'm sure someone has done a few tests, but even after the savings of never having to change those bulbs again, the initial expense is such that I'll stick to the OEM style bulbs. I bet the LED's would also benefit from painting the inside of the cases. Speaking of the OEM style bulbs, forget the 3 watt bulbs, get the 3.5 or 4 watt replacement. I recently used Sylvania 53BP, although I recall 67's also being good. I'll have to double check. I think you need about a dozen total (2 each Tach and Speedo, one each "eyebrow" instruments, 2 turn signals, one high beam and one brake). I swapped bulbs simply because many had already burned out, and I decided to start with a fully new set. I think another 30 years will be fine for my investment in bulbs. But that's the simple fix I have. HTH E P.S. The diagram came from a Clymer's manual, but IIRC I also saw it in one of the FSM's out there. There are a couple more diagrams showing all the connectors in the Engine and Rear of the car as well as the Single Wire connection Diagram. I've uploaded them here before. Do a search on posts with me as the author.

Gary's post with the part number given is the most informative one on this thread. Post the part numbers guys! Otherwise people show up at the stores you mention, ask for the item and are told.... "If it's not on the shelf, then we don't have it." 2¢ E

Take a look at the following diagram. It shows the colors for many of the multiple connectors in the passenger cabin. If you look just behind the Shifter (disregard that this is for an automatic) you'll see a 3 wire connector, the one with all three connections "stacked" one above the other. It's color legend is WB, W, L; or White/Black, White and bLue. That's the connector for your radio. Re-insert that WB wire back into the connector and your radio should function again. This isn't shown in the Wiring Schematic. The WB and W are for the speaker, the Blue is for power, and should have a separate in-line fuse. Some cars instead of a WB wire had a WL (White/Blue). HTH E

Actually your headlights are powered all the time, your Combination Switch allows them to ground while the Dimmer Switch selects which element gets the ground. Since the are powered all the time is why the Ignition Switch setting doesn't matter. In fact, that's why you hear of people leaving their lights on and killing their battery. The ignition relay is an item specific to the later 280's, so maybe we can get Stephen in to comment. There are a couple of items which lead to much confusion. So, let's eliminate the confusion by simplifying what you're checking for. Battery Voltage: It doesn't matter if you just bought it, if it isn't fully charged then many problems arise just because that's the nature of things. Charge it overnight on a trickle charger. While you're at it, remove the connections to it, wire brush them clean, both the posts and the clamps and re-tighten them. Check your grounds from the battery to body, wire brush where they connect. You mention that your ignition is dead, yet you then mention that it will turn over.... hmmm, how's that again? If the ignition switch is dead, it wouldn't actuate the starter, or if it did, then you may have a wire or connection bad. DO the Ignition Switch test by the FSM procedure. Remove and clean the ends of the fuses AND their connecting clamps and check the fuses OUTSIDE of the fuse box before replacing. Don't do a visual check, and don't do a continuity check while in the holder. Stop disassembling and "fixing" all sorts of items until you can address it, it's a much higher probability that you'll introduce and ADD problems than magically stumble on the source of your current problem. Only by systematic and patient effort will you find and fix the problem. HTH E

A better explanation is that what he's measuring there is Voltage DROP through the fusible link, which should be 0 (zero) for purposes of discussion. Your explanation is correct, but it bears explanation. If he did in fact measure a voltage at the two end points of the fusible link it would indicate that there is some resistance, whether small (corrosion or by design) or infinite (broken wire). A small resistance would show a very low voltage and a high resistance would show a large voltage. FWIW E

Dave: I read your post, and it seemed as though you were just ranting. Then again, with all the wiring being "FUBAR'ed" and your addition of even more shunts....heck you're right... "kiss our foot, you lame poser" . What were you expecting? You were spouting technical jargon of a pretty specialized nature (primary winding resistance), and then (it seems) asking a pretty basic question "Is that right?" ... Heck yeah!! Kiss our foot, you lame poser! It seemed as though you knew what you were doing. Did you really expect someone to look over your shoulder and ask you to move over a bit so they could detect if the secondary windings of the flux capacitator were properly degaussed before the primary field collapsed around the ferricambulator? Or is it that the magnetic envelope must invert at the proper sequential increment of defluxing of the potential field perniculator? Most of us try to answer ... when we know or are pretty sure of the diagnosis, based on the description given by the person asking the question. But in this case? Kiss our foot, you lame poser! So, hopefully you take this in jest and in stride, you probably got too deep too quickly for anyone to catch what the question was and provide you with our magical immediate reply. So, for future reference: pucker up and kiss our foot, you lame poser! FWIW and J/K E

Actually Dad absolutely refused Long Hair, Hip-hugger pants and Platform shoes for the longest time. Not till my Senior year in HS did I acquire a pair of the Platform Shoes with the tall heels, and soon found out they were no longer cool. I think I wore them to two parties before they were banished to the back of my closet. But as far as Disco? Heck, I'll admit to doing my best to twirl the night away moaning about a rain-soaked cake ... all the while watching the ladies in those form fitting body-suits with the fly-away skirts in stilletto high heels doing their twirls .... Go ahead, critique THAT!!! Lest we forget, here are a couple of other pictures of interest: http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=11299 http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=7701 http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/corvette_summer/ And a video: http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=13467 All of these are examples of designs and acceptable items THEN. Some of the many items are still desireable and some are not. While some of these are such that there will be some that will decry their being included in this discussion, the point I'm making is that they're ALL either advances or side-steps in the automotive looks department. Flames which were a huge component of "hot-rod" paint jobs in the 50's, were seen as pasé in the 70's and 80's when stripes were a big item. Psychedelic paint jobs and graffiti motifs were "in" in the 60's, and were scorned in later years (Anyone remember the Partridge Family bus?). Or outrageous engines poking through hoods with extremely modified cars, The Monkees, The Munsters, just to name a couple. The late 70's and 80's introduced two-tone paint jobs amidst other items, and stripes began a come back. The 90's can best be remembered for outrageous colors ... Dodge Neon anyone? And I'm summarizing and categorizing with broad strokes. If you wish to debate specific dates, years and trends, then we need a different thread. My point is that this car may now best be an example of something that was big then, and isn't now. Berating it, exclaiming how it gags you, or "burns" the retina's are just more examples of how pasé it has become ... but it wasn't ALWAYS this way. Had the original owner finished the project, who knows, it might have ended up winning a show or two. 2¢ E

Paul; If you do indeed have access to a friend who does this commercially, I wouldn't try to "re-invent the wheel". As Bob M pointed out, the procedure is to install Rubber on Glass, Trim into Rubber and then Assembly onto car. Any other method, even with the tool that Graeme (Nissanman) mentions (and there are several trim tools for just this purpose), have a high probability of bending, scratching or marring the SS trim or worse tearing, ripping or gouging the rubber. The basic problem is that the trim is not forgiving at all, and neither is the tool. Any incorrect movement with the tool and ZAP you have a bend, a kink or some other unacceptable problem. As a note, most trim tools require you to "saddle" the trim as the leading edge or rounded forks spread the rubber edges and then as the tool passes a given point the rubber now flips back over the SS trim. The problem is at that bend in the tool. There is a critical angle at which it will do the job smoothly ... as long as you are very patient, have lubricated the rubber AND the trim, and can hold the tool at the same angle for the complete piece. Any deviation from this and the tool itself can impart a bend or a scratch. Here's a couple of links to show you the tools I'm referring to: http://www.dominionsureseal.com/productsdetails.asp?id=36&catid=26 http://www.dominionsureseal.com/productsdetails.asp?id=34&catid=26 Here's a PDF with drawings that might better explain the tool. Pages 43-45 show the various types. http://www.autobodysupplies.com/2_Tools2005.pdf When you look a the tools take note that they're all "screwdriver" type tools. That means they're hand held and operated. That's where the patience AND skill come in. But, if it were up to me? I'd pull the windshield and re-install the trim onto the rubber and then re-install the assembly. Remember, replacement trim is big $, and getting good rubber is also a PITA ... you do the math. FWIW E

This car is a perfect example of how something that was seen as "desireable" back "in the day" is now seen as deploreable and embarrasing. Platform shoes, hip-hugger pants, screen-print silk shirts, paisley patterns in wild colors, white leisure suits, Nehru jackets, tie-dye, Ralph Lauren Polo Shirts under Button Down Collar shirts; just to name a few. All were "cool" and "groovy" or "funkalicious" at one time. Now, they're the type of item that some people deny having been involved with....like Disco. But, like Disco, if you were part of the "IN" crowd, whether you were a Beatnik, a Hippie, a Yippie, a Yuppie, a Rebel, or a Preppie, you "wore" the uniform. This car is a perfect example of this. The spoiler, the flares, the striping .... while "outrageous" now were very much the "rage" back in the 80's. (Remember the A Team's van?) Like paint, this year's most popular color will be pasé a few years down the road. So, while many will distance themselves from the 80's appeal of the stripes, the interior and the air-brushing, like Disco, back in the "Day" you either participated or YOU were considered the "outcast" or the "dork" or the "nerd". 2¢ E

Also depending on how damp it was where you stored it, you may have picked up a bit of corrosion in the grounds or other connections. Overheating circuits are often due to corrosion and resistance in their connections. A side comment, you don't need to post the same question to two different forums. The front page shows all the latest threads regardless of which forum you post it to. Extra copies of the same thread starting question tend to make searches difficult (which one is the one that got answered?) and also makes it difficult to detect which one had the right answer for a reply. FWIW E

The BR makes the connection between the Green/White wire that "T"'s off the GW going to the Tach and coming from the ignition; and the Black/White wire that "T"'s off the BW going to the Fuse Box coming from the ignition. Hope that made sense. But per post #4 you had already done that, so maybe I'm getting confused on something. Hope this helps E

It shouldn't. The Accessory Relay only comes on line once the engine is running and the ignition switch is in the RUN position. So to review: 1) The Starter DOES CRANK the engine. 2) The engine doesn't fire. 3) You've determined that the coil is not sending spark to the distributor. 4) You've reviewed the Pertronix connection to ensure that it's correct and working. I seem to recall an item on the pertronix requiring the BR. However, the last Pertronix I installed was on a Roadster (4 cylinder) and I used the stock coil so I left the BR in the circuit. It was working fine, so I'm not sure if that's a must on the Z or not. Anyone else with suggestions? E

Check the connections at your Ignition Switch. In the START position you should have continuity between the White/Red and the Green/White and also the Black/Yellow. In the RUN position, continuity between the W/R and the Black/White and the Blue/Red. The Accessory position is W/R to bLue/R only. (L is the short hand for Blue). You're making your own harness, which if you're following the schematic faithfully should mirror what we can reference and help you with. One last item, are you sure the coil wire to the distributor cap is properly seated at both ends? FWIW E

Brian; I would gladly take you up on one of those challenges like you see on Mythbusters. I've worked with fiberglass and have had the itch blisters to prove it. I say "would" because I believe you're being extremely optimistic as to how easy it is to lay fiberglass, carbon fiber or any one of the resin reinforced materials and maintain a smooth transition from one surface to another. If you've ever tried to get a large sheet of fiberglass cloth to behave (and that's what you're referring to), as you pull in one direction and have it distort and bunch up and require pulling in yet another direction all while your resin is beginning to set (working time is short depending on how much catalyst and ambient temperature) and STILL try to maintain a thin layer... then you know that this is a highly desireable condition, but in actual practice a hard to attain one. Then toss in the "eyebrows" of the gages and their inset "tunnels".... in ONE CONTINUOUS SHEET?? Not by any process that would be easy to set up in your average garage. Maybe if you use a vacuum forming machine...but then again, that IS what a Dash Cap is. It's a thin layer of ABS plastic that's been heated till it's pliable that is then vacuum formed over a mold taken from the dash. Is it perfect? No, there are at least 2 generations of molding conformity at play there before you start making the actual caps. But TWO layers of fiberglass cloth followed by a surface texture layer? I'd bet that you couldn't get that thin enough to challenge a dash cap's thickness, final texture and most of all... ease of application/installation. Just my itchy 2¢ E

I agree with Ron. It seems as though this site's reputation has primed your expectations and blown them out of proportion. You also might re-consider how you "demand" an answer. While many of us are "purists", many of us are not. But you don't get much help by insulting first. You provide a series of photos, showing extensive meltdown damage and pretty much the same items from different angles, then you show us a different car that is your proposed donor for parts and your trouble in removing the parts and expect those of us here to magically come up with an answer overnight? That's what it would have to be....magic. I don't think anyone here or at any of the other sites will be able to come up with a "Plug-N-Play" fix for you....except maybe replace the whole harness, and I'm not sure that that would do it. Something caused that problem, and I'm thinking it might have been a new stereo, or some other poorly installed "upgrade" that caused it. The wiring going to the fusible link holder is showing an extensive and, IMO, a complete meltdown. I don't think that simple replacement of parts is going to fix this. Those fusible links are safety items, they're designed to melt when trouble appears. One of those fusible links looks suspiciously like 10/12 gage wire (Black/White) wire. If that's the case, then there was NO fusible link in that circuit and the result was catastrophic. What your picture shows is a perfect example of why you should NOT use plain wire instead of a properly gaged fusible link. You might be able to remove the harness, unwrap it, and then proceed to replace the burned out wiring, but it's also possible that it melted other wires that are now making contact with each other, and they shouldn't be. It's impossible to tell from pictures if it's repairable or not. Sorry, but easy fix....nope. 2¢ E