EScanlon

As clarification for a couple of terms: I referred to them as "click-its", they're known as "Clecos". Here's a link from the Eastwood Co.: http://eastwood.resultspage.com/search?p=Q&ts=custom&w=cleco Here's a link to a Vise Grip Sheet Metal Clamp: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=5829 HTH E

You're encountering "typical" replacement sheet metal woes. If you were to complain to MSA, you'd find that there is absolutely nothing they could do for you. This is why sheet metal replacement is more than simply slapping it on and welding. Do NOT cut off that 90° bend. It will make it extremely difficult to weld, blend in and finish the final edge you leave behind. The 90° will allow you to hide the new seam line behind the tail-light finisher instead of out in front of it, where the seam line now becomes critical that it be flawlessly blended in. Part of what you are missing, is a stiffening bend at the bottom. If you have a pair of sheet metal vise grips, all you need to do is to bend a small step (about 1/8" or less) at the bottom edge as a stiffener. Look at the edge of the original piece and you'll see a very thin edge bend that stiffens the whole piece. Next, note that there is a definite curve to the panel side to side. That is the main reason why the MSA piece isn't edged for you. If it were, you'd have a MUCH harder time adjusting to your car's specific curvature. If you have "click-its" drill and clamp the piece to the lower edge of the tail-light area, and also to the rearmost end of the side fenders. Yes, this will begin to force the curve into the piece, but now, make sure you match the tail-light surround area. Lastly, then begin to form the stiffening edge on the lower edge of the valance. Work from one side then the other side, not from one side all the way to the other. This allows you to bring the curve into shape with the crown (most forward point of the curve) being the last to be shaped. That's my technique in a nutshell, there are variations depending on various factors but that should get you into the ball park. HTH Enrique

Tach and all? Excellent, but more probably due to your perseverence than my post. In re-reading my post, I may have introduced some confusion into the mix. The B/W wire that does register continuity with the G/W is the one to connect to the + side of the coil, the one that does NOT is the one to connect to the G/W wire. That connection is required to provide power to the coil in the RUN position. In the START the coil receives power via the B/W wire directly from the Ignition Switch. In checking the wiring, you apparently did the right thing and hooked it up correctly. I'm posting this to ensure others who may read this get it working right the first time. Sorry for the mix-up. E

Could also be a weak battery due to not being fully charged. But your recommendation is probably more likely. E

No need to apologize at all. There have been incidents of people resurrecting old threads simply to add a comment that boils down to..."Me too!" or "I agree!", and that is what we would like to discourage. Those comments do not serve anything other than to plump up post counts. For the most part, post-whoring is frowned upon. However, IMO, both comments and questions that are ON-TOPIC of the thread and rely on the content of the thread as well as enrich the thread are welcome ...regardless of the age of the original thread. These cars are 35+ years old! How many different ways do you think there are to repair the same problems? How many different ways should you have to search for them? While the title of this thread is definitively not on-topic (and Mike the Head Admin of the site may change it), the content is informative and other than these specific posts, on topic. So, no worries and feel free to post comments and questions that are on topic. 2¢ E

Depends on WHAT you're doing. For the riveted or screwed on variety: If you're doing a complete tear-down of the car, window mechanisms out of the doors, fenders off, interior rear plastic panels out, and general removal of paint down to the metal...you can't argue against a quick MIG weld of the holes (if they used rivets). A good welder can put a copper plate behind the hole, give the hole a fast shot with the MIG and grind off the excess faster than anything I've seen, and NOT warp the metal. The advantage here is that you're putting steel back into the sheet metal and not some foreign substance (more on this). But the key here is NOT warping the metal. This would NOT be the place to see how good you are at welding. The other alternative is to Braze the holes shut. However, this has a HIGH probability of warping the metal due to heat expansion/contraction. Another alternative is to use a Lead fill method, or as I was taught when I was working as a body man...SOLDERNIG the holes shut. This has the advantage of not requiring a welder and not over-heating the panel. You use Acid Core solder with a liquid flux after having cleared the surrounding 1/16" or so of metal and it will quickly fill the hole. The biggest disadvantage here is that you MUST neutralize the flux and acid that may leak behind the hole. There are other fill compounds, Epoxy is one, JB Weld is another. As long as the material is NOT porous (and Bondo IS), you should be ok. The only disadvantages here (AFAIK) is that you want something that will expand/contract at generally the same rate as the sheet metal, and adhere very strongly with a minimum of contact area. All of the above are easy to do on a tear down. If you're hoping to just remove the moldings and use a dash of touch up paint...probably only the Solder or Epoxy methods would apply. For the adhesive back variety: Removal can be done with careful use of a razor blade, some hi strength nylon fishing line or a guitar string. Then just start at the beginning and carefully work back. The fishing line or the guitar string are the easiest methods although they'll tend to "tear" and bunch up the adhesive backed foam. The razor blade runs the risk of knicking the paint. Afterwards, as Julio pointed out, adhesive remover and you should be good to go. However, in my experience, if they've used the aluminum channel and used adhesive backing, usually the decorative end tips are screwed onto the body, so you'll still have to do some hole filling. FWIW E

Dealer add on. There are two main styles that I've seen. One is the aluminum channel with the rubber/vinyl insert in color to complement the car (white/black etc.). The other is the all rubber stick on, some with a chromed edge and others just plain rubber. FWIW E

Since he was referencing a picture on this thread, after having used the Search feature, and had questions pertaining EXACTLY to the thread's content....where ELSE should he have posted his questions? I can't think of a more logical place than within the thread that contains the bulk of the information...it helps the thread be MORE informative. Starting a new thread would have disjointed the question/answer and made future searches even more difficult. It IS difficult to discern one thread's content from another, the search feature at least allows you to know that the thread contains what you're looking for. But by propagating the number of threads simply because one is old...well, you're back at step one with hundreds of threads with the same subject matter. Sorry, the blanket "old post" comment won't cut it here. If it were a "Me too!" type of comment - then it would apply, but not when it's on-topic. By posting a relevant question IN the same thread, it enriches the thread for future searches and readers, and un-complicates a tedious search after using the Search feature. 2¢ E

First off, did you swap the original 240 coil to the ZX coil? You'll want to as the original 240 coil isn't designed to run on 12v all the time (or at least that is what the mechanical guys insist on). If you did NOT, then you may have other problems (rough running at higher RPM's) due to the decreased voltage to the coil and hence the E12-80 module, since the original 240 coil requires the resistor. If you DID swap the coil, then all you need to do is plug the Tach back into the circuit. By having both the Green/White and the Black/White wire connected to the coil, you've completely disconnected it. The Green/White and ONE of the Black/White wires are supposed to connect to the Resistor, and are the sensing portion of the Tach's circuit. To determine WHICH one of the Black/White wires to connect, do a simple continuity check between the Green/White and the Black/White wires. Only ONE of those two wires will complete the continuity check (as long as you still have the Tach connection in place). The B/W wire that has continuity is the one to then connect to the Green/White wire, if you are removing the Resistor from the circuit, or to the ends of the resistor if it's staying. That's it. The Tach should now work as before. HTH E

If by "QQ" you are referring to Personalized plates, then there shouldn't be any restrictions. Granted NJ is it's own little kingdom so.... However, on the use of "Historic" vehicle, or "Classic" or "Antique" plates, you may find that due to the reduced registration requirements ($, frequency) there may be some specific guidelines they enforce. Could be "fair-weather" or "pleasure" driving ONLY, or to/from car shows (and be prepared to prove it), or some other restrictions. From what I've heard the mileage requirement is rarely if ever checked on (even the insurance companies don't). But, that's based on what I've heard.... E

Sorry, but if you have to ask......you'll never understand. E

Then my mistake, I misinterpreted it to mean that the wire was un-connected. Dave is spot on with his suggestion as to reconnecting it. If you decide to use the butt connector try to have the wire ends touch in the middle before you crimp and crimp hard. Then as a precaution a dash of heatshrink won't hurt at all (remember to put it in place before you crimp. E

Careful...reconnecting a cut wire just because doesn't mean you won't be opening up a can of worms, or worse yet initiate a melt-down. Is the car operating properly as it stands (with the taped off W/R wire)? If it is, then the circuit that wire belongs to has been shunted and adding that wire back into the mix may be a nice way of short-circuiting the shunt. It may not be bad, but without checking it first it would be like diving head first into a creek. There are only two W/R wires at the fuse box. One comes directly FROM the Alternator and the other goes directly TO the Acc Relay, Ammeter, Combination and Ignition Switches. It would be difficult if not impossible for the car to be running AND the balance of the car's electrical items without both of those circuits in place. So if the Lights, Ammeter, Acc Relay etc. are operating properly, then I would check to see where and why that wire has been bypassed BEFORE I would just plug it back in. My 2¢ E

This is where "book" knowledge and "in-use" knowledge start to show the strain. The early tach, commonly referred to as the "4-wire" tach (due to it's connector) gets it's signal directly from the current going to the coil (Black/White and Green/White wires) from the Ignition Switch. Later style tachs went to a one wire sensor and not a loop, which reduced the number of wires to the tach's mechanism by one, hence the reference as "3-wire" tachs. While I've read that people feel the later style tach (3-wire) is more accurate (definition still to be determined), I've not read of anyone being able to convert a 4-wire wiring harness to use a 3-wire tach. The reason for this is that the 4-wire Loop is a requirement of the ignition system in order to provide power to the coil. Cut that wire and you won't get any current to the coil at all. Now as far as your question goes, there have been numerous people that have swapped out the points disributor for a ZX dizzy in order to gain the E12-80 module (and loose the points), and have also swapped the coil in order to allow eliminating the Resistor from the circuit. What this may imply is that the change in the coil might not have had any effect on the tach...but actual experience may differ. That's the problem in saying for a fact that it would or wouldn't affect the tach. But since your intent is function and not originality, why not check into some of the conversions to more modern tach's? That way you'll gain the accuracy you want, and bypass the old technology. FWIW E

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

Now you know why "down-under" they don't get this joke: What do you call a boomerang that won't come back after you throw it? Ready for this? A Stick

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