Arne

No, but if you ever figure out what that connector goes to, please let me know. I'e identified every other wire in my dash area except that pair.

Well, I'd have to say that we have identified the problem. From here, you'll need to compare all three parts - the master cylinder, pushrod and power booster - to the old ones you removed. One of them is wrong.

If it's the hoses, you simply replace them with new and bleed the brakes. But since you say that it affects both front and rear brakes, hoses don't seem too likely. I now think it is a mis-adjustment or mis-match between the power booster and the master cylinder. Might be something as simple as a pushrod length adjustment. You should adjust the pushrods as indicated in the factory manual for your year Z. Also make certain that the master cylinder and the power booster are both made for your year car.

Which brakes get hot? Front or rear? If it's the fronts, my first thought would be one or both front brake hoses breaking down internally. That allows fluid to go into the calipers, but restricts it from returning. The more you use them, the 'stucker' they get. Test that by pumping the brakes several times with the engine running, then release the brakes and crack open the bleeder valve. If it spurts, that's the problem. Could be a mis-adjusted power booster pushrod, too. That might be even more likely, actually.

Part E are taillights from '74-78 260 and 280Z. I agree that parts D look like parking lights from late '74-78 260 and 280Z. Probably from the same car.

Far more important that the car. Congrats! Here's my wish for health and happiness for you all!

240Z wiring colors are very different from 280Z colors.

Totally from memory here, but I seem to recall that red/blue is the dash lighting.

You're right, his stuff needs to be looked at closely when dealing with cars with eccentric wiring like ours. The Datsun practice of switching the ground for the headlights at the switch rather than the power is... ahh... shall we say, unusual? But I have made initial tests on the marker-blink set up and it looks like it will work on our Zs. Plus I found references to other folks doing this on 510s and Roadsters as well. Below is a link to a PDF of the Dime Quarterly which outlines this on page 7. http://dimequarterly.tierranet.com/dq/dq_1_1.pdf

Close, but not quite spot on. The DOT does want them to run as markers during normal use, but will allow them to flash with the turn signals as well, as long as the normal operation is good too. Take a look at this link for details - I will probably try this on my 240Z when I get it closer to finished:http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/markerflash/markerflash.html

How bright are the brake lights or turn signals? Test them for brightness both with the tail lights on and off. If the brake/turn/hazards in the rear are all OK, then I'd suspect something in the wiring between the combo switch and the tail lights, or perhaps the combo switch itself. Also look at the rear sidemarker lights - how bright are they? If they are normal brightness, it's probably a bad ground to the tail lights, since the sidemarkers are grounded separately. If they are dim too, then the problem is closer to the front of the car.

Bad ground, or too much resistance through the wire to the rear of the car. Are the parking lights up front dim too? Does the tail light fuse get hot?

See if I ever make an innocent comment ever again!

On the other hand, perhaps he has reason to be angry. I scanned through his feedback, he has a total of three negatives and all three users who gave it have 'z' or ''datsun' in their user name. Not to say that the negatives might not have been deserved, but still it might tend to make one a bit testy about Datsun people...

The Yamaha motors out of a Taurus SHO are common swaps. Early ones are V6s, the later ones are V8s. Mazda and Ford have close ties as well. Should be cheap in wrecking yards these days, too. Good luck!

I suspect that in some parts of the country, people might consider repairing that. But here on the West coast there are enough fairly solid cars available that I wouldn't consider it unless it were special in some way. (Low VIN, or family sentimental value.) If you still want a Z, I'd not part that one until you have your replacement in hand, because you will probably have parts you will want to keep.

As noted above, been there done that. I am very happy with the decision I made to replace the dash harness section.

The problem is that the colors, connectors and number of wires varies from year to year, and even from month to month in early cars. (Trust me, I know this part from personal experience.) This type of issue is exactly why I replaced my dash wiring harness. Lacking that, your best bet at this pint would be to get the multi-meter out and start making notes as you trace the wires. Because pictures will only help if we can determine which version of dash harness you have and find someone with the same exact version. Pictures of the wrong version might only make things worse.

Agreed. I have 205/60-14 with a 3.54 rear end, too short geared for a 4 speed. If you don't like the choices in 215/60 or 225/60 (and many don't as the selection isn't very great), better to go with 15 or 16" wheels instead.

1.) You need a service manual of some sort if you're going to attempt to do this kind of work. That should absolutely be your next purchase. Period. 2.) Pressure plate to flywheel bolts should be torqued to 12-15 ft. lbs. 3.) For those of us in the US, left is driver, right is passenger. Always.

My wife and I were there on both days, Bruce. And this was my first Datsun gathering, although I was quite active in the Brit-car scene for a number of years. So that's how I look at this - comparing to what I experienced with shows and such with my MG. First, I'll have to agree with Loren - compared to when I was attending Brit-car functions in the early 90s, the swap meet was lame. I'm also wondering about the costs to "show" the car. I understand that trophies and such are costly, but many of the nicest cars were not in the judged area, but just parked in the $5.00 group parking. For those of us with normal (i.e. not really rare) Datsuns, many of which are driven regularly, there's no way they want to pay $30 to allow them to compete against trailer queens. Now I will grant - the majority of this year's crop were cars that were driven, not towed. But to pay $30 up front not knowing if you'll have to go up against some $30k restoration with a clean daily driver - well, I think that's why there were so many cars in the $5.00 lot. The again, you can't please everyone...

Oh dear Lord, it's back again... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/70-DATSUN-240Z-FLAMES-CORVET-LIGHTS-FIBERGLASS-BOX-KAMI_W0QQitemZ4649253643QQcategoryZ6187QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem