280z1975

When I took mine out I just used a permenant marker to lable my wires. I started at A and kept going. When I went back and forgot where I started to use symbols like a smily face or a star. Made me thing of my Calculus teacher who used smily face and hearts instead of the typical 'X' and 'y' place holders because it confused some of the students when you used formulas that used x and y axis points. He was different though, always had a coffee cup in one hand all class and a trasparency marker in the other, I swear that coffee cup was full of brandy. Anyways, I digress ... you just need to label them, and don't need to know exactly what each of them do ... it helps, but is not nessisarry. Now I just hope I did a good job of photo taking and labeling when I put my dash back in next week

http://gregggermer.com/photos/280z/album/During/slides/during_repairs_12%20019.html Kinda hard to tell in the photo, but the dash is off, I am replacing the lights for the instriments with red LED bulbs as the soft green wasn't doing it for me when I drove it at night. I will look for a nice place to hide in underneath there. Thanks for the help.

Thanks, that is what I will do. I had already planned on replacing the trans fluid as the stuff that is in there has been standing still for about 5 years and has only been used for about 10 minutes for the trip to my house from the mechanics.

Ok, so I am looking for suggestions and experince on hiding an antenna inside my Z. I have the following antenna: http://www.ecshylites.citymax.com/catalog/item/604191/368049.htm I went ahead and closed up my antenna hole (it's much better looking and means I don't need to find an expensive replacement antenna). My thought was the area right next to the windshied on the passanger side, but I don't know if there will be enough room. The antenna is 2 feet long and 1/2" thick. I also thought about under the headliner, but I am worried about the reception. Anyone out there mounted something like this before?

I have a question. I got some water in the top of the transmission at the shifter bushing area (see attached photo) where the shifter attaches. I was cleaning out the interior with water for por-15 treatment and it got in there. :stupid: So is this a problem ? A lot the water has evaporated, but there is still alittle in there. So am I in trouble here? (BTW, the car is not able to be run at that the moment. The dash is off and the ignition is not connected) so I haven't driven the car since this happened.

Dave's Headlight harness can be easily adapted for a 280z. I have mine on the way as we speak. Just shoot him an e-mail or PM and he can get you all the required information.

How about this one: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20803 It's a far drive, but it's a much better car than most and a good price. Call it a road trip, but seeing as Spring Break just ended the timming might not be right.

Here is a list of current 240z auctions in Ebay: http://search.ebay.com/240z_Passenger-Vehicles_W0QQcatrefZC12QQfromZR40QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQsacatZ6001 You can also click the "advanced Search" feature and search for Z's within your area, up to 500 miles. Use this link to find some 240z cars within 500 miles of the DC area: (there are 3 of them) http://motors.search.ebay.com/?sofindtype=22&sofocus=pf&fisc=c6001&pfid=2473&alist=a39%2Ca41%2Ca38v1y%2Ca38v2y%2Ca10239%2Ca3801%2Ca85%2Ca10246%2Ca33512%2Ca10241&gcs=13&a39=-24&a41=-24&a38v1y=&a38v2y=&a10239=-24&satitle=240z&fspt=1&sadis=500&fpos=&fsct=4533&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&fcl=3&frpp=50 And this one is in WV: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1972-Datsun-240Z_W0QQitemZ4623172066QQcategoryZ6187QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem I hope the links work for ya ...

Just keep an eye out on ebay for something in your area that is local. You can set it up on Ebay that it will send you an e-mail when a new auction pops up with the criteria you have selected. I am not 100% on being able to narrow it down to local, but it's a good chance and you will get it cheaper than a junk yard. Local papers and classified via the internet for your local town and towns near you are also options.

You sir have just posted my favorite reply in the last month. A Show Car is art when it's not driven. To be appreciated, but well under used.

For what it's worth, I just did a quick search on Ebay for all the 240's that have sold in the last month and there are 7 on there that have sold between 4,000 and 8,600. If the damage isn't going to be past this you should have no problem with the insurance company. I am glad to hear the other company has taken fault in the wreak, I was thinking you and the other driver would have been both called at fault, but that is good news. Also, this is more for the Texas region. My best friend works at a body shop and was telling me the other day that the company that they have the most problem with is Progressive. They never want to pay out thier shop estimate and make the whole process a pain. Just a little FYI.

I hope you had "agreed value" insurance on your car ... if not, it's more than likely they will "total" your car even if it is quite repairable (which it looked to be from the photos in your other post). I asked my old insurance company if they would do agreed value insurance and they said no. They basicly said if the car was in an accident, because of it's age (and regarless of it's shape or "personal value"), that it would be a write off. I kindly said thank you and hung up then started to look for a different insurance company. Like it was said before, do some searches on insurance and you can read what others have said about thier insurance experinces, both the bad and good. BTW, my old insurance company wanted 1,200+ a year for liablity only insurance on my Z and I have a perfect driving record of 10 years.

I am already going to replace my front valance with an airdam, so if I choose to do this, it's not a big problem. The whole Rule Number 1, well I have never violated it, but in the 11 years I have been driving I have been violated against three times while my car was parked. Some people have NO sense of space when backing up. One guy came into Blockbuster and was like, "Ok, who owns' the white Nissan Sentra" I thought it was some hidden video/ gag show thing, but nope it wasn't. He took his Lincoln Town car front bumper and scrapped it a full three feet from the middle of the rear door to the end of the bumper! The whole (not scrape) left behind was about 5 inches deep. You thought he would have noticed after the first foot of scraping. Now I just need to find me some 240z bumpers ....

Ok, I have a question to kinda through to the Z gallery. I like the 280z, except for one thing, those big nasty bumpers that they have. Would it be bad form to replace them with the much more stylish 240z bumpers? Thanks ...

Cool, glad to hear someone else has done this. The towing unit won't be a direct link to the ball, but use a univeral towing bar attached to a homemade "bumper" that is attached using the bumper shock holes. I figure this will be the best way to go. Also, my Z will be making the trip to Canada, Hamilton in Ontario. It's a long way from Houston, Texas!

Well I have an idea I want to run past you guys. I have searched the archives and have read that one or two people have done this idea, but no one seems to have documented it to well. I just bought a universal tow bar (http://www.uneedtools.com/adjustable-tow-bar-p-919.html) was around 70 bucks after shipping. I just helped tow my brothers jeep back from Colorado and thought why not my Z when I am taking it to the painters or the mechanics (I am having the engine taken out for painting). Those several tips would run me 50 bucks a pop at least for a tower and 25 each for local U-haul service. I will also be moving and have my Z in tow and that is 125 for the tow dolly or 250 for the full trailer. Now I want to fabricate an mount for the Z to which I can mount the tow bar to. My idea was use the existing holes for the front bumper attachments and mount it from there. When the car is complete I only need to take off the horns, front grill and maybe the lights to get access to them. My other area I have thought was the front tie down hook area, but to make that work after I have my front air dam on my Z won't happen to easy. So I think it's the front bumper mounts. I have also thought about just bolting an attachment to the front bumper mounts like the existing bumper, but I don't think they were durable enough for towing. If someone know's otherwise let me know. I have attached a photo of the front bumper mounts for referance of where I want to make my attachemtn. Once this is all done I will post a little article on how to make this work. Hopefully it will help some of the Z lovers out there save some money when the go get a Z and hopefully make saving some of the Z's out there a bit easier! Thanks for the help in advance.

Ok, for those who have been asking for the pictures of the Alternator. The alternator is made my Hitachi and has GNG stamped on it (can be seen in one of the photos). So is this a ZX or just a regular one? I am wanting to upgrade to an internaly regulated one. Thanks for the help....

ok, a little bit more information ... Sylvania has a nice bulb replacement guide for all cars ... http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/LampReplacementGuide/default.htm So between that and the LED site mentioned above I think I will be able to make a really cool and bright gauage panel.

Thanks for the information, that will help me with my task. Can you replace the green filter paper with other colored plastic or paper? That would also help transmit the light colors I want to add. The dash is out of the car as I am redoing the entire interior, so that is one less problem. I wanted to do this while the dash was off to make things much easier.

found this post via Hybridz.org while looking for some more information ... http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=105812&highlight=light+bulb also this website seems to have the right LED colored lights I would need to use, but are these direct plug and play or do they require some work to get them to work? http://autolumination.com/otherleds.htm I hope to make this work as the effect will be very cool ...

Hello all, Did a little search and found this thread: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4066 It was helpful in some ways, but I don't want to just replace my instriment panel lights with regular white bulbs, I would rather go with some blue or red color lights you would see in todays VW's, I just like the look. I haven't been able to find a source for these online. Has anyone else done this change?

Dave, Since I am the owner of a 280z and would like to be able to run the bright new headlights I just bought when I put everything back together, would you recommend using old OEM wiring from another 280Z to put a headlight harness toghether or to use a pre-fabed kit like the one from VB. http://www.victoriabritish.com/icatalog/ws/0085.html It's sorta plug and play, but not quite like yours from what I can tell. I have an extra complete engine wiring harness I could take the plugs for the headlights off of to use, but it's in nice shape and I kinda want to keep it incase I run into problems later ... I'm way to busy to help locate the wire plugs for the 260 or 280z cars at the moment (closing on a house, moving and planning wedding stuff all this month :stupid: :tapemouth :stupid: )

You can always try B-quiet brand for suppression of noise and heat. This is what I am going with and many others have used with good sucess. I assume since it helps to reflex heat it would also help in keeping the inside cold (the noise damping matterial is rubber based. It's more expensive than other methods (but the best price on it's type of material I can find), but is also much thinner and works well. More information at: http://www.b-quiet.com/index.html If you are going for cheap, the generic JC stuff you are looking at is the best method I have seen. Just use froogle.com or other price checking sites to look for the best price around.

The whole resell thing is important to note, so I understand your reasons, but I would be very comfortable buying a car that has been undercoated that has been properly documented for it's repair and application. In addition to keeping 100's of photos of my refreshment for being able to put the car back together right, I am taking them to make a little book of the teardown, work, and application. That way if someone questions my work or the job done I can simply show them in photos what's been done and the quality of the work. Also, as far as Por-15 ... I have to say I have become a big fan of this stuff since I started to use it. The inside of my car looks soooooo much better after using it and it's VERY tough. I was pulling the hoses off my expansion tank and had it up against the Por-15 treated surface and it didn't even mark it!. Plus I wouldn't feel comfortable having my car anywhere they use salt without some sort of hard bonding substance like Por-15. In fact. I did a little test the other day on the ramps I have where I added P0r-15 and then some Herculiner bedcoating to them to practice. When I pulled Sentra was backed off the bottom sraped them and it was the Sentra that lost! It's some tough $^!#! These ramps are soooo old (my grandfathers from probably the 1960's) and they look awesome now.

I am doing the same to the underbody when I get back from my trip. Two good coats of Por-15 topped with some Herculiner bed liner for extra protection. Since I am moving up to the great white north I want to make sure something I put this much time into will last.