240Z Ash Tray Lid Spring

[Tomcat]

I need the lid spring for the ash tray out of a 2/71 production 240Z. It's the plastic ash tray that covers the fuse panel.

Thanks,

--Thomas

[Namerow]

Try winding your own.  It's not that hard.  All you need is a 2' length of steel wire of approx. the right gauge (0.015 - 0.020"?).  Stainless would be nice.  I think I used regular (non-tempered) hardware store wire, but it might have been tempered ('music wire').  Use a bolt shank or stud to form the coils (diameter somewhere between 1/8" and 3/16", IIRC).  Clamp the bolt/stud vertically in your bench vise.  To get a proper grip on the wire, clamp a pair of ViseGrips on each end.  Now, holding the vice grips in each hand, wrap the wire around the bolt/stud.  You need to form about 2.5 loops.  Keep the coils stacked tight together as you wrap.  Finish with the two projecting wire legs at about the 12 o'clock and 8 o'clock positions.  Form an 'out-of-plane' 90-degree bend on each leg, then snip off the excess so that you leave just enough to fit into the hole in the lid flange and the hole in the tray body.

All dimensions and angles referenced above are from memory and approximate (I did this job a couple of years ago).  It'll take a couple of tries to get it right... but then, wire is cheap!  The end result worked just fine for my ashtray and looks like a (spring) factory item.

[Tomcat]

Thanks Namerow. I never even thought of making my own. Do you mind adding a picture so I have something to shoot for? ... or, if someone else here has an original one they could photograph next to a ruler.

--Thomas

[Mikes Z car]

This is the one on my car though I don't know if it is original.

 

[Namerow]

2 minutes ago, Mikes Z car said:

This is the one on my car though I don't know if it is original.

Yup.  That's what my home-made version looks like, too! 

Probably won't take you more than three attempts and 30 minutes to make one from scratch.

In the 'open' position that Mike's picture shows, the spring still needs to have a bit of tension in it (to keep the lid forced open).  That should give you an idea of what the spring should look like when it's fully relaxed/extended -- i.e. the two legs will sit at about the 12 o'clock and 8 o'clock positions.

[Tomcat]

Thanks to both of you. I'll hunt down some wire and give it a try.

[sensench]

might have one

is this it

[sensench]

or is this it