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was never my intention man.. just been so swept up in life. z has been incredibly reliable for so long, I have not started any major projects short of the 5 speed bud. May try to to the texas 1000 again next year if money works out. IF not that, maybe the orange blossom special. My Z needs another vintage rally to have some fun in.

Prototype pic

Negative battery pole disconnected, tap given with closed fist to the gauge, needle went tobñ center and viola ammeter working again. Thanks to all of you for your great help throughout these 4 years and exhaustive patience. Happy new year!

Ahhh, the old reacharound...

Well I had a thousand stars that had to line up to make it to Atlanta and there's no guarantee that's going to happen for Branson. Won't know until we get closer, but here's to hoping!

Anyone else order the 280z dash? Hope so see it soon ordered 5 weeks ago, think it was 6-8 weeks for delivery IIRC. When I get it will take some pics, maybe do an install video. My OE dash is in pretty good shape just one big crack near the center starting from behind the clock nacelle, but the new dash was too hard to pass on.

Hey @gwri8! I think I posted it in the right thread, but I do have @wheee! thread open in multiple tabs for reference so you gave me a scare! We have same year car and similar thread names. Maybe the mods can change my thread name to avoid confusion and just add a "Wass" to the front of it? Either way, thanks for stopping by and Happy New year!

When I bought my '77 the face of the oil gauge was up against the needle. The guy I bought it from thought the gauge was bad I reckon? He tapped it out of the holding ring. I doubled up some duct tape and pulled it back into place then rebuilt the motor with a turbo oil pump.

24 ounces = 680 grams 240Z = 680g

Thank you very much for your fast replies. I will check and come back to you as soon as I can.

I’m really looking forward to receiving the new dash in the coming week(s).

Those are blanket statements and not really accurate. The ammeter is designed to indicate charge/discharge of the battery. The ammeter is situated between the battery and alternator, and most loads are on the alternator side of the ammeter. If the ammeter is on the positive side, the alternator is charging the battery and/or your brake lights/hazard lights are drawing current. Make sure you have a good battery. The specified alternator and the wiring harness are not designed to charge a dead battery. If the ammeter has failed completely, typically the car will not start since current will not flow through the ammeter. For starting the car, power goes from the battery, through the fusible link and ammeter, and to the ignition switch. If the alternator has failed, the electrical system is relying solely upon the battery, and the battery will discharge. If the voltage regulator has failed, typically the battery will reverse power the alternator when the car is off, and the battery will discharge. The FSM describes alternator and voltage regulator testing. See EE-18 for the alternator test and EE-22 for the start of the regulator testing. Of course, you can purchase a clamp DC ammeter to place over the battery cable to simplify testing. (This means you don't need to use the resistor shown in figure EE-55 if you use the clamp DC ammeter.) The voltage reading of 14.5 would be at 2500 RPM, and that is not a go/no-go voltage. A voltage between 14 and 15 VDC at 2500 RPM should be fine. As the FSM states, the alternator should show 12.5 or higher at 1000 RPM when doing the test as described in the manual.

Since Mikuni-Solex PHH carbs came in top-inlet, right hand side-inlet and left hand side-inlet form depending on exact model, the factory E4620 triple carb fuel supply tube might be considered universal... The 40PHH carbs in the above photo (that's my G.P. Maroon Fairlady 240ZG) were originally part of a period Sanyo Kiki 'Sanyo Sports Kit', and I simply added curved soft fuel lines to join up with the triple carb rail. Works perfectly well.

Unfortunately it's way too open ended question to answer. The only applicable answer for a professional shop would be "Time and materials". If they can't look it up in the fixed rate book, then they can't really provide an estimate. So unfortunately the answer is either fix it yourself or take it to someone and open your wallet. If you aren't interested or capable of doing it yourself, then the best you could do is to take it to someone you can trust and give them an upper limit? Someone you trust not to inflate the numbers and who will call you if the job is looking like it is going to exceed estimated scope. All that said, in your original list of issues, most of those are "common" problems with the old Zs and most of them aren't the wiring harness itself, but devices that plug into it. And the A/C issues may not even be electrical at all. Might be leaked out Freon or a vacuum leak.

Dear jeff, don't worry about the return right now, if you can make it it work, great, if not no sweat. Fuel pressure should be kept bellow 5psi, 3.5 for the street is more then required. go ahead and try it without the reg, Manufacturers do not always "tell the truth" a 6 psi pump can easily translate to 4 psi in real life. You will have more then a fun time tuning it for the street, good luck with that. Hoping for you it will not be an (overly) costly project.

I do run the return. When it's cold out and the car is cold I will turn on the ignition so the pump will pressurize the system, say maybe 5 - 10 seconds. Makes the car easier to start. Don't know how cold you get there in July - August, but here today's hi was -1.11C (30* F). We do occasionally get 7.2 - 12.7C (45 - 55*F) December - March that are good driving days. I would still have to crank 2 to 5 seconds to fire. Don't know if the 3 deuces are easier / the same / or harder to start in the cold. 3 deuces is a term from a song by Ronny and the Daytona's called "Little GTO" back in 1964 about the first Pontiac GTO's that had 3 2 barrel carby's. The GTO was pretty much what started the American muscle cars through the rest of the 60's and into the 70's until the oil embargo when they fell out of favor due to mileage and then pollution control requirements. What a fun time to grow up.

I'm not positive on this but when you put a volt meter on the batteries post it should read 14.50 volts with the car running. If it's more you have a bad voltage regulator. The gauge most likely isn't bad it's something else. Don't get tunnel vision on the gauge. Thanks Zed Head. You always come up with a better answer. We could open a shop... Sanford and Son.

In the picture your ammeter shows a big current draw. Over 45 amps. This could be because your alternator is not charging, like site said. Disconnect your battery. The ammeter should go back to the center point. If it does it means that you have a very big current draw when the battery is connected.

Yup. Here is a photo from last summer:

I think the lock down bolt hole would strip out too. I tighten until it stops.

I've been taking it on and off myself the same way Patcon describes without issue, but my luck would likely run out when it matters most. Fortunately, I've gotten better about avoiding situations that will lead to immediate regret. Mostly from experience.

Poor headset!

I really need to design the universal lock/sandwich plate with LLLLLLLOOOOOOONNNNNGGGGGG slots that I've had in mind for ...... hmmmmmm 150 years, maybe more, so folks don't ever have to rely on finding the 'right' base for their dizzy choice. Just imagine your current base with the short little slots extended alllllllll the way around in a circle. Just a couple three bridge points so it's one piece. How hard can this be in this land of CNC laser cut parts?

Here you have 5 portuguese Z's with kobe seiko wheels. All of our z's got full extras...you'll see them when I finish all the resto...I believe within 2 months!

Also Jeff, the part you refer to as the proportioning valve below the master cylinder is actually a brake failure switch. It will light the brake light on the dash if you have a circuit failure. The proportioning valve for the 240z is in the rear of the car. It is a small brass part that acts as a tee connector for the two rear brake drum lines. If you add a hand valve remove the stock proportioning valve in the rear of the car.

Car is completely disassembled, assessing the rails. Obviously the rears and the floors need replacing, I'm hoping to save the seat attachment points, we'll see. Front rails need some love, not sure yet if replacement is needed. Front cross member is rusty but only on the rear portion, it appears clean on the inside other than a couple of areas. Ill be removing the battery tray to address the firewall where it attaches to the rear part of the fender wells on both sides of the car. Pretty gnarly. All the brake and fuel lines are off at this point now.

Me too! I have a baby blue 56' that is next on the list. My dad bought it new in Germany in 56. I learned to drive in it...

Is that new toy/lathe? Congratulations, it looks nice and a lot smaller than the old ones. I can think of some things I'd like to turn out but most likely cheaper at the belt buckle shop.