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There’s some nice threads on this forum that talk about alternative hoses that you can get from any auto parts store. The stupid expensive one does some a 180* turn, I just used some metal 90* elbows in its place. I’d give you more threads but I gotta get back to yard work. 😞

I was working on the comboi light switch from VIN #1818, 02/70, and noted a couple of weak design issues that were later eliminated. The first is the method of indexing the main plastic barrel to the frame with a small tab on the barrel that fits into a small recess on the frame. The plastic tab was long gone on this car and the PO had substituted a tiny piece of wire and a cut off straight pin, both jammed into the plastic to provide the index. I located suitable donor material in the form of a long dead BIC lighter, cut a piece from the body and notched the barrel to receive the transplant. The transplant was glued into place and then trimmed to fit the frame recess. All later model switches I have worked on reversed this design to provide a raised boss on the frame to fit into a notch on the plastic barrel. The second design item I found is the use of a jumper wire to route power from the light switch over to the wiper switch, later replaced with a dedicated power wire in the wiring harness.

A wonderful and admirable project. My thoughts. ditch the ammeter, voltmeter only. No need to have lots of high current wire running around with no purpose. and go aftermarket gauges without doubt. Don’t forget the AFR gauge as well. Vendors make 3d printed adapters for speedhut gauges for S30’s. Join the world of Deutsch connectors and/or weatherpack. Relatively small investments and easy to crimp and make waterproof connections. Like the brake line world, once you invest in the tooling (good pair of crimpers), all wiring issues become simple to handle rather than a pain in the, well you know. Since you still need to interface to OEM components, vintageconnections.com has many of the stock pins and connector shells you need.

I never liked English classes but that would have helped 😉

Hey CO.. why the at mike? (just curious..) Hi guys.. it's been a few month's and the only thing i did is buy a (expensive?) rattlecan of special etsprimer at the painter.. Still need to clean up the engineroom and repaint and put that nice engine back in there.. (but i feel to sick and i'm looking forward to it like a horse likes to play chess.. hahaha I like to completely change sayings into something really weird.. did i do well? 🙂 ) (Can you imagine the horse.. looking to make a move with those hooves?? hahaha!) some pics of the old engine and that same engine after a clean up and all new seals.. sorry for this blurry one.. Now the better pic's.. (I thought i had already put up these pics..) one last one i found some time ago of other times.. this pic (paperrrr!!! ) was made in 1992 when i had my first 280zx t-bar.. in a silver-blue color.. At that time i was one of the volunteer electricians/sound/light engineers at a folklore 10 day festival in our village! We had some time before the festival opened and a nice car to see the area. At that time there was a group of dancers from Ukraine and this english teacher came with them! She was at that time a english teacher at the university of Kiev! (Picture shot with a Canon AE1, still in my possession!) beautiful isn't it... those horses in the meadow? kidding..

I found this picture of my e31 head. Looks like a revised version of the spray bar ? I dont know, thought I could share a picture.. maybe you know ?

I heard that spindle pins and gland nuts are among the most dreaded jobs.

Yes, it works. The clutch disengages. I can roll the car in gear with clutch in.

So let’s see about a little update: Cody and I started working on his motor maybe a week ago or so We had to decide if we were going to drill the mains out or just slot the block side of the main cap and add a feed hole in the bearing. I looked in Honsowetz’s book and he recommends opening those feed galleys up to 5/16 or 0.313”. Which if I calculated it right is a 62% increase. So Cody and I discussed it and felt more comfortable with drilling the mains. Partly because we’re not making a lot of grit in the engine block. We started by getting the end plugs out of the main galleys. That way we could properly clean and wash the block later. They were stouter then I expected… A little homemade puller big enough for the plug to pass through it We didn’t want to drill the supply mains and realize we couldn't get the main galley open to clean it out. Then we worked on tapping the ends of the main galley for brass plugs We may have to make these deeper but I didn’t want to make them too large since the 3/8 NPT tap is tapered. On to drilling… So this is really sketchy because the metal drills pretty easily but only the very edges of the bit are cutting. We used 3 different sized bits to work up to 5/16”. They didn’t need to be special because you’re not drilling overly deep. We were concerned we might break a bit but with a little cutting oil it went pretty good. We were going to clean the block up and get ready for setting the rotating assembly but I can’t find the main bearings I bought! I went by the machine shop last Tuesday and he didn’t have them. Even though I’m pretty sure I took them, but I can’t be sure I didn’t pick them up. The problem is, right now they seem to be unavailable everywhere. Neither Clevite or King. I found some vintage TRW’s on ebay I have coming my way and I have an order in for some Kings from another place. Hopefully one of them will get here soon. Cody would like to have a running car by Zcon. He will have to hustle! It’s doable but he will have to focus to get it done.

Kats, this is what I did, happy to say that everything is still in place and grommets are still soft.

I installed some Wesco Roadster seat belts in the 240Z yesterday. They replaced some other Wesco belts that anchored at 3 points. I installed those probably 17 or 18 years ago. With the new belts in place, it was time to go to a car meet. Overall, about 9 or 10 Z cars showed up, but they were scattered about the meet. It was beautiful weather and a great way to spend a Sunday morning.

Thanks @SteveJ! I think you already noticed this based on your comments, but I'll state it for anyone else who may comment: My overall goal in this is to make the ideal wiring system for the car with consideration to the modifications I am going to make, not to replicate the original. That said, I don't want to deviate wildly from original because I want to be able to go back and fix stuff if necessary. I also want to reduce complexity and weight wherever possible. However, I also think I will go heavier than necessary with the wiring so I never have to worry about that part of the system. The things on the ends of the wires are a lot easier to fix down the road than the wires themselves. ___ Here is my first pass at an inventory of components for this project, sorted according to their position in the wiring diagram: Mod Item Replacement In Diagram? Stock Antenna Lead Delete Yes Stock Antenna Lead Delete Yes Stock Water tank Yes Upgrade Side Marker Lamp RH LED Bulb - Front Turn Signal Yes Upgrade Inspection Light LED Bulb - Inspection Light Yes Stock Horn Relay Yes Stock Battery Yes Stock Accessory Relay Yes Stock Choke Switch Yes Upgrade Map Light LED Bulb - Map Light Yes Stock Rheostat Yes Stock Fuel Pump Yes Stock Defrost Relay Yes Upgrade Glove Box Light LED Bulb - Glove Box Light Yes Upgrade Room Light LED Bulb - Dome Light Yes Upgrade Room Light Yes Stock Tank Unit Yes Stock Step Light RH Yes Upgrade Side Marker RH LED Bulb - Red Marker Light Yes Upgrade Rear Combination Light RH LED Bulb - Brake Light Yes Upgrade Rear Combination Light RH LED Bulb - Rear Turn Signal Yes Upgrade Rear Combination Light RH LED Bulb - Reverse Light Yes Upgrade License Light RH LED Bulb - Plate Light Yes Upgrade License Light LH LED Bulb - Plate Light Yes Stock Heat - Glass Yes Upgrade Rear Combination Light LH LED Bulb - Brake Light Yes Upgrade Rear Combination Light LH LED Bulb - Rear Turn Signal Yes Upgrade Rear Combination Light LH LED Bulb - Reverse Light Yes Stock Auto Antenna Delete Yes Stock Antenna switch Repurpose ??? Yes Stock Side Marker LH Yes Stock Step Light LH Yes Stock Comb. Switch Yes Stock Hand Break Switch Yes Stock Speedometer Yes Stock Tachometer Yes Stock Oil Pressure / Water Temp Yes Stock Fuel Gauge / Ammeter Voltmeter Yes Stock Clock Yes Stock Choke Warning Light Yes Stock Defrost Switch Yes Stock Seatbelt Warning Light Yes Stock Fog Light Switch Yes Stock Door Switch RH Yes Upgrade Cigarette Lighter 12 volt plug Yes Stock Seat Switch Yes Stock Seatbelt Switch LH Yes Stock Seatbelt Switch RH Yes Stock Neutral Switch Yes Stock Buzzer Yes Stock Door Switch LH Yes Stock Indicator Lamp (Auto T/M) Yes Stock Hazard Switch Yes Stock Ignition Switch Yes Stock Steering Lock Switch Yes Stock Wiper Motor 91 Honda Civic Wiper Motor Yes Addition Wiper Motor Wiper Upgrade Relay No Stock Buzzer Yes Stock Inhibitor Switch (Auto T/M) Yes Stock Air Con Power Yes Addition Air Conditioner No Stock Blower Switch Yes Stock Heater / Blower Yes Upgrade Side Marker Lamp LH LED Bulb - Front Turn Signal Yes Addition Side Marker Lamp LH Side Marker LED Conversion Plugs No Stock Parking & T/S & Side Front LH Yes Upgrade Head Light LH Headlight Projection Housings Yes Upgrade Head Light LH Headlight Projection Housings Yes Stock Horn L Yes Stock Fog Light LH Yes Stock Fog Light RH Yes Addition Front Fog / Rally Light Relay No Stock Horn R Yes Upgrade Head Light RH Headlight Projection Housings Yes Upgrade Head Light RH Headlight Projection Housings Yes Addition Head Light RH Headlight Relay Upgrade Harness No Upgrade Parking & T/S & Side Front RH LED Bulb - Front Turn Signal Yes Addition Parking & T/S & Side Front RH Parking Light Upgrade Harness No Addition Parking & T/S & Side Front RH Parking Light Upgrade Harness, 70-73 No Stock Volt Reg Yes Stock Voltage Regulator Yes Stock Thermal T/M Yes Stock Oil Pressure Yes Upgrade Fuse Box 280ZX Fuse Box Yes Upgrade Fuse Box Long Pigtail Blade Style Fuse Box Yes Upgrade Fuse Box Short Pigtail-Blade Style Fuse Box Yes Upgrade Fuse Box Short Pigtail-Blade Style Fuse Box Yes Upgrade Starter Motor Gear Reduced Starter Motor Yes Stock Fusable Link Circuit Breaker / Fuse Yes Upgrade Radio Stereo Delete Box Yes Stock Reverse Switch Yes Stock T/S Flash SW Yes Stock Four Way Flasher Yes Stock Brake Ind. Yes Stock Ballast Resistor Delete ??? Yes Stock Stop Sw Yes Stock Thermo sw (Auto T/m) Yes Upgrade Alternator Alternator - 100 Amp Yes Addition Alternator Alternator Upgrade Plug No Stock Fusable Link Circuit Breaker / Fuse Yes Stock Thermo Relay (Auto T/M0 Yes Stock Coil Yes Stock Distributor (Manual T/M) Yes Stock Distributor Condenser No Addition Anti-Theft Kit / Alarm N/A Addition Auxiliary Fuse Box N/A Addition Bluetooth Speaker Power N/A Addition Electric Radiator Fan N/A Addition Electric Radiator Fan Pigtail N/A Addition Electric Radiator Fan Temp Control Kit N/A Addition GPS Power N/A Addition Third Brake Light N/A Addition Under Dash / Footwell Lights N/A Addition USB Socket / Phone Charger N/A Upgrade LED Bulb - Dashboard Light Set N/A Stock Fuel Sender Electrical Connector No Stock Electric Fuel Pump Wiring Install Kit Harness Relay No @SteveJ, I don't know if I will be going with the ammeter I have or converting to a voltmeter. I need to look at the pros and cons of that change. In fact, I have not decided if I am keeping the factory gauges at all. This is a restomod and I have already made irreversible changes, so I don't know. I might also address the 9-pin switch by backdating that to an earlier version. Any suggestions on other changes anyone has that will make the car better would be much appreciated. I am hoping this thread can turn into a resource for others and not just me tracking my progress.

The @ Mike was because there was a spammer posted something in your thread right above that. I assume that Mike deleted the spammer's post and banned the account, but he left my call-out post intact. So now the call-out doesn't make a lot of sense anymore, but not a big deal. If it were me, I would have deleted my post as well.

Thanks Gavin, I am thinking like you time to time . This car , I already am going to have fun with some modifications like non- emissions intake and exhaust, with a dual exhaust system, non-original radio , etc etc . I have got the “C camshaft “ which is designed as internal oiling system , and this has slightly sportier feeling profile. It will be a good choice for this broken oil spray head . The picture is my #2156 valve cover, Mr. K and Mr. Matsuo kindly gave their autograph on it in 2000 , just before departing Yokohama to attend ZCON LAS VEGAS . Almost gone , but I still can see them !! Kats

Kats nearly every L24 I've worked on has had this happen. The brazing just seems to fail due to engien harmonics and then the spray Bar ends up jammed in the corner of the head. I had to fix this on my white 71 240z which is matching #'s and original. I had a spare spray Bar I took out of the motor from HS30 00051. I think it's only a matter of time before that 1 gives up too. I personally don't worry about originality for internal engine pieces that can't be seen like this. I will convert to internally oiled cam when I get the chance. When these fail they cause premature cam wear I think. I can hear a ticking noise that isn't valve / lash adjustment related on my L24. Maybe I just need a louder exhaust?

Today I was shocked by this , a portion of an oil spray bar pipe was found from the oil pan . I couldn’t find out what it was first, but today I found that the pipe was the part of the spray bar . All the retaining bolts are loose, I now understand this is why people want to get rid of it and going to have oil holes the camshafts and camshaft brackets. But I want this to be an original. Kats

Thanks Alan, sharing the pictures of the megaphone exhaust system ! Super cool , and super rare . If someone starts making it , it would be a nice for people who wants to have a period-correct looking sports option parts . By the way , for HLS30 and RLS30 , GRLS30 , what kind of exhaust manifolds were listed on the competition parts catalog ? Were they also used for LHD Works rally cars? Or completely different one ? Or could it have been made by some local exhaust specialists ? Kats

I should also add that if your horn relay is bad, don't expect to find a new 240Z horn relay. HOWEVER, horn relays tend to be pretty generic, and I believe this one would work, too: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=98819

It's at the top of the relay bracket.

IMG_1734.MOV Ok, I might have it! With Zed talking about proper hydraulic pressure and Patcon mentioning the master cylinder adjustment, I gave it a shot and adjusted the master cylinder by 6 turns. I put the slave back on and turned the adjustment nut hand tight and tried to leave just slight bit of clearance. I was trying not to get hung up on 2mm plus it's hard to measure. How does this look?

Trying to get a little done anytime I can but probably get a max of 8hrs of work in a week if I’m lucky. First piece is almost finished but ran out of gas and my hook up for welding supplies is one worker short. Unfortunately he was the one that helped us the most. Just getting close to finishing up making the patch pieces for the floor joint in front of the first section. Need to fill in my holes yet Vise grip orgy Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Excellent! When does this go to market??

So after seeing what happened to my cam oiler tube, and talking to another Z owner who had the same problem with major results. The front tube fell out and got caught in the timing chain. Trashed the bottom gear and of course bent a bunch of valves. So I decided to try to come up with a way to stop the tubes from fall down into the lower engine if they failed and am trying this to see it helps.

So after a very skilled welder (not me) tried a few different options, what worked best was a brazed repair.