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I'm taking a year off from life. 99% of the bad ones are from pushing to fast to get back to work. Not me, I enjoy being at home.

The body shop work continues and looks like things are moving along nicely. I am happy to see that they are being very thorough and even cleaning up areas that no one will ever see. I did check the seat mount locations. The rear inboard bracket on both the drivers and passengers side is off by about 2 inches (both are too far outboard). Carlos has a welder and will do the re-mounting of the bracket. I did contact Larry, the original metal work guy, to point out the error. Looks like we will get that re-mounted for no additional cost. I also sent pics of the dimesnions from the seat rails. The dimensions that I measure are 13.0" wide (330mm) and 12.75" deep (324mm). I removed the air galley from the exhaust manifold, but was not able to salvage it. After repeated heating, cooling and lube applications, I was only able to get 2 of the fittings out. By this time, the hex portion of the remaining fittings were starting to get pretty trashed, so I ended up cutting the tubes on the remaining 4. Fortunately, I did not have to do any re-tapping of the four difficult fittings. I was able to drill away most of the metal in the center of the fittings and sort of peel the threads off of the manifold. This made is easy to save the extension tubes that are secured by the fittings. On all of the previous cars that I have restored, I have always used a gray powder coat finish on the exhaust manifold that Les Cannady at Classic Datsun Motorsports always uses. Since we want to be very exact on the reproduction, I was considering a high temp cast iron paint which would be closer to the original color. However, it was noted that those typically peel even with the best prep and application. POR 15 was recommended, but again, this ends up being a colored paint and softens the texture of the original cast iron and doesn't really replicate the original color. I eventually phoned Rod Schmitt of Rod's Garage (Restorer of the 2025 JCCS Best of Show Red 240Z and John Morton's 1st place Green 240Z in the 240Z category) to find out what he uses for the final finish on the exhaust manifold. Rod says he cleans the manifold well with wire wheel and then uses a couple light coats of graphite spray for the final finish. He says this comes the closest to the original color and finish. It also handles the high temps well. So, this is the current plan for the exhaust manifold finish. I have started cleaning up some of the steering column parts. Some before and after pics are attached. It looks like these components have been accessed previously as the turn signal mechanism had a wire that was just twisted together with an extension on the horn circuit, so I removed the extension and soldered the wire in place. It has a broken connector which I thought I could replace with another signal mechanism that I have but that replacement was just as brittle as the broken coneector, so I just ordered a new one. Also, the headlight mechanism looks surprisingly good, so I am thinking that may have been replaced as it looks virtually brand new. Typically, these are pretty gummed up and the white parts are yellowed and/or dirty. This one looks untouched. I will re-restore the steering wheel as the previous restoration is poor. The black paint is thick and uneven and should be a satin finish, not gloss. The 'wood grain' portion has a heavy gloss finish, should be light satin or semi-gloss, and the back side with the 'nubs' was over sanded so the wood grain appearance is missing on the nubs.

The early 240Z had handed dove tails for the doors, a left and right sided fitting were required. Part numbers R 80530-E4101 and L 80531-E4101. https://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/Z-1969-1978/body-240z/body-side-trim-side-window/62 On later cars there were replaced with a symmetrical part that fit on either side. 80530-N3400 Biggest problems with the early ones were the tabs where the screws went through breaking off. Replacement factory parts haven't been available for years. Fortunately I have a set of unbroken originals which we modelled up and reproduced in aluminum. We added an extra 1mm around the screw holes to prevent the cracking and breaking. Just picked up the first samples to fit check and they work just like the originals. The original one is on the right, you can see the slight increase in thickness around the screw holes on the left one. Also modelled up and replicated the original plastic grease reservoir for the steering rack. I'll post details in a separate thread.

WOW! My 6 letter comment that could have meant a host of different things was almost immediately taken by our resident grouch as an insult or slight that I had directed towards another member of this forum. I've had a relationship with Chris for many years and have done business with him on numerous occasions. Before Covid I was to have traveled to The Netherlands on his dime to inspect his collection and offer suggestions. I've always found him to be a gentleman on all levels who is apparently having a problem with lost/missing paperwork. I wish him all the best. While I may be a greasy and now rather ancient mechanic who doesn't know his a@$ from a hole in the ground I've learned a bit about human nature after dealing with the public for the past 45+ years. There are some people who are just plain unhappy. This unhappiness is manifest through insults, cursing, almost consent contradiction, just plain difficulty/impossibility to deal with or all of the above. While my shop was open I had to deal with these types. Thank goodness they were few and far between. From this date and time I will no longer comment on or address ANY missives from the individual in question.

Are you talking the old knee... 😁

Better question is what is that carb for... Sorry, no love for those with me.

I'm happy with how the dove tails turned out so I'll go ahead and have a batch made up if anyone needs them for a restoration. Just sourcing the right JIS screws.

Good looking bird!

It did strike me as odd that Humble had you snug in the spline and then put a continuous bead of adhesive over it only to pull the spline out later. I can attest that this pulls out most of the adhesive as well. But, who am I to argue with a guy who did it this way and wrote the book on restoring a Z car? Attached photo of Page 130 shows exactly what he said to do. This was for the windshield but he later on says to do the hatch glass the same way. Then, at the bottom of the first column of Page 131 he says to do exactly as you say; i.e., put the sealant under the raised lip of the window. In fact, as I read it, he's saying to do this on all three channels: glass, exterior and interior. This makes eminent sense and really makes me wonder how that first bit of nonsense made it through editing. Oh well, live and learn. Frankly, it's stuff like what I've just been through that makes it all the more important that users of this site comb through all the old threads and extract useful info that can be condensed and put into technical articles for any and all to utilize. I'm trying to do that during my build. Final photo is of my pet Senegal parrot, Koki, eating the marrow out of a chicken bone; a favorite activity. He just loves attention.

Recently I got two set of two of the missing Pieces from my 240Z toolbox. I had a set which fit the image, but had different part numbers. Funny enough, now i have three different sets, all have slightly different shape or surface. some have different numbers, but appear to be for the same purpose :-) Despite being a bit corroded, i have at least now another missing piece of the puzzle. Thanks a lot to @26th-Z for your support! I had some free time, so i decided to get some small stuff done on the car. First thing to check off was test-fitting the headlights. Luckily, I always have a range of NOS and used parts on hand. I usually try to use old parts for test-fitting, so I don't mess up new parts, but in this case the old ones weren't really usable. So here we go: NOS headlight buckets and chrome rings, with reproduction rubbers (I will use the NOS set for the final assembly). And installed. You got to love the factory stamps on shiny plated parts. As usual, all bolts are temporary only for the mock-up. For the final assembly, I will use original fasteners :-) I wasn't first sure if the order of the assembly was correct, but it appears it is. And the frog got some eyes, again :-) Next was this choke assembly reinforcement plat made out of hardened plastic: As the name suggests, it's there to reinforce the choke assembly, which is usually mounted on the inside of the center console, and can get a bit wobbly. With this plate, it's instead mounted on the transmission tunnel and way more stable. It's one of these (invisble) improvements of the car, which I think really give the car a better feel. It's quite tricky to place correctly, though. But luckily I had a few completely broken center consoles, so the easiest way was just to drill the holes through the console And then sandwich it all together for test fitting. I also installed an old ashtray just to see if it all still works correctly. Now with the holes on the transmission tunnel. I will not use the original sheet-metal screws but instead have nuts welded on the outside and use machine screws, so it looks like it's a factory thing, from the outside. And the interior mock-ups are coming along. Driver side seat rail, passenger side footrest and center console (With choke assembly) is installed and looks good. Ignore where the choke wires go. They're just there for easier installation.

It is buy it now for $40k. I told him to emphasize that the original mileage is 51k and to add some pics of his documentation... pics of the various VIN plates and VIN on the firewall, and pics of the engine number on the block and the E31 on the head. I see he has added the documentation and the engine compartment tag already. I know the market is a lot softer now for these than it was, but I think it will sell for the $40k.

The only change I would make to the excellent info above would be to use Marvel Mystery Oil. It contains mineral oil and a solvent that dissolves anything sticky or gummy.

I would think the motor oil you're using squirted down the spark plugs holes would be good and take the valve cover off add soak the cam and valve train. Then turn it slowly clockwise from the the front and notice any hang ups or anything but smoothe rotation over and over. Leave the plugs out and use the starter but don't crank too long, short burst as to not burn the starter up. You will need a battery charger and don't rush the process, feel the starter and if it gets too hot to touch call it a day. The coolant should be all the way up to the top of the radiator fill hole. Let it run until you see the coolant flowing. I would add some water to your coolant, it looks to be straight antifreeze. That's not bad but 50/50 is what most people do.

Fresh air intakes for the vents controlled by pull/push knobs under the dash near the driver and passenger kick panels.

I was busy with sorting out some things in life, recently, so no big progress on the Car project side, aside from changing all family cars to winter tires. To keep my spirits up, the postal guy brought new stuff almost daily. The first was a nice delivery of an EU-spec front spoiler and a set of EU-spec front lower corner valances. Thanks a lot @HS30-H for your support, once again! One of them was even a NOS item with the Nissan stickers on it: Then, I also got a small delivery from 240Zrubberparts.com. I was looking for that KM-1520ZC replacement faceplates and I have to say it looks quite good. I was even gifted a set of label stickers for the radio, which I really appreciate. This will come in very handy when come to the planned restoration of the Radio. I hope to be back on the car project again soon. I've discussed a few next steps with a specialist and I hope the project gets a big boost next year, but I also hope to be able to finish a few things in the coming weeks.

Looks like I have mostly parts candidates in the hoard. None of then work smoothly.

Here is how this one was wired: Main GND (B) is a male spade that pushes into a female held in that little box. Red/Black (RB) is the GND from the door switches. Red/Blue (RL) is +12V from the fuse box. And they're both female spades. You'll notice that the main GND can be interrupted by the switch and that the RB GND from the doors is independent of the dome switch. Now. To refurbish this one AND try putting it back together - so that it still works...

ZTherapy uses silicone nozzle hoses.

Thanks for the link! The one I pictured appears to be the same as the one on the far right of the three pictured by 26th-z. It only has one "hose barb" connection. Thanks Again!

I really like this stuff for all adhesive needs: 1 Gal. DAP Weldwood HHR Contact Cement You may have to clean some weatherstrip of its "mold release" before trying to glue it in. A little lacquer thinner on a rag and a few wipes on the surface to be glued is all that is needed. For door weather strips, I use an acid brush, start in the sharp corner at the top, back of the door. You can do it in sections about 18 inches long. Just apply adhesive to both surfaces, wait about 3 minutes, and then press and stick. It is going nowhere after that.

Spot The Bot!! ☺️

In all seriousness, I alllllllmost flagged him earlier today before he even ever posted. I think there was about an hour between him joining the forum and his first post. I should have followed my gut and done it. Would have looked like a master bot—spotter. Bonus points for those who see what I did there. Hahaha!

Excellent job reinvigorating a seven year old post!!! You're exactly right, things always come around again!!! Do you have bondo in your roof? How is Jan? Say hello to Dwight!!!

The flat top fuel rail should be perfectly fine to use with round tops. It has a restrictor orifice in the return line just like the rail used with the round tops. Other than the relocation of the outlet nipples that lead to the carbs, they are interchangeable. The engine uses a small amount of fuel at idle. In fact, if the carbs are tuned properly, the engine should idle for about 30 seconds or so just consuming what is in the bowls. No fuel pump supplying fuel necessary. So you should be fine running off the bowls until the pump turns on. It'll run for a surprisingly long time. First thing I'd do is look for vacuum leaks. A hose you forgot to connect, or a nipple you forgot to block off? If no joy there and you're double dog sure you have no vacuum leaks, I'd drain the bowls (disconnect the tube on the bottom and let the fuel run into a cup) and then refill the carbs with known good fuel. You can easily do that by disconnecting the inlet fuel line and sticking a small funnel into the hose. Pour fresh fuel in from a little cup until the carbs won't take any more. At that point, your bowl levels should be good and you should have 30 seconds of fresh fuel. Maybe disconnect the fuel pump so it doesn't push any more questionable fuel back into the carbs.

Two-fer! LOL!!! @siteunseen

Time to play "Spot The Bot!" @siteunseen It's a two-fer. >> https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/58853-if-its-good-enough-for-a-sema-car-then/#comment-680341 I'm totally winning this round! Hahahaha!!!

I'm the original owner of a 72 240z, it's on blocks now, I want to get the 260 out of my hair so I can get back to restoring the 240. I'm all ears, been working on cars for a long time but I've forgotten a lot of stuff, I listen to everyone's suggestions. I've known for a long time the hoses can't be too stiff and normal fuel line is too stiff, that's why I used the special plastic tubing made for model air planes, but as it got older, it got more stuff. I have some chores today, when I get back I'll look into the choke linkage and hoses. BTW, the choke lever broke many years ago and was replaced then, it is a weak point, ever since then I would never pull the lever by the end, always at the base of the lever, couldn't believe how much those levers are selling for. I need to step back and look over the mechanism. Keep up the suggestions - Jim

Now that I have confidence in the float levels, I'm still having a problem getting the engine started. Next step is brand new fuel. A reminder, I removed the 260z flat tops and replaced them with 249z carbs. I read the thread about the nail in the carb, I need to takea step back to see what I missed. Hate to say, the car ran fine with the flat tops, I have to remember, if it's not broke, don't fix it. When I run the engine with a puff of ether, it caughs and sputters, not getting fuel, sounds too lean. I was hoping the bowl level would have fixed it. Somebody had messed with the carbs before I got them. Ideas?

I would not use any adhesive on the hatch glass seal. If it needs sealing later you can lift the edge of the seal and add a thin bead there

I ones had a neighbor and she had 2! and was up the next day, walking!! this was 15 years ago! 👌

How do i understand this? your recovering of the OP and in a few weeks your up and walking or do you already walk with it? Is it made of stainless with a nylon cup or is it some other metall? I hope it don't rust! 😄

I'm with you on older is better but when my "newer" "fireball" coil goes to sh**...I'll be walking home on my brand new artificial knee. I ran the old one for 55 years and that SOB just quit.

Maybe your cables are to old? They get little cracks inside (after you took them off) and the resistance changes to too high? Also use some fresh gasoline because todays fuel is really... sh*t.. I always now use 96 overhere.. my 240z runs 15! km/hr faster on the good stuff! And no problems with older fuel.. (Yeah i know you don't have 96 fuel but your country has different numbers, just use higher number in cars that don't drive daily. No ballast resistor... could make that new coil to hot? The old stuff gone, haha, i drive a 240z with a 54 year old coil, it's still running strong.. in the WINTER it's my daily driver! Lastly, i don't know the "newer" stuff like those "fireball" stuff but i don't ....... wouldn't want that sh** under MY bonnet.. oh sorry.. HOOD! ;-) 😆

Hi, I always use the standard BPR6es-11 on my standard ignition with nos contact points. I think it will depend on what ignition coil your using i would go with the bpr6es-11 sparkplugs when you have a orig. coil. Btw, the 280zx i got has that orig dizzy, and uses also the same plugs runs great with -11 plugs. (1,1 mm Gap.) You could buy those 0,9mm plugs and if it does not run right open them up to 1 mm or so.. (If you have the 123 ignition coil.. my opinion? throw it in the BIN! and get yourself a orig. coil.. ;-) )

If you're going to have a muffler shop do it why not them look at it and use their database to find one. If you're going to do it yourself, then trying the no muffler twin stack should be easy. If the dimensions are correct. Looks like what you have is clamped on, not welded. So trying some things should be easy.

I had a twin stack on a 240 many years ago. I don’t remember it being that loud. Your car should have a resonator already. Put it on and try it. No cost involved.

Sorry, but I kinda lost sight of the moving target... Can you make up a fresh picture sketch schematic of how you have things connected right now? Make sure to show both sides of the stock original four pin (not three?) connector. And include wire colors on everything?

I think that twin stack muffler will be way to loud without a serious resonator behind it. I do like loud cars and the Z’s sound awesome with some more noise but I think that muffler would be to much. But seeing as you already have it I would say it doesn’t hurt to just throw it on and see how she sounds. As for repairing the old muffler I wouldn’t really recommend it. You could try but the steel usually isn’t the best quality which makes welding hard and it won’t look that good. So if you can spare it I would suggest looking at a new one, maybe a JDM dual stake muffler? I know Zstory from France has some nice option for stock US and JDM look. I haven’t used anything from Zstory but I do find them very interesting. First up is getting my 280z on the road and then I can slowly move towards engine work for which I’m highly considering them.

Well, no one came to my aid on this matter so I've solved it as best I could using a metric bolt to replace the missing plastic pin. I measured the left side plastic pin diameter as approximately 4.7 mm. This is close to the 4.7 mm diameter that I measured on a 5M bolt's threads. The hole on the tab on that side of the cover comes in at 5.3 mm so there is about 0.6 mm of "slop" when the pin is in the hole. The hole on the right side tab measured 5.8 mm, almost exactly the diameter I measured for the threads on an M6 bolt. I was a bit squeamish about using an M6 bolt as there would little, if any, of the kind of slop as exists on the other side. So, an M5 bolt it was. But I do have the option of swapping in an M6 if I feel the need. I started by creating a small divot in the middle of the broken pin's location. Then, starting with a 1/16" drill bit (Hey, I ain't got metric drill bits), I gradually increased the hole size step-by-step using the next larger drill bit until i finished with 5/32" bit. I then slowly tapped the hole with a 5 mm-0.8 tap. Note that my tap and die set says to use an 11/64" drill for this but I wanted to have plenty of plastic "meat" for the tap to bite into. With that done, I took a 5M-0.8 x 30 bolt and cut off the hex head to give me a crude stud. I threaded this into my hole so that just a little tip of the stud showed on the side where the tab would eventually be. I then put the cover on the remaining plastic pin and, using needle-nose pliers, rotated the M5 stud so it engaged with the tab hole and then a bit more for good measure. I was going to epoxy the M5 stud into place but decided to not do so now at least because things are working well and it will be easy to retract the stud if I need to remove the cover at some point. I LOVE field engineering.

Excellent analogy. That's a great philosophical thought exercise. Wonder what the right answer is.........

The first two pics are some 510 4 door outer door/window trim pieces. The second two are 510 2 door outer door/window trim pieces. The rubber looks to be the same shape to me for each of them. The next two pics show the groove on the inside top edge of the door where the inner rubber w/s goes. It is a simple u channel. The last three pictures are of NOS inner rubber weather strips for the 2 door. The front and rear doors of the wagon should use the same inner and outer w/s from a design standpoint, right?

Let me take a look. I only have a 2 door, not a wagon. I have some NOS outer stainless strips. And I may have the inner strips as well. I will try to get some pictures for you.

toolman on Hybridz says that they'll be at SEMA Las Vegas in two weeks. Thought he had an account on CZCC but there are several toolmans listed here. They show what looks like a scrapped/stripped 240Z on a road in the desert. Facing the wrong way if it's meant to be in the States. On a road with odd yellow and white center striping. Combined with that Youtube short above with the cringey rap music, the whole enterprise seems strange. If anybody trys to buy a part from them don't forget about the tariffs. 57% now, could be 155% soon. If anybody is really interested it might be worthwhile to browse other car forums. They have an odd assortment of models shown. Here's one - https://www.carbody.com/product/classic-car/ford-parts/bronco-19661977-parts/ HybridZA COMPLETE EARLY MODEL 240Z BODY may be available soonA Chinese Metal Fabrication Company is planning to unveil a Brand New complete Early Model 240Z body at the 2025 SEMA SHOW in Las Vegas on Nov 4-7. They are looking for Distributors in North America.

Hold on now people. Let's be positive. We all know that todays body work to repair a rusted z car can take a ton, no..two tons of time and dollars. So let wait and see.

Yeah, that's fair. It's real Ship of Theseus situation.

I'm working on a knowledge post about the S30's automatic transmissions, and for that, I tried to update my document collection. Since I don't have any Auto transmission and don't plant to install one ever, it was obviously never a priority. So recently a few things arrived again from all over the world. Some of them are pretty cool and rare: First, a set of original Nissan Japan 3N71B Auto transmission service manuals from 1971 and 1973. They're not specific to this car, but they have some good general information about that specific transmission. I also got the English version of the earlier 3N71A transmission manual. This time specific for the 240Z. Nothing crazy inside, but good for some reference data if you're a nerd like me. Speaking of Automatic transmissions. I got this cool troubleshooting guide slider, which was issued for both the A and B transmissions by Nissan USA in 1972: The delivery also included some Mikuni triple carb-setup parts: And i also came across this Mikuni PH level gauge for 2 bucks, so I had to get it: It even came with a nice little operation manual leaflet and padded pouch: Then I also got this nice booklet called "Z-car" by driver magazine JP. It's basically a collection of all their S30-related publications from their monthly magazine. I still have to read through all of it, but so far it has some very nice stories, including the original designers of the car. The only downside so far is the overload of praise for Mr. K as the sole man behind the Z, which is of course nonsense. But as said, i only read two pages so far. Speaking of documents. I made a copy of that original Nissalco 240Z special service toolbox manual, as it was falling apart. And I have to say it turned out pretty good for my first attempt at something like this. I picked up a load of tool-related things yesterday and have a lot of pending orders. so stay tuned for another update soon.

I ordered and received one of these seals from Scott's as well. I can confirm that it's much better than the Precision version. With the Precision version there was a big gap all the way along the bottom of the hatch, which welcomed copious quantities of exhaust into the cabin. The hatch sat visibly higher than the edges of the quarter panels. The hatch was higher on the driver's side, and stuck out slightly at the back on that side. I removed all the weatherstripping (both inner and outer) and checked the fit. I was surprised to find that the hatch still sat slightly high and stuck out slightly at the back on the driver's side. I removed the support strut and that allowed everything to align. The strut is a replacement. I'll have to check the source. With the new hatch seal in place, but not glued, the hatch sits pretty nicely. It's very slightly high, but I suspect it will settle, and I haven't tried adjusting the hinges or latch yet. Once I connect the strut, though, it's noticeably higher again. It's lower than it was with the Precision seal and there's no gap along the bottom edge, so I don't think exhaust will be a problem, but it's higher than I'd like it. Has anyone noticed a strut causing the hatch to misalign? Any ideas about how to correct it? I'm a little surprised that the strut can move the hatch backwards. I would have thought the hinges would prevent that.

Okay, it’s been a minute so this post will be all over the place… I’m going to start with baby steps that feel like giant steps. I was able to install the left side headlight bucket. It seems small, but I hadn’t been able to get to all of the weatherstripping that goes under the fender so I put it off. This was the first time I’d seen it together (on one side) since it came back from the painter. I found there was a sizable gap between the bucket and the fiberglass air dam and I didn’t know how far the dam was going to flex. It ended up working out when I got the blinkers on, but it’s not a crisp clean fit. More on that later. ••• I didn’t do a great job documenting this, but I did a complete refurb of my marker lights and turn signals, inside and out. Left side is before, right side is stage 2 of the 3 step polish. The left front TS and three of the marker lights were pretty beat up. The white plastic was nearly brown inside and the mirror of the fronts and metal housings of the marker lights were all rusted. I stripped these pieces and painted the metal parts with highly reflective silver spray paint. The plastic housing I sprayed white inside and left the outside raw, painting the mirror the same as the marker lights housings. The lenses were sanded with 400 grit wet/dry paper, then up through 5,000 grit, and finally polished with Novus plastic polish. Surprisingly, I was able to reuse all of the OEM rubber parts. They just needed scrubbing with a green scotch bright pad. I decided to replace all of the hardware with stainless bolts instead of sheet metal screws because the right rear screws are uncomfortably close to the fuel vapor hoses. I wasn’t able to get JIS screws quickly enough so I just went with generic M5 cap head bolts, with fender washers and lock nuts on the inside. The ones in back got rubber caps on the bolts, too, just to be safe. All of the wiring and connectors for these were replaced. The OEM sockets and rubber boots were refurbished. I ran out of bullet connectors so I used Yamaha sealed connectors for the front marker lights. I’m a bit bummed that the rubber covers from Vintage Connectors for the turn signals are so short. I’m wondering if I need to do something like wrap them in tape to keep the water out. The bulbs are color matched LEDs from Super Bright LEDs, which I think look nicer than using white ones under the colored lenses. The color is much richer while still being… uh, super bright. The gaps around the air dam closed up a bit after I got all of the hardware on, but the curves of each piece (headlight bucket, air dam, and blinker housing) don’t match, which is irritating. I’m hoping it will disappear once the bumper is on. ••• I FINALLY finished my throttle cable setup. I looked at a bunch of off the shelf options and a few specifically for Z cars, but the prices and not quite being what I wanted pushed me into making my own. The two challenging pieces were the bulkhead and the bracket. I made the bulkhead out of a stainless steel drain plug that a friend drilled out and tapped for me on his lathe. We broke a tap and probably dulled a second to the point of not being usable any more. If I did it again I would use aluminum. It’s held on with an M18 nut and has the cable adjuster for a triumph motorcycle brake lever screwed into it for the cable sleeve. That’s probably also unnecessary as I could have made the bulkhead so it acted as the cable sleeve seat on its own. The bracket was another Send Cut Send job. I had to wait until everything else was figured out to design and order it, but I made four versions with the hole for the throttle cable adjuster at various heights. I opted for the second tallest, but I’ll change it if this ends up feeling wrong. I’m definitely going to have to ad a bend along the long edge to reduce flexing. I went with a progressive cam from @duffymahoney and had to make sure there is no interference when all said and done. The shortest bracket looked the best but was uncomfortably close to the cam at full throttle. All of the cable bits and pieces I got from Venhill Engineering for a song. The reason there are two adjusters in the photo is so the bracket can also hold the choke cable, which I am repurposing to operate the starter valves on the Mikunis. I doubt I’ll ever use them but I don’t like having inoperable parts in the car. The cable is affixed to the ball socket by a m5 lamp bolt that was decapitated, crimped to the cable, rethreaded, and soldered. So yeah, the throttle half of this project is done for now. I just need to change the screw holding the cable to the cam to be a set crew, cut the excess cable, and cap it off so it won’t fray. The bracket will definitely need to be stiffer, but that’s for later. ••• Unfortunately I keep forgetting to take pictures, but I can show you how I ran the AC drain so it minimizes the size of the lump when I install the transmission hump upholstery. The Vintage Air evaporator came with a black hose, but I swapped it out for some hose with a thicker side wall, which should keep it from compressing under the upholstery and inhibiting the flow of condensation. A nozzle connects to the hose with a 1/2” barbed splice fitting. The black piece is from sun roof drains on GM and other vehicles and its X-shaped aperture should create a Venturi effect when mounted perpendicular to air flow to pull water out and prevent anything from traveling back up the hose. Pretty generic and available on Amazon for a few bucks. I cut the insulation to make a channel for the hose to rest in. A 5/8” hole and some RTV to make sure it doesn’t pop out and I’m good to go. I also finished the passenger side door window and the rest of the interior firewall work the same day. Now to check the refrigerant plumbing for air leaks. 👍🏻 ••• After I was finally able to get all of the firewall work done, I put the dash in and plugged it all together. Nothing major to report since I’ve discussed the details in previous posts. This time I took more care to tuck the wiring away nicely. The few loose ends are wire for a set of foot well lights that are switched at the doors, a feed for a USB plug I intend to put in the center console, and the power/ground and control wires for the evaporator. The biggest challenge was getting it back in with the air ducts installed. This corrugated tubing from Vintage Air is nice but it’s not flattened/ovular like the OEM stuff so it requires some persuading. I still think it’s better, though. It’s tough to see in the center but it’s really well fit to the evaporator without any clamps, which keeps it clean and free of things to chafe of the hose or wiring looms. I’m hoping a harness cover will clean up the mess around the relays, but I’m going to zip tie some of this up tight before any cowls or covers go on. ••• And here it’s starting to feel like a car! Or, at least I am staring to get some storage space back. 🤣 I’m really pleased with how the Vintage Dashes dashboard looks. The glove box door needs adjusting, but after hitting the finisher with some Landau Black SEM Color Coat it all came together. It seems the internet was correct about that being the right color. I’d heard these aftermarket windshield gaskets leave a bit to be desired compared to OEM, and it’s true, but I think you can finesse it into shape. The gaps in the corners were really bad until I put the steel trim in. That stretched them out a bit, but it’s not perfect. I’ll let it settle for a while and then might just pump the gaps full of weather strip adhesive until it’s filled in. Speaking of steel trim, that’s a fun chore. 🙄 ••• My spare tire cover was FILTHY. Luckily it cleaned up well and didn’t pucker or warp. The orange flecks in the fiber board are a nice touch. ••• Lights! No before pictures but here’s everything put together. I used the same process on the lenses as the blinkers. The housings were scrubbed and then wiped lightly with acetone to get the last of the adhesive off. Thankfully I didn’t need to recondition the mirrors. The center lug on the replacement chrome trim is too short to function as the only fastener holding everything together. I used a M5 threaded socket left over from installing the blinkers along with a rubber washer. It worked fabulously, but I think it would be really easy to screw up if over tightened. No wiring yet. I just wanted to close up the cabin for the next step. ••• Looking clean figuratively and literally. I picked up the basic carpet set from Newark Auto in black 80/20 loop. It’s really nicely made, but I don’t think it’s meant to go with an insulation kit like the one I have. There are a few places where it would have fit better if there was no insulation, and there are a few places where it is just straight up wrong. Overall give it a 89 or 91 out of 100. Worth it but could be improved. I’ll be using the vinyl kit from MSA on the sides. I’m going to cross my fingers and hope my original interior pieces clean up nicely. I just put them straight into storage without unpacking them when I bought the car, so who knows what shape their in. If they suck I’ll be new replacements. But yeah, the car is starting to feel like a car.