ConchZ

I get a slight fuel smell coming into the cabin from the engine compartment when I gun it hard, and then release the throttle. I've made sure the floats are right, the float gaskets are new, and the carbs are adjusted perfectly, at least in my mind. The car runs great, idles smooth, no problems. To simulate what happens, I took off the air cleaners, reved the motor up, then covered a carb mouth with my hand. I was rewarded with a splash of fuel into my hand. Its like the needle doesn't drop down fast enough to shut off the fuel when the air is throttled. I took off the domes and cleaned the insides, to make sure they slide smoothly. This might just be how these things work, but if not, I'd like to get it to stop. Anything I'm missing? Oh yea, I'm reasonably sure the smell is not coming from the back (gas tank and lines). Thanks, Matt

If your existing bumper is fairly straight, but just has bad chrome, consider getting it rechromed. It'll be slightly cheaper, and a good chrome shop will make it look better than a NOS part. While you are at it, you can have them weld shut the holes for the rubber strips and vertical bumperettes, creating a smooth clean look. Otherwise, you've got to get new rubber, which is nearly impossible to find, and very expensive if you find it. I sent mine off to Les at www.classicdatsun.com and they came back real nice.

I repaired my cracked dash, and am fairly happy. Happy enough that I wouldn't pay 1100 bucks for a new one, that is. Anyway, see my blog post about things to do with the dash out. Fortunately, my PO had already replaced the heater core and hoses, plus added a Honda blower motor, or I would have done those too. While I'm at it syndrome, I guess...

just use a flat black. If you have sanded off the texture, you can get SEM's spray on texture coating from Eastwood. Spray it on, lightly sand it down and then paint it with trim black.

ok...what do you do with the lighter fluid? Strip/clean stuff?

The quarters made by Tabco, which are sold by BD and MSA, do not include the bumper indent. I swear, after spending money to rechrome my bumpers and modify the Tabco quarters, I'll just go without a rear bumper if I ever need to redo/repair the car again. These cars look really cool without a rear bumper if you smooth/shave the rear valence panel. My body guy was dying to do that, but I wanted it sorta close to stock. Next time that's what I'm doing.

Hmm, that is a cool idea. My PO installed a nice Alpine with a remote in place of the original radio. He kept the original radio, so I could easily do this while I've got my interior apart. Not sure I like that remote tho. I'd probably crash trying to run it.

ugh. turn in your man car if you are watching lifetime....or american idol, or dancing with the stars, etc. Momma sure does like those shows, but it don't mean I gotta watch them too. guys.

I did look at that site, and considered going with 60 amps. However, since the original alternator only puts out like 40 amps, I figure it should never exceed that. I may someday upgrade the alternator, in which case I may need a bigger fuse. I kinda like the old external mechanical voltage regulator that is necessary with the old alternator, as I get to watch the amp meter jiggle and wiggle. It reminds you that you are in an old car. Passengers seem to think that's neat, too.

Thought I'd tell everyone about my experience using the maxi-blade fuses to replace the fusible link on my 73. I started with a 20 amp fuse, but it blew. A 30 amp fuse didn't blow, at least at first. After accidentally running the battery down, I jumped the car and it ran fine. Fine until I turned on the headlights, that is. It blew out immediately. Here's my theory.... From the wiring diagram, the only way the battery is going to get charged is through this fusible link. If its low, its going to draw a lot of current through the link to charge the battery. I found out the hard way that if the link blows, the car will continue running, but will not charge the battery. Having hooked my headlights to the battery via Zs-ondabrain's headlight harness upgrade, the headlights began drawing power from the battery, thereby discharging it while I unknowingly drove. Once I turned off the car, I had no electrical power, and couldn't jump start it, classic fusible link burnt out symptoms. I first replaced the link, but then found my battery was dead. Why oh why was it dead, I wondered. I jump started it, drove it a while and then noticed the link blew again. You can tell because your amp meter stops working. The headlights then dimmed, as they were running off the nearly dead battery. So, 30 amps isn't a big enough fuse if the battery is low and its drawing a charge. I switched to 40 amps, and problem is solved. From the wiring diagram, there's at least three 20 amp circuits that branch off of this fusible link, so I don't think 40 amps is too big. I turned on everything but the rear defroster, which isn't yet hooked up, and it didn't blow the 40 amp fuse. So, its good for now. Will post again if the 40 amp blows when I get the defroster hooked up again. Matt

I don't know, I just turned 40, and am bringing an old Z back to very good driver condition, because I always liked them as a kid. The people who get excited when they see it are usually a bit older, but not by much. The real problem is that few people younger than me have an interest in restoring ANY cars. They grew up without learning how to work on cars, and seem to think of cars as appliances.

The transmission tunnel on my 73 gets hot on the driver's side, which is normal, I guess, due to the exhaust being on that side. While I've got the interior out, I'm trying to insulate the tunnel. I put on two layers of Raammat, followed by a layer of Ensolite, and then took it for a drive. I also did the same under the drivers seat and up the luggage riser. I have to say that I'm not impressed. I don't think the tunnel is any cooler than it was with the stock jute insulation. I wonder how many layers of this stuff its going to take to knock down the heat. Anyone have any experience using it for heat blockage? I will say that when I put the old jute and new carpet on top of the raammat/Ensolite on the floor under the seat, it does make a big difference on the heat that used to come up from there. I suppose I'll just keep adding more insulation, but man this stuff is nasty to work with. The raammat consists of black tar like stuff that gets everywhere. I may try to put it in the fridge overnight to thicken it up and make it less gooey during application. I was going to use it on the doors, but the thought of someday having to stick my hands inside the doors to work on something, and getting covered in black goo isn't appealing. I'll have to think about that a bit. I'm also leary of putting over the entire floor, as I sorta like being able to pull up the carpets and check the floor for rust monsters. Couldn't do that with this silver backed goo stuck to them... Matt

Don't know if its original.

Been thinking about doing this myself, but for another reason. I'd like to get some insulation in behind the tank. I think I'm getting too extreme on this refreshment project...

Having just removed my dash and repaired a crack, I don't understand why they don't all crack. These dashes consist of a steel frame, with a foam cover, which is then covered by vinyl. The problem is the frame doesn't support all the foam. Lots of it is unsupported, especially over the guages. The foam is irregular shaped, and of irregular thickness, too. All of this irregularity has got to result in uneven expanding/shrinking during heat and cold cycles. I don't think it matters what you put on the vinyl, as that won't affect the underlying foam, which is where the cracks start. We've all heard stories of people who put caps on their cracked dash, only to have the cap crack. Its because the foundation (frame and foam) isn't stable. If your dash hasn't cracked yet, its probably not going to crack. You got one that was put together just right, and/or protected from too many hot/cold cycles. Go ahead and put whatever you want on it, and keep it out of sunlight. I bought a 92 Ford Ranger once. Those dashes often crack. I used STP Son of a Gun, which is not available anymore. My dash stayed amazingly like new for 15 years. The real reason was probably because I was lucky enough have a garage at home and at work. That truck never saw much sunlight. Even its red paint stayed bright. I now use sunshades when parking outdoors, which I do more now that I don't have a garage at work.

Got the car back last thursday. The paint and body work turned out great. Its not all back together yet, so I don't really want to show it off. In fact, its further apart than when I got it back. I took the dash out to fix the one crack in it. That came out well. While I had it out, I've been working on a few things. I've lubed the HVAC control cables. I found that many of my duct work connections weren't really connected anymore, so I've cleaned and refitted them. I've taken the lenses off all the instruments and pollished the cloudiness and scratches out of them. I've been insulating the car with Ensolite and Raammat, and have installed new vinyl on the transmission tunnel and luggage riser. I've wired up an alarm with a well hidden electrical cutoff. I replaced my shifter bushings and boots. I've fixed a crack in my console and followed the ZTherapy video's advice on reinforcing it so it won't crack again. I've replaced all the instrument light bulbs, and installed the headlight wiring harness upgrade. I plan to put the dash back in on Saturday. There's so many electrical connections, duct work and those four HVAC cables, that I don't know if I'll get it done in one day. If I do, I may get the rest of the interior installed on Sunday, or at least enough to drive it. Meanwhile, here's a couple pictures. My right headlight cover wasn't on straight yet when the left one was taken, though.

This is from a 10/73 build date car. I've also including a picture of it next to my speedometer, in case you don't have enough to do. A tip from Ron at zclocks.com is to use Maguires Plastic Polish to take out the cloudiness and scratches. This pic shows the cleaned up tac, next to the not yet cleaned up speedo. Big difference. If you'd rather not do it, Ron will do it for you if you ship your lenses to him. I used the polish and a polishing pad on a Dremel to take out the worst scratches, then polished it up the rest of the way by hand. Be careful with the Dremel, as it can heat your plastic up too much and melt it.

Easiest thing I've done to my car. Hardest part is taking off the console, which is easy. Check your inner shift boots for tears and replace if necesssary. They r cheap.

Hi, I've got my dash off and have fixed my crack. Before I put it back in, I'd like to install this keyless entry, car alarm system I bought. It has a relay for a starter disconnect. I've been hunting through posts for ideas on how to wire this thing up without hacking my wiring harness up too much. The car is a 1973. All I need to do is place the relay inline with either the starter solenoid, or the coil wire. I believe it would be easier to install by breaking into either the BW or GW wire on the tach. Since the dash is out, I have easy access to install this little relay close to the tach for a nice clean installation. I also think that cutting power to the coil this way would make it nearly impossible to get the car started, vs simply cutting the starter's power. Nobody would ever figure out why the car wouldn't run, unless they pulled out the tach. Does it matter if I use the BW or GW wire? Any advice before I start playing electrician? I do have a Crane Fireball 700 ignition and coil, but if I remember right it still gets its power via a circuit passing through the tach. Thanks.

I do like the color, though.

My back hurts just watching that.

Holding the door handle up doesn't make any diff on my 73. It did on my 77 Celica, though.

Is the writing silver, or white? When you touch the choke label, does it appear to be a laminate overlayed on top of the console, or is it actually part of the console. I have three of these parts. The original one from a 73, one from a 72, and one from a 71. The 71 and 72 look like yours. The 73 looks a bit different, and when you press on the label, it appears to be delaminating from the console. It appears to be silver, whereas the others are white letters, too. P.S., I like your AC controls. They are different than mine. Mine are up under the dash, to the right of steering wheel.

I had gotten as far as placing the actuators and running the wires when it hit me that if the actuator tries to pull down the lock when the door is open, something will break, as you can't lock the door when its open. Unless I can change that, then I may decide to use one of those contact systems that supply power through contacts on the door and door frame that meet when the door is closed and complete the circuit. That way, when the door is open, there's no power to the lock mechanism. I may also figure out a way to cut the power using the dome light switch. I'd rather disable this silly safety feature that prevents you from locking an open door. I've hated since I got the car. I have to wait for my passenger to get out, lean over, lock her door, then get out and use the key to lock my door. You cannot lock your keys in the car, though.

I'm trying to hook up a power lock kit, but I'm afraid to do it. My 1973 door lock can only be locked if the door is shut. In other words if you push down on the lock with the door open, it won't move. If I connect the little motor to the vertical lock rod, I figure I'll eventually lock the car with a door open and the force of the motor will break something. Question....is it normal to only be able to push down on the lock with the door shut? I've always thought it was a safety mechanism to keep you from locking your keys in the car, but then why does MSA sell these little power lock kits (mine's not from MSA) for 240s? Whether or not its normal, can I change it/fix it to remove this "safety" feature? Matt