saridout

is the tool steel? if so, you could use a magnetic pick-up tool like this: http://www.magnets2buy.com/acatalog/telescopic-pick-up-tool.jpg or if it's plastic, you could use a grabber tool like this: http://hdtools.co.uk/family/albums/album16/Ullman_Grabber_tool.jpg i got my magnetic flexible pick up tool from Northern Tool for like $4. like they say above, turning it upside down might work too.

i saw your craigslist ad. have you considered placing a WTB ad for a datsun and see if the thief tries to sell to you?

oh, thankyou you really don't need to though. i've only got a '76, so it wouldn't do me a lot of good.

i fixed the file so that the thumbnail is correct, if you want to download it again. i hope it's useful to you!

i've colorized another wiring diagram and am now making it available for download. this one was much less of a headache than the '76 diagram, being about 1/3 the size and complexity. download the U.S. 1972 240z here! special thanks to EScanlon for helping me iron out a few problems with it. stay tuned for more diagrams in the future. PS: though there isn't a lot of text on it to search, it IS searchable in a pdf viewer.

at the advice of zed2 (whose restoration thread yall may have seen here: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34490), i have enlisted tony's body shop here in dallas to restore my 76 280z. i bought the car in january of 2009, and after burning up the engine and having to completely rebuild it, i'm now moving on to the next step. i've already done the engine bay, so tony's going to do rust repair on the rest of the body, and then paint it BRG at my request. here are the first photos of the disassembly. sorry for the poor lighting in the photos, and as always, look at my flickr account for more!

would you say that the attachment is an accurate representation?

Thanks, this is very helpful. But what are the actual colors in a US model car? There is no discernible joint in the wires between the dash wiring/tail panel separator and the tail panel itself, but both white reds change to different colors by the time they hit the panel. is there a joint there that is not represented on the diagram? if so, how do you think it should be graphically represented? edit: wait, maybe i understand. does the color change at the plug between the rear harness and the tail light pigtail, which isn't represented in the diagram?

I'm working on a color version of the 1972, and i'm having some problems sorting out the colors of some of the exterior light wires. Mainly, the white/black and white/red wires that go from the hazard light switch to the brake lights. when coming from the hazard switch, the white/black goes through a connector of some kind, comes out the other side as white/red, and in some unmarked spot between that and the light, turns green/black. it's the same sort of thing with the white/black coming from the hazards. can anyone tell me what the actual colors of these are? also, what is the connector they go through that's depicted in the diagram as a bar? please see the attached image for reference. EDIT: can anyone tell me why some of the wire lines are dashed?

i don't know him, but i found a screenshot of his site which showed a link to the Dallas Z Club. you might try emailing them and seeing if they know him: http://www.zcluboftexas.org/ i also found an address in Round Rock, TX that's associated with the ZXMan name: 3945 Eagles Nest St, Round Rock, TX 78665 here's a line i found on japanesenostalgiccar.com: "Hit up zxman.com - 512-786-6451 - Mark" i hope all this helps you

spitz- i had almost exactly the same thing happen to me. i went to NTB for an alignment, and they told me they couldn't do it cause the inner tie rod ends were shot. They quoted me at $389 for a new set. i said no thanks. i looked everywhere for a new set, and eventually called The Z Barn and asked if they had any used inner ends in decent shape. They did, and sent a pair to me really quick. I went to a different alignment shop and requested that they install the new ends, and after inspecting the steering gear, i was told that the inner tie rod ends were fine, but the rack had slack in it. they claimed that they didn't know how to adjust the rack, but they could buy me a new one for $500. again i said no thanks. Just for kicks a few months later, i tried a different alignment shop and they told me that the steering gear was fine, and gave me an alignment. in the end, i don't really know who was telling me the truth. my advice to you, though, is to get a second opinion before you spend a fortune on very hard-to-find new ends. you may not need them at all. if you do, i recommend trying to find used in good condition. i bought mine for $25 each. edit: i forgot to tell you that the first shop demonstrated the slack by wiggling a wheel around. these guys must be comparing notes!

Top 10 collector cars for under $5000 on CNN: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/autos/1002/gallery.cheap_collector_cars/index.html It's the 4th slide.

keep in mind that most things are cheaper in texas. that quote is for a shop that, from what i can tell, will do the best job in town. if you haven't seen zed2's car, which was done by this shop, here it is: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34490

is this for a 76? if so, you should download my color wiring diagram here: http://sridout.com/datsun/76circuit_COLOR.pdf

ok, here are some updates and photos. i went to a couple of other shops today, and got a $8000-9000 quote from the same guy who's doing zed2's early 240, which looks incredible in person by the way. i also got a $3600 quote from a shop that comes highly recommended, but he didn't have any work i could look at. prices drop dramatically once you get out to the country where my car is garaged. i have a quote from a very reputable body shop out there that does mostly collision work, but restores on the side, for $3500. lonetreesteve, i'm one of those weirdos who like the big bumpers here are the new photos: http://www.flickr.com/76280z/tags/bodyrust/ EDIT: let me make this clear: all "body work" you see in the photos, along with the magic marker, were done by the PO, not me.

this is all really helpful and encouraging. thanks a lot for that. i would do the rust repair myself, except for two things: one, i don't have the room. my garage is pretty much for storing the car only. two, i would have NO idea what i'm doing. i've never worked on a body before, and though i'm a pretty good brazer, i've never been great at wire or stick welding. what would be awesome is if i could find someone who wanted to teach me, cause i'd like to learn, but i think i'll have less luck at that than finding a decent shop to do it for me. i'm looking at some other shops now and keeping my hopes up. i'll post some better pictures of the body once i get it back tomorrow, and i'll let y'all know what happens.

that spot behind the headlight bucket is the worst of it that i can find. that rust extends two inches into the engine bay. the other side is much better, the hole only being maybe 4 inches long. the driver's side floor pan has surface rust from having water sit in it recently, and the passenger side has a couple of rust holes just forward of the seat that are less than a cm in diameter. the rails look good. i spent a lot of time with them during the engine bay restore, and i'm pretty sure they're solid all the way down the car. the only bondo on the car is what you can see on the outside. the interior hasn't been touched. most of the bondo is on the front right fender and the right door. there's some bubbling at the lower rear right fender. the guy at the shop said that the right quarter window would have to go, which surprised me, but he said it's got rust on it, for what that's worth. i know that these shops need to make money and they won't make it on this car, but i wish they hadn't taken the car and strung me along for a day, thinking they'd do it and then renege. i just wasn't sure if they just didn't want to waste their time on me, or if the car really is as bad as they say. also keep in mind, the guy there didn't get much of a better look at it than yall are getting. as far as i know, he basically stood back and eyeballed it.

to make a long story short, i was going to do a trade with a dallas area body shop: the total rust repair, paint job and supplies for my 280 for the same value in radio commercial air time. they were very interested in the idea, until i pulled up in the z. then it was almost nothing but doom and gloom, and "we thought the car was in better condition than this," etc. they told me that they would call me back in a week with a cost estimate to work out the trade, but then this afternoon they called me and told me that they can't do the job after all, it's just not worth it to them. now i feel horrible about my car, and though i've thought that it was easily salvageable since i bought it, now i'm not so sure. please look at the pictures i've attached and at my flickr gallery at www.flickr.com/76280z and tell me what yall think. positive thinking would be valuable :/

nope. aside from a 20 over rebore and a replacement identical head, i haven't changed anything. it ran much rougher before the rebuild, in a different way. now it kind of misses and lopes a little, but never dies like it did before. i keep finding vacuum leaks and fixing them, such as the injector seals, and it improves incrementally with every leak i find. this could be just another one. my dad has worked mostly on german cars in the past. is the engine dying when the dipstick removed something that doesn't occur in german cars?

well shoot, i can get a brand new dipstick for under 12 bucks. i'll just do that. thanks everybody, this was really helpful.

ok thank you i think i'll stop having a heart attack now, then. also, does anyone know what kind of seal is on the dipstick, and if it's available anywhere?

i idle at about 650, and it sputters and stalls about 10 seconds after i pull the dipstick. i've just rebuilt it, and it's been running a little rough ever since. Zs-ondabrain: i pulled it on a lark, and i hadn't even moved it an inch out of the block when it started sounding dramatically different. i pulled it out the rest of the way and it died seconds later. my dad had never seen this behavior before in a car, and he flipped out, so i flipped out, cause i've spent the last 6 months rebuilding it. and here i am. IdahoKidd: thanks, that's helpful. it seemed like someone had once told me to check the dipstick for vacuum leaks when trying to fix a rough idle, but i haven't been able to find anything on the forum that mentioned that. does anyone else's die under these conditions?

is it normal for the engine to die when the oil dipstick is removed? cause that's the problem i'm having.

yeah, forum-ites. don't worry, i don't think it's derogatory XD

hey there and welcome i'm in dallas myself. did you make a decision on the '76? you should try going to the arlington datsun meetup: http://cowtownzclub.com/wpctz/