Patcon

I had done some searching for emergency brake repairs and where to go from here. I had a broken parking brake on a 240z. I took the idea that Beandip had and went with that. I went to Home Depot and bought about 8' of 1/8" unjacketed and 3/32 jacketed cable. I also bought some 1/" tee nuts like these The problem I saw was not replacing the cable but was how to swage the end with the little cylindrical shape and make it hold. I removed the old cable and rethreaded with new cable. I chose to use the unjacketed cable because it was thicker and the exisitng cable was unjacketed. I then placed a tee nut over the end of the cable with the spiked flange at the very end (the end towards the wheel). I took my mig welder and welded around the end of the cable on the flange side. I didn't weld from the inboard side because I was worried about buring the cable in two and that would make it too short. I then clipped the flange off as close as possible and finished shaping on my bench grinder. The inboard end of the remaing tee nut did not fit very close to the cable so for some extra insurance I used JB Weld to fill the cylinder on the inboard side. I assembled the cable all up and installed all of the springs and brackets etc. I then ran the excess through the other tee nut and welded the other end where I marked it for length. I made the new cable 1/2" to 3/4" shorter than the original to account for the stretching of the original cable. When I welded the second tee nut I accidently burned the cable off, which is OK but substanitiated my fear of not welding from the inside. I epoxied the second end and lubed everything up real well and installed. Seams to work real well and has a very factory look. Sorry I don't have any other pictures. If you don't have access to a welder, epoxy might hold the ends if you get them degreased properly. The tee nuts have threads inside them so they will bond very easily. Or as an alternative you might be able to solder the ends on the cable. If the cable is clean and fluxed the silver should bond to it OK. I thought I would post this up since the cables are hard to find in good used condition and putting a new $300 cable on a car I have $1000 in didn't make sense at the moment. Hope this helps and have a good Mother's Day Charles I didn't have any pictures when I made the cable so I went back and made an end so I could make pictures, since everyone likes pictures Original cable ends Ready to weld Welded up Snip the excess, then grind down I filled this area with epoxy Finished end

I believe they are similar. They are mentioned in the Z therapy video. I believe they are Stromberg's and have a diaphragm in them. That looks like an XKE... Charles

Emailed J C Whitney the other day... "Trying to find current part numbers for these older part numbers so I can order these door weatherstrip 13SB2561U comes in 25' lengths 18B4877X 8' lengths fuzzy strip 19SB3480P for 6' Thanks, Charles" Here is the response Thank you for contacting us. The first item is sold out and discontinued. But the below links are the other 2 numbers: http://www.jcwhitney.com/all-rubber-window-channels/p2009944.jcwx?skuId=170761&filterid=j1&_requestid=2287141 http://www.jcwhitney.com/inner-and-outer-belt-weatherstripping-universal/p2008570.jcwx?skuId=172892&filterid=j1&_requestid=2288170 Please feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions. Sincerely, Holly Does anyone know if they still have a weatherstrip profile that will work for the door seals? Their online catalog is pretty useless... Charles

Looking at your picture the vent line from the top rear of the tank in the highest section of the tank. Take it loose from the vapor tank and see if you tank will take fuel then, provided that line is clear. That one line is responsible for allowing the use of the upper portion of the tank. If that line is crimped over or pinched the tank won't take fuel. I believe when you drive around the tank is belching air back into the filler neck and then it will take more fuel. If the tank isn't collapsed I believe your problem is between that vent port and the vent line at the top of the filler neck. I believe there is a drain off the vent tank that connects to the filler neck just below the cap. That allows the air to escape the tank after fuel fills above the neck of the tank. Charles

Can the Precision products be bought directly or only through a third party? Thanks, Charles

The 280z I parted out had holes like that across the rear directly behind the larger style bumper. I believe they were an attempt to prevent the pressure zone behind the car that cause exhaust fumes to enter the cabin... Charles

Well the best I can tell the wheel cylinders have already been swapped out. The brake line enters the wheel cylinder on one end but the surface is turned out about 20 - 25 degrees. Any thoughts on the wheel cylinders from autozone? I figured the rebuild kits from black dragon or rock auto would hold up better, but it may not matter. The price for complete cylinders is not bad if they are still available for that, and definitely easier than rebuilding and not much more. Most of the wheel cylinder units I have seen are in the high $60's to $90's each. That is more than I want to put into this car right now. Thanks for the info, Charles

I was working on one of my z's it is a 1970 240z that I am trying to get back on the road. I replaced the master cylinder, but can't bleed the rear wheel cylinders. I can bleed them at the hose in the wheel well but not out the bleed nipple. The nipple is clear. So I figured I would just rebuild them because the car may end up as a parts car, but there is no rebuild kit offered for the 70-71 wheel cylinder. I have plenty of 72-76 wheel cylinders laying around but didn't know if they would work in the 70-71 backing plate. Thanks, Charles

Thanks, Walter That was the answer I needed. I knew some people didn't use the vacuum advance Thanks, Charles

I have a 70 240 with a 71 240 motor that I rebuilt 20 years ago. It has very few miles on it. I couldn't get it running recently after sitting for a number of years. Worked on coil finally figured the problem was in the distributor. Went to the junk yard and pulled a coil and distributor from a 1982 280ZX. I installed using a number of resources, some of the info you posted Blue. As well as some other forums, even a 510 forum. Was a very easy swap; set the timing close, fired right up. Now I need to figure out where the correct timing is from some of the other people that have done this swap. I was think 10d, with no vacuum advance, but wasn't sure. Thanks, Charles

I know several members have done the 280ZX distributor upgrade to get rid of the points style ignition. I have been looking in several of my manuals and trying to figure out where to set the timing. I was leaning toward 10d before TDC without the vacuum advance hooked up. What are some of you running? How do you know if the vacuum advance is going to add too much timing? Thanks, Charles

Try this link... http://www.rbracing-rsr.com/compstaticcalc.html Googled calculating static compression ratio... Bear in mind that aluminum headed engines will tolerate a little more CR than cast iron heads. I run 10:1 on my aluminum headed 350, but I have the advantage of a knock sensor and I run it on regular pump gas unless it is very hot outside. Post up your info so others can follow along. Charles

I wondered about the gold z becuase it pulled away so quickly. I also saw the Cadillac... I totaly understand about the reality factors involved on how far to push. No slight intended, just curious. It is sometimes very hard to tell these things from video. Looks like fun...

I watched you video. It was good video compared to alot of in car videos that come through you tube. I wanted to ask how hard you were pushing the car. It is hard to tell from the video but it seemed like you weren't revving it up very high and I couldn't tell if traction was an issue in some of the corners. I asked because there was one Z that came by you and walked off. I didn't know if that was a unique Z or whether he was just flogging it? Thanks, Charles PS Maybe one day I will make some time and try to get out on Road Atlanta. Thanks probably my closest road course...

Got my new Griots Garage catalog in the mail today. Good looking Z made the cover... http://www.griotsgarage.com/text/content/havingfun/aoccHB328.html Very custom car, lots of time and effort, nicely done, thought I would share. Might be a member. Don't know Charles

Zed Head I took your testing method and set up a bench test. Battery with jumper cables Pos on battery to Pos coil; neg on coil. Hold coil wire near neg post and tap neg jumper cable to post. All of my coils sparked. Some pretty weak but all of them would spark. I did it in the dark in my shop. I couldn't hear the spark but could see it. So I figure the problem is in the dizzy. I pulled a coil and dizzy out of a 1982 280zx this past week. Did the ZX upgrade. It was very easy, almost plug and play. With a little starter fluid and tinkering, I got it to run again :laugh: Just have to set timing now... That is so great!!! Thanks, for all the help from the forum members... Charles

Zed Head When you tested straight off the battery was this a bench setup or in the car? It sounds like you grounded the coil wire back to the battery terminal also. Is that correct? Is there any problem with feeding the stepped up voltage back into the battery directly? Thanks, Charles

Zed Head, I will try your setup in the next few days and see what I get on all the coils. Thanks for the help Charles

Bump for test results Are the coils dead or just weak? I really don't understand how significant or not these resistance readings are out of spec Thanks, Charles

Make sure you will be able to build the garage. I know the registry can be very restrictive Charles

Blue, My main shop is 27x 26 inside with 10' ceilings. It is basically a basement room with a concrete ceiling. It has large steel beams that run across the shop and I have a beam trolley I can move from beam to beam. Could be used to pull chassis and engines if needed. In your case a good engine hoist or an A frame on wheels would be much better. For your part of the world good insulation would be great. The 2 feet of snow on your Z suggest a good heater would also be a must. I just picked up a closed combustion heater from Northern tool like this but I only bought a 40,000 btu http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200316365_200316365 Closed combustion so no fumes and safer for solvents, etc. I would frame the walls of your shop out of 2x6 studs with r-19 insulation and put atleast r30 overhead. If your shop is pretty well insulated it will be easier to use and if you do any painting it has to stay in the high 60's to low 70's just cure the paints. This was a problem for me this past winter. Put lots of lights up. I have 2 tube t-8 flourescents in my shop. I believe I have 18 2 tube units. It is nice and bright and makes work much easier. I have outlets spaced every 3-4' all the way around the walls. So I can plug in tools or lights with as few cords as possible. Plan on a large air compressor eventually and pipe it into your shop. Mine is outside, but you may have to keep it inside because the oil may get too cold and freezing condesate might be a problem too, as seperate room or closet could help with damping the sound. I am piping my air in copper. The larger the better becuase it reduces water in the air because it has time to come out in the water traps. A cheaper alternative is PEX line. Don't used PVC or CPVC. When it does finally give out it makes scrapnel. The oil in the compressed air also makes it brittle. As for tie down points I thought about that, but I don't know exactly where I would want them and I wouldn't want to have them in the way all the time. One alternative would be to drill them in after the fact. Hammer drill an overly large hole and epoxy (Hilti or similar) a female threaded couplings into the slab to match the bolt holes on a say a D ring bracket. It could then be bolted to the floor when and where needed and removed when not in use (use fine thread bolts). Some of the concrete epoxies have very high tensile strength the concrete will fail before the anchor will pull out. Also cash and room to build always limits the size of your shop. I have a VW in the corner buried under parts and 2 cars fully disassembled. My shop at this point is not nearly big enough for that. So bigger is better if you can afford it. Shelves, cabinets and tool boxes also help alot. I have bought some and built some. Some place dry and relatively warm in which to do major projects make them much more enjoyable. As well as the neccessary things that need to be done when its cold outside and hitting your hands hurts. :tapemouth:cry: Hope that helps, Charles

Haven't tried straight to battery yet, but did use the voltmeter today. MSD coil should have .7 Ohms on primary coil 4.5K ohms on secondary and ballast @ .8 Ohms Tested out as .9 Ohms on primary coil 4.38K Ohms on secondary and 1.0 Ohms on ballast 240 coil 1.5 to 1.7 Ohms on primary 9.5-11.6K on secondary tested as 1.6 Ohms on primary and 8.17k Ohms on secondary Mystery coil (looks alot like a 240z coil; similar size and bracket) tested as 3.6 on primary 7.58k on secondary Are these all toast? I don't really want to buy a new dizzy or coil. If I need parts I will probably do the 280ZX dizzy upgrade to eliminate the points and the ballast resistor although it will be hardersince I don't currently have a functioning ignition system. Thanks, Charles

I have found the primary and secondary resistance readings for the MSD coil I have and the 240z coil I have. I need the resistance readings for the 280z, 280ZX and 280ZX turbo coil. I don't know what the third coil I have is from... I found the FSM's on Xenon but I didn't want to have to try to download and get them unzipped. If someone has that info close at hand, that would be great. Thanks, Charles

Zed Head That is what I did coil wire in coil with the metal tip near a suitable ground; tap the negative lead to ground, no spark. I could see the circuit being made on one of the coil but no spark. 5th I'll pass on that one. I have been bit by a coil once and am not interested again. Admittedly it was a GM hei and not a 240z coil... I guess I could put a plug in the coil wire and put the strap to ground to make sure there is not too much gap. Charles

When I tried a seperate ground wire for testing the coils it was the only wire coming off the "-" terminal. On one coil when I touched it to ground you could see sparking as the test lead went to ground, but the coil still didn,t fire. I thought about the switch but I have good power at the coil and I have done all of my testing lately in the Acc position. I'm kind of stumped. I don't want to just throw parts at it before I am pretty sure of the problem. Charles