cgsheen1

Uh, does that S30 have a Lycoming? 😲

Excellent! Thank You! (I also kinda wonder why they sometimes include "hidden" wiring - I should say unused - in schematics and sometimes leave it out. Case in point: They never show the unused 2-pin connector or wiring (B/W & G) under the center console on the 240Z models that is there for an electric fuel pump leading to the wiring and connector bundled with the fuel tank sensor wiring. SO, many people are never aware of it's existence. But they'll usually show the unused Fog Lamp wiring... I know a lot of people who wanted or needed to add an electric fuel pump - especially with the mechanical fuel pump debacle we went through - and had no idea the wiring was already there. I've added a few impact sensors and e-pumps to 240Z's in Phoenix.)

I've used 1/8" - 3/4". Mostly 3/8". Whatever you need to fit the wire bundle you're sheathing. I like to keep it tight as possible.

The only real difference is the weave. Some is tight and thick, some is a much looser weave and it's really just personal choice. I've used both but I prefer the tighter weave - more opaque looks more substantial but it is no easier to keep clean. Keep in mind that I daily drive my car in Phoenix Arizona so the dust and grime probably accumulates a bit quicker for me than many other Z drivers. Years ago when I first looked for sheath it was "Tech Flex (F6 or something like that)" - no idea if that's still available. Now I'm building a new engine harness for my L28ET and I'm using RayChem.

These don't have a "reverse adjuster" like some American cars did. The adjustment is completely either manual or through the action of the parking brake. The parking brake will only move the "star" slightly so if it's way out of adjustment you'll be pulling the hand brake forever. And that's IF you have all that properly installed in the rear brakes. I've seen some that the arm doesn't properly engage with the adjuster. Or, one or the other are worn so that the arm won't actually turn the adjuster wheel. I get the rears close by manually adjusting then finish up with the parking brake.

I've used the braided split loom in my engine bay. No problems with heat, but it does collect dirt and grime over time and can't simply be wiped off - much like the corrugated plastic you have now. It looks a lot better though...

Agree, and the R/L is illumination and a male bullet on the radio makes sense as the harness side would have voltage with gauge lighting on. So in the FSM diagram above they show those four wires in a single connector. I'm going to check the 240Z in my driveway. edit: nope. The Z I have is a friends 11/72 that I'm doing some electrical work on. The harness radio connector(s) apparently destroyed by radio installers in the past. It has the 3-pin at the harness for power and speaker - only the power is attached as he now has STEREO! So that's no help. Not a shock as most radio installations have been butchered over the years to get better tunes... Interesting that the 1970 FSM Body Electrical shows a 4-pin connector for the radio and every other 240Z FSM shows the 3-pin pictured above and a separate lighting connector - including the 1971 Supplement.

Here's the dash end of a U.S. Series One body harness (8/70). The two wires for power antenna and speaker wires are in the same 4-pin connector. Unfortunately I don't have the dash harness so I can't positively identify the harness to radio connection. The other end has a female bullet on the W and a male bullet on the W/B for the speaker connection.

To actually answer your original question: I've seen many technicians successfully use hydrocarbon sniffers to detect leaks on HVAC installs and on natural gas systems (even automotive A/C). (As a journeyman plumber, I just used "soap" type leak detector on pressurized piping) Most don't use them for gasoline specifically but it should work just as well - a hydrocarbon is a hydrocarbon. Let us know what you find - mine drove me crazy for months.

It's a pain (well, certainly can be), but I typically use the gauge adjustment ports of the back of the gauge to alter needle position.

Speaker wire should be a W and a W/B thru dash harness to body harness to left rear just slightly shorter than the antenna wiring. In the 240's I've seen (taken apart) they are in the 4-pin at the back of the radio with the power wire, but I don't remember if I've seen that connector on a Series One specifically. (and I've always wondered why they label the blower motor "cooler"... I mean, ya, it can be used as a vent but I would hazard that mostly it's used as a heater... Just sayin') Oh, Very nice schematic! except for the speaker wire... and it needs a speaker icon... but only one...

Evap tank? I was getting a slight raw fuel smell in the cabin when I left Goldie in the garage overnight with windows up. Took me awhile but finally discovered a crack in the plastic fitting (nipple, but we're not allowed to say that anymore...) that connected the evap tank hose to the fuel filler neck. Also wondered about the seal of the filler neck to the body under the gas cap fitting. There are a number of hoses and fittings associated with the fuel tank and the evap tank that could be suspect. (And many of them are in the cabin) I've also seen the solder cracked on the tubing attached to the evap tank (as well as the fuel tank). The metal tubing that the hoses are attached to is all soldered to the body of tank(s) to mount and provide a seal.

Yup, just adhesive-one-side closed cell foam weatherstrip about 3/4" thick and 3/4" wide. (otherwise you could adhere it with contact cement) It need not be stiff - you don't want it to put pressure on the fender sheet metal, just fill the gap.

I never use the entire patch panel. I've never seen a dogleg that rusted up that far. (okay, I'm in Phoenix - but we get (or got) quite a few California cars too...) I agree that Tabco's kinda suck. But I cut them just below the indent an inch and keep the stock bodyline above that. At least with Tabco, it's that part that mates (and looks) the worst. Then the weld is below that body line and on a nice "flat" surface...

I heard a lot of "stock brakes are just fine - even if you autocross!" when I first got my 260Z on the road (2008). Then I signed up for a NASA weekend at Firebird Raceway here in Phoenix. My stock brakes were done before the first day ended. (ya, ya, I did need to learn better brake management...) . That prompted my first front brake upgrade: Stock rotors with Toyota 4-piston calipers. Hardly noticed the difference. Small improvement. Disappointed, I then went to the vented front rotor / Toyota wide 4-piston caliper. BIG improvement. Then I installed better friction, more $$ than ceramic, but LARGE improvement with Porterfield pads and shoes. The Porterfields (like many sport or race frictions) were better than stock "cold" (around town) and got really grippy once you got some heat in them. Loved that setup cuz: A. I daily drive. In Phoenix. Not quite as bad as SoCal, but close. 2. Not many people realize how much mountain driving you can do in Arizona - and I do as much as I can. My 260Z Turbo is an uphill beast - the torque of this engine is awesome. But what goes up must come down. My first curvy hilly trip, I came back into Tortilla Flat with a huge smile because my brakes were better at the bottom of the hill than at the top and believe me I used them both ways. My fronts just met end-of-life and I had to replace the pads and rotors after 10 years of driving on them. But, ya, still using my Brembo drums in the rear.

Remember that the FPR should maintain a 36.3 PSI difference (balance) between the fuel pressure and manifold pressure. Your manifold pressure (vacuum) is lower at idle and under low load so fuel pressure is that much lower than 36.3 PSI. (at 10 PSI of vacuum the FPR should be maintaining about 26.3 PSI on the fuel) At heavy load the manifold pressure decreases, so to balance, the fuel pressure increases. (so, at 1 or 2 PSI vacuum, the FPR should be keeping fuel pressure at 35.3 or 34.3 ish respectively) Once you go to a positive manifold pressure (boost) the FPR should add that positive value to the fuel pressure. Ask me how I know. 🤭 This may not apply but it's always something to consider. A long time ago as an apprentice plumber I learned about fluid pressure and rate of flow. Two pipes: 1/8" and 1/2" - they can have the same fluid pressure applied, but the 1/2" pipe will always be able to deliver a higher volume of fluid. This may apply IF there is an unseen obstruction inside the fuel pipe or tubing. Pressure may read at an appropriate value but the system may not be able to deliver the volume needed at certain times. The pressure will only show a decrease when the demand outstrips the ability to supply. (this happened to me as my fuel supply hardline was over 1/2 plugged with corrosion inside at a point near the firewall - difficult to diagnose and pinpoint)

Leather? Stich - the auto upholstery guy a few doors down from our shop in Tempe could have reproduced those but I think he's retired to Bisbee...

IF you powered the coil direct from the battery THEN you literally removed both the ignition switch and the tachometer from the circuit (thus from the equation). (to be clear: removed the B/W wire from the "+" side of the coil, replaced that with a wire direct to battery positive for a short period WHILE TESTING only) The problem is then isolated between the "+" pole of the coil -> to the distributor (and it's connection to the block which is where it gets it's ground connection).

Exactly. I'm not quite 1925 old. That was my Dad. I was raised in the 1950's and 60's... 2 cents is what we got for each pop bottle we found on the roadside and turned in at the store. A little collecting and you got a pretty good stash of penny candy - or even a candy bar for a nickel...

I'm old. When I was a kid we could get 4 hamburgers for a dollar. Ever heard of "penny candy"? We used to buy it... Between then and now my "2 to 45 cents" is probably way wrong...😉

Sorry, not sorry, this doesn't make any sense. Both the roof skin AND quarter skin are very desirable pieces off a donor car. And you don't need to sacrifice one to get the other. "A" pillar, cut anywhere. "C" pillar, or whatever you want to call it, cut at the joint between the roof skin and the quarter skin! It's easiest if you melt the body lead out with a torch. Propane will do - it'll even melt with a heat gun. Then you can see the actual joint. When you have the skins separated it's easy to see how to transplant them to another Z. Unless one is trashed, save both. Just my 45 cents... (inflation)

Every roof skin that I've melted the lead out of has had a weld - not spot weld - under the lead. The roof skin has been bead welded to the quarter skin (and probably whatever else is there also). But, cut it at the weld and it gets re-welded when it's replaced. That's too bad about the rust damage at the windshield. It looks like a nice skin otherwise. Oh, and yes - the body lead is at that junction that shows on the hatch. With a little heat it will become evident. There's also lead on the A pillar in various places.

The coil only gets battery voltage at when the key is turned to the ON position, correct? No voltage otherwise? (The B/W wire(s) on a Datsun should have battery voltage while IGN ON - otherwise zero voltage) This is a fairly simple circuit (considering they looped back the battery voltage feed for the coil from the ballast to the Tach and then to the coil). A couple of things: It's a coil. So when it has battery voltage on the "+" pole, it also has battery voltage on the "-" pole. Which if you connect that (the "-" pole) to one side of the points, it also has battery voltage there. The coil is "fired" by very very very briefly connecting that pole to ground. Check your ground circuit from the distributor to the points, through the points, and through the wire to the coil (removed from the coil for the check). Also check that the points actually break the connection to ground. My final thought is your point gap which at .50mm is at the upper end of the ".40mm - .50mm" spec. - You might try reducing that to mid-range and see if that makes a difference. I vaguely remember back in the mid-70's that I had to buy a dwell meter and learn how to use it for my stinking Ford 351 Windsor engine which I had to tune every three months. Just one reason that once they invented EFI I never went back to a carbed and/or points vehicle... Wait. You get one spark when the ignition is turned to ON? Doesn't that mean the coil "-" is getting a ground right at that moment? Where is it getting the ground? Are the points closed at that time? Perhaps you should check the coil sparking by manually creating the spark condition.

Don't fixate on the condenser. In fact, remove it until you get your spark problem sorted. It's job is to help eliminate radio noise, not make the coil spark... But, you can see from the above schematic that a bad condenser can permanently or randomly GROUND the coil thereby negating the operation of the points. You don't need it (you may want it, but you don't need it...). If you remove it while troubleshooting, it's one less variable. (thanks for the comments and correction - edited the above to make a bit more sense)

We saw quite a few Z's here in Arizona (and coming from California) that previous owners had "sun roofs" installed during that era when they were a thing. After 20 or 30 years the "sun roof" leaked - and no replacement parts. So we did a few roof skin transplants from donor Z's. If you remove the roof with the underneath skeleton intact you can drill the spotwelds on the donor from the bottom (drill the underneath skeleton to separate the skin - thus leaving the donor skin mostly unharmed. Drill the damaged skin (or skin to be replaced) from the top thus leaving the roof skeleton intact on the project car. Cutting at the junction between roof skin and quarter skin is fairly simple once you remove the body lead (melt the body lead out) that covers this junction. And it's a great place for your weld when installing the donor skin since it's going to be covered with fill. With the A pillar, the replacement skin will only require a small weld that's easily ground down and smoothed in - if you remove just the damaged skin (or skin to be replaced) and leave the skeleton and pillars intact on the project car. My advice is to remove the roof so it can be used as a donor in this manner. Plus it leaves the quarter panels intact.