MikeW

I suspect the turn signal is similar but I don't know since mine works fine. I did attempt to take apart the wiper side of the combination switch but it's a lot trickier. There's a tiny ball bearing and a small contact plate that are hard to reassemble.

My FSM (1972) doesn't even list a timing chain replacement interval. I know that timing belts in modern cars tend to be replaced at 60,000 miles but I suspect many go way over that due to owner neglect. I would think that the chain should last much longer than that.

Absolutely. I wasn't claiming that this would normally happen in the normal course of action. This is just an example of the bad results of a failure in this area.

Bingo. Here's a better shot.

I had to replace the head gasket and apparently failed to sufficiently wedge in the block of wood holding the tensioner in place. When putting things back together I had trouble getting the cam spocket back on and had to use a bit of leverage to coerce it. This apparently weakened the tensioner because a few days later while driving everything went bad in a hurry. It appears as though the tensioner broke which in turn caused the chain to slip. Keep in mind that I was a dumb teenager at the time (before helpful intenet resources) and only figured what I had done wrong after the fact.

This kind of trouble ...

I think they were all dealer add-ons. Mine were riveted on. Now they're gone.

www.midwestz.com Beware that she's gone AWOL so you might not get a prompt response.

Here's a zipped-up PDF document that will hopefully help you fix the switch. repairing 240z combination.zip

Too bad this one has a sunroof. Otherwise it looks fairly nice. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2483518450&category=6187

Obviously it would be cheaper for you to install the header yourself. If would be far easier to let them do it. Be prepared for some difficult nuts. The nuts that connect the exhaust manifold to the down pipes can be especially tricky since they're hard to get to and subject to a lot of heat. You'll probably find a lot of rust wanting to keep the nuts from turning. Do yourself a favor and soak everything thoroughly with some good penetrant well in advance.

I'm guessing a long vacation (holiday for some of you).

Well, almost 20 years ago was Jan. of 1985 and my car is a 1972 model.

My first car was a 240Z, and I still own it almost 20 years later.

There have been quite a few London Bridges in roughly the same spot over the Thames. Early versions were constructed of wood and therefore prone to fires. Apparently in the early days superstition caused people to do all sorts of crazy things to protect the bridge, including human sacrifice - hence the portion of the "London Bridge is Falling Down" nursery rhyme that references "my fair lady".

In addition to Enrique's advice, keep in mind that the radio in an early Z is quite primitive by today's standards. With it's tiny single speaker and low power even when it's operating at 100% it's really not much to listen to.

So why haven't you posted it?

Thanks for the kind words; I appreciate it. Well, you kind of have to squeeze it a bit to get it in place. I suspect this is one reason that so many of us tore them up trying to get them out. The blower fan housing and defroster vent tube get in the way. This is one reason why a rigid box would be impossible to install without completely removing the dash. Luckily the cardboard will bend enough to get it in but still return to the proper shape (perhaps with a few wrinkles).

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=10374&password=&sort=7&thecat=998 http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=10655&password=&sort=7&thecat=998 http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=333&password=&sort=7&thecat=998 http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=7055&password=&sort=7&thecat=998 http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=7466&password=&sort=7&thecat=998

Here's what mine looks like; I suspect it's the same.

Neither of these should be too hard to find: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0856962066/qid=1088033875/sr=8-7/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i7_xgl14/002-2739112-8034437?v=glance&s=books&n=507846">Haynes</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0801978513/qid=1088034069/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-2739112-8034437?v=glance&s=books&n=507846">Chilton's</a>

I personally shipped my dash pad to Australia to Dashboard Restorations. It's a whole lot cheaper than a new OEM dash which I would be worried about. After all, they're 30+ years old and we all know that the vinyl was inferior. Even if it's been out of the sun in a box in a warehouse I'd still be worried about it cracking in a few years. Now that DR has a US location it's an even better deal.

http://www.midwestz.com/Z_Interior.htm

To those interested in dimensions: I will try to come up with a way of providing something electronic. Others has asked about this and the problem is that it's not easy to go from a paper template (which is what Andrew sent me) to a measured drawing of some sort. There are a lot of precise angles and cuts and few right angles. I may be able to provide something based on a coordinate system but a small error could cause problems. I think anyone who wants to go the route of producing their own will quickly find that it's a lot of work. What at first seems like a simple exercise of cutting and stapling cardboard turns into several hours of work and possibly a few false starts. You'll need to find the proper materials and likely buy some tools to make it easier. Based on prices on the US postal service web page, I can ship the 1 pound box to the UK for $8.70 and Australia for $9.70.

I've made 8 boxes for the people who've asked for them so far but I'm waiting on a special order of speed nuts (the metal clips where the glovebox attaches to the dash) from the local hardware store before I can send them out. They didn't have enough in stock and I didn't want to send out the PayPal money requests until I was ready to ship. I definitely plan on keeping the templates and jigs so that I can make more gloveboxes in the future. At this point I've spent over $100 on supplies and tools so if I ever want to break even on this little project I'll have to make some more. I did, however, install the prototype box in my car and it's cool to have a glovebox for the first time in almost 20 years.