dmorales-bello

Congratulations on all counts. I'm glad you've kept your Z.

Fantastic job with the wiring. Definitely an improvement over the old one.

Can you tell us a bit about that front valance and grill mod? Looks really interesting and unique. +1 on that stretched scooter. Cool baby, yeah!

Very unfortunate news and I will include you in my prayers. I went through one hell of a scare last year when a tumor marker in my routine blood work came back 3 times over normal limits. Had to go through a full month of very intense testing (more blood work, 2 full body MRIs, endoscopy, and a sh-t load more) until they were able to rule out pretty much all the bad stuff. There's still a very remote possibility that something else might show up in the future so I have to stay vigilant. At that point my Z car became my best therapy. Working on it when I could and dealing with the issues that arose kept me away from dwelling on all the negative thoughts that otherwise went through my mind continuously associated with the possible diagnosis. I know everybody is a little different but perhaps you shouldn't get rid of your Z. Maybe it's there to help you through this rough patch as you receive whatever treatment is needed to cure or manage this disease. You're in the best place in the world for medical treatment. Your chances at beating cancer are better than they've been in history and the way you approach it mentally will influence the outcome. Hang in there pal, best of luck and don't sell your Z.

"I have had wonderful experiences with MSA and this transaction was no different. What are your thoughts on Black Dragon and Harrington? " My experiences with MSA have generally been very good but there are occasions when the same item can be purchased from Black Dragon for considerably less mulah. I don't know who manufactures the bumpers for MSA (perhaps you can enlighten us from what's written on your boxes) or Black Dragon. They might share manufacturers so quality might be the same (maybe someone here can chime in). Both companies charge $350 for the rear and $350 for the front plus shipping cost (about $800 total cost). Harrington's bumpers are polished SS steel (not chrome plated steel) made in Vietnam and generally have very good reviews with few exceptions. They actually seem to have improved their quality lately according to some reviews but they cost $1,084 including shipping from Vietnam. There are several threads that compare polished SS and chrome plated steel so I won't get into that. I think the question that remains is in relation to the MSA and Black Dragon bumpers: Are they the same or is there a difference in quality?

You ca get an LED panel from "Datsun 240Z Electrical Upgrades" that will do a great job with the map light. Here are some pics from his site and the link: http://datsun-240z-upgrades.net/what-s-new/ 260Z / 280Z LED Map Light plates *NEW* 260Z/280Z LED Map Light $25 Introducing the new LED map Light for the S30 that replaces the standard bulb in the "Flip Down Style" Map Light housing on the 260Z and 280Z's. It has 9 High Flux Super Bright LED's on a flat plate that sits inside the Flip Down Map Light assembly. This style Maximizes the amount of light you can get out of your map light, for easier viewing inside the S30's seating area. The Kit comes with the 9 LED plate, correct blade style bulb adaptor with 2-pin connector. It also comes with the instructions for an easy step by step install. The pictures below show the Before and after the LED Plate. These are WAY brighter and have more of a "Flood" pattern than any other LED bulbs sold by other websites. The LED bulb inserts from other sellers are simple but not nearly as bright and hardly worth the price they charge, versus my products.

Congrats Chas! Looking great. Looking forward to getting mine.

This comes from an aviation forum: "The use of blue green lighting, however, has several benefits. Blue-green light falls naturally on the retinal wall and allows the eye to focus easily on maps, approach plates, and instruments; blue-green lighting results in less eye fatigue. In addition, the intensity necessary for blue-green lighting is less than that for red lighting and results in a decreased infrared signature as well as less glare. When blue-green lighting is used properly, the decrease in light intensity and the ease of focusing make it more effective for night vision." And this comes from a forum on night vision: "Conclusions: No matter what your color choice it must be fully adjustable for intensity. If you need the fastest dark adaptation recovery and can adjust to the limitations, or everyone in your group is using night vision equipment then blue-green. If you must see detail (reading a star chart, or instrument settings) and can lose peripheral vision (see note 1), then a very long wavelength red at a very low level. Red really only has an advantage at very low levels (were the night blind spot is very obvious). A general walking around light so that you don't trip over the tripod, knock over equipment or bump into people, then blue-green with enough red added to get rid of the night blind spot, or maybe just use white. Blue-green at higher brightness also works very well and at a lower intensity than white. If you need to see color and detail then likely the best choice is the dimmest white light for the shortest amount of time. If you are in the military you must follow their rules; hopefully they will have a good course in unassisted night vision. If you are a pilot and say you only fly in the day, you should be aware of the problems of night vision and should consider a basic (ground) course in night flying. If you wonder why no one else has drawn these conclusions look at the dashboard of most cars. The markings are large, the pointers are large and an orange-red (a compromise, for certain "color blind" persons) and at night it is edge lit with blue-green filtered fully intensity adjustable light." It seems like blue/green lighting with adjustable intensity would be the best color for dash instrument illumination.

Im in for a set Chas. I sent pm to you yesterday.

My '78 280Z

OK, so I guess it's only the AC/heater control panel bulb that's involved in preserving partial dimmer function. The glovebox light is not dimmable.

I kept several OEM incandescent bulbs in the dash (high beam indicators, turn signals indicators, brake ,AC/heater panel, etc.) and that allows me to have some control of the LED instrument illumination with the stock knob. The exact degree of illumination control is difficult to quantify but when going from full brightness, if I turn the knob all the way counterclockwise (minimal intensity) I roughly decrease intensity by about 50%. They never go off completely but by no means do they stay at full brightness. Since doing the dimmer control conversion isn't that easy a job (pulling the stock one, sourcing the new one, modifying the stock one and reassembly into the dash) maybe some people might consider leaving a few of the original bulbs in the places mentioned where LEDs won't make any difference and still preserve about 50% of the stock dimmer function and save a bit of time and trouble. Just saying........ Now, if Captain Obvious sells the modded dimmers you can put me on the buyers list for sure!

I'm not too sure that's correct. White light is an improvement over natural sunlight in situations where crisp detail needs to be seen. As a surgeon I was delighted when a decade or so ago we started transitioning from extremely bright incandescent lighting in operating rooms and surgical head lights to white LEDs. The proven rationale behind that is that white LED lighting shows the true colors of tissue and makes all details pop, thus making our work easier. The intensity does have to be set correctly for the job at hand but the improvement is a quantum leap over the warm (yellowish) incandescent lights. Currently, performing surgery without my LED head light (because I forgot to charge the batteries) is a certain headache from the increased eye strain. Those are also some of the reasons many manufacturers have gone with white HID and LED auto head lights and crisp white LEDs in their instrument panels when not using TFT displays. It's really not just marketing.

TomoHawk, let's see some pics of that green lighting! Sounds like an updated version of the classic instrument look.

Siteunseen: big thank you. Dave

Where are these pins and bushings available?

Welcome to the clan, Joey. I've had more people stop me to tell me stories and comments when I'm driving my Z than any other car I've ever owned. This forum is a great source of knowledge and fun. Cheers

Whoa! I guess you're Greg Hassen. Pretty cool. Yes, those Fairlady tail lights are going on that orange Z. I think it'll make the car a bit more interesting and unique. I guess I'm just partial to the look of the bullet mirrors over the other choices, To me they look retro cool and in perfect scale and style with the lines of the Z.

UK made polished SS bullet mirrors. Great quality and vintage look but limited visibility. I compensated for the latter with 3.5" convex wide angle mirrors glued over the originals (driver and passenger side). Still takes a little getting used to.

The setting for my cell phone pics was set to enhance the light and "show off" the instrument LED lights. The dimmer is also set to max illumination for the pics. In reality the instrument lights are not visible to the naked eye if you have them on during day light conditions and certainly not as bright as they seem in the pics at night time, but as was said before, every individual has different preferences regarding the brightness of the instrument panel (and that's one reason for the existence of the dimmer control). Captain O: great work with the resistor on the bulb! Are you still planning on going with a PWM dimmer on your set-up along with the modified bulbs? And, yes, green LED bulbs are easily available and would help re-create the OEM lighting, IMO.

Great job on the flares. They will look factory once painted!

I did the LED swap in all the dash instruments and AC controls using 10 chip tower bulb types. I used a flat CREE panel for the glove box. I did have to remove all the green plastic domes in the instruments to allow the bulbs to fit. The resulting illumination is evenly spread over the instrument faces but the clock is not quite as bright as the others (gauge design?). I used white bulbs and the color of the light ended up having a slight bluish tint which I actually like during night driving. My dimmer knob works but the difference between minimum and maximum brightness is not as noticeable as with the incandescent bulbs. BTW, you will notice light from under the dash onto the floors. I used two white LED strips attached under the dash and connected to the instrument lighting lead to achieve the subtle so called "ambient lighting".

I finally found my source of exhaust fumes in the cabin as well: the hole through which the electric antenna drain tube exits the rear left fender! The rubber grommet had deteriorated. Replaced the grommet, sealed with with black silicone and the car stopped smelling like a muffler.