Jughead

Update: I turned the linkage 180 degrees where it connects to the motor "drive shaft". All good now. (Duh!) Thanks all!

Hi all, I've reinstalled my wiper motor & linkage after cleaning & rust proofing the area under the cowel on my '72 240Z. But now my wipers are turning backwards! When I turn them on, they begin with a counter-clockwise rotation (when view from the front bumper). They want to wipe the cowel. Has anyone run into this? I figure that I either assembled the linkage in correctly, or switched the polarity somehow... huh. Any other hypotheses, sage advice? Thanks as always!

It's a street car/driver. So OEM bushings? Anything else I'll run into but forgot to ask? Thanks all - luv you guys!

Hi I have a old pair of Minilites that I'd like to refurbish. They're dull and corroded. What are my options? Pros & Cons? Someone told me I should paint them...Really?!?! Can't I polish? Here are some pics...Please lemmee know your thought y'all! Thanks! Jughead

Zedheads, Trying to wrap my mind around the next phase of my project which is a suspension/steering rebuild. Lot's of old, disintegrating bushings. Not sure where to start/how to approach, so figured I'd reach out for advice. Specifically: Both front and back ends need TLC. Does it matter which end I start with? Which is easier? ? What are the biggest "gotchas"? What's gonna make me want to cry? What else should I do while in there? (diff mounts, engine mounts, wheel bearings, etc.) What are the pros/cons of using OEM versus Poly bushings? Any product recommendations What are the best struts to use? For the front end, is it worth it to drop the whole suspension assembly (cross members)? If so, how does one support the engine? Same question for reinstall. For the rear end... ...is it really best practice to BURN the moustache bushings out, rather than pressing them out? ...is it worth it to drop the whole assembly (diff, drive shafts) as one? Same question for reinstall. ...what's the best mounting option for the front diff Any other insight, advice, tips, warnings, heads-ups, best practices mush approeciated!

Duh - Of course...thanks!!

Zed Heads, Anyone recognize these? Pretty sure they're shims. Door latch, maybe? (I hate having left-over parts!) Thnx, jughead

I'll be the first to say it: I would SERIOUSLY reconsider restoring this car. I'm 1/2 way thru restoring a '72 240 myself, including replacing floor pans, rockers, dog legs, hatch area, spare tire area. & front fenders. I'm doing all the work myself and am very familiar with with you're up against. Based on your pics, your car is in much worse shape than mine was when I started. This is will be very labor intensive work and it will cost well over $8K to have someone do a decent job. My advice: Cut your losses. Find a decent, relatively rust-free project car for ~ $5K and restart from there. Sorry to be the one to tell you this. Good luck! Jughead

ZedHeads, Whats the best way to install the "DATSUN" fender emblems. I juts got my new one and want to make I do it right the first time. Is it as simple as pushoing the posts thu the holes until the lock washers engage? Glue recommended? Anything else? THANKS!!!!

Both. I've received the rubber and it looks good. Anyone know how best to attached the rubber to the chrome piece?

@jfa.series1: I don't understand how pop rivets work. Don't they get in the way when you put the chrome piece back on the door?

ZCARSOURCE has them as of 5/29/2019.

I wonder how much metal I'd have to grind off to see a difference.

@Patcon: I wasn't able to find the thread by searching. Could you help with a link or search string, etc? Thanks!

Hmm...interesting. Thanks. I'll keep this option in mind during final assembly.

I just looked at your cars. If that gap is good enough for you, it's good enough for me. Are your gap pics from a new project?

@grannyknot: Thanks for the reply! The gap under your door looks identical to mine. IS that normal? Is the rocker panel in your pic original or a tabco part? The reason I believe I have an issue is that the door gap on the passenger side is about 1/2 of that on the driver side. (I haven't worked on the passenger side yet.) P.S. The lower hinge in my picture has a sharpie mark around the base which looks like shadow. It does sit flat against the A Pillar.

@Strat067: Did you end up modifying your tabco rocker panel? Any lessons learned or advice on how to deal with the gap between the lower edge of the door and the rocker? Anyone? Tabco and Motorsport both say they sell hundreds of them a year and they never get complaints on the replacement rocker panels, I'm trying to reconcile that with the comments in this forum that say that the panels don't fit. At this point I honestly don't know what/who to believe. Any help/insight appreciated! (Patcon: The gap between the door bottom and the rocker is consistent from the front of the door to the back. And you're right - the fender-door gap needs to be adjusted too.)

@Strat067: I trial fit my Tabco Rocker panel this weekend and I seem to have the same issue. Crap. What did you end up doing on your car? Did you modify the Tabco panel, or use bondo, or both? If you modified the Tabco panel, where did you cut where did you add metal? I need a plan and I'm fresh out of ideas! Somehow the "A" edge (see drawing below) needs to extend outward another ~ 5/16". (Thanks in advance.) For the record: I bought my panel directly from Tabco in the fall of 2018. They assured me on the phone that they’d “...been selling them for many years and never had any issues…” Yeah, Right.

I posted asking this exact question about 9 month ago. It's doable, but it takes patience and practice. Once you figure it out, you'll wonder what the fuss was all about. I still put a thin sheet of flexible plastic against the wall. I use the white plastic wall covering at Lowes - comes in 4' X 8' sheets. It's super handing stuff.

Ahh Hah! Thanks! Does anybody need 'em?

Can anyone help me identify these body panels? See pics. They came with my Z, which included several other Z panels. I haven't been able ot figure out where they go. Are they even from a Z?!? I'd hate to just scrap them if someone can use them... Thanks much!

I went to WESCO and got their "Mexican Orange". Matches great!

Anybody else have info? (Thnx Patcon)

It looks like (A) is flat except on the left side. Is that true? Or i it shaped more like (B)?