z8987

I thonk I would look to copy the original rally size tire for the proper look. Maybe one of the forum members with more knowledge of that will chime in.

The last thing I’m going to do is destroy a 1970 z. I won’t do anything to the car that can’t be backed out. It will be a little better every time I touch it, well maybe not, but it will be preserved.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

These cars were driven pretty hard through the rally years. Even wrecked; rolled back over and run some more! I suspect a properly developed suspension and some minor chassis work would make the car fair just fine. Provided it's not abused. If you take this route, start a build thread. I would like to follow along.

This car will be destroyed just by power sliding and flying around in the dirt. Please post some pictures of the car itself as it sits. Thanks..

15 hours ago, dutchzcarguy said:

I would never do that to a 1970's car.. these early ones have/are made of, very thin steel and will bend like a banana....   Get yourself a later 280z chassis at least!

I won't off road it much.  It's a fun project.  I like the series 1.  

To be honest you haven’t given any information on what you are working with to start. These cars are a unibody design without a separate frame where it can be beefed up. Can you describe what you have at this point to work with along with pics. Thanks friend 

To be honest you haven’t given any information on what you are working with to start. These cars are a unibody design without a separate frame where it can be beefed up. Can you describe what you have at this point to work with along with pics. Thanks friend 

I'm thinking about building an off road z.  I know it's been done a lot, but I haven't found much build information, and I'm not sure where to start.  It seem to me like the suspension is the right place.  When I say off road, it will mostly be gravel and dirt.  Just for fun, not racing.  I've got the car and I want to do something different.  I don't want to do anything that can't be reversed, like cutting suspension and welding in a new one.  Any ideas?  

 Did you pull all the spark plugs first, Turn it over until you had oil pressure, and hold the throttle wide open during the test? The 140 on the fourth time around was probably because the engine was getting oil pressure.

1 hour ago, swflaz said:

If you were reading the service manual last night I can recommend some good books. Just kidding. Sounds like a good idea. Let's see where it goes. I'm not aware of a form like you are suggesting that already exists but my experience level here is not as deep as other posters.

The only reason I asked is because of the detail of some of the things I've seen here that people have created.  I pulled all my spark plugs today to replace them.  I have no idea how long they have been in there. they looked pretty good with the exception of the one in the number 1 cylinder.  It was clean, just poorly gapped, like it was dropped before it was inserted.  I did a compression test to rel-familiarize myself with my compression tester and using it on the z.  I did it cold, just to get the feel of it.  I believe it's suppose to be done hot.  I'll do it again later.  Cold the first reading on all cylinders read about 90 with the fourth reading being around 150.

I was reading the service manual last night and thought it would be a good idea to have a form to track tune-ups etc.  Has anybody created a form they use that is based on the Service Manual?

If not I'll probably make a pdf or maybe a little database for the iphone.  I'm sure a log book is enough, but I'm retired and can make something if it hasn't already been created. 

I’m waxing the z today. The first time since I’ve owned it. I noticed lots of black comes off all the rubber trim.

What’s the best thing to do to preserve all the rubber trim?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you  are still having issues with the blinkers, The wiring goes through the hazard switch. 
You might want to clean that one too. Perhaps you already have [emoji16]

I got that too. I removed the headlight relay because I noticed my blinker problems after I installed it. That of course wasn’t the problem but at least I was back to the original configuration


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There's a "Related Item".
https://www.thezstore.com/product/5031/parking-light-upgrade-harness-70-73-240z

On 9/15/2023 at 1:58 PM, Zed Head said:

You could check the switch for shorts to ground or shorts to other circuits.  If it checks out then the very small amperage of the relays probably won't bother it.  You can also check the downstream circuits for shorts also.

Which relay kits did you get?  Both the headlight circuits and the running lights can overheat.

This is the headlight relay kit i got:  https://www.thezstore.com/product/3861/headlight-relay-upgrade-harness-70-73-240z

I thought it was interesting how much gunk came out of the switch.  That's all. adds ?  I'll check out #3.  Thank you. 
 

1 minute ago, Zed Head said:

Everything is discussed in that first link I posted in #3.  The turn signal contacts get gummed up too.

Pictures of the switch internals would be much much better than dirty q-tips.  What's up with that?  I sure hope I don't start getting those e *a^ %r$ w#a&x ads again.

 

I thought it was interesting how much gunk came out of the switch.  That's all. adds ?  I'll check out #3.  Thank you. 

I cleaned it up. Lots of gunk in that little thing. Everything works well, except now my blinkers don’t work. Everything is back to its original configuration. The new relay harness is not installed. All the fuses are good. Seriously confused


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here's anothe pic that might help a bit. To [mention=19298]Zed Head[/mention]'s point, the switch on the left is the same as yours, on the right is a later design. On your switch the large gauge black wire on the senter post is headlight power in and the faded red/white heavy gauge above it is headlight power out. On the left side is the parking light circuit - solid green wire in the center is power in, the green/white wire above it is power out. The unwired posts at the bottom are for the off positions of the rockers.

Here's anothe pic that might help a bit. To [mention=19298]Zed Head[/mention]'s point, the switch on the left is the same as yours, on the right is a later design. On your switch the large gauge black wire on the senter post is headlight power in and the faded red/white heavy gauge above it is headlight power out. On the left side is the parking light circuit - solid green wire in the center is power in, the green/white wire above it is power out. The unwired posts at the bottom are for the off positions of the rockers.

After you get things put back together you should get the "Smoke replacement kit".

[emoji1787]

Just received my Headlight Relay Upgrade and the parking light upgrade.  I also opened up one of the boxes on another car that has also had previous heat issues.  It's in worse shape than this one.  This car, the one I initially start this topic about has no melting or exterior signs of heating.  Do we think the resistance is cause by this box, or the heat in the box is a symptom of another problem?    I'm a little hesitant to open this box. You can see in the picture that there is a blue and white wire across the top.  It's pretty tight. Anyway, I'm going to install the relay's and get that part done. 

The large gauge black wire on the center post is the high amperage power coming into the light switch from the fuse block, the small gauge black wire on that post is a jumper carrying power to the other side for the wiper switch. Smoke in this area says you have very high resistance either inside the switch or downstream in the wiring or at the lights. If you decide to open up the switch, I recommend you do so on a work bench topped with a soft towel. Tiny bits tend to bounce and run away on a hard surface - ask me how I know. Here's a pic of the small bits inside the switch box - rockers, tiny springs, and nylon "nubbins". You can see heavy carbon buildup on the rockers where they contact the posts on the circuit board. In the pic, one nubbin at the far right is actually melted from heat - it had to be replaced with one from a cannibalized switch.

Last night when I started the car (1970 240z #7951) I saw smoke coming from the steering column.  I went out today and opened up the column and started the car.  No smoke until I turned on the head lights.  I felt the wire heating up before it started smoking.  It's the two black wires coming out of the top of the switch.  I do have both relay harness upgrades ordered but I don't know if that's a fix for this issue.

Any ideas on how I can further investigate this.  I'm trying to trace the wired out to there termination point, it's kind of difficult, but I'm working on it.