SteveJ

Rob, the OP installed a replacement fusebox from Motorsport Auto. That's why he has the newer style fuses. The issue that you have is a short to ground. It could be at the switch or in the wiring nearby. If I were to speculate, at first it wasn't a very solid contact. As the current flowed through the circuit to ground, the switch or a wire nearby started to heat up. (Think of the inside of a toaster.) Insulation melted/burned causing the smoke you saw, exposing more of the component to the ground fault. The increased contact with ground increased the current flow to the point that the fuse finally blew. If it was a door switch, replace it. If it was the switch on the dome light, replace the dome light. Be sure to inspect the wiring near the dome light or door switch for damage. If it is the door switch, verify good wiring by doing the following. 1. Remove the lightbulb from the dome light and accessory fuse. 2. With the door closed, measure resistance from the downstream side (outside) of the accessory fuse to ground (any exposed screw that goes into the body of the car will do). You should have infinite resistance. (maximum value on your meter) 3. If you have less than 1 ohm resistance, then you have a short between the fusebox and the switch to include the switch. Unplug all wires from the switch and try again. a. Be sure to mark wires to put them back the same. b. Be sure to look for any burn marks around those wires or on the body. That's another sign of a short. Someone could have left part of the connector exposed when plugging in the switch, allowing for the exposed part to touch the body. If you have infinite resistance, the switch is bad. If you still have less than 1 ohm, you have a short in the wire. 4. If you still haven't found a short, with all of the wires unplugged from the switch, test each wire on the switch to ground. 5. If you have ruled out the switch, test all of the dash harness side wires for the switch to ground. Be sure to go to the XenonS30 site and find the supplement for the 1971 FSM. It will have a lot of information on the wiring. Get to work and let us know your results.

My bad. I didn't read your quote closely enough. Have you tried contacting the Connecticut to see if they can pass on a message to Bob Sharp? You never know. He might be aware of where some are squirrelled away.

Are they in your car and yelling at you, or are the following behind you? Do you feel a vibration or hear anything? Have you tried having a friend drive your car while you follow behind to see what's going on?

While the 71 FSM isn't readily available, it would be in your best interest to download the 72 FSM and read the BR section. Here's a picture from the FSM that will answer your last question.

1. Download the FSM for the 72. 2. Read the EE section. In the first few pages, you'll see how the different harnesses connect. 3. Match the wire colors & connector types. 4. Go to town reconnecting everything.

Did you try Rockauto? They had three different suppliers for the Master Cylinder listed.

Hopefully you didn't compromise a cooling passage, too. Keep an eye on your oil and water to make sure they didn't try to mix. Also look at the spark plugs to make sure they don't show signs of problems.

Contact your local DMV office to find out.

Les Canaday lists them on his site.

I got them at the link I posted for a little over $12 and that included shipping.

For the US market, the mounts are different. I wouldn't be surprised if the Canadian market cars received the same mounts as the US cars. I know that MSA has carbon fiber replacement bumpers for the 240Zs and says that 73s require additional work. I suggest doing a search with words like bumper mount conversion 240Z.

Did you take the first set of readings with the voltmeter or your gauge (I trust a voltmeter reading more.)? Also, have you checked the accuracy of your tachometer? Those factors can influence your results. If you look at the EE section of the FSM from EE-11 to EE-23, there is a very good description of testing the electrical system and what the results should be. It even has a troubleshooting guide. If your measuring techniques are good, I would say you're a little high on the voltage. However, if you notice in the FSM, there are temperature variances for the acceptable range. The procedures the FSM has for adjusting the regulator are for a stock regulator. They won't work on a solid state regulator.

Bob, your link to the pictures was truncated.

I found the Ford retainers on eBay. I figured it was worth it to try. I'll update when I get them.

So, this is the tricky part. You need to figure out if you have a bad voltage regulator or if you have an internally regulated alternator and didn't know it. If you can rig up jumpers like the tech tip for converting to an internally regulated alternator, that can give you a quick answer. You can find details in Blue's tech tips. (Does anybody else find it ironic that Phil/Blue doesn't have a signature link to the tech tips collection? ) If the voltage behaves with the jumpers, you know that's the issue. If not, you can start suspecting the voltage regulator. Don't forget to review the FSM for more info on diagnosing this circuit. Look in the EE section.

It's probably my fault. I noticed that when I won a NISMO license plate frame at the opening, the girl wouldn't come any closer than arm's length to me. (Perhaps my wife shot the girl an evil eye, though my wife denies doing such.) The girls had no problems going up to the other prize winners that night. I must have traumatized them so that they didn't want to come back for the show.

Sometimes you just have to drop by his shop. If you can't make it on a weekday, sometimes someone is working at the shop on a Saturday. If that's the case, try early afternoon.

Dang, I forgot about loss of sensing.

There are several possible issues: 1. The gauge is not accurate. Measure with a multimeter at the battery. 2. Bad voltage regulator 3. You got the wrong ammeter and installed one that is internally regulated.

If his phone isn't working, send me a PM with your phone number, and I'll get him the info.

You might try going over to Eddie's shop and seeing if you can buy a carb from him to get you running.

Then you're probably not living too far away from Jamie, aka KAL7467. He's working on a 71 of similar vintage to yours. You might want to drop him a PM. You might want to make sure you have oil in your carbs. Don't be afraid to take off the dome and inspect the carb closely. Read the FSM on carbs. The 72 will work for that. Hopefully that will guide you to get it working.

Welcome. Consider dropping by the meetings for the Georgia Z Club. You can get the details at the link below. Eddie Radatz owns a shop that specializes in S30, S130 & Z31s, and he is a regular at the meetings. As for what to do first, I suggest taking care of the safety items: brakes, tires, body inspection for rust, etc. That way you can determine if you want to drive it or do a tear down & restore. If you want to fix it up, I suggest that you determine what you want the car to be when you finish. After that, figure out the work and parts to get there. Follow that with making a budget and comparing that to the first two. Adjust your goals if necessary. Then get the parts and start working.

I was wanting to get out there. However when they said that if you came to watch, you'd be at the track for a while, I changed my mind. It was just too dang hot out there.

Rob, FYI, the FSM for the 76 has the proper bulb types. You might have to cross-reference them online to get the modern numbers. Superbrightleds.com actually has a pretty good cross-reference.