SteveJ

You could use Chevette springs and cut them to height. That works well. I would definitely do that before going to California Datsun.

In your "want to buy" ad, I provided you with links where you could buy a proper fusible link. I advise you not to jury rig a fix. If you do not use a fusible link, you risk an electrical fire that could burn up your car.

Just note that the voltage adjustment was for the old style points voltage regulator. A solid-state voltage regulator, which is pretty much all that is available now, probably does not have any adjustment.

Um, I think that WAS your fusible link. That would not be a ground. Do not replace it with a piece of wire. http://www.zzxdatsun.com/catWiring.php https://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/12-4332

Too many ugga-duggas.

Careful, Jeff. This is a family oriented forum.

I'm not sure exactly when you are experiencing this disconnect. I can tell you that when you release the key going from START to ON, there could be a momentary drop in voltage. It's nothing for a typical ignition (electronic or mechanical) since the inertia of the engine will keep things going during that gap. It might not hurt to reach out to Haltech about that. If it is a real problem, I could guide you on a possible solution.

Here's a thought for the fill plug. Use a 3/4 to 1/2 socket reducer (https://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-47823-4-Inch-2-Inch-Reducer/dp/B000NQ4R4G) to go on the male plug. Grip the socket reducer with a pipe wrench for leverage. I would think that would be difficult to round the fill plug.

Turn off the vacuum pump and watch the vacuum gauge. If you have leaks, it shouldn't take too long for the pressure to start creeping up. I can't give a quantitative value, but I'm sure you could find some references on how far down to draw the system and how long it should be able to hold the vacuum.

I'm not sure why this came to mind after reading your post...

Unfortunately you picked the wrong time to be CDO. (I prefer having the letters in alphabetical order.) 😉

Yeah, a little later I found myself wondering how it could have gotten out of sync, since I don't recall seeing anyone describing touching the chain while doing the valve stem replacement.

Good point. It's not like electric motors have a displacement.

If you ever do this again, make sure the car is in gear and wheels are chocked before you apply the compressed air. That will keep the pistons from moving. How much PSI were you using? Someone else will have to provide guidance on the timing chain, but yeah, you're going to have to reduce tension to get the chain on. Life is a cruel teacher. You get the test first and the lesson afterward.

From Nostalgic AC, it looks to be around $1650 plus the cost for them to integrate controls.. That includes the crimping tool. You'd still need the freon and vacuum pump to draw down the system prior to adding freon. For that, find someone with a good vacuum pump. Don't rely on a HF special. Moisture in the system will degrade performance. You also want to find air leaks before you dump freon in.

@Wally, @Zed Head is correct. I'm pretty sure the ring lug is a body ground. There should be a threaded hole in the fender nearby. If you are considering re-using the AC lines, block them off. A better idea is to remove the AC stuff completely if you're not hooking it up and get a better setup when you do want AC. For the bottom photo, you need to give a wire color. In other words, pull down the protective sheath, clean the wire, and report the colors.

@Captain Obvious posted a picture in another thread recently, but here's the text version of how to do it. Black/white to the coil positive Green/white to one side of the ballast resistor Black/white to the other side of the ballast resistor Black wire from distributor to coil negative Now you saw that I mentioned black/white twice! How do you tell them apart? Make sure the car is off. Make sure the green/white wire and both black/white wires are disconnected in the engine bay. Using a multimeter, measure continuity from the green/white wire to each black/white wire. The black/white wire with continuity to the green/white wire goes to coil positive. The other black/white wire goes to the ballast resistor.

Unfortunately, it's pretty much "There ain't no such thing." The generic kits from MSA and the like are for people who can work without any instructions. With Vintage Air, it seems like you need to be lucky enough to find a dealer who will work with you. Many of their dealers are muscle car guys. If you have a good dealer nearby, you will have better success. You might want to reach out to Nostalgic AC. Their products are similar to Vintage Air. They don't rely upon a dealer network. With either Nostalgic AC or Vintage Air, you will need to piece together the system. This isn't exactly rocket surgery though. I believe Vintage Air used to have a guide on component selection. You'll need Compressor with bracket (Nostalgic AC has an L series specific bracket by the way.) Condenser (possibly with fan to keep air moving past) Drier Evaporator (Vintage Air and Nostalgic AC both have evaporators combined with defrost units. That's what I would use.) Controls (I believe that you can pay Nostalgic AC to retrofit their controls into your current control panel.) Hoses with fittings Crimping and cutting tools (for a DIY install) No matter what, you'll be installing yourself or paying someone to install.

If I was aware of them, then the problems wouldn't be unforseen. 😉 Anyway, that's part of posting a detailed plan is to see what you might be missing. I might have the bandwidth to compare your plan to the BE section of the FSM and wiring diagram, but unless I know exactly what you're thinking you need to do, I can't guess at what you overlooked. If you replace connectors on the components/dash harness, make the engine harness slightly longer to compensate for losing length where you replaced connectors. Helpful hint: After you download a PDF of the wiring diagram, go to the Autodesk website and download a copy of Design Review. Design Review is made to create drawing markups on native Autodesk DWF files, but it can also open JPG and PDF files. This would allow you to make notes on the connectors you need throughout the engine harness. If you need some guidance after downloading both, I can help you then.

Anticipate having to replace the connectors on both the harness side and the component side for many components like the headlights and front turn signals to name a couple off the top of my head. You'll have to replace all of the connectors between the engine and dash harness, unless you want to source a lot of Yazaki connectors. That's about 70 wires at that junction. You will need to pull the dash and remove the harness to change all of the terminals and connectors. Otherwise you won't have enough room to work. Don't scrimp on your stripping tools or crimping tools. Try to match wire colors with the existing wiring. You might have to clean up the wires to figure out what colors you need. I haven't found a source with a straight line for the tracer. I have only found spiral tracer. Here is one source. It may help you budget: https://www.sherco-auto.com/striped-tracer-wire.html If you have space, get 2 4x8 sheets of pegboard. Take your existing engine harness and string it up on the pegboard (zip ties and pegboard hooks). Then use the other to build the replacement harness to make it where you copy lengths. As for re-using connectors, the round ones are Yazaki. Look up Eastern Beaver as a source for those terminals. I hope you have a good budget. For the spade terminals, look up Vintage Connections. Write out a detailed plan. Post it here, but in a new thread. We can look at what you're missing. The plan should also have your budget, supplies, etc. Make sure you can afford the endeavor.

Easy night for me tonight because I'm running out of parts I need to put on before the first test drive. I installed LED bulbs on the markers and turn signals. I also had to replace the left front marker because corrosion had taken its toll on that poor lamp socket. Fortunately I already had a replacement in my parts stash. I also installed the license plate light I purchased from @jfa.series1. It looks good, Jim. I was going to install the horns today, too, but the Amazon envelope with the horns was empty when it arrived. Fortunately Amazon customer service immediately dispatched another set, so I might have them tomorrow. After I get the horn relay, elbow for the heater hose, and new tires, I will be ready for a road test. Considering how it had been off the road for 11 years, it's not bad that it's almost ready to roll in just about a month and a half.

NO! One false move, and you would be looking to pay for a replacement transmission. You want to remove the plug, not break the case. For the fill plug, find a thick 19 mm or 3/4 inch open end wrench. Use a brass hammer, deadblow hammer, or rubber mallet to hit the wrench to loosen it. If it doesn't want to turn, try turning it SLIGHTLY clockwise (tighten) and try to loosen again. Also as stated elsewhere, heat can help.

It's difficult to say because we don't know what year Z you're working on.

Tonight's goals were Drain the old coolant out of the radiator Remove the carburetor cooling lines and plug the thermostat housing Replace the generic lower radiator hose with a properly formed one This was a good thing to do. Many of the hoses for the carburetor coolant lines (and EGR) were just about rotten. I got the new lower radiator hose on, and with a lot of effort I got the hard line for the carburetor coolant lines removed. I bought a 5/8 elbow to replace the 3-way fitting, but I realized that I should have purchased a 3/4 elbow. After some sleuthing online, I found the 3/4 elbow and ordered it. The thermostat housing is plugged, and I can finish the rest after I get the elbow later this week. While I'm waiting for the plumbing, I can start installing the LEDs that should start arriving tomorrow. I want to take some load off the parking light circuit. If I'm lucky, the tires will be here before the end of the week, too. So let's set a date. I think I should be ready for a shakedown cruise in a couple of weeks.

I will say that I didn't notice anything strange about the shifter position while driving it.