Daniel

That would be Cherry point in Havelock.Its still the beach.No I'm in Charlotte North carolina

Marty ,Morehead is a beach.Of course we know about Z's and salt.I do have a friend there..If you meant Charlotte NORTH car. I would be happy to look for you.You may have meant charleston south.

Somewhat trail&error but notice the two stops that determine the travel limits for the arm.When the adjustment screw is used it will then change the travel on the contact patch therefore changing the resistance sent to the gauge.Look at the unit and it will make sense.By putting a ground to the sending unit housing you can move it by hand to see what it reads.Once the arm is against the "Full" stop it cant go anyfuther.Same with the empty stop.Use the adjustment to vary resistance to make the gauge read correctly.

As the float goes up there is a contact that rides up with it.A visual of your new unit will be obvious.Mine showed over so I moved my arm down.That meant the contact did not travel as far up and gave it more down travel.See what you get with a full up and then down gauge reading.Odds are your old unit just needs cleaning up.Oh yeah I put a little vaseline on the rubber doughnut gasket so it would not bind and tear when reinstalling the unit

I don't know what kroil is.I like liquid wrench.Since you have the time I would soak it often before tearing stuff.BIG TIP! When you replace the sending unit note the small adjustment screw on the float arm.If you just put it in as I did you will most likely have to remove it as I did to adjust it.Mine was empty at 1/4 tank and showed 1/4 passed F when full before adjustment.I used small female electrical connectors to slide on the sending unit post.Then covered with silicone for weatherproofing.

I fought a similar demon.I also had resistance putting the car in first.Mine was a worn out clutch.Make sure your slave cylinder is giving a full push as it could be weak.It could just use a good bleeding.To test the syncro go from first to neutral and let the clutch out then push it back in and go to second.Thats called double clutching.The old days there were no syncros and thats how you shifted without grind.

Why is it that we never hear about ---I was cleaning the connectors on my 30 + year old wiring harness------We hear--- this doesn't work --.If you can touch a factory connector ,unplug it in and out again and again,shine is fine.The wire won't fail it will be at a connection point.How many times have you overlooked the opportunity during a rebuild?

While you're there----Just twisting the other lamp sockets will scrub a fresh ground path.Myself,I would do that then install new bulbs.Of course the battery is disconnected.The Alt. Gauge nut and washers are brass and therefore oxidize.At a minimum I would GENTLY!!!! See if they would accept a little snuging down.Remember you are using the gauge post as the focal point for the pressure your wrench applies. Don't hurt the Gauge!

U joint is the first choice.Then I would check all rear and front rubber bushings.Remember the right rear is the torque wheel.That power shifts things more than we realize.I assume you are not thin enough to look under the car without jacking it up.That changes everything when you do.Myself,If a visual inspection failed I would spray wd/silcone whatever on all misc. moving areas a little at a time until I had a change. .Go Fish!!

What is the status of the motor as is?Who knows a few owners ago may have rebuilt it or taken good care of it. I would do a compression check on what you have before I start throwing wrenches and dollars at it.You may be better off than you know.As you know those engines last a long time.As a mechanic friend of mine says"Be darn sure before you open that can of worms"

Carl,I vote OEM any chance you get.That list gets smaller each day.When the day comes I have no option but to settle for "other" then that decision will have been made for me.I'm like you weekender street.I alway rib my "datsun dealer" guys by saying, Man you buy a new car and 30 YEARS later you need replacement parts!Can't you make one that will last?

Most all your rental store have a lift for rent.It hooks to a trailer hitch for transport.There not expensive.Also you may look for some wooden pallets to set it on.You can nail support to them as well as the straps.

The standard 240 problem is the white wire although it looks good in that multi connector that the VR attaches is not making good connection.For a test you could run a jumper around the multi-connector.If not the trouble,I would replace the vr.You're in the right area.

Odds are its not pressure holding them locked.More like rust.Spray the front disc with liquid wrench.With the wheel off the ground wiggle the tire.Spray into the rear drums also.Bang them with a hammer.Make sure the emer.cable isn't frozen in lock position.You can put a long pipe on a lug/socket and get good leverage to try to crack them loose.I've had plenty I had to just drag a while to break them loose.

Doehring,I certainly understand the insurance concerns.In the U.S. the first thing the insurance companies try to do is find a way NOT to pay.It's not hard to believe yours is any different.I sure would want to be sure that "official agreement "was as solid an agreement as you had before you made the brake change.Loopholes can bite !!

A little more food for thought Kmack.If you find a suitable bone yard relay not only is it low cost but,Should the day come you need a replacement ,myself I would prefer finding a NAPA type store and ask for a relay for only example: 80-87 chevy truck than trying to track down a radioshack #OUaintGOT 1.Don't create a future problem.There will be enough of those!!

I would think about putting a set of rings in the 240 engine.That would buy you time and you get a chance to develop your skills at Z rebuild.I've seen the oil pan dropped from the car and with the head removed install rings with the engine in the car.I would guess the 240 could be done like that .In the end its cheaper practice than blowing an all fresh 280 engine and you get a taste of the tools required.

Just something to consider.The z use two seperate circuits and a non-shared fuse for each headlight.Think about if the relay goes bad or a stone hit knocks out a headlamp and blows a fuse.You don't want to suddenly be in the dark at 60 mph!!Also some relays are made for intermit duty not continous duty.I would think the bone yard is full of relays that would work.Also we say the car is 12v but somewhere around 14+/- would be more correct.As far as switches go ever notice the car makers put the switch on the ground side?That gives more life to the switch as putting it between the positive and the "load' puts more strain on the contacts.Thats why all your gauges work from a ground.Even your points switch the coil on the neg side.

The haynes 240 manual gives a good explanation.It is for emissions.The potiental "gotcha"is that it shows a temp sensor that triggers a relay to decide which point will be the active set(one is advanced the other retarded)I have no doubt that a single can be installed I just don't know if the sensor /relay needs to be worked around.

Great!! Glad you're fixed. Notice that the problem was within the "human hands can touch it"area.Seems they did huh?

First let me say excellent excellent effort!!You have a good line of thought going there.I would suggest a couple of things.First go to the lights that dont work and find out why.That needs repair anyway and may be your demon.If not remove all the bulbs and see if it pops with no load.Those sockets could use cleaning and wd40'ed so it 's not a waste of time.I have seen bulbs look good but short.I wouldn't worry about the dash bulbs until last resort.Also remember your headlight hi'lo switch is in this mess also.How does it feel and look.If no blow with the bulbs out reinstall a couple at a time to test.Your doing great! Most of the problems with ANYTHING broken will be found where human hands were able to touch it.Always try those first.

Once the spring breaks and the shoes seperate and the part in your wheel cylinder that has the adjuster will fall out into the drum.When it happened to me it made the cluck until it locked the wheel because it was jammed.If your wheel is turning free that doesn't sound like it.Does the clutch act OK? Does the car bog down when you let the clutch out?Do the brakes fell correct?If they came apart they will blow the piston from the wheel cyl and you'll have brake fluid leaking from the wheel,not to mention poor brakes.

Usually a broken axle will make the wheel sit funny.You may have just snapped a spring in your brakes that is jamming up the drum.If you jack the car from the middle and turn the wheel the other should move also.That would test your axle.

I have a friend that used the box liner from a early maxima.It was plastic and had easy snaps to collapse it for in and out for gauge access.I don't recall the year.sorry.He said install was simple.I dont think it took much modifying if any.

How about jacking up your car.Place the "tents "between 2 boards(a top and a bottom,bumper sandwich).under your car tire.As you lower the car it should smash the tents flat.You may end up painting that bumper.This is just a theory I have .