EScanlon

You haven't mentioned if the lights operate with the HAZARD switch alone. Simply turn on the Haz Sw, and check your lights front and back. If no light check your Hazard Switch FLASHER Unit. This should be on the passenger kick panel, it is a round barrel shaped tube. The flasher unit by the steering column is for the turn signals. When those guys at MSA refer to the RELAY, they are referring to the FLASHER unit. There are only two RELAY'S in the 240's circuitry for the HORN and the ACCESSORY neither of which are part of this circuit. Now if that fails, then check the Green/Yellow wire going to the turn signal portion of the combination switch and check for continuity to the Hazard Flasher Plug in, connect to the Blue/White wire there. If no continuity, your break is probably where the Haz Flash ties into the circuit (where the Blue/White connects to the Green/Yellow). But check things out first. Enrique

If you do choose to remove them, you will probably find that the paint below has been scratched and weathered such that you will need to repaint. Just a thought to think about. Also, to seal the holes you don't necessarily have to WELD them shut. Although welding or brazing are the best methods to close up holes in the metal, sometimes they can be prohibitive as far as time and cost due to the care required to not warp the sheet metal. You can solder them closed without too much damage to the surrounding metal (other than the paint removal and acid etch). If you do decide to remove them, would you let me know if you would be willing to sell/ship the old pieces to me? Enrique

Ed's guess seems to be on the money from what I remember of USAF markings, although in the Air Force air planes have the year of construction as part of their number. Not sure about vehicles and didn't see a correlation to that that I recall. The "H" on the roof doesn't look like an H, it looks more like a set of Captain's bars. The two little lines between the bars is what gives that away. Some units at Christmas time would have unit celebrations where the Xmas tree would be decorated with personalized items for each of the members of the unit. I still have a little snow sled that was made for me (after a nominal donation) back at Wurtsmith AFB, MI back in the 80's. The markings on the hood are more cryptic. Very possibly they denote a personnel position or a vehicle's use. 2¢ Enrique

Excellently written article and superb use of before / after pictures. Kudos SuperDave When I removed mine, I was able to use the paint scraper method and a RUBBER mallet. The rubber mallet allowed me to strike the metal directly without deforming the metal from the strike. Since I was specifically addressing a "High-Curb" pan hit, the loss of the tar was an added bonus but noteworthy for this application. 2¢ Enrique

Will, I know that, just pulling Rick's leg. I was in the U.S. Air Force although not Viet Nam Era, so I know about hordes of hormone pumped guys marauding through neighborhoods. The way he wrote it it could easily be reversed, which, seeing as he was poking fun at us "septic tanks" I figured was fair play. So, loosen your hat band one notch. And I can't argue with this one, although he did have nice legs in that picture. Enrique

Geez Rick, are Aussie men so bad that MOTHERS would petition foreigners to take their little girls away from the bad Australians? What did they think they would do, stick them in their duffle bag and hope for the best? 2¢ Enrique

A good bump-out man will get that roof smooth enough that with only a skin coat of bondo or high-fill primer will make it so you can't tell it was bumped out. That is standard bumping out procedure. Perfect? I don't think even from the factory they could be considered perfect. Now the main problem is going to be to find a body shop with a true-blue metal man. Sadly these days, they do go for the parts replacers and bondo happy sanders. But as a word of advice and caution, address the mechanicals first unless there is serious rust in the body pan and frame. If that's the case, fix the rust that would otherwise render the shell garbage, then get back to the mechanicals. Believe me, there is nothing sadder than a beautifully painted car...in the boneyard. Enrique

I agree, none of the damage you showed there is terminal. Now go get pictures of the floorpans, the rocker panels, the hatch finisher area, the battery tray etc. Those are the areas where rust can kill the car. As far as bondo...everybody gives it a bad rap, but used properly it works well. AFAIK there are few metalmen here, if any, good enough to give advise on how to straighten the metal WITHOUT bondo. Those thumps on the roof will require a metal man that can shrink the stretch and heat temper the metal once it gets back into shape. Enrique

And that is the exact reason they're trying to pass the law now. The public perception of the numbers of hybrids being bought, used and projected is that it IS low. If they succeed in passing the law when it doesn't matter to the bulk of the public, then when it DOES become important, it's too late. Remember this folks, government has ALWAYS found it hard to rescind a tax, and has ALWAYS been more and more creative in finding new ways to tax us. Since required MPG values have slowly but surely been raised, it has resulted in a small downward trend in the taxes generated from the sale of gas. They're just anticipating how else to tax you. Find out who the author of this bill is and vote him out ASAP. That kind of creative bloodsucking needs to be avoided at all costs. What would be next, a tax based on how many passengers were in the vehicle for those miles? For those of you in other states, pay attention to your state's legislators. They're the ones that are looking for YOUR cash. Enrique

Just a thought to share regarding those who call it a penismobile: Look them straight in the eye and say "Did you know that the only people to equate a car with a penis are those who are seriously undersized themselves?" Or: "You know dude, you really ought to get professional help regarding this penis fixation you seem to have." Or: "Yeah, you're absolutely right. Remind me, you drive a Civic or a Neon?" Enrique

That they're blinking erratically and not in unison with one another may be due to the bulb housing not making proper contact with the instrument housing, bad bulbs with corrosion on the base, the clip on the housing could have been compressed such that it isn't making tension on the housing. In the 240 you would either remove the glove box or the Heater Control Panel to access the back of the 3 center gauges. Give Sblake01 a PM, he has a couple 280's and he can probably help you with the disassembly. Enrique

Guilty as charged! I'll continue to drive my Z to serve my sentence! :laugh: Enrique

Your first sentence is a perfect example of how an urban legend gets started. The "My friend has a set" line won't work here. There are several of us on this site that own and have installed the OEM Datsun 240Z Headlight Covers with the Stainless Steel Trim Rings. Mine came in a box marked with the part numbers stamped on the box that matches the microfiche available from the club here, the E-Parts Catalog, the FSM and just about every other reference that gives out the part number. I admit openly that I was so happy to get them that other than checking the part number on the very top of the box before ripping the box open, I didn't note whether a manufacturer's name was on the side. If I recall, I stored some parts in the box so I'll check. But all that aside, they are plastic. As far as making them out of glass...I think that would be begging for problems. The headlights on both my Acura and my wife's Subaru are glass but at both of the dealer's part / service departments they heartily endorsed putting formed plastic headlight covers as protection from rock chips. But, due to the rarity of the OEM covers, why not post the site where you found the GLASS ones. Heck, I'd buy a couple of them just for the stainless steel trim ring and form my own plexiglass. (So let's see, what would that make the parts? They would purportedly be OEM, but having been modified from their original condition by replacing the glass with plexiglass to conform with the known authentic standard.... Would that then make them Non-Authentic Original OEM After-Market Reproduction Knock-Offs? Wonder what the judges would say.) But all that aside, I'll finish this post with link to a picture: http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=8950&sort=1&cat=500&page=2 Enrique

If all 3 lights are blinking in unison, then it is a common wire and not the bulbs. I may be wrong on the 280, but on the 240 the dash lights were fed with a common Blue/Red wire (Blue wire, Red Stripe). You might also check that there is a good ground connect to the dash frame. 2¢ Enrique

Late reply. Don't know about the indicator light, although it wouldn't be difficult to cross connect a low voltage LED (to duplicate the circuitry in a light switch). I recently got a look at an early "Series II" console. The plaque that is behind the ash tray in later consoles only had a Z on it. Earlier ones had indentations on that plaque that appeared could be opened up to accept switches. Since all I got was a look and not a disassembly I can't answer that. As far as the opening in the tail-light housing, every 240 light I've worked with has had that plug in there. Typically they are a grayish putty color with a raised letter P in the center of the plug. Hope this helps. Enrique

Not ALL flasher units make the clicking sound, that's the reason for the unit on the left of MikeW's picture. In the case of Mike's picture it's the LEFT item that makes the loud click in case the flasher unit (on the right) doesn't have a loud enough click to be heard or in addition to the one from the unit. Enrique

My apologies, I've been referring to the 240 in all these posts, NOT the 280. Sorry for the confusion. Enrique

I can't argue that. Although I'm <50, on some things I feel >100. Anyone who has been married more than 15 years will empathize with my post. It reminds me of this joke: At a National Convention of Men, the speaker asks everyone to stand up. After the crowd has done so, he says "Everyone who gets sex at least once a week, please sit down." A LOT of men sit down. The speaker continues, "Everyone who gets sex once a month, sit down." Another large group of men sit down. Then it's: once every three months, and finally after asking everyone who gets it at least once every six months to sit down, there is only one guy left standing. This guy is jumping up and down, waving his arms, and pumping his fist up and down. The speaker addresses him by saying "Sir are we to understand that you only get sex ONCE a year?" "That's ABSOLUTELY right!" the fellow gleefully exclaims. "Then would you mind explaining to the whole group, why you are so excited and pumped about a situation that most of us would find deploreable?" "Absolutely. TONIGHTS THE NIGHT!!!"

A Z will get through those times when you're you aren't getting sex better than if you had sex and no Z. :tapemouth E

Like you, I'm willing to be very patient. It's more a "want" than a "need" item. If you do decide to sell them, then please be sure to post, as I'd be interested in one for sure, possibly two depending on whether I'm allowed to keep Z #2. Enrique

Perfect! Personally, since I work on that part of the car with a creeper (On a flat platform with wheels that I lay down on), I find it easier to have the bolt going UP (like you had it in the first picture). But Alan's book does say that it should be going down, with that in mind, and knowing what you are striving for, it's perfect. Enrique

Yes....but one thing is to BE the person who...steps over the line, and another to push or pull someone over the line. Enrique

Any chance that you would consider drawing a template from it? I'm not talking taking it apart, but rather measuring and detailing so that maybe I can get one made at an upholstery shop? Thanks in advance Enrique

Take this as a strong lesson on how to set yourself up to possibly loose a bunch of good money by trying to save poorly. Don't take this as a slam, it is a learning lesson though. In the future, check with your insurance carrier and check the price for STORAGE insurance. You may find that being covered in that manner can really make a HUGE difference in situations like these. However, one very important note needs to be asked. What were you doing driving an uninsured vehicle? If you need to have on-the-spot and occasional insurance just in case you have to drive the car in winter, then the storage option above just requires a phone call to be changed. Being un-insured, unless you can just call your agent and get added to an existing policy, is going to take a day or so. So, it may become painful, and hopefully it doesn't, but a word to the wise.... Enrique

One important note, if you have insurance on your vehicle, which you mention you do, then check with your company about what coverage you have. If all you have is liability, then you are at the mercy of the other insurance company. If on the other hand you have complete coverage (comprehensive, collision, uninsured/underinsured driver coverage, etc.) then you may have a situation where you can receive payment from the other insurance company and then complete the claim with YOUR insurance company to restore it to the condition before the accident. Enrique