EScanlon

John's point is spot on. If there were a way of perfecting the skill necessary to be a Safe Driver, you would still be operating in a field of other drivers many of whom may not be equally safe! In different words, and not trying to be patronizing, accepting your statement that your driving experience and knowledge sets you well above the median level of experience and knowledge; How can you protect yourself from the bad driver that clips YOU, through no fault of your own? At that point the car needs to be and should be safe. The Z is only as safe as the collision it can avoid. Sadly, it does not take much before you've crunched a Z well enough that it's safety is compromised. Internal reinforcements in the doors are more for sheet metal support than they are for use as an impact panel. Ever seen a Z that has had a pick-up hit it from behind? And the one I saw wasn't even on lifts, as they tend to be around here in the Pac NW. (Granted, some of the P/U's I've seen are high enough that you'd have the tires doing the damage and not the chassis or body of the truck.) My point is simple: for a daily driver... as much as I love my Z or my Roadster, I'll take the safety of a newer car over one of my classics. I do drive my cars often, but I try to stay away from the push and bustle of everyday traffic. FWIW E

By the nature of the questions you've been asking, I'd hazard a guess that you're hoping this will be an inexpensive endeavour. That will depend on how good a base car you are able to obtain. If you find a barn find, that hasn't run in 25 years.... it ain't gonna be cheap, nor quick. Just getting it running is going to take up a bunch of your time and money.... without dealing with broken items or items that must be replaced. If you are able to find a good and currently operating well car... then it will be quicker, but hard to say as to how cheap. It will depend on the condition and what maintenance has been applied and what is still needed. If it's a fixer upper: between Fast, Correct and Cheap... pick two. The one you don't pick is what it definitely WON'T be. But to address your need for safety over and above a rollbar, you might want to consider another car entirely. As has been said, 40+ year old build technology against current robot assembly processes that were computer designed.... and then add that the steel wasn't the thickest, nor rust-proofed well and the car may not have had the easiest of uses... Get a newer car. Bluntly, with the size and weight of the current vehicles on the road.... you're better off in a vehicle of commensurate size and weight. Anything else and your safety factor comes down... in their favor. i.e. not good for you. Even a Mini-Cooper is clocking in at well past 2500 pounds... and that's without passengers. Toss in your typical overweight soccer mama and you can add another couple of hundred pounds. If all that doesn't scare you, then you can adress your own driving skills. From what clues you've given, you're a relatively young person, as such your driving experience is just beginning to happen. If, and it's a big IF, you've been driving since your teenage years, chances are that you've only been exposed to the mildest of driving hazards out there. And those... using a relatively newer design vehicle. I'm not telling you to NOT like or own a Z, I'm saying that you need to be realistic as to what you are considering. 2¢ E

For what year? The earlier models had a removeable fender SUPPORT panel that could be misconstrued to be a mudguard as they effectively seal the rear 12" or so of the fender to the body. They were shaped to fit snugly to the inner fender and the front frame support (also fresh air vent) as well as the contour of the inside of the fender. They required the use of 1/2" or so of closed cell foam on the fender side edge and also had a small rubber flap at the bottom. That small flap was very similar to the material in truck mud flaps (which actually makes a good source material for that rubber flap). The space behind the support was for the cowl drain tube (which you may want to extend all the way to the outside of the car to avoid collecting crud). After about late 72 or thereabouts, this piece began to be welded on to the car. (I may be off as to when, but it's removeable early, and not later,.) Later models, had a full wheel well rubber piece that separated the whole under fender area from the engine and the rest of the fender. If you're looking for the first type, check the boneyards, put a wanted ad in the classifieds, or maybe someone will have one that they can PM you about. I presume that the later style would also be available the same way, but they'll be BIG and more difficult to ship. FWIW E PS: You may want to put your cars specifics in your signature, it helps others in answering your questions.

His ad is a bit misleading: But as they say, without pictures it ain't so. FWIW E

The newer style of cover fits WITHIN the Sugar Scoops edging and not OVER AND PAST the edge as the OEM style does. The newer style requires the use of a mounting bracket or pad for the cover to then screw onto, or in the case of one style I saw some years back, a trim piece (in plastic) that fit on the edge of the lens and glued the lens cover in place, i.e. you could not remove the cover easily afterwards. (The OEM are after all, removeable.) The OEM style has screws that will protrude INTO the headlight scoop's metal (or fibreglass) body, as wel as the screws to mount each of the mounting tabs (2 for the tab mount and 1 for the cover PER mounting tab, total 12 holes). IMO, it would literally be impossible to mount a newer style lens with the OEM trim rings without some serious fabrication.... and it would show. 2¢ E

Well... he DID read it on the internet. After he posted it! And you know what they say, they can't put it on the internet if it's not true! E

Your defrost switch should not have drained your battery, unless it's hooked up to the wrong power source (i.e. non-switched instead of switched). As far as the Reg/Alt swap, I'll leave to others, but I don't know why you would run into problems. Just make sure that the alternator is NOT internally regulated and that your car DOES have the provision for a voltage regulator in the engine bay. If either of these is true, then you need to adjust what you're getting. An internally regulated alternator does not need an external regulator (duh! sorry couldn't resist), BUT you do have to shunt a wire in order for it to work with your car, if your car has the wiring for the voltage regulator. If you don't have the wiring and it is an int. reg. alternator, then you don't need the external regulator On the other hand, if it is NOT an internally regulated alternator and your car requires one, then you need a different alternator and you can forget the external regulator. Got that? I wrote it and I'm still thinking it through. E

No worries, at least now it makes sense. Your title left me wondering how you'd end up with a matching #'s car. E

One note, "Numbers Matching" is commonly understood to mean that the Engine Block # is the one that is stamped on the Model Spec Tag in the engine bay, and that tag's VIN matches the car (Firewall and Door Tag). FWIW E

My first question is: HOW or WHERE are you getting your information that you're running hot? Have you taken a heat reading of the block, radiator, hoses? or Simply looked at the temperature gauge and IT reads hot? Is your gauge accurate? Start there before you start disassembling the engine or cooling system. Additionally, with the car being an AT, and if it has the original distributor and it has dual points. If so, check the condition of the AT spark advance module and sensor. FWIW E

Will: This poll may need to be closed and a new one put up. Your Title is: Car Shows...what should the ideal car show be Judging? Which, to me, says "What should Judges be looking FOR / AT " I take it to mean: Exterior, Interior, Paint, Engine, Suspension, Body, Appearance Kits, Customizing, Cleanliness and Safety. But your Poll answers deal with CLASSES, and how to discern which class a vehicle goes into. Note also that while you use Modifications and Creations to differentiate, you don't describe what constitues a Modification or a Creation. I'll use the Z's as a reference because this being a Z site, most people here should be familiar with them. What defines a Modification? or a Creation? and are they the same as far as deductions or is one judged as or is one measured as more than the other? Is there room in there for degree or percentage of a modification... meaning: what if it's a partial change--of a change that normally gets done as a kit, and the kit is normally considered one modification. Meaning, if you only put on the side skirts from a complete skirt package does that count as a half of or one complete modification? Conversely what about a modification that wasn't completed properly? (eg.: Rear tailights with Amber colored turn signal lenses but the turn signal still illuminates with the brakes applied.) Is a 280ZX antenna on a 240Z considered a replacement part or is it a modification (Remember that the antenna tip differs. In one it actually protrudes past the body trim ring when retracted and the other retracts flush with the trim ring.) It's not as it left the factory, but it was the superseded part as time went on. Same with the windshield, later ones had the tint. An owner who has always taken his car to the dealer for repairs and maintenance may find that thru the years, the dealer replaced items push him out of stock class and into the next. Will you penalize the owner for dealer applied changes such as mag wheels, door ding strips, over-riders, vinyl roofs and styling packages (ZZZap, Seahawks team logo... etc.; and are they mods? Many owners, when the cars first arrived, had little if any choice over what the dealer "stuck" them with. The waiting list was so long that when A car arrived, the choice given to the prospective buyer was: "This is what came in, do you want it or not?" --in essence: "Take it or Leave i!"; which some dealers took advantage of to include many "plus" items that were mostly mark-up. The mag wheels were applied so often that some new owners think that the Mag Wheel is the STOCK wheel. Some items were factory options, others were aftermarket and not OEM options. Again, it's not as it left the factory but they also weren't applied by the owner. Is a paint job a deductible modification? What if it's the original color or not? or instead, a Datsun/Nissan color but not of the year or the model? What about a non-Datsun / Nissan color? or even a paint scheme where parts of the vehicle are in a different color, or the use of pin-stripes? What about related items? that when one is changed, connecting items and other surrounding items must also be changed? How many points is that worth? Is it ONE change or are each of the items/ areas affected each counted as a change? A V8 conversion with a Turbo Charged Blower has both Engine and Body Modifications, is that one modification in each category or one? Then again a V8 change alone would require a transmission change and possibly suspension but the same question applies. What about hidden modifications? ====== I think that before you define your classes you should look at what constitues change/modification and what changes are acceptable, with and without a deduction. Then you can start considering if you want to enforce whether those mods, creations, or add-ons etc are Safe and/ or functional. Does the car need to be functional? What about individual components of the car, are they operable? Where and how do you check the operation of those items? Who does it? When? This would allow you to begin to establish a level, or at least an acceptable degree, of competition for all. This, of course, doesn't even start dealing with should each model be judged within it's model year, style, etc. or can you compare a 240 against a 370 and how? 2¢ E

I'm not arguing the reliability nor the extent to the type of diagnosis that a multimeter provides. The Average Joe simply uses his multimeter for the most basic of purposes... what's the voltage on AC or DC; Resistance and Continuity. What each of those values indicate is more often than not, only useable by those that work in the electronics industry. Granted it doesn't take an EE degree to see 12V DC or 120AC or 3 Ω or to hear the "beep" of cotinuity, but to determine that 10.3 Ω means that .... and there is where it gets technical. An obvious bad connection at the fuse box is like any other bad connection... loose or broken off wire... probably NOT what you want happening. But measuring voltage that is going through the fuse, well I'm no genius with the multimeter, but wouldn't it be reading the voltage from negative to positive terminals of the fuse and therefore read 12V? Additionally, one side of the fuse would read 12V and the other should read 0.0V. Again, what I'm saying is that your knowledge and experience may be that YOU can discern much more than the Average Joe but he uses it like an LED current tester... if it's on there's current, if not... no current. The R&R of the fuse is bone simple and most everyone can do it. FWIW E

Check your fusible link between the Starter and the Battery. If that's burned out the complete electrical system is inert. As far as checking the fuse box, remove and check each of the fuses for continuity then make sure the fuse holder arms are clean and tight and then replace the fuse with new or proven fuses. The simple act of R/R the fuses may be enough to restore your circuitry. However, if that is the case, you'll want to look at the rest of the wiring as there may be other problems down the road. E

Time lag error, my post above doesn't take your post into consideration. Sorry. It looks as though you may need to open your combination switch and check for corrosion inside it. There's a How-To article on this forum, but I can't remember what it was titled and searching for "combination switch" will yield thousands of posts. You may also want to double check the grounds for each of the parking lights as that will also cause the overheating you experienced. E

My suggestion is to first find and fix the problem you are having before you begin on any conversions to LED or the like. While the LED's will use less current and may possibly work fine with your wiring as is, you're not fixing anything and it may eventually catch up with you at a very inopportune moment. Presuming you are talking about a 240 and not one of the later vehicles, check the following: As mentioned the Headlight Combination Switch and it's ground wire as well as cleaning the fuse box that Steve mentioned. Dimmer Control, sometimes these will get unhooked or shorted and cause problems. Check the individual bulb sockets on the parking lights. You may find that one or more have some corrosion in the base causing the short which is in turn blowing the fuse. Check ALL of the parking lights, not just until you find the one with corrosion. Check the connectors to the lights. This might not change much, but the simple action of unplugging and reconnecting may decrease some of the resistance you are experiencing. Lastly, put the year of your car in your signature, it helps others in providing help and advice. 2¢ E

I'll differ on the fuse evaluation method. Time and time again, people have posted that they've checked the voltage across the fuse, to ground from either terminal and ... it ends up being the fuse that was bad. It's simple and it works, take the fuse out of the fuse box and check continuity through it. If it checks out, then the simple act of removing and replacing it may be enough to, as it apparently already happened, to make a new and better connection. FWIW E

Although it's obvious, it can get overlooked... have you checked your fuses? Don't just look at them, those glass fuses have been known to be bad even though they appear good. Remove them and do a continuity check on them. While you're at it, check to make sure you have 12v across their terminals when the headlights are on. FWIW E

Tomo, sorry but it sounds like you have a major case of Sour Grape-itis. The judges at any car show don't have the time to have each car individually coddled by their owner showing them how you push on that button and smack the dash right in that spot and twist this knob and then VOILA the glove box light comes on. If the light did not come on, it may have been a sticky plunger switch, or an excess amount of room light making it hard to discern that it WAS on. In either case, it is up to you to try to minimize those possibilities, and yes, suffer the consequences if they do arise. At many show by virtue of registering your car, you are asking for it to be judged. Then by leaving items open / unlocked you are allowing the judge to compare your car against the others in your class. Sometimes, with known problem items, it is necessary to delve deeper in order to discern a winner. Judging is straight forward, is the door open? Then the interior is open to be judged, with the possible accrual of any points to be earned from a good interior. Conversely if the door is not open, the possible deduction of points for that. The process rewards the owner who makes the interior judgeable over the individual who locks his car so the interior will NOT be judged. Additionally, that owner can lose some points for non-op and wrong items in the interior. Your 5 ft rule, would degrade the role of knowledgeable judges to the equal of any show spectator. At that point, why not just have it judged by every other person walking by? 2¢ E

I looked for the corrosion you mention and all I can detect is the off-color discoloration of the gasket film adhesive. I have a couple sets of these and the gasket has a shiny adhesive side which when the protective film is removed gets attached to the metal. Once you peel off the film protecting the adhesive, the off-color yellow/brown film is gone. The original rubber seals are visible mounted on the metal protecting the Lexan. Additionally, the seals do not show any holes being poked through in the mounting holes. It is possible that they just pushed the screw through, but then it would have distorted the seal, and the shiny film wouldn't be straight. Not showing the mounting hardware, conceded, but it may be a simple matter of not including it in the pictures as opposed to assuming he does not have it. Ask the seller the question to verify. As far as the Seller saying they "look new"... where? Are you sure you're not reading into it? Here is his description and the answer to one question: "Chrome Trimmed, 4 point surface flush mount Datsun Z Headlight Covers Difficult to find, very few have the chrome, most are the plexi with gasket. These mount over the headlight bucket, not in it. 4 screws, ready to go. Avoid silicone, it only traps moisture and will fog up! My project is gone, so these are going too! Thanks for looking!" Question: "Q: Hi Any cracks or damage to plastic lense or metal trim ring?? Thanks A: Absolutely no damage. They don't appear to have ever been installed." Not having the original box is reason for his listing it as New-Other and not New. The "See Details" is e-Bay's footnote to read the details. This are e-Bay's details of "New-Other": "New other (see details): A new, unused item with absolutely no signs of wear. The item may be missing the original packaging, or in the original packaging but not sealed. The item may be a factory second, or a new, unused item with defects. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections." Otherwise, I don't see any reason to doubt this seller. E

It's PERFECT!!! And it has mud guards!

How are you ascertaining that they're used? E

If you have one of the more modern radios (than the OEM) AND a fully automatic antenna you could just wire the antenna to go up when the radio comes on. Typically it's a blue wire coming out of the radio that connects to the antenna to actuate it. Wiring colors and specifics will vary, but the combination of the two would allow you to do without the rocker switch. If on the other hand, you have the old semi-automatic antenna and a newer radio, then you have no choice but to use a rocker switch. The semi-automatic (OEM Style) antenna requires you to hold the switch in the direction of travel for as high/low as you want to set the antenna. Conversely, if you have a NEW style fully automatic antenna and you want to use it with the OEM radio without the power sense wire of the newer radios, you CAN wire it to emulate the OEM Semi-Automatic operation using the stock wiring. FWIW E

It depends.... but then you knew that. What's the condition of the paint? Are there any chips, cracks, crazing or other imperfections that need to be sanded out? Are you talking 3 complete paint jobs (primer, color, clear each) or Original, Re-color, and Re-coat with no primer or sealer in between? The OLD rule of thumb was that if the previous paint job was generally undamaged, you scuffed/sanded it to accept either a sealer/primer (if changing color or type of paint) and then your color. If it was questionable, you D/A'ed it to smooth out the whole car (and if any chips or cracks) and then sealer/primer and color etc. If you are talking 3 complete paint jobs (primer,color,clear x 3) AND there aren't any problems visible, then I would suggest you at least wet-sand the car completely smooth before you apply more paint, but be very very picky over the condition of the existing paint. FWIW E

The AM only radio had the Rocker Style Toggle switch to the right of the Tuning Knob, positioned so that it points up and down. The AM-FM radio had a Slide Style Toggle switch ABOVE the Tuning Knob, aligned so that it slides from side to side. The correct face plate for the radio will make it obvious/ E

The shaft of the wiper pivot has a circle ring holding it in place in the pivot body. Remove the rubber boot (on the outside) and just above the pivot body you should see a ring, gently push a flat blade screwdriver between the ring and the pivot body and work your way around the shaft until the ring moves out of the depression in the shaft. Then just remove the ring, and push the shaft out of the body. Inside the body shaft, look closely and you should see a slightly wider bore hole, that's where a "pocket" of grease should be to keep things moving smoothly. By now the original grease in yours is probably rock hard. You may have to use a bent nail or some such to pry that grease out. Grease and lube well and the wipers will show dramatic improvement. The other connections on the wiper pivot arms are ball type and function fine with a simple oiling. FWIW E