EScanlon

I agree and disagree with Will. I agree in that I don't know that I would add a trailer hitch or any kind of hitch to the back of the car, not only for the reasons Will cited, but also for the fact that the sheet metal wasn't designed with those stresses in mind. Add to that the car's willingness to lift it's front end at speed (with the OEM valances), it's weight distribution ratio, and you can see why it wasn't commonly done by anyone. But I disagree in that a trailer with little or no tongue weight would be okay. There are still the acceleration/deceleration and turning stresses to take into consideration. All of those would pull the hitch's mounting points in ways the sheet metal wasn't configured for. Add to that that the metal is 30+ years old and as we know here, it isn't known for it's ability to fight rust, or to fight a sudden impact of any sort, and you're asking a lot. If the car had more substantial metal framework in the rear that could be easily attached to, such as the mounting points for the rear end and the shock absorbers for the rear bumpers, then you might be able to use a Class I hitch. But the hitches that I've seen on Z's and pop up once in a while on e-Bay, only bolt to the Spare Tire Pan, to the rear valance AND the bumper...and even then they tend to distort the back of the car. Don't forget that tongue weight is only a measure of how much pressure DOWN the trailer is exerting on the hitch, a 5,000 pound trailer properly balanced could exert as little as 100 pounds, but it's the startup and braking that would make that combination deadly. Want to try towing a vehicle TWICE the rated weight of your car....and having to stop it in an emergency? Can you say...SPLAT? Top that with most people's tendency to overload and underestimate tongue weights and you have a DOUBLY serious recipe for disaster. Just my 2¢ E

Randy, Is that the AM only radio? That's important because the AM-FM (aside from the dial) also has the antenna switch re-located to above the tuning knob. E

My mistake on the 280's. It's been a while since I last worked on one, and I didn't address the interior then. E

And how would it be pronounced.......in the southern states? I think they already have an expression that would sound very similar....except it has NOTHING to do with Christmas and Quanza.... I believe our resident Hillbilly Redneck is fond of using it. E

Bart said it, the original transmission tunnel covering was the diamond vinyl. It had the male snaps attached to it. You can buy snaps at fabric stores as kits. There are the sew in style as well as the hammer-rivet style. It all depends on how you want to attach them. However, since you don't currently have the snaps in there at all, what's wrong with your Dad's idea? The velcro could be added to the e-boot easily and the other end attached to the carpet you already have on the tunnel. Just be careful that the "hook" side of the velcro gets attached to the e-boot, and the soft fuzzy side to the tunnel. Otherwise, if the boot should come off whether partially or completely, the "hooks" will be exposed and any unsuspecting knit type of clothing will be snagged. If your girlfriend's favorite slacks get ruined by that velcro, you'll be repairing more than the car. FWIW E

Speaking with regards to my car and others that I know of...pretty normal. E

I posted a link to this thread on the "Yet another E-Bay scam?" thread: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?p=200774#post200774 Reiterating what I posted there, I think that information that allows members to avoid being scammed is always welcome...unsolicited or not. However, reports on vehicles's mechanical, structural and bodywork condition would have to depend on the poster's knowledge and experience. Not trying to say that only the experts should post their opinion, but rather that there are items that I, personally wouldn't want to even attempt to interpret for someone else. I've got years of experience in a body shop back many years ago, and have since kept my hand in it by working on cars as a hobby. Even when I worked in the body shop, we wouldn't make decisions on frame damage....that belonged to the frame shop. Additionally, we would always have all or almost all of the mechanical (grease) work performed before we began the body work. Again, whether the engine or drive train or brakes needed work....that's the mechanic's responsibility. When Gary and I went to check on vehicles here in the Portland area for other members, we went as a team to ensure that between the two of us we could give a better and more informed evaluation. Even then, we would caution that this was our OPINION. Mike's point is very important. Many people in an effort to be helpful, interpret the factual data. While this interpretation may be due in part to stereotypical evaluation, the problem is greatly exacerbated when you start assigning intent. Making claims about someone's intent can be misguided and inflammatory and bluntly, unless you have telepathy, ESP or some other para-normal method of knowing....can be YOU voicing YOUR worst fears. Suddenly a poorly repaired fender, a fresh coat of undercoating, even a freshly detailed vehicle all have hidden EVIL intent...and all to defraud the buyer and not a seller's intent to maximize his selling price. This can also apply to the price a seller is asking. This can be subjective to the nth degree. West Coast buyers wouldn't pay what East Coast buyers accept as "normal" and the reverse situation would have East Coast buyers marveling at the bargains, while driving prices up in the west. Give your opinion, but back it up with facts. Conjecture is the first part of the recipe for fiction, and is a synonym with surmise and guess. FWIW E

From what's been presented, I would agree that it is a scam by someone trying to phish some money out of an unsuspecting Z-Car lover. This goes to show the value of a "watermark" on the pictures in the original Ad, as I'm sure this would have made it much more difficult to pull off the scam. This also ties in Onuthin's post regarding ethics. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?p=200772#post200772 That post shows that there is a valid reason for people to peruse and even caution others about questionable and outright fraudulent ads. Especially when it can be noted that they are scams, as this one certainly needs to be. However, with regards to Onuthin's ethics post, and I'll just mention it here, the experience and knowledge of whomever would be out inspecting cars for sale would be a key indicator as to how much weight to assign a negative condition report. This thread is more about the duplicate and false e-bay auction. E

May your celebration (or not) of the winter solstice be enjoyable (as you see fit). Joyous Joy! E

Nope, but you might consider making a donation to the Club Site to help fund the server upgrade! If the information you've received here has saved you time and money, put a few dollars back into it to help EVERYONE. It's not nice to brag about that...look at our members in Colorado! The Temperature sender operates on resistance. Before you start tearing the car down and addressing fictitious gremlins verify that it is indeed NOT heating up. The gauge's inaccuracy may be the bigger gremlin here than the engine NOT heating up. You don't mention whether you're getting heat out of the Heater, so.... There will no doubt be some discussion here by some of the more mechanical guru's, but these are some basics: To verify the Temperature sender's operation, first remove the cap from the radiator and with a mechanic's type thermometer (not your Mom's Turkey Spike) put it into the water/Anti-Freeze mix. (DO NOT WARM UP THE ENGINE FIRST AND THEN OPEN THE RADIATOR...THAT IS EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS AND COULD CAUSE SERIOUS SCALDING!) Start the car and once it's running smoothly let off the Choke. Observe the water flowing in the radiator and check the temperature. At the temperature that you notice a marked increase in the water swirling around the opening make a note. That's the rating for your Thermostat Valve. That is the temperature at which the valve opens and allows the coolant to flow through the radiator to be cooled. Allow to run for a small amount of time and keep track of the temperature. This will give you an idea as to the cooling properties of your non-pressurized radiator. It's not usually necessary to run for a long period of time. Compare the temperature you note at each step with what you see inside the car on the car's gauge. If there is a large difference, you can replace the sender on the engine and see if that rectifies the reading. The gauge has adjustment's on it, but it would definitely be a trial and error as there are no established procedures nor bench marks as to how to proceed. Additionally, usually just replacing the sender eliminates the erroneous readings. Don't forget that the gauge is not a rated measurement instrument...it's an approximation based on resistance and not designed to be interpreted as being a calibrated gauge. Hope this helps. Enrique

Chuck: That wasn't my intent at all. There are several relays on the kick panel, and depending on the year of car they vary as to type and location. I've myself been bitten by that fact alone. This is sometimes half the fun in Z-Car Carchaelogy. Case in point, I have a separate Intermittent Relay Switch for the Pre-73 vehicles which houses the relay within the epoxy box it's contained in. Also powering the wiper motor can be a challenge by itself. It takes more than a pair of wires to get it to work properly, and depending on whether it's intermittent or not..... For those who may wonder what I mean by more than 2 wires to power the motor, best as I've been able to decipher the schematic, the Blue/Red wire feeds 12v+, and needs to ground through the Blue/White AND EITHER the Blue or the Blue/Yellow, and this is for the non-intermittent motor. I don't currently have my bench set up to test this, but as soon as I do I'll post a better explanation. E

Mike: Glad you got it working. For those who might read this thread later, the reason for asking about the intermittent versus non-intermittent wipers is that the relay that controls the wipe cycle is usually mounted ON the motor itself and not on the kick panel and as a result causes people to confuse the accessory relay with it. Mike, there are also a couple of posts regarding how to make the wipers function better, do a search and you'll find tons of information. Enrique

The correction to your initial sentence, is to highlight something. This might NOT be Rehab for ALCOHOL, but it is defiitely THERAPY for Z-Aholics. (I'd use the term Z-therapy, but that's a sponsor of the site and although what they do is therapy in a way, it's more of a rehabilitation.) That being said, you show up and ask our OPINION? Heck, yes. Save the Z. Dump the Lexus and use the funds to repair the Z. Or give it to the Missus and let her take it to the dealer for them to work on. And as far as a "perfect dash" if it really is a perfect dash, for $300 you simply can't go wrong. I bought a PARTS CAR for $350, and lucked out with a perfect dash...as far as I'm concerned, the rest of the parts on the car...windshield, side glass, rear glass, engine, tranny, etc etc are all icing on the cake....even though that is what I bought the car for. You mention ONE hole There might be others in weird little places. Do a search using the word RUST and you'll find tons of information as to where you have to look for it. In a simple nutshell....everywhere on the car that is below the bottom of the doors; from front to back of the car, the battery tray, and the hatch opening. Those are all the known trouble spots. To turn a car into the picture you posted takes 5 things. Money, Patience, Stubborness, Hard work, and More Money. Some people will add Lots More Money, and Tons of Perseverance, as well as a VERY Understanding Missus to the mix. Does that answer your question? Another Z-aholic Enrique

You inserted a Blank Tape? Data CD instead of Music CD? Picture DVD instead of CD? Volume turned down to Zero? The DX/Local switch has been changed and there are no local stations? AM band has no stations in that area? Antenna has been disconnected? Radio lighting on a separate circuit than power feed? Burnt Power Fuse? You're tuned into the National Bereavement Radio channel and all they broadcast are minutes of silence? Fader control set to all Rear speaker and there are no Rear speakers? (or vice versa) Otherwise, I question that the radio is "working fine". 2¢ E

There is an often over-looked and common problem to the Z's ignition system that will also produce many of the same symptoms you've described. The Vacuum Advance Slide Plate under the main plate of your distributor, is simply two sheets separated by ball bearings held in plastic holders. Over time the plastic ages, gets brittle, and the ball bearings fall out and the vacuum advance will not operate smoothly. Sometimes the vacuum is enough to shift the plate, and then with vibration will return or not...all depending on the vaguaries of chance. Simple enough to test for: Remove the distributor cap, and disconnect the vacuum hose at the intake manifold or simply connect another hose to the vacuum port on the distributor. As you apply vacuum (whether with a pump or simply by sucking on it) you should see the point plate move AND return smoothly. If it does not, or if by peering past the point plate you see little ball bearings rolling around, you need another slide plate. 2¢ E

Ed is spot on except for one thing. The stainless trim will not survive being inserted into the rubber gasket without either cutting or chaffing the rubber or worse yet, bending the metal. It does take some experience and lots of tedious patient care to do it right. The easiest and fastest way to replace the windshield or hatch gasket is to mount the rubber gasket on the glass, then while the glass/rubber assembly is still out of the car, insert the metal. Or metal first then onto the glass. The CORNERS are the last item to be inserted, and with care these can usually be done AFTER the glass is in place. There are several tricks to installing the windshield glass, and some of them depend on whether you have the dash out or not. Personally, I'd remove the dash just to make the windshield installation easier, but that's my preference. I presume that if you don't remove the dash, then you would have to insert the metal trim afterwards as Ed suggested, but you do need a special tool that spreads the rubber ahead of the insertion point of the metal trim. Since I've always mounted a windshield from inside and with the dash out....and that was years ago, I don't know if the same technique would work for doing it from the outside. The last hatch glass I did, the metal trim was inserted first, then onto the glass, then onto the car. You might check with a local glass shop, and for a few $ they might do the work for you. Better yet, get a new windshield and have them install it and you'd have a guarantee as well. Just my 2¢ E

Ok guys, check WHERE the posts are coming from..... E

It looks as though someone took a toggle switch from the 67.5 older Roadsters and put it in there. The shape, style is the same. I say that because the size and shape of the paddle isn't identical to the actual Hazard Switch visible below it. Does it have any engraving / embossing to denote what it is? That IS the location for the Fog Lamp switch in the early Series I cars, as later the Cigar Lighter was placed there. E

Gary's pic he sent me.

Mike: First off, you'll have to identify whether your car has the intermittent wiper option or not. Take a look at your combination switch, and tell us if you have 2 or 3 white dots for the Wiper Switch Knob portion. If you have 2, then you do NOT have intermittent wipers, 3 dots means you do (1st dot is the intermittent position, and AFAIK it is not an adjustable wipe cycle). Next, check the obvious: The fuse (2nd one down on the left side of the fuse box, 20A). Connection to the motor in the engine bay, up by the hood latch. Should be easy enough to disconnect, and re-connect to ensure that there is a fresh contact between the spade connectors. Connections to the combination switch, underneath the clamshell plastic that surrounds the ignition lock, combination switch and T/S switch on the steering column. If the fuse looks ok, you might still remove and replace or at least do a continuity check on it. Those glass fuses many times will look ok, but actually have lost the connection to the end caps internally and essentially be bad. Lastly, have someone put their ear close to the Cowl panel (the one with the ventilation holes just in front of the windshield), as you turn the key to "Run" (no need to run the engine) and turn on the windshield switch to it's fastest setting. If they hear the motor, but the wipers don't move ... it's a different problem. If they don't hear anything we still need to trace that the motor is getting electricity. Check those items out first. Enrique

That "purple trim" as described on the e-bay auction, may be an indication of door panels that have lost the Chrome on the vinyl striping. 2¢ E

Yes, and even if you get a very good welder that can fill the hole in one or two spot welds ... and therefore minimum heat ... the heat and spark will still burn the paint surrounding the hole. To recover from that you'll need to re-primer, re-paint and match paint or re-paint the whole fender/door. E

Like Ed says: BEST way.... MIG Welded Second best way...Brazed Third relatively good way .... Soldered Fourth Fairly Good Way ... POR 15 Mesh with Power Mesh Backing, and filled with POR Patch on the front. Absolutely WORST way ... Bondo. Second WORST way .... Duct Tape from behind with tons of touch up paint in front. All of them require work in a body shop to finish. E

To answer your question Mike, if you took your complete car to the shop and said, here are the sugar scoops that go in the front, please paint them to match....then the painter should have MATCHED the paint regardless of having the original PPG paint code. The PPG paint code would have been an excellent place to begin matching from, but any experienced painter would have known that after 1 year....there would DEFINITELY be differences. Although extreme, I've heard of shops that insisted on matching the paint rather than blindly mixing by paint code...even after only a few months. All depending on weather, and whether the car has been exposed to the elements, or simply been in storage and then depending on the lighting there (fluorescent and incandescent lights have different UV emission factors). On the other hand, if you handed the shop your sugar scoops, told them to paint them using PPG Paint code #123 .... the matching was not part of the job. Without the car there to match the paint, then you really can't hold them liable for the paint NOT matching. Sorry, but that's just my 2¢ E

Terry: I've insured all of our vehicles through ACIA which is the Auto Club Insurance available through AAA. I don't know if you have to be a member of AAA but since I am, it was a moot point. For the vehicles that I have an "Agreed Value" (68 Roadster, 71 240Z) I've both sent the agent pictures of the vehicle from the 4 sides as well as interior shots and printed pages from the NADA value guides. These are what have I've used. I'm sure others will chime in as to how they've done it, but the central theme will probably be that you need to have the insurance agent cite what the requirements for the company they represent are. It may be as simple as pictures and printed information from the internet, or it may entail a certified appraisal by a third party. Don't forget that even that may be subjective. One man's pearl is another man's stone. You'll want to clean the car up as best as possible, even to the extent of having professional detailers address it if you're not set up to do that properly. Then, if possible address as many of the quick fixes...or simply have them noted as having to be fixed and accept a lower insured value at first that you have up-valued later once you've effected the repairs/replacements. Items such as split seat vinyl, rusted rockers, cracked glass, etc. all point to a vehicle that isn't / shouldn't be valued highly (again, subjectively). Getting those fixed will allow you to have the vehicle re-appraised with a higher value. But the key is to talk to an insurance agent. It might even behoove you to contact or wait to meet other auto enthusiasts in your area to see who they've insured with, and most importantly what your area requires. Enrique