Arne

Oh, I can. A 240Z for example, has 6 bulbs in use as brake lights (3 per side). If I wish to wire one of the left ones for use as a rear fog light (as is common and required in Europe), a diode would allow me to manually switch on one bulb without lighting any of the others. Many other uses can be imagined too, regarding better ways to enhance the visibility of the car without adding lots of extra wiring and relays.

I've got a copy of bambikiller's info, and while it addresses the alternator swap well, it doesn't go into detail about diodes for other purposes. But I'd say that the same diode I used for my alternator swap should work fine for lighting mods as well. It is an NTE part #NTE506, the generic number is 1N5062.

I'm fairly certain that (since the 260Z tail lights are the same as the 280Z) that the turn signal switch on the 260 is more like the 280 than the 240. Which would be good, as since the 260/280 turn signals are separate from the brake lights, the turn signal switch is much simpler.

Good explanation, Ken. But it might be worse than just blocking the coolant flow. Depending on the insulator blocks used, the passage might not be blocked of, and might allow coolant to leak all over the ground!

Sorry, folks, but it's not going to happen. Between the cost and difficulty in getting the OE connectors, and the amount of time I'd have to spend building them, it's just not worth it. I really thought it would be easier than it has proven to be. If I could get the connectors locally in small batches, maybe. But the way it is now, no. Dave, my hat's off to you for continuing to do these types of harness parts. I now have a vague idea of the time and effort you put into this stuff. I have found that it's easy to conceive of a part, design it and even build one, but to go into even limited production...

Here's what I think I know. It might not be 100%. but I think I'm close. (This is for US models, don't know about the rest of the world.) 1.) To the best of my knowledge, no 4 screw carbs have the coolant passages in the base of the carb. Only 3 screw. 2.) All 240Z and 260Z manifolds had coolant passages, but only '72-74 manifolds ran coolant to the carbs. The earlier manifolds just ran it between the two manifold halves. 3.) Any round-top SU (3 or 4 screw) will bolt up to any 240Z or 260Z manifold. If there is a coolant passage mismatch, it will not affect the operation of the carb. 4.) But if you have a manifold that runs coolant to the carbs and you are going to use 4 screw carbs (as I did), you should not connect the coolant passages to the manifold. Depending on the insulator blocks used, either the coolant won't flow at all, or you might have a leak. In my case, I have 4 screw carbs on an E88 manifold. Unlike the early manifolds, the coolant flow must go in the first manifold half, turn 90 degrees and go into the base of the carb, turn 180 degrees and go back into the manifold, turn 90 again to go to the second manifold half, etc. If the carbs don't have the coolant passages, the path is blocked. So I don't have the coolant connected at all on mine. The picture below (from ZTherapy) compares the two manifolds and shows the coolant passages. If your manifold is from a '72 or later, you probably don't want to connect the coolant.

MSA lists two: 70-73 and 74-78.

I did some searching, but couldn't find anything to nail this down totally. Are the pedal clusters for all S30s interchangeable? Can I use one from a '77, for example? Or do I need to find one from an early car to go in my early '71?

Injection from a later Z can be installed, my car had it on it when I bought it. But doing it right requires more headaches than I was willing to put up with. I went back to the factory carbs. Check out the link to my car's diary in my sig for details.

Is it leaking in from the passenger side hatch hinge?

1.) Harness ugrade is highly recommended, even if you don't use H4s. Dave used to make a relay harness, but doesn't any more. He has, though, posted all the instructions. Can't see how you missed the threads on them, a search for headlight and relay or harness will bring lots of hits. Anyway, here's the link. http://classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20016&highlight=headlight+relay 2.) I've never used the clear lens headlights such as sold on eBay, but I'm a big fan of H4s, and over the past 3 decades have personally used Marchal, Cibie, Hella, Bosch, Lucas, Wipac, and Stanley. My favorites were the Hella, followed closely by Bosch. One that I haven't used - but has been highly rated - are the Australian IPF's. I may try the IPF's in my 240Z when I get to that point.

I don't think they still drive on the left in Denmark. Could be wrong, though.

I agree. Spend the money you save on the plugs and wires and put it into a better (electronic) ignition instead. Ditch the points.

That's pretty much how I've always done my special cars. I don't normally even have an "agreed value" but instead just go with the appraisal. So when my restored 27 year-old MG had an incident of the animal kind (to the tune of $4500) they didn't say anything, just paid it.But as noted above, I have no restrictions that way. Drive it daily, drive it 10,000 miles per year, whatever.

So which bolts did you use, Will? The ones from the '83 flex plate?

True, but I'm wondering about the length of the bolts. Different flywheels MIGHT be different thickness.

Want to verify something as I prepare for the auto to manual tranny swap. Here's the question - the car, clutch and transmission are '71 vintage, the engine is '83 and the flywheel will be something like a '77 or so. I see numerous flywheel bolt choices, can I assume I need bolts to match the flywheel ('77 or so)? Or the engine ('83)? To me, matching the flywheel seems most logical.

The basics are here: http://www.geocities.com/zgarage2001/z.html A lot of this is aimed at 240Z's (with carbs), but if you ignore the carb sections and keep your injection, all the rest is still applicable.

Nah, you could make them blink with a relay or two. If the lights were off, they'd blink with the signals. If the lights were on, they'd blink opposite. It can be done, but it's probably more trouble than it's worth, especially on a 240 where the normal turn signals wrap around the side anyway.

This isn't my first project car, but about the fourth. I typically do most of the mechanical first, IOW, get it drivable. Then I tear it all apart the second time to make it nice. So I guess I do the "make it safe" first thing too.

My biggest complaint is that even with red bulbs the tail lights look pink with those kind of lenses. Can't stand pink tail lights.

In my case, it's homebrew...

Well, I switched from normal oil (Castrol GTX) to Mobil 1 in one of my previous cars right after I bought it - with 150,000 miles on the original engine. This was in a graymarket 1981 BMW 323i, which had a 2.3 liter, SOHC inline six, very similar to the L-series in our Zs. I drove it on Mobil 1 for the next 5 years and another 75,000 miles. Never leaked, nor did the synth break loose any sludge that I could detect. So the above concern isn't valid - in my experience. YMMV.

I wouldn't spend much time and effort to refurbish them, I don't think you'll find very many people are at all interested in them. They are not popular at all these days.

Well, My experience selling custom wheels for 20+ years leads me to say that these might not be my LAST choice of wheels for a Z (or any other car), but pretty close to it. They are narrow, heavy, don't center on the hubs well, are prone to losing parts (as your uncle mentioned), and were even known to make noises while you drove down the road (the wire baskets would rub against the wheel). And all those problems were when they were new and parts were readily available. Now...