Virto

Good god, yhea...this one is the worst. Hopefully everyone got out of the car ok on this one. Sucks too, by the look of the engine bay, she was well cared for. EDIT: White interior too!

The "factory original" hood emblem that Courtesy Nissan sells looks plastic to me. Since all the other emblems are plastic, it's safe to assume it was too. The difference the the texturing they did to the plastic. It really does look like metal until you look at the underside.

Well, I found the screws, and it seems adjusting them shouldn't be a big deal...but... ...my headlights stopped working again. I tried the "rapid movement" of the switch, but to no avail. They worked great two days ago. Fuses still look good, but I haven't picked up a meter yet to test them. However this does rule out that the bulbs are toast. Guess I'll have to see about pulling the whole switch out and checking the contacts. A dirty switch I can deal with, but hunting down wiring issues isn't exactly my cup of tea. ARRGH!

Will do! Thanks a lot!

I tried to search, thinking I'd seen something about this before, but I could be wrong. I finally got my headlights working, but one was obviously installed with the intention of blinding low flying aircraft. Can anyone tell me how to adjust the vertical alignment? The owners manual says "take it to the dealer" and I don't have a factory service manual yet. Your help is appriciated!

Thanks for the concern. The two holes are still present, which is why I'd like to fill them with the emblem. If they had been puttied and painted, it wouldn't be so big of a deal, but instead of having two holes in my hood, might as well use 'em. One thing I don't have are the original hood vents. The PO had the current ones made from sheet metal. They don't look bad, but they aren't original. Anyone know where I can find the stockers?

WHOOOOO! Tonight is the night of miracles. Got bored, decided to go try the "flip the switch real fast back and forth and hope for the best" technique, and to my amazement, POP, two wonderful beams of (not exactly well aligned) light! The bulbs seem plenty bright (for the standards of the day) and the bright toggle works too. I need to bring the left lamp down a bit, but heck, now I can SEE! The car might actually be out to make a fool of me. The little lady came out to see what I was doing and saw my happiness when the lights came on. While sitting there, I commented "too bad this doesn't work" and flipped the map light. Boom. Instant light. This car is out to get me. Unfortuneatly, the same method doesn't seem to work with the windshield wipers, so I'll need to check further into that. I'm still going to try and get those contacts clean...obviously that was the problem. Thanks for the help everyone. Now I'm just waiting for the money to get the car registered and insured so I can take it around more than the block.

Yhea, I got the part number I posted above from courtesy. I think I'll order thru them because they have the fuseable link covers I'm missing in stock, and it's easier to order all at once. Plus, I think they have the hood emblem I'm missing as well. Anyone have a detailed disassembly written up (or photographed) for getting at the headlamp switch. I'd like to clean the contacts on the switch, and make sure all the wires are still soldered on. I'll certainly be picking up a new multimeter. I can't find mine, and it's pretty obvious I'm gonna be needed one. :bandit:

I've popped the brights toggle a few times, just to see if maybe the highs worked and the lows didn't. I don't get the "brights on" indicator either way, but since my brake warning light doesn't work either, I'm not all that surprised. I'm starting to wonder if the headlamp position on the stalk isn't making contact...it's just odd that both the headlamps AND the wipers don't do anything. Here's a couple more pics for all. Edit: Oh Hrududu, this car began life in the same beautiful shade of blue as yours. The PO changed it to yellow and then to grey. Looking at yours, I wish they hadn't done either.

Just to clarify, what I'm looking for is: Oil Pressure Switch - 1970 - 1978 - 240Z, 260Z, 280Z 25070-S30 Is this correct?

Arrgh. :ogre: Well, late night curiousity has taken the best of me, and I replaced the headlamp fuses with 2 known good ones, from the radio and lighter, specifically. Still nothing to the headlamps, dim or otherwise. Are the headlamps available at auto retailers, like AutoZone or Murray's? I'd hate to have to order a pair, and I'd hate it even more if they didn't fix the problem. I know the car sat for quite a while before I got it, so I certainly wouldn't be surprised if the bulbs were just busted. I might feel better if none of the lights worked. At least then I'd know something was really wrong. Arrgh. Stupid payday far away.

Wow...two replies and two different Garys. . Thanks for the input...bookmarking now.

Thanks Gary...updated my info so now people can see where I'm at. I'll see if I can find my meter...haven't needed it in a while. May even just grab some 10A fuses, that's cheaper than a new meter if I can't find it. Didn't see the oil sender on Zcarparts. Any other good places to take a look online, or should I start calling up scrapyards?

Hi everyone! I'm now the lucky owner of a '78 280Z. The car has 81k original miles and is in, overall, pretty good shape. Even after having it just a couple of days, I'm thrilled. That's not to say the car isn't without it's problems. The weatherstripping is in sad shape in a couple of spots, but I haven't spotted any leaks. The car is equipped with the 3-speed auto, and will not start in park. I have to pull the car down into neutral to crank the engine. The oil pressure guage stays in the first 1/3 of the gauge when running. I'm not sure exactly where it's supposed to be, but the dipstick reading is a little less than halfway between low and full, so I think and oil change is in order, if anything just to make sure the pan is full. Fuel guage works, temp guage works, and so does the volt guage, although the charge light doesn't come on when I start the car, so it might need replacing. Best of all, the clock runs and, get this, is accurate. The interior lights all work, and so do all the parking lights and side markers. Neither headlight seems to work, and the fuses LOOK okay...at least, they aren't broken...the filiments to seem a little bent. I'll end up replacing the bulbs I guess just to see if it works...which I hope they do. I need to check the wiper fuse too...the washer motor was just replaced and works great...but I can't get the wipers to actually move. Other than that, the only other problem I have is more because of me...I'm a big guy (6'2" 350lbs) and have trouble getting the seatbelt out far enough to fit...although it does after some pulling and retracting. I also have a habit of resting my leg against the center console, and it does get pretty warm. Even with these issues, I'm very happy. I still need to pick up the stock Z wheels from the previous owner and get a balance and alignment. I'm going to try to tack a few pics for all to see on here. Thanks for having me, and if anyone has any suggestions on my problems, I'd love to hear from you. -Kelly