RPMS

What LS240Z is very, very true. The cheapest way to get a rust-free Z is to trailer one in from a region where rust isn't prevalent. The SECOND cheapest way (and the most entertaining way, IMHO) is to learn how to weld sheetmetal. In years and years of owning Z's, I've seen very few with NO rust. It's a forty year old car which had questionable environmental sealing, built in the days before rustproofing. You're going to have some water intrusion and you're going to have some rust. The question is - how creatively did the seller hide it?

Anybody compare the light output / distribution of these LED bulbs to Hella H4s? The best light I've had so far has been with the Hella lamps and 100 watt halogen bulbs. If I can get the same output with LEDs, I'd love to make the switch.

The last time I messed around with LED lighting, I probably spent a hundred hours fiddling around, trying to get the proper resistor and transistor values, sourcing the LED's, figuring out the amperage loads, how to use the 555 chip, etc. etc. and while what I ended up with worked, it didn't look NEARLY as nice as this guy's stuff. You're not paying for the parts, my friend. You're paying for the knowledge.

Please don't think I'm trying to talk you out of doing this, because I'm not. I would, however, like to make sure that you realize that many, many people out there would pay a premium to buy your original, unmolested bumper. I've seen precious few Z's with the bare front bumper, and in my experience they're rare as hen's teeth. The thought of drilling a virgin bumper gives me chills. You might want to consider trading your bumper for someone's whose bumper has already been drilled, and maybe get a couple of (hundred?) bucks out of the deal. It would be a win-win situation. Good luck!

Two years ago I moved to Atlanta and had to sell my V8 260. It was my fifth S30, and I almost cried when the new owner drove it away. For a daily driver, I'm in a twin turbo 3-series BMW. 300 HP, 26mpg, 6-speed... On the surface, it's nearly everything an enthusiast would want in a daily driver. So why am I spending so much time looking longingly at BRZ's and used Boxsters? There's just something about the BMW that is the polar opposite of the Z. Driving the BMW is a smart thing. Driving an S30 is an act of passion. Sadly, I find myself hoping that someone rear-ends me in this horrible Atlanta traffic so I can justify getting another z. I don't suppose there's any cure for this affliction, is there?

Aaw, crap. You're right - I missed a big opportunity when I de-wired my early 260. I pulled out an assload of wire, and it would have been monumentally valuable to those who come after us to document each one I pulled. I just dived in and started ripping out everything that wasn't connected anymore. Sometimes you don't realize how much good you can do just by taking a few notes and relaying that information on to others.

In my experience, getting the window regulators adjusted in these cars is a witch of a job, even when you have all the right parts. Don't get discouraged if you don't get it right on the third or fourth assembly, because sometimes it takes that long before everything falls into place. Just be patient when it doesn't work right and try again. Good luck!

I'm with you there, bub! I only learn as much as I need to to finish a project, then I promptly forget it. Doing repairs on my own projects is can be something of a challenge.

Mmm... Tasty.... I'm using LEDs for turn signals in the rearview mirrors, and as turn indicators in the instrument cluster. What I've been doing is dividing 14.6 volts by the power requirements of each LED, and using that number of lamps in series. I think for the turn indicators I'm using five lamps. It's probably not the *right* solution, but it's easy, and it seems to work. Regarding the power supply, I was considering just using a resistor in series with the input power, and choosing whatever value dropped the voltage smack in the middle of the operating range of the IC. Is that naive?

I had this issue with my '76 a loooong time ago. If you want to amuse yourself, try starting the car, then after a second and a half, quickly switching the key from "run" to "acc" then back to "run". Do that every second and a half, and I'll bet it'll continue to run. I think what is happening is that the cold-start injector is firing enough fuel into the manifold to run the motor for a few seconds, then the fuel dries up and the engine dies. The cold start injector fires every time you switch the key on, so if you turn the ignition system on and off every 1 1/2 seconds, it'll keep squirting in fuel. I could be wrong, but I *think* I remember tracing the problem to an intermittent fuel pump relay. I was stuck by the side of the road, so I pried the relay apart, found a cigarette butt and wedged it into the relay, effectively locking it in the 'on' position. I hope this helps. It caused me untold embarassment until I finally fixed it. *edit* I read through the other four pages of this thread, and it seems you may have already replaced the main fuel injection relay with a known good one. If so, please disregard!

Thank you VERY much for the links, buddy! I'm having a great time puzzling through this all. Looking at the website for the decade counter, I don't understand why it wouldn't work for what I'm envisioning. Say I have four lights I want to illuminate in sequence 1, 1+2, 2+3, 3+4, 4. Couldn't I hook up light #1 to outputs 0, 1 and 2, hook up light #2 to outputs 1, 2 and 3, light #3 to outputs 2, 3 and 4, and light 4 to outputs 3, 4 and 5? Or does it not work that way?

Wow... Uh... I suddenly feel overwhelmingly ignorant. I shall dive into the links you have kindly provided, and see if I can't edumacate myself a little bit before Granny brings in the possum stew for lunch.

If you could make that work, it would be infinitely cool. I can imagine the entire tail panel replaced with a multipurpose animated LED screen. Imagine the messages you could send to tailgaters!

COOL! Please let us know what you find out. Even if they decline to help us, it would be valuable information for those who search for this information later. I'd consider doing the conversion for other people, but it would be a pretty hefty price. Heck, just the lights are going to run about $90. Drilling 150 holes and securing/wiring that many LED's is going to take a lot of time. I want the entire lens to illuminate evenly, not just a hot spot in the middle.

I seem to remember that the system used back then was a motorized unit that moved a contact along a series of conductors, closing one circuit after another. It was an interesting solution! Hopefully someone on this board can help me use solid-state devices to achieve the same effect.

Hey, guys! Like many others on here I'd like to wire up my tail lights for LEDs, but I'd REALLY like to have the turn signals blink sequentially. Not the "1...2...3...off" sequence like a 1968 Cougar (okay, so maybe you're an old fart if you recognize that reference!) but "1..1+2..1+2+3..2+3..3..off" so the lights chase from the inside out. I'd also like to use four groups instead of just three. Is anyone enough of an electronics wizard to help me design a solid-state circuit that will do this? I'm handy with a soldering gun and am capable of making a fairly simple circuit board with a small ic chip. Anyone? Anyone? I promise a full writeup with pictures when I'm done!

I think the side skirts have a tacked-on look to them. I'd probably feel differently if they had something running along the bottom of the doors, too. Derek, I'd appreciate anything you can find!

I know that the mere mention of the MSA Aero II kit makes dozens of you throw up a little, but I'm going to risk your wrath by asking this anyway. I'm curious whether the rear valence will work visually without the skirts, and all the pictures I'm finding have the skirts attached. Anyone have a picture of a skirtless car?

Hey, Pete! Good to see you're still around. I sort of half-thought about doing that, but the cable routing through the cabin from the entry point to the back of the speedo would be torturous! The tranny is long in the tooth anyway (not to mention the fact that I DESPISE slushboxes) so I'll probably just replace the damned thing with a 5-speed. And now, I'm off to peruse your website! What has Pete done in the 18 months since last I've looked? Good thing it's a slow day at work!

Thanks, Mike. That link was exactly what I was looking for. Lowrider's right, it's going to be tough to cough up $90 for something that seems so simple, but it looks like my only other option is to pay $200 for a new electronic speedometer. Or I could just beat the tar out of my transmission tunnel until it fits. Or drill a hole in the tunnel and run the cable through the cabin!

Howdy, guys. I've got a TH700R4 with a mechanical speedometer output, and the cable routing is giving me fits. Coming out of the speedo drive gear, it bends so sharply that it breaks after only a few hundred miles. Does someone make a right-angle adapter for close-fit applications, or is the best solution to "clearance" the tunnel with a three pound hand sledge?

Very nice find! I hope you and s/he have a long and safe relationship!

Daaaaaamn! Yeah, the black truck did slow down, but I think it was a reaction, not a hit. Someone's luckier than they have any right to be.

Yeah, the new 3 coupe is sweet. It's the first BMW where the "flame surfacing" styling actually works. It'll probably base out around 32,000, with the M coupe hitting 50k in full trim. Just a guess.