Miles

If you buy used buttons be sure they come with the set screws.

My second red top refused to charge after the car sat for the winter.

The red top is a cranking battery and , as I learned, does not hold up to electric fans, amplifiers, lighting and small parasitic loads like clocks and stereos. I'll be going to a yellow top when my red top fails.

http://www.hollisterroad.com/browse?category=5438

I was able to get the ZX lock nut from my local Nissan dealer. Totally surprised that Nissan had them.

JSM See pictures above. If a brake line or caliper seal fails, then the piston shuttles to the low pressure side of the switch and blocks fluid from flowing on that part of the brake system. So, for example, if a front brake line broke the piston would move to block fluid going to the front brakes. Theoretically, you would still have rear brakes. I replaced mine by connecting the rear brake line directly to the master cylinder and installing a three way M10 x 1.0 inverted flare connecting block where the switch was bolted to the fender to connect the front lines to the master cylinder. After 40 years I wouldn't trust the switch to work.

Virtually all of your questions can be answered by searching HybridZ for about one hour and reading the information posted below, especially the JTR book. Suggestions: If doing a V8 swap buy the Jags that Run (JTR) book and read it at least 5 times. Book is useful for any engine swap. http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Datsun_Z_V-8.html Buy books/manuals for the engine and transmission you want to use. Download a Factory Service Manual (FSM) and buy a Haynes repair manual for your specific car. Download electrical schematics for your car. PDFs are easier to read than those found in books. Some are in color. Buy the book How to Restore Your Datsun Z Car by Wick Humble. It will save you hours of searching for "how to" info. Focus on searching Hybridz as 99% of questions have already been addressed. Make a detailed plan with parts list including cost before starting a project. Plan every system of the car. Start bookmarking Z car parts suppliers - there are many! Remember these are 40 year old cars and will need restoration to be safe and drivable. Join ClassicZCars.com website and search there as well. Become well informed about modifications before asking questions. People will be more inclined to answer informed questions. Have some money. I stopped counting after $12k. Read the new member FAQs. The engine swap is the easy part. It is understanding the details like brake fittings, adapters, drive shaft angles, brake system, automotive electronics, wheels, suspension and etc. that makes or breaks a build project. Recommend that you buy a running Z car and drive it stock. Do basic maintenance brakes, suspension, electrical etc. so you have a ready to drive platform when you finish the engine swap. You will learn a lot about auto mechanics and how the Z car functions as well. Useful Links: http://zhome.com/ http://www.atlanticz.../tech-tips.html http://www.classiczcars.com/index http://www.zcarparts.com/ http://www.blackdrag.../zZxCatalog.htm http://www.arizonazcar.com/

http://www.zparts.com/zptech/comparisons/med/99r09f24arw2.jpg

That is like your wife asking "does this yellow dress make me look fat?" It does , but you can't say it.

240sx swap link: http://www.zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/Calipers/zbrakeupgrade.htm

If for any reason that the differential pressure safety switch is suspected of being "tripped" place one lead of a volt meter or test light on the electrical contact of the switch and the other lead on the body of the car. If you get a reading or a light then the switch is tripped. The switch is not repairable. You can replace it with a used switch or replace the switch with a three way connector for the front brakes and connect the rear brake line directly to the master cylinder.

John Also true for 72 and newer?

Is this it? http://www.ebay.com/itm/79-83-DATSUN-280ZX-R180-U-JOINT-HALF-SHAFT-WITH-SPINDLE-/221673744016?hash=item339cc8e690&vxp=mtr

The FSM just says to replace the switch if it is defective. There is no latching device inside the switch, as in my 72 240Z switch , which would capture the piston and hold it. The springs at each end insure that the piston re-centers itself. I suppose that corrosion build up could cause the piston to freeze in the bore in which case the switch would be thrown away and replaced as per the FSM. Note if you take the switch apart and you tear a seal there are no new seals available from Nissan. You can bench test a switch by placing it in vise, attaching a volt meter to the electrical contact, and then push the piston in and out. The volt meter will turn on and off as the piston moves. Is the resetting of the pressure differential switch a Z car myth? Ancient Alien theorists would say yes. As per the guy with the boner hair on the History Channel.

Newzed My 72 240Z had the switch like the second picture (picture from FSM). Is the first picture the early or late model switch? With either switch the springs at each end recenter the piston. After reading many conflicting stories about the switch I removed mine and dissected it to see how it worked. Manually moving the piston against the spring and and then releasing it the piston returned to the center resting position. In the later Z cars (280ZX) the switch was replaced with level sensing master cylinder caps

The most likely scenario is that you allowed fluid to drain out of the MC tank for the front brakes. This will introduce air into the front brake lines making it impossible to bleed the front calipers. You will have to bench bleed the MC if this happened. This would be a good time to just replace it. The other scenario is that the MC was failing before the brake job and now the front part of the MC has failed. It has happened to me when I replaced the 240SX calipers on my 240Z. When I road tested the car after the brake job the MC let go. It happens. Now the infamous brake switch. All it does when the pressure drops in the front or rear brake circuit is that a spring loaded shuttle moves to the low pressure side blocking fluid flow to the"leak" and turning a red light on in the speedometer. That is it. The shuttle is spring loaded at each end and is self centering once you let off the brake pedal. There is no mechanism inside the switch to lock it one way or the other. Study the picture below. It is just a hydraulically operated light switch that moves when there is a pressure difference between the front and rear brake circuits. Hence "differential pressure safety switch". I replaced mine with a three way brass line connector years ago because I don't need a light to tell me that my brakes are failing. Do not gut the switch either as you will then tie the front and rear brakes together. There are no repair parts because Nissan built it as an expendable item in case the switch failed. So you either have air in the front circuit and or the MC has failed. There is nothing wrong with the brake booster unless you took the MC out and dropped the reaction disk inside the booster. That has a whole different set of symptoms. My 72 240Z had the switch as in the second picture. The second picture is from the FSM.

What are your plans for a parking brake? Search rotors by dimensions: http://www.bremboaftermarket.com/En/Car_Disc_Catalogue/Catalogue_Search.aspx?SearchMode=Size&IsResult=True&SearchDiameter=289,5&SearchTH=27&SearchMinTH=25,9&SearchA=57,1&SearchB=52&SearchC=4

Z Quip has been out of business for some time. You might be able to buy used Modern Motor Sports 240SX brackets from a Hybrid member or elsewhere and then get the 240SX calipers and correct 300ZX (11.4 in dia non turbo 1984) rotors and brake lines.

Does the caliper you have now look like the picture in the link below? http://forums.nicoclub.com/300zx-z32-rear-aluminum-calipers-brakes-t487499.html Most rear caliper swaps use Maxima, 280ZX (early/late) or 240SX parts. I have not seen mounting brackets recently for Z32 (300ZX) rear caliper swaps. You need to identify, conclusively, what mounting brackets you have and then get the correct parts. Post detailed pictures of each part that you have. Or you could just buy these: http://www.modern-motorsports.com/z-rear-disc-cnc-brake-brackets.html

Do you have an electrical schematic? If not look around Hybridz or do a google search and download a pdf copy of the schematic. Some members here have colorized the schematic making it easier to read. With a pdf copy of the schematic you will be able to enlarge it making the switch connections easier to read. See attachments. BE Body Electrical.pdf

My first brake mod was the Toyota 4x4 pickup caliper on stock rotors with stock drums. They worked fine. The reason I went to rear disk was the constant maintenance the drums required.

Brake line flaring tool: http://www.eastwood.com/professional-brake-tubing-flaring-tool.html Works.

My brake set up on my 240Z is similar to what you mentioned above: Toyota 4 piston front, 240SX rear, 1 inch Wilwood MC and 280Z booster. Originally I used a 280ZX mc but replaced it when it failed with the Wilwood 1 inch mc. I installed the 280Z booster to off set the heavier pedal caused by going to a larger diameter mc. It works! With the 280Z booster, the pedal is easy to modulate with minimum foot pressure. Now the facts: The popular 240Z brake swaps (Toyota, Maxima, 280ZX, 240SX) are not balanced front to rear. There is too much front brake bias. With the Toyota front and 240SX rear the ratio is 60% front and 40% rear. So performance suffers. There has been much debate about these brake "upgrades" so I took a year and did them all so I could see first hand how they perform. I experimented with a variety of front and rear pad materials as well. I found all of the various brake configurations to be overly front biased. Some of the racers will use high friction pads on the rear and then dial in the front-rear bias with a proportioning valve for various degrees of success. I tried it, but didn't like the idea for a daily driver.

Lots of posts in the brake section on stock brake line diameter.