docjim

Well, I did it again. Bought a fuel gauge that's the opposite of the fuel sender (gauge: 0 empty, 90 full and sender: 90 empty, 0 full). Is there a DIY fix or do I need another gauge? I wonder if there is a way to move 1 wire on the sender to the opposite end of the resistor? Any electrical genius out there know what to do?

HELP!!! The spazzes that did the engine swap managed to run the front of the car into a big tool box and ruined the hood. They bought another hood and put it on, but it doesn't fit right. the male part of the hood latch needs to be moved backward (toward the rear of the car) by about an inch. I tried all the adjustments I can find, but it still is short. if I manually move the latch male part backward and close the hood, it pulls up to almost where it is supposed to be but the front is about 1/2 inch too high. I'm considering grinding out the bolt holes on the hood bracket that attaches to the tilting mechanism or I could also just remove the torsion bar springs and use a broomstick to keep the hood open--don't really want to do that. if the hood was lighter, I would just remove the tilt mechanism and latch and use hood pins. anybody know a better way? Thanks Jim

I gave up trying to figure out how to wire the stalk switch and used an on/off/on switch. it saved a lot a frustration.

The T5 Guy (see Phoenix Craigslist--he advertises all the time there) told me that he can rebuild any T5 into a world class T5 for not too much money. However, you have to ship it to him. There might be someone in your area that can do the same. Good luck.

Put the swastika's on with new tires and the car rides a lot better. the old tires were rock hard from age. It also looks better--it's not an in-your-face muscle car look, but more of a sports car look now.

aren't the swastika wheels 15x6" Jim

Hi, I presently have P225r60 14 tires on my 260Z convertible with a 350 cid V8. The wheels are naturally aftermarket and stick out past the fenders slightly. it is hard to turn the steering wheel when stopped. These tires look new, but are 10 years old and are permanently flat spotted. I have a chance to buy some 280ZX swastika wheels, which are 6" wide versus my present 8" (I think) wide rims. This car is a cruiser, not a racer. So, my question is do I just change to new tires or buy the other wheels and go with an appropriate size? What are the pro's and con's? Thanks, Jim

Z Car Source sells a 240Z fuel sender for about $55. That is the simplest solution.

Wil Hodges (AKA ShowZ) is a mechanical genius! Apparently, removing the spindle pin can be a real b**ch. His method avoids having to pull the pin. He sent me an e-mail outlining a procedure for replacing the strut cartridges. Here is my adaption of his method: 1. Chock the front wheels securely. 2. Jack up the rear axle at least 15” off the floor. This was as high as my cheap jack could lift it without placing boards under the jack. 3. Place jack stands securely under the rear axle bar. I’ll post pictures tomorrow if anybody is interested. 4. Remove the wheels and brake drum. You’ll have to release the parking brake, of course. 5. Remove the brake line and parking brake pin at the drum. 6. Remove the 4 bolts holding the axle stub at the outer housing joint. 7. Place a jack under the a-arm and disconnect the sway bar to a-arm assembly. 8. Remove the top 3 nuts (inside the car). 9. Lower the jack. Then, in my case lift the a-arm enough to remove the jack. 10. Rotate the strut outward. 11. Now is the time to compress the spring and disassemble the strut assembly. Since I was going to replace the BMW 3-series springs, I just used a cut off blade to slice the spring into a few pieces. Then, I held up the top spring with a pair of vise grips and used a large pipe wrench to remove the strut cartridge holding nut. (Note: This can be messy if the previous person followed directions and poured the oil into the strut housing.) Once I had the cartridge out, I could remove the top nut and get the rest of the assembly apart by clamping the cartridge rod into the pipe gripper part of my vise. What wasn’t part of my description was the removal of the adjusters Wil had made. This involved the cut off blade, hammer and chisels, and a lot of sweat. The BMW springs were much shorter than the Z springs, so when I cut them, I could separate the pieces and gain access to the cartridge holding nut. Assembly was pretty much the reverse of the procedure. However, since Wil had already cut the top off th Z and “convertiblized” it, there was only a small opening between the trunk and the top of the strut tower. This made aligning the 3 bolts with the 3 holes fun, since I couldn’t see down the holes to see where the bolts were. I finally painted the top of the 3 bolts and used a small inspection mirror and flashlight to see a little ways down the holes and find the bolts. Finally, I breathed a sigh of relief, thanked God, and took a shower. Jim

I've had problems bleeding the rear drums on my 260Z custom. I was always fighting the tendency of air bubbles to want to rise and it took forever and squeezing the vacuum bleeder really tired out my hands. so, when I replaced my old rear strut cushions with new ones, I disconnected the brake lines and this, of course, drained the lines. I dreaded bleeding them again and in desperation devised this pressure brake bleeder. I was amazed at how well it works! I just reversed the vacuum bleeder bottle connections, filled the bottle with brake fluid, and attached a bicycle pump. simply slowly pumping the bicycle pump forces the brake fluid into the lines without any possibility of air getting into the system. 60cc in both sides and the job was done! here's a picture of my jury rigged setup (the strap wrench is just to keep the bottle from tipping over): Jim

Here’s how I made mine work: First I traced the electrical path. The positive connection (the rubbing contactor on the steering column) goes through the contactor ring on the bottom of the steering wheel. The 240Z contactor ring has a wire soldered to it which passes up through the steering wheel. This wire has to be connected to the metal plate in the 260Z/280Z horn button. When the button is pressed, the metal plate to which the horn button is attached, contacts the edge of the steering wheel hub and thus is grounded. Sounds simple, but it took me a week to figure out how to make it work in the real world. First, make the attachment plate discussed above. Second, to make the electrical connection to the horn button, I had to make a slot in the horn button for the wire to pass through. Without the slot, the wire was squashed between the horn button and its attachment piece. Here is a picture showing the final assembly: Jim

Thank you! I will try this. Jim

I put a 240z steering wheel on my 260z because I like the wood look more than the vinyl. How do get the horn to work? jim

What pictures do you want?

I have a 75 350 mated to an 85 corvette bell mated to a camero t5. Needed to fab a trans mount. Luckily I found a ase certified mechanic who is into hot rods and he fabbed it and an exhaust system for me. richard lopez ("the t5 guy") sells a shifter that mates to the camero t5 so that the lever sticks up straight instead of slanted. You can find him on the Phoenix Craigslist. Good luck, jim

The idiots that did the v8 swap for me just cut the wires at the wiper motor and screwed up the wiring so bad that I had to rip it all out and replace it with an aftermarket hot rod harness. No relays left. just power wire to a switch. at present, I'm going to bench test seatlejester's idea and put power to the wires suggested.

Thank you so much. That should allow me to finish one part of this neverending build. thanks again, jim

That sort of answers the question, but there are 5 wires with bare ends--no plug: 2 black blue/red blue/white or yellow (can't tell) yellow I don't know which wires are 1,2, 3, etc.

HELP!!!! The idiots that swapped the v8 into my car also ripped out the whole Datsun wiring harness and dash. I put in an aftermarket generic wiring harness and have the major items working (horn, engine, lights, turn signals, etc.). However, I'm stumped by the wiper motor. All I have is 5 wires sticking out of the motor itself. I'm just going to wire it for low, high, and off. Can one of you electrical geniuses out there tell me which wires are which? The wiring diagram in the manual isn't much help. Thanks, Jim

Try to buy an engine/transmission that already are together. I didn't and and now have a Corvette clutch with a Camaro transmission and getting them together involved a lot of trouble. Getting a combination that already work together from the same car will erase that problem. That is, unless you're one of the rich ones that can afford a crate engine and an aftermarket transmission. Good luck.

I've been reading specs on various fans. It seems that most 2500 cfm fans draw about 19 amps, so I would guess that the existing fan is 2000-2300 cfm. That might be enough since I don't have A/C.

First, thanks to all who have answered my other questions. You've been very helpful. Now, my quandry: I have a 260Z into which is transplanted a 375 Hp/350 cid motor. I've got a JTR radiator and an off-brand cooling fan about which I know nothing. The fan draws 15 amps. Do you think it will be sufficient for a street machine in Phoenix, or do I need to pull it and find a Taurus fan? Thanks, Jim

Thanks, guys. I think I can follow those instructions. Jim

Hi, guys, My 240Z steering wheel is sun faded. Does anyone know how to renew it? I've already put toooooo much money into this beast to send it to someone, so I have to do it myself. Thanks, Jim

Hi, I want to renew my 240Z steering wheel. Anyone have helpful hints or how to's? Jim