Stresspuppy

I'm looking for a set of springs for my 72 240z to match with some Tokico Illuminas I have (not yet on the car). I currently have MSA "blue" lowering springs and KYB struts. An ok setup but sits a bit higher in the front than I want and a bit of squat when I get on it. I wanted to get the Tokico springs as they seem to pair up fairly well based on a friend's setup but I'm being told they won't be made anymore. How will these springs do with the Illuminas? And will the drop be about the same as the MSAs?

On my 72 240z, I have the typical squat when taking off and the car seems to sit a little higher in the front. My current setup is the old MSA "blue" lowering springs, KYB struts, Hankook V12 205/55-16, urethane everywhere. I have a set of Illuminas I found and wanted to get the Tokico springs to match up with them but it seems they will no longer be made so I am trying to figure out what springs I can/should use with these struts. The car is a fair-weather car with fun on the side/twisty roads with an occasional auto cross. It handles ok, but I would like to get rid of the squat and level out the way the car sits. I would LOVE to do coil overs but can't justify it for a fair weather car. What options are there and what combos have people run with good results? Thanks.

How is it working? I have a similar setup and things work great, but the tach is off quite a bit. I'm trying to figure out how to get that right, but not having any luck. Does anyone have any ideas with this setup (280zx dizzy with 12-80 using a fairly stock coil, no resistor)? Thanks.

Thanks. The inline holder I have says it is rated for 30a, but I'm assuming that is being conservative. I'll keep it that way with some spares in the car until I redo that whole setup with a fuse block. I was able to get most all of my electrical issue resolved. The two remaining are dash lights (confirmed it is definitely a ground issue, and on at least one is looks to be the ground tab on the bulb wire) and the door switch on the left side. The replacement harness I put in seems to be slightly different. The switch I have has 2 black wires with male spade plugs, but I can't find the female equivalents. I see some female bullet connectors, but I need to trace it first. I will start with the wire from the right door and see what it (well, actually two wires to one connector over there) goes on the left side. I think I'll be starting the car tonight for the first time, so that should tell me right away whether the 30a will handle in a normal situation.

Oh, another question... if I don't put a fusible link back in and use an inline fuse from the solenoid positive side to the white wire in the harness, what amp fuse should I use? I believe the fusible link is 80amp, but does it really need that much? And I would think that with the relay upgrades to reduce some power needed to the switches, I am taking some load off the need there. (Though my logic may be flawed.) Eventually I'll put a fuse block in instead of the individual inline fuses that are there now.

WOW, what an adventure. I broke down and had someone come over and help and I'm glad they did. There were things I wouldn't have figured out. Here is what I started with: Rear lights would all come on for brakes, etc. Right turn signal works in rear only Hazards all except left front work No headlights No running lights In the end, the solutions: Rear lights - short in tail light harness. Temp fix but found a good pair on eBay and purchased. Turn signal - Had to take switch apart and clean contacts and bend one back to proper position; Had to resolder the green/black wire to the circuit board. Headlights - Initially just turning on and off many times got things to start working, but left front didn't work on low but high worked for both; loose connection at plug fixed left low not working. Ended up taking switch apart to clean contacts. Parking lights - resolved with switch cleaning. Windshield washer - was working but took switch apart and cleaned anyway (did the others, why not?) Hazards - used replacement switch after pulling that apart and cleaning contacts. Now have to replace in the dash (but I have a full dash cover on so that should be "fun") Next: Hook up headlight wiring upgrade (with relay) and confirm things still work Hook parking light wiring upgrade (with relay) and confirm things still work Replace Hazard switch So, this leaves me with (not critical but "while the patient is open): Blower fan works but is on all the time Choke light doesn't work Dash lights - some work (speedo, clock) others don't. Maybe ground on those not working? Ammeter bad (see earlier - have disconnected and will replace or upgrade to voltmeter later) What and adventure this has been. And an education! I can't say I want to dive into electrical stuff again, but the person that helped me last night (owns a local shop and is extremely knowledgeable and helpful) helped me better understand things and to feel more comfortable. He's going to come back and help me resolve the rest of the issues so I can put it all to rest. Eventually I'm going to add a fuse block under the hood for the extra power wires I have run to remove all the inline fuses and clean up the look a little bit. But for now, once the above remaining items are resolved, I'm going to start it and hopefully wrap up the rest of the items to get ready for this weekend. Running out of time! MANY MANY thanks for all the input and suggestions. Between the input here and the help of the person last night, much has been resolved and I feel much more comfortable. Thanks!

FSM isn't very helpful, nor is the parts catalog. A friend has a 280 and sent me pictures of his, but his are a bit dried up and such. I think I can figure it out, but if you have pictures handy, I won't turn them down! Anything to ensure I get this on right the first time would be great. I hate the weatherstrip seal stuff as it seems impossible to get off once it dries in the wrong place (don't ask me how I know). Thanks!

I have the seals for the door that go on the door itself, the one at the front edge of the window frame and the one at the back where the door meets the window frame. I can't find a clear picture of how these are to be installed. For the front, obviously the 3 holes line up, but how does the oddly shaped piece fit on/around the window frame? Rear one is very specific as well. If you can point me to something (I have been searching with no luck - plenty of pics of the seals, just not how they get installed) or post pics, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks for the input. The dash has been out, everything cleaned very well and put back in. Yes, VERY dusty and nasty back there originally. So I can rule that one out I think. As for dash lights, when I had the dash out, I replaced them all with exactly what you referred to above so that should be good. I have a very odd combination of things that work and don't, so I guess I just have to start tracking the gremlins. It's going to be a long week... Is there a particular circuit or accessory that is the best to start with, or does it really matter? Also, I replaced the alternator with the 280zx and have the MSA adapter for removing the Voltage Regulator. Since I am not starting the system, I'm assuming this isn't coming into play when looking for issues with the lights, etc., but please confirm. (And I took the MSA headlight and parking light upgrades out for now so I can get things working THEN add them in. Not as dumb as I look ) Thanks. Getting close...

My longer term plan is to do a fuse block in the engine bay to clean things up a bit, but for now I have the extra power wires coming from the solenoid lug that has the cable from the positive side of the battery. Each one has an inline fuse within about 6-12 inches of it's connection to the solenoid. This should work about the same as a fuse block, but not very pretty. I have tucked things in some look to clean it up for now, but will be redoing some of the wiring after the shows. Thanks. I think I just needed some pointers and a little reassurance, which was provided here (again, thanks!). Throwing in the towel wasn't an option. Not only do I have 2 car shows coming up, but I really don't want to tell folks I was beat by simple car wiring! I'd like to see that setup if you have pics. For now my plan is stock gauges, but I have thought about doing something different. Always looking for different ideas for future changes/upgrades! I started testing things tonight and not everything works. Horn works, hazards work in the rear but not the front, only some of the dash lights seem to be working. Standard "fun". So now I can use the volt meter and see what is getting power and what isn't. Hopefully it's just a couple of small things so I can move on to getting it started (didn't want to try without knowing everything is hooked up correctly).

Question (semi-related): I have some accessory wires for things like the headlight upgrade, etc. that have their own inline fuse. I want to hook them to the starter where the positive battery cable goes instead of to the battery terminal connector to hide the wires a bit. Any issues with doing it that way? Off to the garage to test...

SUCCESS!! I took the ammeter out of the mix and no more shorts! Battery hooks up without a spark and the fuse doesn't blow. Once I felt good about that, I started putting back the upgrades (fuse block, starter, 280zx alternator, etc) and checked after each one. No issues! I think my hang up was not stepping back and thinking about what the ammeter does in that circuit and that it is ok to join those two wires. For some reason, my brain was saying they shouldn't be, but it's just a meter and the power has to pass through it for it to give a reading. DUH. You mentioned replacing with a volt meter instead. I know they replaced the ammeter with the volt meter at some point and it would fit in. Is there any wiring change needed to do that, or is it a pretty straightfoward replacement? I need to search on this a bit but if you can give a quick answer, I'd appreciate it. My next step is to check the various items (lights, horn, various lights, etc.) before I start it. I'm assuming I can just turn to the On position and everything should work assuming the battery is ok. Is there anything specific I should do or look for while doing this? Thanks for a little "hand holding" and helping me get more comfortable with this. I think I understood it, but was scared of it (still am a little I think).

I disconnected the harnesses and hooked up the battery. No short. So definitely under the dash. I hooked a lead of the meter to the white wire under the dash where it connects to the engine harness and touched the body. Continuity. I took the ammeter off, but left wires connected, to make sure the wires were connected properly (white to +, white/red to - which is right according to diagrams). I went to check again and no continuity. But if I touch the body of the ammeter, i get continuity. So would that mean it is the ammeter or do I now start chasing through the white/red wire? I replaced the dash harness on my car and carefully inspected it before I put it in. No cuts or abrasions in the wrap anywhere. No frayed wires, etc. I really appreciate the input and quick responses. I am really hoping to be able to start it tomorrow but obviously have to get this sorted out first.

How would I do this? I would definitely like to stop blowing fuses and having the arc from the cable to the battery terminal when I connect it.

Thanks for the quick replies. Alternator wasn't connected, ignition switch was disconnected and fuse block is not mounted. I have a meter, but since the fuse blows, I am assuming I am getting no voltage so I just disconnect the battery. I do use continuity to trace the wires, but not sure if that is giving me false info. Both the white and white/red wires in the engine bay harness were replaced because of age/brittleness/short from PO that melted the covering on a few wires. I replaced one wire at a time to ensure things weren't crossed, etc. The harness was then re-wrapped and nothing is in contact with the body. If continuity is something I can use to help track things, I noticed that with the harnesses disconnected, if I try the white and white/red under the hood, no continuity. if I do the same for those two wires under the dash, I do have continuity. Is that the way it should be? If I use the white wire from the dash and the body as a ground, should I have continuity? How about White/Red to the body? Thanks. This is a bit more simple. I'll review. Dumb question, but if the fusible link blows right away, the overall circuit is broken so a voltmeter isn't going to do much is it? This is why I have been trying to do things with continuity, but may be on the wrong track there. I will try a few of the combinations you mention. Fuses are cheap, right? But the arcing at the battery is taking a toll on the positive terminal.

Well, I am THIS close to getting the restoration of my 72 done. But there always has to be that one snag that slows things down. Give me a wrench and ask me to do just about anything, I'm good to go. Ask me to diagnose an electrical problem/short, ha. Quick back story... Had everything out of my car and when inspecting the dash wire harness, it was in pretty rough shape. The ignition wire had shorted on the PO and the repair was pretty bad. Instead of messing with it, I found a very good wire harness from a 72 on ebay. I inspected then I got it and everything looked great. I put in in the dash and the dash back in the car. The engine bay harness had some issues as well, so I pulled it apart up to the alternator and replace some wires, but one at a time to ensure I didn't mess something up. Now to the fun. I hook everything up and the instant I put the positive cable on the battery, the fusible link melts. Not a happy camper. So I created my own version of the link with an inline fuse (30A) just to be able to make sure there aren't any issues and things like lights, etc. work. I'll replace the link before trying to start it. When the fuse blows, it is always at the starter. The fuses in the car are fine. Wiring - Starter: White wire from engine bay harness goes to fusible link then to the same bolt on the solenoid/starter that the positive battery cable is connected to. Black with yellow wire goes to the blade plug on the solenoid. Negative battery cable goes to bolt in trans bell housing. Wiring - Alternator: White/Red wire to the insulated lug on alternator. Black wire to appropriate terminal. Plug where it goes. Wiring - Dash: All appropriate connectors between 3 harness connected (noting White to White, White/Red to White/Red, Black to Black). White and White/Red wires go to the appropriate sides of the amp meter. White/red goes to screw on back of fuse block. In my diagnosis, I unhooked the ignition switch and the combo switches. Same problem. I completely disconnected the alternator, same problem. I think I have been through 8 or so fuses so far, and I'm getting frustrated. I'm not sure where to look next. If someone could help point me in the right direction, or give me an idea of how to narrow things down, i'd appreciate it. I have a wiring diagram and a meter, but I'm not always sure what I am looking at/for. (I have 2 car shows in 8 days and need to get this done. I will owe you more than you know if you can help me stop banging my head against the garage floor. And my wife will thank you if it gets me to stop being so grumpy. Thanks in advance.)