74Adam

Ha ha, I know what you mean. Hopefully I will find something definitive.

Thanks Tim. Yeah, it occurred to me at some point that I might want to mention that small detail...lol. I'm starting to wonder if this is the car gods way of telling me that it might not be a bad idea to remove my dash and go through everything :-/

Miles, no I didn't unplug the light pigtails from the body harness plugs when I cleaned the sockets. Is that what you are asking? NewZed, thanks for the link. I downloaded the PDF and glanced at it. Will certainly spend more time pouring over it when I get a chance. I believe you are right about C-6. I looked through the FSM at all the individual wiring schematics. I wanted to find the ones that show BOTH the green/blue wire (labeled "GL") coming out of the PARK/TAIL fuse AND that the system routes through C-6 in some way. I found three: "Meter illumination system" on page BE-15, "glove box, cigarette lighter & ashtray illumination" page BE-17 and "Heater illumination" on page BE-54. So, that accounts for all the lighting in the dash, doesn't it? One thing it ISN'T is the rheostat. Before I did anything else, I unplugged the rheostat individually and the fuse still blew. Sucked, because the thing was a bitch to unplug...lol.

No no no, the reason I cleaned all the bulb connections was BECAUSE I thought one of them might be the cause for the blown fuse. In other words, I was hoping I would get lucky that it would be something easy...lol. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

Yeah, I removed front and rear marker lights, front turn signals and all the lights in the tail housing (back up, brake, turn). I'll make sure everything is plugged in correctly but those plugs are all stock and they only connect one way. The brake light with the double lead has offset pins on the bayonet bulb that can only slide in the socket one way. Nevertheless, I will double check them all.

Oh jeez, I see what you're saying. Yeah, that makes sense. Oh, and this is probably assumed but the fuse doesn't blow until I rotate the combo switch to the parking light setting. Well, the deal is that my car isn't where I live so I only get to work on it on Saturdays so I'll try some of this stuff and report back. Miles, thanks for the links to the pdf's. I'll check them out but I don't think "clarity" is an issue, I just need to teach myself how to read a schematic better. Funny, I'm a civil engineer so you would think stuff like this would be right up my alley but when it comes to electricity, I struggle :-/

I'm sorry, I should have provided more detail. I've removed every exterior light and the taillights. Cleaned the sockets and bulb contacts with red scotchbrite pad and contact cleaner and reinstalled with di-electric grease. The turn signal and hazards will work (front and rear lights) and the headlights and dome light work. Dash lights are out, as are all parking lights as well as brake lights.

This is a 78 model with a stick. No floor temp sensor. Anyway, the "PARK/TAIL" fuse is blowing. This is the 15 amp fuse in the top right corner of the fusebox. I've narrowed it down the C-6 connector. There are three connectors at the white junction block under the passenger side footwell that connect to the dash harness: C-5, C-1 & C-6 which are colors white, blue and black, respectively. If I unplug C-6 ONLY the fuse doesn't blow. My question is what does C-6 account for? In the FSM, it is impossible to tell (at least for me) from the layout drawings where those wires go versus the other two connectors. I'm trying to get better at reading wiring schematics but it's a weak point for me so if anyone could shed some light I would appreciate it. thanks

Hey Ross, how did you mount those Blue Sea bus bars on the firewall?

I didn't know anyone was making reproduction bumpers ends?

Hey 78, what email did you use to contact Steve? I tried using info@risingsunperformance.com and it bounced back. thanks

Well I'll be damned. This is a stick, not auto but still it's good to know some of this. Maybe I should just leave it alone at this point. Thanks for the replies.

So, I thought this was odd and was wondering what the consensus here would be. My 2007 Corolla has 130K on it and I've changed the transmission fluid once at a Mobil 1 oil change place; at around 70K miles. So, I figured it was more or less time and stopped by the local firestone on my way home. The guy at the counter, who is the shop manager, tells me that firestone has a policy that they don't change transmission fluid on a car with more that 110000 miles unless they have done the past changes themselves so that it is documented. He didn't really give a reason, just said that was company policy. It's not like they would be motivated to turn away business so I'm just curious what their reasoning might be. Thoughts?

Ok, so I have the LM-1 set-up and I'm getting a reading on the LM-1 controller so obviously the sensor itself is working. I can't get the output to register in tunerstudio however. I have the analog output cable that has a red wire, a white wire and an unshrouded mass of wires. Is the exposed wire ground? My understanding is that you take that ground wire and ground it to the same place as the ground from the MS unit. I have the LC-1 with 0-5V range picked in tunerstudio. Am I missing something here? thanks

Yeah, that sounds like Steve :-/ He has pretty strong ideas about what is "proper".

78, I would seriously consider talking to Steve as well. Since your are in Denton, distance is a wash.

Oh, I didn't realize Paul worked there. Would there still be anyone at Alamo that has Z-specific knowledge?

Jerry is sort of semi-retired. He still owns the space on Mosson Rd. in Ft Worth but rents out his shop to a guy named Paul whose business is called "Wireworks". Paul can work on Z's but I can't personally vouch for his work. Jerry built a new shop on the other side of his property. I don't think he would still do actual mechanic work, but I don't know that for sure. You could certainly talk to him and he might know some other people. Another guy, also in Ft. Worth, is Steve Ehlers who owns "Rising Sun". I'm assuming he is still in business. Steve is extremely knowledgeable about Z-cars and is also very anal. This is good if you need to KNOW that what you need done will get done right. It's BAD in that you will come out of there thinking your car is a POS...lol. That's a bit harsh, I'm just saying be prepared for criticism. Kind of like a combination of getting your car worked on and going to confession

Would there be enough room on one of those throttle body spacers? I'm thinking it might be too tight but it's something I've thought about. Six Shooter, what kind of GM throttle body? What size?

Would there be enough room in one of those throttle body spacers? I know it would be super tight. You would have to mount the valve on the top corner, drill the hole for the plunger and then dill a hole perpendicular to THAT for the air flow. Of course, that hole would in turn have to be tapped for an NPT/barb fitting (or something) to attach an air hose to. I don't know if the side walls have enough thickness for all of that.

SUNNY, did you just use some self-tapping sheet metal screws?

I'm digging these ideas!

Oh, that's perfect. Thanks!

This is in regards to a megasquirt setup but I figure the subject matter is general enough to place here. I am using the stock hole in the firewall behind the clutch pedal to run the wires through. I was just wondering how people are sealing this? I've looked at Mcmaster and they have a variety of grommets and I could probably cobble something together but I was hoping there might be some kind of "combination" grommet that incorporates some shrink wrap type material. I'm just trying to get some ideas and would appreciate a little feedback. Thanks.

Yeah, can the DGV's even flow enough air to make that much power...lol? Can you talk to the actual engine builder or is the seller the engine builder? Sorry, a little confused on that point. If you can talk to the actual builder then ask him some basic questions about the engine that the builder would know; like what are the cam specs, what is the compression ratio (because I doubt its still 8.8:1), what does "head work" mean specifically (combustion chamber, ports, both?)? Did he take the cylinders to 83mm or stick with the stock bore? Where did he get the stroker kit or did he know which crank/rod/piston combo to use and he bought them all individually? These are things that you would probably want to know anyway and it would be a good way to feel comfortable about what you are potentially buying. Also, just because the guy is full of shit on the HP figure doesn't necessarily mean it's not a good engine but I would certainly be vigilant.