240z8

We were going to totally rewire the '73, and its harness was cut up, pulled out, and thrown away. Do you think the harness from the 280z would work? I know the connectors are different, but are the wires different? I know it's probably a no, but it can't hurt asking.

I have a feeling that it's gonna be a long while before this damn car is on the road. I was pulling the dash earlier, and lo and behold, my wiring looks like a retarded monkey on meth went at it. There are randomly cut wires, wires pulled totally out of the connectors, and everything was tangled. It was the type of tangle like when you wrap some headphones around an mp3 player and throw it in your pocket, and a little while later they are really tangled. It was just like that, only I'm not sure how it happened. I knew there was something wrong with the with the wiring because after we first got this car, I spent a good 2 hours reconnecting wires and looking at a printout of the wiring diagram making sure everything I could find was in its right place. Then, I found some wire colors that weren't even on the printout. Even after that, the passenger headlight and turn signal wouldn't work. I swapped over the ones from '73 and those didn't work; I checked the connectors in the engine bay and that didn't work, so I just gave up on trying to figure that out. I'll probably get it fixed, just not in a very timely manner. This car is getting really frustrating...

Those wheels look awesome. Also, that's the shortest I've ever seen your hair. My hair is even longer than yours. Lol.

Lol, I was just about to be like, "So this is what it is like to be thread jacked.", but you interrupted your conversation for me. I guess as a tiny update, we figured out we need a gear puller to pull the gear from the crank. So we are a little backed up on progress right now.

I hope you're talking to those 2, because I said nothing about rattlecanning my car, I already know that's a bad idea. When Kinser was still down here, we painted the good hood off the 280z with primer, and after a few months, it was flaking off and looking nasty. I sanded down a corner and re sprayed it then painted over it with some dark green Wal Mart paint, and within two months, even the thicker green paint was coming off. I don't know if it was just the way I painted it or the way I prepped it, but it seems no matter what I paint, the paint always comes off.

Actually, the garage wasn't cold at all, I had the door to the room next to the garage open with the heater going in there. And there aren't any bubbles at all. I know that the Wal Mart here carried a fluorescent orange paint in their brand like a year ago, I used it to paint something, I can't remember what, but the tip broke off inside the hole so I threw it away. I'm not sure if they still carry it, but I'll check the next time I go to Wal Mart. You got some 'splaynin' to do.

Don't worry, I had a fan going when I was painting, and the garage door was open about 2 feet. I didn't want to open it any more because I like my fingers and toes attached to my body, it was cooollld last night (outside).

Here's what I did for almost 6 and a half hours: ' I probably should have saved that "boy are my arms tired" thing for now, but I guess it's too late now. Lol.

Lol, you did describe the stock ones though, you said nothing about reusing them. So I spent the last 40 minutes sanding one trim piece, boy are my arms tired... Wait, that isn't the joke is it? Oh well. I did get those off though, and one is almost bare metal. I'll go back in a bit and finish the first one and do the other. Thanks for the telling me how to get the plastic rivets out rturbo 930, I would probably taken forever to figure that out.

No lol, I'm not talking about the interior, I'm talking about the trim around the taillights. This piece: http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/50-1564, just the stock version.

Lol, thanks, I didn't even think of that. I just went and checked, they're plastic alright. What's a good way to reattach the trim once its off? Screws, plastic rivets, or what?

I have a quick question; is the only way to get the panels from around the 240z taillights out to drill out the rivets? Or is there another way?

Wanna point me in the right direction?

The swap book says to get a stock GM one because they are better quality than most aftermarket ones. I'm not sure if I need it for the car to run, but the book says to do it, so just to be on the safe side, I should do it. lol

Would the taillight lenses replace the stock ones? Would they like bond or bolt to the housing or what (I'm not sure how the taillights are put together; I've never taken them out). I'm just wondering because my taillight lenses are busted and cracked. I'm liking the idea of a totally smooth taillight, that would look awesome smoked really dark with really bright leds behind them with a black panel on the back so the colors all blend.

So I was talking to my dad just now, and we need a radiator and a driveshaft too. And the bushings aren't a necessity so they can wait until I get a job. Do you know if there are any 74 or older Novas, Vegas, or Camaros in the junkyards near you, I need to get a driveshaft from one of them because they have the specific u-joint I need. And apparently for the 700r4 I need to install a park-neutral switch on it.

Lol, its gonna take more time than that. I still have to do something to the 700r4 for the v8 swap (not sure what, need to read that part of swap book again), need to grind holes for engine mounts, need to cut some metal out of the mounts for some reason (once again, I need to read that part of the book again), need to get floors done, need to paint engine bay, need to move hard lines into the fender, need to put the v8 back together, need to get new bushings for the car, I know there is more than that, but its just not popping in my head right now. Augh, I have a lot to do... Thanks for reminding me.

Not a huge update, but we did some more work on the v8. We pulled off the intake, pulled the rocker arms, and pulled the cam. Still need to pull of the bottom timing chain gear so we can put the gear drive on. Oh, and I switched our 1 good driver's door from the blue Z to the green one. I have a question though, are the series 1 latches different in any way from series 2? The blue Z's door didn't want to latch most of the time I tried to shut it. Any ideas for that? I'm thinking I need to switch the latch from the green door because that one latched every time. And what are the plastic wedge looking things underneath the metal latch on the door? We decided to not go with the widebody for now, that's gonna take way too long. We're thinking flares for now. And I have a question about that too; does anyone have any idea about Diamond Racing's custom wheels? How does that work? Do you like send them a design and a specific size and they make it, or what? And, if anyone has a source for cheap 16 inch wheels, any help would be appreciated, I went through the first 50 pages of the wheel section looking for ideas but couldn't find anything I liked or that wasn't cheap in any way. I'm thinking around the 300-600 dollar price range for the wheels. Preferably 16x9.5 with low backspacing or a negative offset. We already have some 245/50/r16 tires that came with my dad's Camaro. 2 are brand new made in 2007, the other 2 have a little wear but still have some life in them. Justin

Lower!!!

It's good to see you doing stuff to your car. Makes me want to go do stuff to mine, but it's 2 AM so that's gonna have to wait. Just wondering, why are you moving?

Thanks for clearing that up. I got a little done this week, I cleaned my garage a bit more, there is like a foot more room width wise, but there is still like 4 more feet of stuff to get out of there, like a dresser and some cabinet thing. There is room for the Z to fit and to open a door about half way. I cleaned the v8 oil pan and belt pulley (the pulley on the front of the motor that is connected to the crank) and painted them both black. Hopefully I can get more done in the next few weeks. I think I should have made a New Year's resolution to get off my ass and do stuff. That would have been a good idea.

That's definately the thread. I guess I must have seen that video before then because I have it bookmarked from March. Definately looks good, I might just have to do that.

Someone posted that exact video in the Non-Tech forum a few months ago, I cant find it at the moment, but I guess it can't hurt in the body specific forum too.

The 260z is an early style with thin bumpers and 240z taillights I think. And the thin bumpers are really straight with only some small dents in them. And the old l24 out of my project is from a 72 and has an e88 head. Did the l24's come with different blocks too? Im just wondering. Mine has a p30 stamped in it.

I knoooow... Im still thinking of a new title, but these damn Zs are so addicting.