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It Begins


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The 280Z28 went into the shop today.  The list is almost legendary.

The only thing that absolutely has to be done is the coolant leak inside the cabin repaired.  Not sure if that is the control valve or the coil but we'll find out soon enough.  

Whiles it's there, though:

All the external lights are being removed. The headlights are upgrading to HID and all the others are upgrading to LED.

The dash is being pulled to:

    Give easy access to whatever is going on with the coolant leak,

    Track down the OBDII connector that went AWOL about 10 years ago,

    Replace all the dash lights,

    Installarrow-10x10.png a white-face gauge kit, and

    Repair some micro cracks that have appeared on the original dash.

Will be installing a new center console that my son gave me for Christmas about 10 years ago.

Install an adjustable proportioning valve I've been carrying around for about 10 years.

Replace the serpentine belt on the LS1

If it follows in the footsteps of the Z32 convertible there will probably be a few more items that will get done - while I'm there.

 
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  • 2 weeks later...
 

Well, sure enough, the Z32 flashed a check engine light a few miles from the shop so now it will have to go back in again.  That will be one of my "next week" chores.

 

The 280Z28 is slowly coming apart.  All the lights are out of it and on their way to ZLEDslights in Weslaco, TX.  Once it's all done the car will have LED's in all the external lights except the headlights which are being converted over to HID.

Dash is in the process of coming out now.  That will allow easy access to the heater coil and control valve, and the connecting hoses to find the coolant leak.  It will also make it easier to find the AWOL OBDII connector and to replace the dash lights and convert the gauges over to white faces..

Progress is slow but steady.

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Well - progress is being made.  All the lights are out of the car, packed up, and sitting in Fort Worth, TX in the middle of the ice storm.  Hopefully they'll get to ZLEDslights in the next day or two.  Need to do a repair on one of the rear valance panels where a small piece of plastic that a tail light retainer bolt screws into has broken off.

The dash is out of the car and actually getting some good news.  Everything under the dash appears to be in great shape - even the heater & defroster hoses. Should be able to determine the source of the coolant leak next week and also get the white faced gage conversion done along with the higher wattage dash lights.  Hopefully the leak is just hoses and nothing else. Still haven't been able to find the OBDII connector.  Sneaky little bugger.

Need to get an auto cosmetologist in and get the hairline cracks that are just starting to form in the dash repaired, too. 

Still have the adjustable proportioning valve in the rear brake line and the HID headlights to even think about.  Also thinking about running an extra, relay controlled wire so that I can install some LED DRL's in the front spoiler.

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The lights finally made it to Zledslights in Texas. Weather delayed them getting there 5 days. Samuel thinks he can have them back to me by the end of the month. He's moving into a new shop so business appears to be good.

It's funny, I've had my car 23 years now and it wasn't until the gauges got their white faces that I realized there are green covers over the dash lights. Couldn't tell with the stock black gauges. Really like the new look and the fighter bulbs.

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Picked up the heater control valve at the shop today and took it to a radiator shop to get it checked out and repaired if necessary.  These things are like $270 now with a $200 core charge - depending on where you shop and if you can even find them. Same with the custom formed hoses that are needed to go with it.  It looks like the coolant leak under the dash was the hoses on the valve but better safe than sorry.

Dash is out at an automotive "cosmetologist" getting some hairline cracks taken care of.  The dash went 37 years without a crack but in the last 6 months I've had several little ones appear.  Getting them taken care of now before they get worse.

Edited by Phantom
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So, the heater control valve checked out good.  That saves me about $170 but still had to spend $40+ for the three stupid little preformed hoses that are needed for it to go together right.  Dash is out with actual work being done on the cracks.  Once the hoses get here things will start going back together.

Thought while everything was apart I'd pick up a remanufactured clock so everything would be working but the $312 price tag changed that plan.  Have a local clock repair shop looking at it. Not sure if the last thing will be the  adjustable proportioning valve on the brakes or the lights getting reinstalled.  Going to have an additional electrical connection that I can set up a relay on to turn on a set of LED DRL's whenever the key is on.  Figure if I'm redoing all the lights i need to do all the lights.

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  • 1 month later...

Wow - just realized the car has been in the shop 3 months now.  I was hoping to be done in two but it looks like about one more to go.

Never found the OBDII connector so soldered a new one in. Check engine light will be on the front of the console.  The white face gauge conversion is complete along with upgrading all the dash lights and eliminating the green lenses.  Clock is now on it's way to  The Clock Works in Wisconsin to be redone.  Not cheap but less than buying a remanufactured one.

LED light conversion is complete for the front turn signals and side marker lights. Tail lights are supposed to be done the end of this week.

Targeting getting it back together to attend the NW Datsun meet in Canby, OR.  Never been. It might be fun.

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1. I kept it in a garage whenever I wasn't driving it.

2. I put one of those fold out window shields in every time I parked the car outside with the windows down about an inch.

3. I applied Meguiar's vinyl restorer regularly.

 

I figured out that the sun would dry the vinyl to the point that when it got cold in the winter and tried to contract it would crack.

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