I bought some time!

With my efforts to restore the clock in my 280z proving to be fruitless, I looked for an alternative.  If I'm not bound to using the original movement I want something that will last and is accurate.  I now found myself looking for quartz mechanisms.  I first thought of adapting one of those battery operated quartz clocks you find in most decorative clocks, but those just "feel" cheap and prone to failure, plus they make an annoying ticking sound every second.  I then turned my searches to automotive quartz clocks.  There are retro kits out there for older American car clocks, but I couldn't find a kit specifically for my Kanto Seiki from Japan.  Surprisingly enough, there aren't that many automotive analog clocks for sale at all anymore; I guess we really live in the digital age.  

After a bit of searching I found this clock that, aside from the diameter, was a close match to the clock in my car.  I decided to take the plunge and I purchased the Equus clock; surely I could make this work!

Equus 8000 Series 2" Clock

I proceeded to remove everything from the old clock and strip it down to the mounting plate.  I treaded lightly and made sure that I could return the clock back to stock form if for any reason this endeavor failed.

Hands and Face Plate Removed

Mounting Plate Ready

I then needed to open the Equus clock to remove the quartz mechanism.  Once I determined that the bezel was simply crimped onto the housing, the removal was easy.  There's no returning this item now!

Now that I had the mechanism out of the Equus clock, it was time to figure out how to mount it on the Kanto Seiki plate.  One of the two mounting holes on the movement lined up perfectly, so I used a long bolt and two nuts to secure that side.  I was not that lucky on the other side, but I found that an old stereo mounting brace from a custom installation in my 1988.5 Ford Escort (long gone) made a perfect mount after a bit of shaping.  Yes, I keep stuff like this mounting brace forever.  In fact, the alarm system in my current truck also came from that car, but that's another story.

Mounting Brackets Ready

After mounting the quartz movement onto the mounting plate and returning the face plate, I was faced with a dilemma.  The original clock hands required some delicate work in order to mount to the much smaller spindles of the new clock movement.  I could use the hands from the Equus clock, but they would need to be painted and might not look original.  After some consideration and examination, I decided to try the Equus hands first.  After all, if they didn't look right I could still attempt to use the original clock hands.  After a couple of coats of flat white model paint on the Equus hands, I put it all together and was ready to see if my Frankenstein clock actually keeps time after the fabrication.

Ready For Testing!

I spun the clock through a 12 hour cycle to ensure the hands did not bind and that the spindles were perpendicular to the face; nothing was dragging and the hands moved freely.  I connected the power and waited 60 seconds...  which seemed like 120 seconds...  tick!  The minute hand clicked off it's first minute in its new home!  

Since the bezel was removed from the clock I decided to polish the plastic lens; it had a few scratches accumulated from years of wiping away the dust with paper towels.  I used some Novus "minor scratch" plastic polish to make the lens look almost new again.  After restoring the bezel though I discovered a problem: the adjustment knob was barely contacting the minute hand and restricting movement.  I spent so much time aligning the mounting brackets that I did not find the task of readjustment appealing.  Instead, I used some tiny washers to space the bezel out just a hair;  this did the trick and the hands were free to move.  The clock is back together now awaiting re-installation in the car.  I've been a bit under-the-weather lately, so that installation will have to wait for another day.

Regardless, the clock turned out great and you really can't tell that the clock hands are not original.  I look forward to seeing the clock in the dash again!

Ready To Roll!

I'm clocking out

Anyone with an s30 knows that it is just a matter of time before their clock stops working.  In my case, the failure of the clock had occurred before I acquired the car.  The clocks in the earlier Z's used a traditional clock mechanism with an electric motor that was continuously winding the spring.  In the later cars (mine included), a circular pendulum driven by an electromagnet was used to keep time.  After some research, I found that the components on the circuit board commonly failed.  The capacitors were usually first, followed by the transistor.  I felt confident that I could restore this clock to working order.

After removing the glove box I was able to access the clock for removal.

I then disassembled the clock.  All was in good shape and things were progressing smoothly.

After removing the wires I was able to inspect the mechanism and the circuit board.  While no glaring issues were evident, I began by replacing the three capacitors.

At this point I replaced the circuit board and applied power to the clock.  The pendulum would begin to oscillate, but eventually slow to a stop.  I still had a chance, though, as the transistor commonly failed according to my research.  I found some C828 transistors (apparently these are not commonly used anymore) on eBay and replaced the existing transistor on the circuit board.

It was now time for the big moment.  Unfortunately it was the same result; the clock would start working but then eventually slow to a stop.  As I pondered how to proceed, I considered the fact that my coil may be damaged as it is very delicate and the wires are very thin.  I considered purchasing a refurbished board from zclocks.com, and while I have read nothing but good things about his work, I would still have a clock that is based on 1970's technology and could suffer a similar failure in a few years.

I then decided to clock out on this effort and take another approach.  Stay tuned for more on my clock saga...  same bat time, same bat channel....

Death by a thousand paper cuts

Note to self...  when using a comb to straighten radiator fins, WEAR GLOVES!  Those things are like hundreds of little razor blades just waiting for your hand to slip.

Coloring inside the lines

Today I touched up the hood emblem on the 280z.  As you can see, the emblem had lost almost all of it's original paint over the last 40 years.

Using a bit of satin black paint, a very fine paintbrush, and a whole lot of steady hand, I was able to restore the emblem back to it's original glory.

Can't find a part? Just print one!

Previously when I was cleaning up the trouble light in the engine compartment, I broke the lens that covers the bulb (heat and time took it's toll on the plastic material and it disintegrated).   After significant searching I was unable to find a source for this part (or even the entire light assembly for that matter).  

Not one to give up, I donned my calipers and began designing a 3D CAD model based on the measurements of the orignal lens.  After a couple of hours, I had a model that looked like it would make a good replacement.

Now that I had the model created, I needed to turn those bits into physical reality.  I don't own a 3D printer, but I do know printing services exist.  I selected a company called Shapeways to materialize my creation.  This company is pretty nifty (yes, nifty) in that they can print in many materials, including metal.  I selected their "Strong and Flexible" material and added a polishing option before finalizing my order.  Two weeks later, I have my creation in hand!

My measurements were mostly spot-on, although the newly created lens was a smidge taller than the original unit; this doesn't bother me.

The current lens does allow light to pass through, but it's slightly porous (will discolor quickly in the engine compartment) and much whiter than the original lens.  I plan on covering the lens with a few coats of clear to seal the plastic and give it more of a polished look.  I may revise the model and order another in a frosted clear plastic material.  

Given the success here, I will attempt to 3D scan the front bumper corners and see if I can print those as well!

My car is addicted to crack

While I have the grille off the 280z for repair, I have been focusing some efforts in that area (posts on those efforts are coming).  While inspecting the turn signal lenses, I found more cracked plastic; this time the plastic trim around the driver's side turn signal.  You can see the crack in the below picture.  Not only was the trim broken, but the plastic has been deformed with a twist that would make repair a bit more difficult.

Once again my airless plastic welder saves the day, or at least the trim.  Using stainless mesh melted into the original plastic, I formed a mechanical bond between the two sides of the break.

Since the plastic was twisted and the break wasn't aligning perfectly on the outside, I had to deal with a significant gap on the "show" side.  

I once again use the Fiberflex rods, this time heating up the rod and letting it flow into the crack and building up material in the surrounding area.

Finally, I sanded the area to smooth out the Fiberflex material, then used the airless welder one more time to blend the repair with the surrounding area.  I'm happy with the result.

Shift boots

Upon driving my car for the first time on a hot day, I noticed a consistent flow of hot air around the shift lever.  I had removed the center console previously (to repair a loose arm rest and replace the shift bushings) and noted that the shift boots were in poor shape; tonight I replaced those shift boots on the 280z.

As you can see, the lower and upper shift boots were in poor shape.

The shift boots are still available from Nissan, although I had ordered mine from ZCarDepot.

Lower Shift Boot/Seal

Upper Shift Boot/Seal

After removing the rubber that was left behind from the degrading seal, the new boots went on quickly and fit perfectly.  Note the rag was placed around the shift bushings to keep dirt and old rubber from entering the area.

Scraping out the old rubber and goo

Lower shift boot installed

Upper shift boot installed.

Making mounting tabs

While recently pulling the glove box to access the clock, I noticed that the lower trim just over the passenger floor pan was missing a mounting tab on the left side.  I tend to be somewhat anal retentive and decided that this could not do, so I made a new one.

I started by removing the panel and cleaning thoroughly.

You can see where the mounting tab had broken off just under the vent knob cutout.

Some time ago my wife decided she wanted to try her hand at motorcycle riding.  I quickly learned that repairing the plastic fairings on her scooter was far cheaper than replacement, so I invested in an airless plastic welding kit.  That kit often comes in handy in situations like this.

I started by attaching a stainless mesh backing where I want the new tab to be located.  The mesh is attached by simply melting the stainless into the existing substrate.

I then used Uniflex Fiber repair rods to build up a tab on top of the mesh.  I put down one layer first, then another over the existing layer.

Once cooled the resulting tab was quite strong.  Since it was going to be out of site, I wasn't too concerned with a perfect finish, although it would have been easily achievable by texturing the plastic while still cooling.  The black color of the rods was spot-on.

You can see in the below photo how the plastic rods engulf the stainless mesh.  I also added some of the Uniflex rod on the top of the mesh to give a solid mounting to the existing panel.  Once cooled I simply marked and drilled a mounting hole and reattached the panel.

Center dash work

I focused some of my attention on the center dash today.  After removing the section to gain access to the clock (so that I can get it working again), I noticed a couple of issues that I wanted to address:

• Cracks in the trim (see this post)
• A map light that doesn't work
• Faded trim around the vents

The faded trim was easy to address.  To start, I disassembled the center dash entirely.  I cleaned all parts as best I could.  The vents definitely needed it!  I then used Testors Bright Silver acrylic model paint and carefully painted the trim ring.  I am quite happy with the results.

Before

After

As for the malfunctioning map light, I verified that I wasn't lucky enough for the issue to simply be a burned out bulb.  When I disassembled the unit, I found much corrosion on all copper contacts, so I cleaned them well.

The map light switch is interesting in that there are contacts on either side of the lens.  When the lens is angled downward, the two contacts in the lens close  a circuit with two contacts in the base.  A jumper wire bridges the contacts in the lens, as you can barely see in the top of the below photo (you can see the jumper wire where it is soldered onto the contact.

After cleaning all contacts and reassembling, the light still did not work.  After some tracing with a VOM, I found that there was no continuity between the lens contacts.  Since the contacts would be risky to remove without damaging the lens, I was trying to come up with a creative solution.  I first tried to solder another jumper on top of the existing, although I was unable to get a solid connection.  I then had the idea to quickly heat the contacts to the point of melting the solder connection of the existing jumper.  After making a solder "bridge" to the old solder, I successfully melted each jumper contact point.  Upon inspection, I found that this did the trick!  I now have a working map light.

JB Weld - Is there anything it can't do?

JB Weld is like duct tape, there's just nothing that cannot be fixed with it.  In my case, there was a lot of plastic on the 280z that had become brittle and broken, such as the center dash console, the post on the hatch emblem, and a screw post on the steering column cover.  JB Weld to the rescue!

Steering column cover
In the below picture of the upper steering column cover you can see that the screw post had broken upon removal.  

Add a little JB Weld and presto!   In this case I still had the missing piece, so I used it to ensure that the mounting post was still at the correct height.  I will have to drill out the screw hole to clear out any JB Weld that entered the hole.

Hatch Emblem

In a previous post I outlined the method I used to restore the hatch emblems.  On one of the emblems, a mounting post was broken.  Since I was able to recover the broken piece, I decided to reattach the post using, you guessed it, JB Weld!

I started by grinding a cross into the mounting base.  This would give the epoxy something to bite.

I then placed a blob of JB Weld over the base and positioned the post appropriately.  We'll see how well it holds once I reattach it to the car...

Center Dash Console

When removing my center dash in order to remove the clock, I found two cracks as you can see in the below picture.

I used JB Weld to reattach these broken areas as well.