Practically Classics Forum

A few years ago Jaguar were selling off genuine XJ40 seat heater pads through the dealers at just 50p each - so I bought 8. I must get around to installing them somewhere (probably in my wife's 200 cabrio and daughter's 100 Knightsbridge)

Well I bit the bulit and purchsed a set of gauges off a Datsun 240z.
They are electrical no capillary action and are dual gauges about the same size as the old simths
gauge i have in one of the vents in a home made gauge pod!

Seller accepted an offer of $30 Was priced at $50 with ono and had been put in a
sale by ebay down to $37.50.

From amount £34.24 GBP
To amount $54.15 USD
Exchange rate: 1 British Pound = 1.58190 US Dollars

These images of the gauges give you an idea of what they look like!






I just wish that there was 2 oil pressure/coolant temp gauges so I could relabel on oil as lpg
tank level. I pray that I can swap out the amp for anoter temp display in that gauge rather
than have an AMP unit.

Well!!! there is me on a diet as that was the money for me to get too and have a meal
(where I didn't have to prepare it!) at the local shows/meets!
Beans on toast or cheap noodles for the next few weeks!

Spent time during the wee small hours stripping down the volvo drivers seat. The base came
apart no problem but the back foam disintergrated. I managed to get the airbag out and it is
a different syetem on the mk2 v70 seats comparewd to the mk1's.

The seat does have heater elements and could blown myself onto the passenger if I had wired
it to go off rather than the heater to come on!

The plastic airbag case removed then carefully removed the contents! the bag is in the bin and
the explosive canister is sitting in the car ready to be detonated when dad is out(so he doesn't
complain)

I am dreding doing the passenger seat after mess the driver's seat turned into!

The stupid pocket on the front of the driver's seat has been carefully removed and I Wasn't
happy when I had seen their sticking! Yep I could have done better with the machine at home!

Oh I forgot to say about the gauges!
Yes their display will be enhanced by a little chrome, and they will need to have
the vent pods made to cope with the datsun gauge's slightly wider rear!
No problem there as I have black drain pipe to spare to make them.

Okay no work done on the car as the 6 month eye exam at the eye infirmary with eye drops
to dilate the pupils so they could check the back of the eyes. Good news the eyes haven't
changed so no lazer treatment!

Bad news is that they used a different set drops to dilate the pupils, which 8+ hours to wear
off, so I ended up not being able to get to the local 'OK' diner meet. Or work on the car in the
good weather!

Tomorrow the slowly closing hospital that is Hartlepool General for my feet, then more wiring on
the car unless dad has more bonfires like he had at the weekend. Which really cheesed off not
only the rest of the family but also the neighbours as the wind changed and it blew the smoke
up the garden and into the rest of the street(hense no new real updates sorry!)

Ebay shows the Datsun 240z gauges were accepted at the MOUNT VERNON, WA 98273 USPS
facility on Monday 8th of September ETA is between 15th and 25th of September. Considering
how much of a magical mystery tour the last few items bought through ebay got!

Should I be posting all the updates on the parcel so people can make game of where it will go ]
and it's final arrival at my home?

Buy stuff from Australia if you want speedy and reliable service. I bought a speaker foaming kit from Queensland Speaker Repairs at a lower price (by 40% including the postage) than the same things would have come at from Holland and delivery from Aus to my door took a mere six days. Turned out this wasn't a fluke either, as a new handle and a user manual for the same machine (from a JVC parts specialist two blocks fae QSR) arrived in the same length of time.
Off the back of these successes, I chose an Australian supplier when my work needed some parts for one of the students' projects - a 1974 Datsun Sunny. This was a bigger, heavier parcel yet still they managed to get it to us within the by now expected six days.
By comparison, a fresh logic board and a gumstick battery for my old Sony Walkman were ordered from a USA-based supplier, in Pythonville (Fla) and took two months to get here. Not only did that take longer, but the UK Customs decided to take an in-depth look at the contents of the package and in doing so, they let the air get in about at the battery. Apparently, packages from Australia are seen as low risk.
Hmm, if you want to import anything naughty, you now know where to buy it!

You being buying stuff ready for the Christmas party again John?
Or is it the other half's birthday coming up?

Damn! bang to rights..

After a bit of tidying I had to make sure that I had routed it the right way. So the battery tray/fusebox/tcu
structure needed to be fitted, so it is only held on with one nut. For that reason the tcu bar is not in straight!




I needed a battery to get this setup right, but mother had borrowed mine to use up the field again. So I had
to use hers which is dirty off sitting mud powering the electric fence.




That bolt needs shortening as it stucks out further than needed for the rod to hook onto.

I started a thread asking whether it would be possible to tap into the temp signal on the automatic gearbox
between the sensor and control unit. Althought this has resulted in a definate no as it would diminish the
signal, it did provide my with first one solution to having fitted an aftermarket oil radiator but also on a
possible way of getting the temp sensor needed.

http://forums.neons.org/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=412785

In the thread it was mentopned the need for an inline oil cooler thermostat, here is one of that was thrown
up in a google image search


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/23124007 ... 108&ff19=0


Which if you paired it up with something like this on the line out from the gearbox


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-TYPE-123-B ... 5d4f221ee9

So that is the idea but I am lacking one majour thing with this, the money to buy the stuff so they will have
to wait a few weeks again!

And an update on the Datsun gauges

Shipment Activity................................................................................Date & Time
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arrived at USPS Facility........................LOS ANGELES, CA 90009............September 10, 2014 2:16 pm
Departed USPS Facility .........................KENT, WA 98032.......................September 10, 2014 3:11 am
Arrived at USPS Origin Facility...............KENT, WA 98032.......................September 8, 2014 7:56 pm
Accepted at USPS Origin Sort Facility......MOUNT VERNON, WA 98273......September 8, 2014 6:41 pm
Pre-Shipment Info Sent to USPS..........................................................September 8, 2014

So instead of heading east, the gauges have flown south for the winter!

Been hit by stomach bug again, then the weather has turned and been thick fog no good for working on electrics.
I haven't seen any updates on the Datsun gauges since the 10th, and usps have been quick to post any updates!

Shipment Activity Location Date & Time
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Departed USPS Facility................LOS ANGELES, CA 90009............September 10, 2014 5:44 pm
Processed Through Sort Facility...ISC LOS ANGELES CA (USPS).......September 10, 2014 3:44 pm
Arrived at USPS Facility...............LOS ANGELES, CA 90009.............September 10, 2014 2:16 pm
Arrived at Sort Facility .............ISC LOS ANGELES CA (USPS).......September 10, 2014 2:16 pm
Departed USPS Facility .............KENT, WA 98032.........................September 10, 2014 3:11 am

Mother isn't going to do the stitch work on the seats till dad has gone back to work next week so he won't be under
foot while it's being done and so he has no reason to object. The front seats will only need the front of the base
cushion cover altered, where as the back will be a full job. I can't use mother sewing machine as I dare not break the
expensive thing!

So I might drag mine out, and use some old jeans as the material for a dry run to make a template for one side of
the rear seat base cushion which could be mirrored so it does the full cover. Parents away part of this week so I will
do that then! Also while the parents are away, some of the seat airbags and the old volvo steering wheel airbags need
disposing of! Now as they contain gas or explosives before these are taken to the skips they need to be activated in a
safe manner(car battery full charged and a good length of cable at the ready and waiting!! )