Im about to recieve original -71 km/h gauge and i plan to install it to my Z, i just dont have the slightest idea how. Do i need to change the pinion rings/do some sort of calibration? How easily does the gauge come off without taking the whole dash apart? or is it even possible...

All help appreciated.

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240zgoldie.blogspot.com

I found it easier to remove the front seat, but I'm over 6ft. You have to spend some time upside-down under the dash. Some sort of pillow over the pedals helps, too. Most normal people pull the steering wheel for easier access, but I got away without doing that. A good, stable light source is needed to zee what you're doing in the dark under there.

The tach and speedo are designed to pull out toward you, into the cabin. BUT ~ if you have a dash cap like I did, this is impossible. The cap normally fills the nacelle cavity *JUST* enough to prevent Superman from pulling the gauge out without breaking the cap. In that case, the gauge has to be pushed forward thru the dash and removed that way.

The problem with that is, there usually isn't enough clearance to get it out (and then back in) unless you remove (or loosen) the dashboard.

Getting the gauge off is not much of a problem. It has a "top hat" bracket behind it, which holds it in place. The screws are tiny and will drop in your face if you lose control of them (so did my wrenches! ). It might be possible to remove one screw and only loosen the other, then swing the bracket out of the way. I've done three of these and each one was slightly different.

The speedo cable unscrews from the gauge in the normal fashion. One thing to pay attention to is the exact replacement of the 3 or 4 lightbulbs which illuminate each gauge. They are different siZes; two smaller bulbs for general illumination, and larger bulbs for high beam, handbrake and turn indicators. I mixed them up and had to go back under there again. No big deal if you have the time.

Clean the nacelle from behind once you're in there, and take a moment to read all the Kanji under your dashboard!

OH ~ and in two of the swaps I did, the gauges wouldn't illuminate until they were grounded by the 'top hat' bracket which held them in place. I bet I needlessly replaced about 20 bulbs before I discovered that.

I'm pretty confident other members have had their own experiences with these gauges ~ hear their stories too, before you climb under there.

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1970 240Z

Thanks Frank, i tought i had my share of "under-dash-moments" but getting a original 240z km/h gauge is a one out of million, there is only handful of them So i better brace my neck and back for this oncoming battle...

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240zgoldie.blogspot.com

I guess the big question is, "do you have a dash cap?"

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1970 240Z

Oh, and a SAFETY NOTE:

PleaZe disconnect the battery before poking around under there.

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1970 240Z

I have half-dash cap, comes off easy. I have sort of glued it with 3M sticky stuff

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240zgoldie.blogspot.com

Here it is, i just wonder do i need to change pinion gears in my tranny to make it show correct readings?... at least in future i must do it cause i have 5 speed on the way as we speak

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240zgoldie.blogspot.com

The speedometer cog ON THE TRANSMISSION needs to be correct for the DIFFERENTIAL that is in the car. The cogs are still available from Nissan.

WHITE for the 3:36
BLACK for the 3:54
YELLOW for the 3:9

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John Taddonio
1970 240Z
1977 530Z
1984 300ZXT
zcarnut@hotmail.com
FB: Zccr zcarclubofrochester

I love how it goes to "240"

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1970 240Z

Thanks for the info! Where might this cog be on tranny? i suppose i can take one out of my 4 speed and put it in the "new" right? I suppose this km/h gauge is properly calibrated so it wont effect on it.

Yea, i'll try someday to reach that 240 I feel going faster with this gauge, before i was going 60, now im going 100

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240zgoldie.blogspot.com

The cog is the assembly that the speedo cable screws into on the transmission. 2 bolts hold it on.

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John Taddonio
1970 240Z
1977 530Z
1984 300ZXT
zcarnut@hotmail.com
FB: Zccr zcarclubofrochester

I tried to remove the gauge yesterday, but it proved to be harder than i expected. I can get my hand to the lower screw but cannot reach the upper in any way... Is there any way to make more room? And how you supposed to remove the trip meter wire?

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240zgoldie.blogspot.com

Rev, it might just be easier for you to pull the dash, it's not that hard. If you have the entire dash out of the car, you can also clean the gauge lenses and replace the light bulbs.

Remove the steering wheel first. Mark and disconnect the wiring harness on the passenger side footwell. Loosen the heater control panel/cables & radio. Remove the top garnish panel. There are 6 (maybe 8?) 10mm bolts securing the dash to the base of the windshield, the two end ones are a bit hard to reach. Disconnect the floor vents from the dash. Remove the two bolts securing the dash to the transmission tunnel. Tilt the dash in and remove, use 2 people!

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John Taddonio
1970 240Z
1977 530Z
1984 300ZXT
zcarnut@hotmail.com
FB: Zccr zcarclubofrochester

Taking out the (trash) dash is my nightmare, but maybe i'll do that someday. I'll have to give it a few more shots, if i dont succeed, there is one specialty shop that does these kind of jobs. But for a price of course...

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240zgoldie.blogspot.com

Not sure why you can't reach the far nut/screw. Maybe your hands are bigger than mine. Get a kid or a girl with smaller hands to try reaching it, maybe? Also, zee if you can remove some defroster tubes or other blockers to give you better access.
This was not an easy job, but I have done it (once) without removing the dash. Both other times I pulled the wheel and dash forward into the cabin ~ that left plenty of room to access everything. The center heater control box gave me more resistance than anything else did, but even that only took 20 minutes or so.

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1970 240Z