JPerkins

Looks innocent enough. Just another ashtray. big deal.

Until Optimus Prime swings in on a vine and punches you in the face with it!
(yeah, this picture killed that bad-*** ego i was starting to get. But hey, whatever it take to make the world a better place for the z-drivers out there)

maybe i'm the only person on the planet that still likes the way the old stereo setup looks. with its almost metalic face plate and worn out buttons and *****. But just in case someone else likes it too, then this is how to give yourself mp3 and cd capabilities without changing your stock Head unit, or having all kinds of chords and crap all over your console.

JPerkins

sorry i don't have any pictures of the process. THey don't allow cameras where we work, but i can give you photos of the finished product, and tell you how to do it.

What you'll need.
1 ashtray
1 short range FM transmitter (available at radioshak or walmart. (Car accessory section) **It should come with the Cig-lighter power supply. You'll need this for the Power Circuit.
1 nomad Muvo Mp3 player (Available at walmart or any electronics store from 30 bucks on up) **I prefer the nomad because it doubles as a jump drive and is easy to remove and refil with music after this whole process if finished, but you can use whichever you like.***
Small phillips and flat head screw driver.
Drill w/ drill bit Or Die Grinder with drill bit (A cutting head would have made it easier too. You'll see in a momet.)
Knife (for stripping wires. You can use a wire stripper. i used what i had)
Some Krazy glue or the like.
Souldering iron. and soulder.
and one 9volt battery. (To test it all with as you go.)

JPerkins

basically, all your gonna do is gut those pretty little electronics of thier circuit boards, throw away all that extra plastic, and reconfigure it all to fit in your ashtray in a nice neat little bundle. So get to it. take those phillips and flat head screw drivers and strip that external plastic off the transmitter. You should get two Circuit boards from it. the transmitter/channel selector and the power circuit. the mp3 player, only strip the power supply/battery pack. Don't tear the jump-drive section apart. you want that totally intact.

JPerkins

first thing to do is glue that Power circuit to the back of the ashtray, that way its outta the way and isn't an eyesore in the finished product. By the way, all those wires sticking out will want to be lengthened by at least 4 inches. doing this now might be easier than doing it later like i did. Thats where your souldering iron and soulder come in.next, take that power suply from the MP3 player and cut away all but the main batterie holder. you'll want this little thing to (Duh) hold your battery. you'll have to rotate it 180 degrees on the springs so you can change the battery later and still be able to push your MP3 Player controls easily. (I had to pull it off and stick it back on facing the other way. didn't fit perfcetly, but then again, you're gonna glue it to the inside of your ashtray. it doesn't need to be perfect.)

JPerkins

next. Glue that power supply and circuit to the inside of your ashtary.


Like so.

JPerkins

wow. you're three quarters done already.

Now. you'll want to cut some sort of hole in the back of your ashtray to run your power supply to your Transmitter circuit. Use the drill or die grinder/dremmel. Now run those black and RED wires to your circuit. there are a black and brown wire too. THose go to your main hot wire and ground. NOT YOUR CIRCUIT! (if you're cautious, then throw a fuse in there somewhere. I am later on.)

I also mC.Gyvered up a height stand using a 20oz bottle cap and one of the plastic anchors from the original plastic for the transmitter. Its not necessary, but i felt better about myself after putting it in. Saves on vibration when going down the road.

JPerkins

well, now you're done. all that is left to do is test it. Hook that 9v battery up to the hot and ground wires and hit the transmit button like you normally would. all lights should come on and function like normal. Oh yeah. you'll want a double male ended headphone type chord to connect your MP3 Player to the transmitter. Turn on the MP3 Player. Tune your radio to the specified station to pick up the transmitter signal, and await music. I tested it in my dorm room and this little set up with just a 9v battery overpowered the local radio station completely.

JPerkins

for more pictures of the finished product, see my photobucket account linked in my sig. Feel free to throw questions my way if i was too vague. This is my first write up so forgive me if its bad.

*Note: this little set up is very rough. its both my prototype and final product. Those with better tools and more electronics knowledge will most likely Produce a much Cleaner, neater, ad more functional product should they choose to use this write up.

turboboost

Very impressive to say the least. I may have to try this someday.

NismoPick

We have a new age Bleach!

entropy31

hey, i have a MuVo lying around. now all i need is a 280zx!!

JPerkins

alright. just finished installing it in the car. Used the wires to the lighter for the hot side and grounded it to the frame work for the stereo. Fits like a glove and works like a charm, not to mention at night it looks cool as hell when you pull open your ashtray and hit that button and this little demonic looking red glow starts pouring out right when metallica starts bangin out the speakers. (gotta get those fixed soon. they're blown up front.)

I did however have to repair some of the previous owners handiwork for it to function. Apparently he was F-ing around with the passenger kickpanel and knocked or pulled my CIgar lighter wires out of the fuse box And didn't leave much wire to work with. Looks like he tried to splice something else in there halfway and gave up. SO i got two things done tonight. Fixed my lighter, and installed my new doodad.

And thanks for the compliments guys. And I guess bein a neo-Bleach is good. He does rock a pretty awsome car. Even if it is a 2+2.

And word to the not so carefull. You can't just grab a souldering iron like a pencil. Thankfully all my fingers where so covered with crazy-glue that it only blistered my thumb.

Bleach

when I was a kid, we did this same thing but it was 14 times the size, weighed about 25 pounds, and had to be bolted into the rear hatch.
4 line b/w LCD readout and 4 gig capacity was way ahead of its time for 1999

lww

Old school "car-puters" RULED! Nice first write-up. I especially like how you made the ashtray usefull again. Back in the day, that's where I mounted my graphic EQ. Now, I kept the original stereo intact with functional lights and power switch and mounted an aftermarket radio with an AUX input in the glove box where my iPod can connect. The speakers are connected to the new stereo in the glove box and have no connection to the original stereo.

Let's see if I can McGyver your situation... given your location (OKC), your camo's (old style, not updated yet), your haircut, the fact that you're not allowed to have cameras at work, by looking at that government style dorm you probably mean barracks on base, so I'd guess you're in the Air Force and work at Tinker AFB on the AWACS. How'm I doin'?

P.S. Next time, take pics of each step. Since you can't have cameras at work, stop wasting my tax dollars by working on personal projects when your supposed to be blowing shiite up in Iraq & Afghanistan!

JPerkins

Hit the nail on the head there l-Dub. I work on the flyin frisbee alright. Software side. Thats all i can really say about it. And for your info, we don't blow **** up. We tell everyone else what **** to blow up. Yeah, we might not be that bad *** F-22 Raptor, but we can track ******-F-ing Transformers.
(Go watch the Transformer's movie)

JPerkins

if i ever get around to installing a stereo other than the stock one, i wanna put it in my center console. That way its right under my hands when i wanna change my music. Problem would be getting enough room out of the console while still keeping it looking normal.

lww

Yeah, I know what the AWACS is used for... Father = Pilot

The console would be a perfect place if it were about 2 inches deeper...

JPerkins

yeah. i might do like i did with the transmitter and break it down into its key components and keep the bulk of it under the seat or in the glove box like you did and only have the reader and controls in the console. Hopefully i can make it work. but thats later on down the road.

Is he still active or retired?

entropy31

considering dirt calls Wade an old fart, i would imagine retired .

lww

DOH! Retired Captain practicing lawyer.

JPerkins

Props to your pops dude. I hope to be a pilot somewhere down the road. Be it private, commercial, or military. But till that day, i'm gonna keep flyin my z. (and fixin it)

Oh yeah. Quick question. You seem to do a crap ton of work on z cars and i'm sure that it includes body work. About how much do you think it would run me to have my car put in a shop and have all the rusted places cut out and retacked with fresh sheet metal? (Might even include parts of the frame)

I'll have gutted and stripped it of course.

lww

Body work is certainly my least favorite of all automotive work. Pretty much the sky's the limit. In today's market, you'll be lucky to find someone who'll even take the job. Most body shops are "Insurance Only" and have no interest in "restoration" work. Mostly, because there's almost no money in it for the shop. It takes too much time and too much work and it's generally not done well. These guys want to call the manufacturer and order new panels that they install, fit, paint and push it out the door. Real metal work is almost unheard of anymore, because of the cost involved and the few people willing to spend the kind of money it takes to do it right. The more rust there is, the more it's gonna cost if you can't do it yourself and even if you can, the time required can be staggering. I usually recommend someone find a low rust car instead. If you're already into it, if you're independently wealthy or have no common sense, you can give it a go, otherwise, put it off long enough to find a better starting point and transfer all the goodies on your car to the new "solid" platform.

Anyway, to resurrect the typical rust areas found on these cars, battery tray, dog legs, cowl, spare tire well, rear hatch latch, frame rails and floor boards, can easily run $10+k since there are no replacement panels available for these areas and everything has to be hand fabricated.

I don't want to sound like I'm trying to scare you off... Ok, yeah, I am trying to scare you off. Your young and don't need to be wasting every cent you're gonna make over the next 10 years trying to save a car that's not going to be worth it in the end. Try to find another REALLY clean one and give the seller whatever they're asking. It'll save you THOUSANDS of dollars in body work and rust repair.

To give you an idea, I would charge no less than $2500 to do a pair of frame rails. Throw in a pair of floor boards and now you're looking at another $2000. A battery tray would be at least $1000 if it hasn't penetrated the firewall or the front rocker panel. If it's into either then it's gonna be another $1500 minimum. Spare tire well is gonna be $500, dog legs are gonna run $1500 EACH, the rear hatch is at least $1000 and the cowl could be anywhere from $500 to $2500 depending on how bad it is. That adds up to $11k just off the top of my head.

Then you have to seal, bondo, sand and paint the thing.

The more work you can do yourself, the more you can save, just ask Apollo. But it's incredibly tedious work that usually requires you have access to a dedicated garage.

For an entertaining and educational experience illustrating what rust does to Z cars, watch all the video's here:

http://www.kamikazeracing.org/dl/SwedeRebuild/

Even though it's a 240Z, the 280ZX has suffered similarly through it's 25 years of use and abuse.

JPerkins

wow. Good job on that scaring part. I think i just decided that its not fallin apart, i'm gonna leave it alone for now. i'll keep my eyes for a different body. I over paid for this car anyway ($4000) cause the cars too low to crawl under. not to mention it gave me so much crap right off the bat. don't need to overpay anymore.

SHADY280

nice work with the electronix thingy (im real technical) and wow, im not charging enough for mybody work!!! i just charge 30 an hour, so the rear floor for a customers 280zx i did only cost him 200 bux!!! its too bad more of you guys with rusty cars arent near me. i do stuff like that all the time, its just another step in the process.

lww

The other alternative is to find someone like Shady who can do the work right for a reasonable price. Unfortunately, the two are usually mutually exclusive. Most people will just slap it together and not prep the surface properly and you'll end up with a shoddy repair that won't last. Someone that'll do it right is generally gonna cost an arm and a leg unless you have an "in" like a family connection or a good friend with skills you can abuse.