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1977 280z restomod


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Greetings everyone! This is my first post. I've been lurking on these forums for some time now while looking for a Z to call my own. I recently came across a 1977 280z (with a second '77 280z parts car to be picked up this weekend). The primary car seems to be on-par with most unrestored, rusted Z's. The floorpans appear to be in good shape, as do the frame rails. The spare tire area is also in great shape with no rust at all. There are a few other areas i'm going to have to patch and fabricate to get the shell back to 100%. The worst rust area seems to be around the rear hatch, mainly on the flat area and the two corners that meet the hatch (pics below), and the battery tray area.

 

I purchased the car this past Sunday, the 17th, and today was my first day out with a wrench. I cleaned the car out and removed the rear bumper.

 

Tentative plans/goals for this project:

  • Complete, 100% tear down
  • Restore body to new condition
  • I'm thinking an LSx swap. Those seem to be fun and I've always liked the LSx engines (admittedly I have no experience with them).
  • Keep an updated log, pictures, and budget as I go along

I've bookmarked a few threads around this site for inspiration and knowledge, and I've already learned so much before I even started. This place looks like a great community and I hope I can help contribute!

 

Dingo / Ryan

 

 

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Edited by Dingo
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Just as a follow up on the rust around the rear hatch, this attached picture is what I'm having issues finding a replacement panel part or any other fabrication pictures of. The corner on the left side is completely gone, the right side is getting there. Should this be rebuilt with fiberglass? Any advice on this part would be much appreciated.

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You have a project on your hands with the rust, but from the glimpse of the partner the Z has in the garage, you should be just fine bringing it back to life.

I too lurked on this forum for a bit before I pulled the trigger on my Z. I bought a near perfect Z then upgraded everything as I have done the rust repair in the past and just wasn't motivated enough to do it again. I wanted to keep mine fairly stock looking but bring everything up to modern standards however, I just got my Z driving with the new engine/suspension and I just love that car!

 

Good luck on the build, the forum is full of awesome advise!

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I have the same issues currently with my 78 on the corner pieces, along with tail light area and lower drip bumper cover panel thingy. As far as budget, I lost track of it after all the nickel and dime stuff I had to keep getting. Lots of info to browse.

 

Most of all, have fun and looking forward to whichever direction you chose to go. (LS swap!!!)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Because of the forum issues, I re-uploaded my photos on the first post. There are a couple of replies missing from here as well:

 

From FLC:

 

 

Wholly rust wholes batman! nah it ain't to bad. What i would do is cut each side out of metal and then weld them together for your corner pieces. i have one corner on mine to do, when i get to it i'll take allot of pictures and post exactly how i did for you. :)

 

From Pharaohabq

 

Not too bad on the rust. petty common areas. Check the inner front fenders. that's an area that could be bad for structure if it rusted through.  Poke it with a screw driver.    Look up Tabco, or Datsun restore, or even Rock Auto often carries these replacement panels. Separate from that, you may be able to find some clips in different yards around the country.  PM me for my local southwestern yard, usually he's for 15 or 16 Z's being parted.  

 

I probably don't have to tell you to plan your build, Make a list of what you want to finish and break down each task by steps.  That will allow you do get a lot more done  when you're looking at things.  Always always always label everything, even if you think you'll remember,  you won't, it's too much, so label away. 

 

10 mm and 14mm are the most common bolts on that thing,  go buy about 2-3 boxes of new zinc coated bolts and  use those rather than trying to use the original bolts for everything.  You'll be a lot happier with the outcome. 

 

You're going to paint it anyway, so use a marker/grease pencil for notes in various areas, mark dents and where you'll need to cut.  Remember that the rust travels under the paint, so you're going to need to  sand the original paint way back if not media blast the thing.  

 

Don't buy too many parts till you're ready to be putting the thing back together, unless you get a great deal.  Shop space it really worth waiting to buy stuff for. 

 

Lastly, Consider a really good Rust proofing paint, like Por-15 for all the areas you don't often see, such as in the cowel and underbody. You can paint over it, but it'll really protect the metal from rust you don't get to see.  If you can coat the insides of the body panels and frame rails with something to protect it.   If you can make friends with the local sand blasting shop. Maybe they'll teach you or work for beers.  you have nothing to lose there.

 

Good luck, it's awesome to see one in great hands and ready to be saved!

 

Phar

 

From Phantom:

 

 

You're off to a right start by going through the unibody and getting it completely repaired. No matter what your plans are for the car that is absolutely the best first step. After that is done, however, you need to stop and develop a comprehensive plan so that you don't end up doing things over -and over -and over. When you think you have a plan put it on the forum and ask for feedback. You'll have to sift the chaff from the good stuff but you will get useful feedback.
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  • 1 month later...

So it's been a while since I've updated. Both front fenders removed, most of the interior removed (except dash), most of the front grill removed, windshield out, both doors removed. I've come across some more rust spots here and there, so the list keeps growing!

 

 

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You definately have some challenges ahead of you.  Keep in mind, there is usually twice as much hidden rust as what you can see.  You will be a rust repair expert when you finish this project.  Be sure to check for leaks in the cowl area.  This is a known trouble area and causes most casees of rusted floor panels.  The front seam in the cowl area usually didn't get properly sealed at the factory.

Edited by brownclee
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  • 4 months later...

Another too-long-between-posts update. The car is completely stripped, and up on a rotisserie. I went the route of modified Harbor Freight engine stands. It works much better than I thought and isn't very hard to turn with one person. I can finally start on the rebuild phase!

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Started on the under coating removal. Talk about a pain in the butt! But I guess a labor of love is what we put into these cars, right? I bought a pneumatic scraper and scale needler for help on this part. 

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Not much of an update, but almost all of the undercoating is gone. I wanted to clean off the old tar that was left behind, so I tried WD40, mineral spirits, Goof Off, and Bug & Tar Remover. The Bug & Tar Remover ended up being the best, and since it was slightly tacky it held up on the vertical surfaces while it soaked in. I think I'm at the point of having to buy metal to start repairing rust, floor pans, frame rails, etc. I'm going to do the structural parts first before doing the pretty stuff on the visible panels.

 

I didn't remove the undercoating on the transmission mount since i'm going to remove it for the swap, and I'm going to end up cutting out the spare tire well eventually for a new fuel tank.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Let the 75th rusting games begin... So this weekend I finally broke out the saws and went to town on some of the rust. I also was working on removing the stock transmission mount since I won't be using it, but in my attempts to just remove the mount I bent, poked, thrashed, abused (you name it), the metal underneath the mount. So I ended up cutting it out too and rebuilding it back... After that we started working on the rusty battery tray, firewall, and front frame rail on the same side.

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Looking good! DId you just use the bug and tar and some copious amounts of elbow grease? or was it necessary to grind it all away still?

 

So far it's been elbow grease. Once I get to the point i'm ready to recoat the bottom i'm going to scuff it up more for better adhesion. My thinking on removing the old tar was two fold, one was so I could get a better idea of the condition underneath it all, and second was so when I did bring out the wire wheels there was less gunk to eat through.

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  • 1 month later...

Overdue update! Pics attached are repairing the front frame rail under the battery box, and finally getting in the battery box area patched in. I need to finish the welds on the battery box area, but it's about 80% done. I will have to do similar work on the driver side front frame rail and fender under the clutch/brake masters. I also got the floor pans from Zedd Findings and they are really nice. I really like how long they are, and how much excess material is on the sides. I'm probably going to end up replacing as much of my floors as possible to get the benefit of the new pans.

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More rust... I think this entire thread will be about rust! There were two spots on the driver side wheel well, toward the front that needed to be fixed. These were pretty simple and went back together quick. Next I started on the fender/firewall under the brake and clutch master cylinders. This isn't as bad as the battery area, however the front frame rail on this side is in pretty rough shape. The front frame rail will be next after I get the fender corner back together.

 

This post has all the pics related to the two rust places up front.

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