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HybridZ

280Z Restomod Progress


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Wow, thats a really nice resto job.  Good job!

Thanks Greeko.

In the meantime I've been doing a little work cleaning up the engine bay: new spark plug cables, heat guard and general cleaning. Re-plating the fuel rail and numerous other items, painting the valve cover, ceramic coating the plenum and headers will be done in late February but here's what it looks like so far.

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Edited by dmoralesbello
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So, while taking advantage of some vacation time I've also been upgrading the sound system. Added a great little amplifier that fits easily under the carpet toward the firewall (almost behind the radio) and are fabricating two ABS plates that will hold 5 1/4 inch enclosed speakers under the dash (totally unseen).

Here's an initial pic of the right side ABS panel and speaker. More to follow once all the details are worked out since I haven't seen this audio set up before on this forum.

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Starting with the Retrosound radio which I discussed previously in this topic, the sound upgrade is complete and and I'm enjoying balanced, crisp highs and mids  from the front and side speakers with excellent bass response form the rear 6x9 Infinity speakers. It's being all pumped from a very compact Miura amplifier (80 watts x 4 channels) which we located beneath the carpeting to the right side of the console (close to the firewall) and is quite undetectable. The front speakers are McClaren Prosound 5 inch sealed basket units which are closed in the rear (not vented like usual speakers) so there's no need to add a box or enclosure making them very easy to fit in tight places. We fabricated custom panels out of 1/4 inch black ABS plastic (with similar texture to the OEM dash) into which the 2 front speakers were fixed and tucked away under each side of the dash. Although ideally high frequency sound should be directed toward the listener, in virtue of keeping everything "invisible", we had to count on the power and quality of the front under dash speakers to bounce sound off the floor. It has proven to work very well. I also decided to remove the rear speaker grills and make them less noticeable by simply covering them with black speaker fabric.

Here are a few pics to illustrate the set up:

 Speakers and ABS panel:

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Driver and passenger side mocked up under the dash (before speaker grill installed):

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Amplifier location:

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One of two USB ports in the glove box:

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Overview of the final install:

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Edited by dmoralesbello
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While we were doing the front speaker install I decided to add a little "ambient lighting" under the dash, directed at the floor. Used 2 self adhering strips of 20 LEDS which I picked up at Pep Boys. On the driver's side I placed them on the pedal support and on the passenger side under the glove box. I tapped into the lighting to the AC control box so it all lights up when I turn on my lights. Looks pretty cool together with the LED lighting I had set up before in the instrument panel and was very simple to do.

White LED instrument lighting:

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Instrument lighting plus "ambient" lighting under the dash:

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Better pic without flash (although it looks whiter and not as bluish in real life):

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Moving on to the exhaust. I had eliminated the resonator 2 weeks ago and left the muffler the PO had installed. Nice unit from MSA I think but I wanted a bit more sound, deeper, sportier. Ended up choosing a cylindrical unit from Magnaflow which looks cool, is quite a bit lighter and gives me a sportier, louder sound without any additional noise in the cabin. No drone at cruising speeds either. I'm not too crazy about the way the tube that leads from the back of the muffler to the exhaust tip looks with the welds so I'll probably paint it Hi Temp black this weekend.

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Here it is painted with ultra hi temp black:

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Edited by dmoralesbello
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After the time/ effort/ cost of the paint job and since the car is going to be driven I decided to get clear film paint protection applied to the airdam, fenders, hood, access doors and cowl. The stuff is invisible and "self healing" and has a lifetime warranty. Should prevent most minor paint chips. Also refreshed my window tints with ceramic film which cuts down the effects of UV rays on the interior and can be practically clear as was applied on the windshield itself. Definitely a dash saver.

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Finally got some good shots with a real camera of the Z. I'm so happy with the way it's turning out. Next phase of the project is plating (zinc, ceramic, etc) different components in the engine and engine bay which I'll start on in late February. For now it's just ride and enjoy time for my son and I.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

Haven't updated in a while but finally decided to repaint my brake calipers. The rears had been done inadequately and the paint was starting to flake and the fronts had not been painted since I installed them and had quite a bit of surface rust. Didn't cut any corners this time: sandblasted them before putting on a coat of Ospho phosphoric acid treatment, then e coat, orange base coat, pearl coat and finally clear. This process should assure a nice long lasting result.

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Edited by dmoralesbello
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