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The dash looks fantastic. nice job on the entire interior refresh.

I’m feeling closer and closer to getting the car back on the road!! The car has been dropped off at the body shop almost 4 weeks ago now, which is at least some good progress. Wen I went to drop off the car they already had a lift ready for me so we could put her in the air right away. There we unfortunately found out that one of the Apex Engineered frame rails had a manufacturing mistake. The passenger side frame rail had been bent the wrong way! I immediately contacted Apex true email as somehow international calls weren’t getting trough to them. The responded the next day (+7 hour time difference) and told me they would send me a new pair once they got there new shipment in the next week. Unfortunately they were later then expected with sending out the new pair and I had to fight of the body shop from reproducing the frame rails locally as the Apex once where on there way. This might have been a mistake time wise as 1,5 weeks ago they finally arrived in the Netherlands afterwards they where hold back (and still are) by customs. They said the paperwork was unreadable/missing, the HS (material) code was missing and customs wasn’t agreeing with the declared value of the package, even though I already paid the fees, which shouldn’t be necessary as it’s a warranty item and I technically didn’t pay for it. So while waiting for the frame rails to come in and for me to get the car back I decided to get to work fixing the interior panels and the dashboard. During which I also participated in one of the meets organized by the Z ZX Club Holland and got to ride along in this amazing 3,1 liter stroker 240Z producing an amazing 320ps to the wheels! While working on the interior my girlfriend decided to get involved and make me a custom set of door cards. These will be complimented with custom seat covers and a reupholstered center console. Please not the picture of the door cards is still a early work in progress and we both have never done something like this. I don’t have many before pictures of the interior pieces but I do have photo’s of the finished result. Almost all of the plastic pieces had cracks in them and the center console was even broken in two, but all in all they weren’t too bad for almost 50 year old plastic. I used a plastic welding kit with steel wire inserts to repair and reinforce the damaged sections before sanding them smooth. I roughed up all the pieces with sanding paper before spraying them with plastic primer, black paint and matt 2K clear coat. For some pieces (like the glove box, center console, upper dashboard trim and the rear taillight panel) I used a texture spray to reapply some texture and/or match them to the repaired dashboard. Fun fact, while writhing this and looking up some terms I realize that my interior taillight panel is from a 70-74 240z and not from a 280z. Bit weird but it fits. *First picture is just wet semi-gloss black paint and doesn’t have the matt clear coat yet, the second picture of the center consol has clear coat and is fully dry. To restore the dashboard I followed some good old YouTube video’s and sanded down all the damaged area’s in a V shape before filling them in with a 2K polyester body filler and sanding the dashboard back to shape. The body filler I used bonded really well to the dashboard foam and was easy (with a ton of elbow grease) to sand back into shape. To seal and strengthen the top layer of the dashboard, and help make it smooth, I decided to use UV (3D printing) resin which I applied in layers using a brush and hardened with a UV lamp before putting the dashboard in the sun for a few hours. It was a bit of a gamble but I was pretty pleased with the result. The resin created a strong, hard and naturally very UV resistend layer reinforcing the dashboard. After sanding it smooth, primer, texture spray, paint and matt 2K clear coat the dashboard was done and now looks pretty good if I say so myself. As a finishing touch my girlfriend even customized the dashboard Datsun 280z badge for me using a chrome and a green inlay! I hope to have my car back soon so I can reinstall the interior and install the Apex Engineered control arms. My goal is to have the car road ready before the end of the month.

The more research I do the more horror stories I keep seeing so lets hope they get their stuff sorted out. I am in manufacturing and product development and i would never let these type of issues out the door. If you have the retro suspension kit it may be a different style arm which uses heims on the inner mounting point. Which i hope they updated the rear heim joint angle because from what I've see its on a big angle so any length adjustment needs to reestablished the correct "washer shims" which is a terrible design flaw. The arm and subframe is there own design so with a blank canvas this should be easy to make right. This is the same measurement between both stock and their arms. its the inside bushing stop to inside bushing stop. stock is about 16". Theirs came in about 15.5"

Welcome to the forum! I’m in a bit of te same boat with my 1977 280z which I’m trying to get back on the road. I would love to see every little step of your journey with the car. In my opinion all possible information is welcome online as some information is pretty hard to find. O and as you have seen the Initial D anime you might also enjoy Wangan Midnight, might even give you some inspiration for modifying your Z. 😉

I’m currently also waiting on some replacement Apex frame rails as the passenger side one had a production fault (was bent the wrong way!). They were also a week late with shipping the new once and even more annoying they are now held up by customs as they are unhappy with the paperwork and declared value of the package. All in all my car has been sitting idle on a lift at the body shop for two weeks now, I hope they won’t charge me too much in storage fees. 😢 I also have the Apex rear control arms and almost there entire front Retro suspension kit lying on the shelve waiting for my car to come back. I really hope I don’t have your issue with the rear control arms being to short. Would you be able to measure both the stock and Apex arms for me? That way I can check mine while I’m still waiting on my car.

05-03-2026 ATLAS Z UPDATE: I started the day with cutting out of sheet metal a cover to close up the trans tunnel behind the shifter, painting it with rustoleum and installing it with TEK screws. After that I jumped on the center console. I cleaned it up and painted it with SEM Landau Black interior paint and then cut and modified a Skilalrd radio delete plate and drilled holes and mounted it to the console. I painted it in matching glossy black hammertone to match the rest of the dash work in the past and got it on. I then went about screwing with TEK screws and washers some of the carpet down and then screwing the conodal down in the back. I then worked on trimming the carpet kit I got from the company in New Jersey (the name escapes me) . I drilled out and cut the plate for my shifter lever and painted it silver and installed it. It was cool the way I did it, as I was able to hold it where I wanted it to be, mark it then go to work. I then pulled the rear deck panel and marked and cut it for the strut tower brace from Apex International, and also cut the relief section for the wiring to get through. I then cut the section out of the car, and painted it up. I also painted the upholstered areas with the SEM Landau paint, and it came out looking brand new! I ordered the Braille Battery 2105 and battery box kit powder coated black from Skillard and I am awaiting arrival. I will be mounting in behind the passenger seat along with the battery switch later on. I mounted my Momo Steering wheel and that went very easy, I like it. I have a blue horn button and a black one. I decided to try the blue first. I like it as it ties in the blue paint outside and the gauges and the shift knob I got from Speed Dawg Shift Knobs.. I went with the Blue Swirl. I like it. What do you think? Should I use the black horn button? Then I removed the Skillard rear floor, and mounted up the Apex Strut tower bar, and cut the sides of the Skillard floor so that I can cut them to form fit and re-install. I got with Skillard and ordered the extra brackets, and they have always been awesome to deal with. Then the most important part....standing back with a few Coors Banquet beers and taking it all in, and letting my brain brainstorm. Coors Banquet are the very best beers a guy can drink. Things are going pretty well, I think. Cheers!~PICS.

My doors are not the same shape as the stock doors, mine are slightly carved outwards towards the widened rear 1/4 panels. Thanks for asking

I’ve been struggling with these Apex rear axles. They require OEM 370Z axles, no aftermarket and not G37 ones. I ordered used ones on eBay, which they recommend, one wasn’t OEM because it had 6 bearings, OEM has 8. So I think I have correct axles and after struggling for a while with the side that has the internal snap ring I looked at the donor axle and the groove is deeper than the new ones. So not sure if new ones have an issue, or if I still don’t have the OEM 370Z axles. Sent Apex and email, we’ll see what they say.

APEX said they would have a set made up by friday but haven't heard from them. Added a photo showing the APEX control arm length issue. Other bushing is lined up and its about 1/2" short. Put the rest of the rear together so i could sit it on the ground with the wheels and tires. T3 r200 short nose kit and rear sway bar. Got my tires in so got them mounted and installed for some motivation. Since I am using 300zx rear drum ebrake. I decided to use a 240sx ebrake handle (since I have this combo in my 240sx). Modified the handle to fit in the stock Z location. Mounted the cable holder thru the floor. Made a couple small brackets to hold the cables in the correct spot. Adjusted and works great. Also added a couple photos of the brake setup.

Hehe! I've been told visitors to Norway enjoy the nature and scenery. Living here I don't think much of it. And finding other places in the world more exotic🙂

Welcome to the forum! We visited Norway a few years ago: Oslo, train to Bergen, boat to Rosendal (beautiful place that looks like a Jurassic park ) Norway is probably one of our favorite places in Europe.

the way the bottom pipe comes down it is on a bit of a cant. I will install once welded and then slide a slightly larger pipe over it and hold it level and then mark the inner pipe with a sharpie. then when I cut it, it will be a level cut to continue on with the exhaust!

05-01-2026 ATLAS Z UPDATE. Happy May Day! Today I spent some time modifying the intercooler piping to add my new TurboSmart Blow off Valve (BOV). In doing that, I also removed all the piping and added a port on the intake side for a water/methanol jet, and got the intake pipe set up with a 8AN port on the bottom for the PCV setup I am making with twin catch cans, and the 1.5" angled return recirc pipe from the blow off valve I mentioned before. I used a 45 bend and then cut it on an angle and kept adjusting the angle until it was just what I needed. I also got most of my exhaust ready for welding, the bottom portion I am going to do after the top is done.....I need to be able to make the bottom fit just the way I want. All of the intercooler piping will be polished and the entire exhaust will also be polished. 3 inch, mandrel bent stainless with the Evil Energy polished muffler. PICS:

i have their front track attack kit have everything except the upper control arms on. trying to figure out front wheel speed sensors for the 370z hubs. now im nervous. they are probably revision 1 designs.

I finally found some hours to start making the wiring not look like a rats nest. Instead of fuses and relays, I am using a small PDM. So that complicated things, I am also using a buss plug for 5v sensors and all ground wires.

Wow it’s been over a year since my last post on here. Again the insane time toll that work is taking on me, mixed with some family and personal health the past year has really made it hard to get much done on the car. Boy turning 30 hits hard doesn’t it. I also reached a point where I realized I just need to build a rotisserie because 15min doing any work on the floor pans these days has me walking like a 80yr old the next day. I have decided that I am going to bite the bullet on a ZTrix Subtle Z body kit because I like the stock body style more than flares, and want to be able to have room for a good set of 245 rims and tires. This should also speed up some the body work I dreaded most which was going to be trying to get the rear quarters looking good without buying full replacement panels, and my car has genuinely never been in good enough shape to be worthy of keeping the original body metal.

Congratulations on your new purchase, and welcome to the forum! The car looks like a really clean original example -- interested to see how it unfolds as the project progresses. Thanks so much for sharing; and I hope you enjoy your Z-car as much as we do ours!! 😜

looks like a great starting platform for whatever direction you decide to go with it.

Thx! I don't really know at this point. I do enjoy restomod builds. But I am not sure where this 240z is going. Firstly I think I am going to get the car roadworthy and drive it a bit. And see where that takes me. I just received a large box of parts, mostly related to cooling, fuel, vacuum and brakes. All rubber hoses are dry and brittle. And there are small drips on the floor, under all areas where there are fluids in the car And I need seatbelts. The tires are replaced already. The import and approval process is going smoothly. From the road authorities I have now received a confirmation that the car is formally imported and entered into the Norwegian registry systems. For now linked to the VIN only. Next step is to get insurance and register the car to me, and getting the Norwegian registration number. The process is much simpler when transfering cars within the EEA (European Economic Area) system, than from US or Asia. As the EEA states are aligned and following the same processes and regulations. Hopefully I can have the first little test drives on the road within days.

04-30-2026 ATLAS Z UPDATE: I changed up my air intake to a 4 inch pipe setup, with 45 degree bends to get around the engine obstructions, and I realized I really needed to add a Blow Off Valve (BOV) for my turbo. I went with the compact Turbosmart unit, which is a 50mm piston with a 1.5" discharge diameter. Today I got the pieces cut, but still need to do some more before taking them for welding and then more than likely go back to getting them polished out. PICS:

320 to the wheels is really not that much. I had 400 for a while, then 600, now back to 300, all this with no form of structural bracing. Did I ever launch on slicks on a prepped surface, no, but surprisingly I never had any issues putting the power down. If I were to pick I'd say around 500whp is the most I'd ever want to be. For 425whp, just get an LS3 and call it done.

Welcome! Always great to have a new member and another project. What kind of modifications are you planning?

Did I see you putting anti-seize on your spark plugs? YOU HEATHEN lol Looks great so far. I am impressed how low the atlas ended up sitting. Though too bad the hood still needed modification ( I am guessing it is the length versus the point where the hood slopes down faster? That's what I kept running into when I was sizing swap options. A few people doing other swaps pulled their engines into the cabin, but... I kind of want to minimize cutting. That chrome paint did a really good job.

Hello again forum friends. It's been a good while since I've posted, basically because I've just been enjoying my amazing Zcar and only doing basic maintenance. However, I think the time has come to consider moving on and letting someone else (very lucky) enjoy this wonderful vehicle and all my work and effort. I have contacted BAT to put my 280Z up for auction. If anyone is seriously interested in the car before it goes to auction, please let me know. It would be great if a fellow forum member would be the next owner.

Man, I was literally on this thread right now. So if that is where you get the oil pressure for the gauge, where do you get the oil pressure for the ECU? Where do you get the Oil Temperature for ECU and for gauge? I have 2 temp sensors and 2 Pressure sensors for ECU, and Gauges.