toolman

2026-06-13T18:47:55Z

PART 16-Work on the Gull Wing Doors finally begin!!

After all the reinforcement of the 260 body structure with a huge roll bar cage, the work on the Gull Wing Doors begin. Some people did realize that

the Gull Wing Doors required such major structure modifcations. You are practically cuttting the vehicle in Half then installing a full function Gull Wing Door section.

But the Time is still ticking away--only a little more than 4 Months away from SEMA SHOW in November. Also, Shipping Time would be about a m

might have to Air Freight the 240Z to Las Vegas. As most Sema Show cars, it will a "Wild Race to Finish the Car" with "All Hands on the Deck"!!!

June 8

Part 15- The Rear Suspension is finally attached to the Middle Body Section-

The Video deals with attaching the Rear Suspension to the Middle Body Section. The Gull wing doors require additional reinforcement to the Middle Section of the

260Z. This is similar reinforcement when installing a Convertible Top on any production vehicle. With only a small center section of the roof that must support the weight

of Two Doors and provide structural support for the Roof Area that will cut be out will be a

nightmare.

June 4

Part 14-Finishing the Rear Suspension

Finally finishing the Rear Suspnsion and getting ready to put the 260Z on the ground.

May 24

PAFT 13-INSTALLLATION OF AIR BAGS TO THE REAR SUSPENSION

A CUSTOM AIR BAG SYSTEM was added to complete the Rear Suspension. The Bag Mounts were fabricated to mate with the Rear Frame rails.

May 15

Part 12- The Rear Suspension is being finished, The Rear Major Structure was fabricated and tied into the existing frame and roll cage. The installation of the Rear

Air Bag Suspension will complete this effort. This project still has to fit the Mercedes Engie and Transmission into the car, do the electrical wiring, install fuel tank,

complete front steering and suspension and do the bodywork and paint. All these things done in less than 4 months to make the Sema Show.

April 29

Holley Retro Bright LED Headlights Installation-

I decided to improve my Night Driving by installed Holley Retro Bright LED 7" Round Headlights. Although

they are expensive at about $500 for a Pair. Safety is very important and driving at night needs good lighting.

These Holley LED light were tested todraw only 6 amps on High and only 4 amps on Low. Power consumption

was only 25 watts. Just imagine if your alternator failed only producing low voltage while you were driving in some remote road, your headlights would still perform while regular headlights may not provide any light.

The Retro Bright 7" Round Headlights match the Original Look which seals the Deal. Actual Driving at

night really shows the difference -Its Wide and Band of Bright Light makes Night Driving much better.

I found this posting on HybridZ-that gave detailed info on installation of Hlley Lights and used it.

April 12

Part 11- trial Fit of the 370 Rear Drive Sewction into the 260Z.

In this episode, the Car is finally on the ground for Rear Suspension construction. Since they are using a Fiberglass

Hatch Delete section, there will be very little space for anything else but a Fuel Tank Cell. the major problem is time

to finish the car as they are not even at the half way point of the build. The craftmanship truly amazing as they solve problems with building a one of kind vehicle.

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March 29

Part 10-Middle Connection Frame Rails are fabricated and installed.

In this this video, the Frame Rails connecting the Front and Rear Frame is being constructed and installed. It is pretty heave duty but besides acting as a

regular Body Frame, it must also support those Gull Wing Doors. As the Roof will have be cut out for the doors too, extra support must be provided for door operation

and replace the roof structure. I imagine the roll cage have a strong Center Roll Bar Section to accomplish this task. The Doors will be a major problem with sealing and allowing adjustment of the Gull Wing Doors;

March 22

PART 9- ROLL BAR WELDED IN AND FABRICATING SQUARE TUBING INTERMEDIATE FRAME

Thing are really moving along now. The Roll BAR is welded in and a frame connecting the existing front and rear frame rails is being fabricated.

Excellent metal fabrication is demonstrated. i can for see that the original Transmission Tunnel will have to be removed to provide clearance for the Mercedes transmission. e Firewall probably have to be widen also.

March 18

EXHAUST SYSTEM REPAIRS-

My 240Z Exhaust Pipes were damaged from scrapping them on Speed Bumps. I found a cracked at one

welded joint and a few exhaust leaks. Since repair required their removal, I decided to raise the pipes higher as the

same time. I designed this exhaust system so that whole system consists of three major sections. First -Front Section

goes from Hooker Exhaust Manifold to the X-Crossover pipe. Second Section runs from X-Pipe to the Rear Right Angle

Exhaust Pipes. The Last Section finishes at the Two Turbo Mufflers. So this repair and raising the pipes only required

the Intermediate Pipe. Also, since I used Evil Energy V-Band Clamps to connect the pipes, it was a simple job.

The Intermediate Pipe Mount consist of 1/2" Steel Rods bent at 90 degrees and bolted to the Differential Housing.

To Raise the exhaust pipes, only the Mating 1/2" Mounting 90 degree Rods had to be shorten.

Pic of Mounting Rods cut off and rewelded

Pic of Mounts Powder Coated and out of Oven

Pic of Fully Assembled Exhaust Mount

Evil Energy 2 1/4" Lap Joint Clamps( Amazon $20 a pair)

Rubber Exhaust Pipe Hangers(Amazon-$6 a pair) and 1/2" Steel Rod-Bent to (90 Degrees-Home Depot)

Right Side Pipe Mount

Left Side Pipe Mount

The Exhaust Pipes were raised about 1 1/2". The job can be accomplished in one days if materials were at hand.

March 17

Part 8-The Roll Cage is now installed so the Roof Area is being prepared for the Gull Wing Door Build. A Major Obstacle that I foresee the Transmission Tunnel and Firewall

may have to cut open because of the Huge Mercedes Motor and Transmission. But if they are willing to Eliminating the Tunnel and Widening the Firewall Opening, they should not be a Big Problem.

March 7

Part 7-More work on the Rear of the Hatch area to install the 370 Rear Suspension Subframe. The Entire Rear Deck and Frame must be removed to make it fit.

The Workmanship is excellent and the Shop High Tech Equipment makes this big job alot easier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v-EY6HaMiWFE48&t37s

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February 14

Part 6-Major Problem delays SEMA PROJECT

A major problem occurred in using a late model 370z suspension into this SEMA SHOW car. Its wider size and different mounting points created

a major obstacle in this construction, Time is the Real Problem so this build will be exciting to watch.

https://ww.youtube.com/watch?v=EY6HaMiWFE48t=1686s

February 8

Second Owner of the SEMA SHOW Toyota A86 Body

The First Owner of the SEMA SHOW Chinese Made Copy of the Toyota A86 Body decided to sell the body. The real question is why? The next Owner

bought it with the idea of attempting to assemble the body and create a drivable car. As the body has No VIN Number and No Manufacturer ID Number, they

knew that car registration in most states would not be possible. They intended to use this body as a Race Car as no registration would be necessary.

As the video demonstrate that most mounting holes that not align with OEM parts. Also, they discovered a lack of sufficient welds on the body panels.

Mounting brackets were missing or mislocated. So even if it was going to used as a Race Car, major welding and reinforcement of the vehicle would be necessary.

So far, there has no one that I know who purchased a 240Z body from this same manufacturer. So far, we could not get a firsr hand through inspection of the Zbody

and find if that body is manufactured better or not.

February 3

10 hours ago, toolman said:

Part 5-Major Problems in the build -time may run out before the car is finished.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcXWWiwmGSI

February 3

Part 4-Fixing the Gull Wing Doors and create special Interior design work

Finding a mistake costs a lot of correction time but when you doing a one of a kind project that is to be expected.

Go to---https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itN99F8VKbQ

February 3

Part-3 The Whole Plan is explained in this Video,

Liberty Walk Body Kit and other exterior modifications are exposed. But Time is the greatest enemy as the Sema Show is now less than a year away.

go to ======https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Merq9wrCZns

February 3

PART 2- Working on Gull Wing Doors

Demonstrating the process of converting old door shell into the Gull Wing Door. Fabricating new door frame from scratch is something to be hold.

The craftsmanship is excellent. Their equipment is First Class and expensive. Most body shops don"t have access to scuh expensive equipment

but work can duplicate by regular metal working tools but taking more labor and time.

Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGEWDhsnRoE for video

January 31

240Z Wiper Blades Problem

The problem with the 240Z Wiper Blades is their availability. As these cars go older, their parts tend to

almost impossible to find. When found, they cost about $200 on Ebay. Those Universal Wiper Blades use

a Plastic Universal Adaptor. However, these Adaptors don not hold the Wiper Blades to the OEM Wiper Blade

Arms. Mine came off during a rain storm several times. The last time It scratched my windshield glass but

fortunately it was polished off. So I decided to see if I could create a better design. Most Late model cars

use a "J HOOK" design Wiper Arm. So I went to the Junk Yard and got two arms. As I was a regular customer,

the owner said "just take them, I got hundreds of them". After carefully measure the distance between the Wiper

Nut and the End of the Wiper Blade Tip. I just cut the donor arm about 3" off. The Univerisal Wiper Blade was installed

on the J Hook. Then, slide the J Hook piece on the OEM wiper arm until the measurement was acheived. A Visegrip

Plier was used to hold the two pieces together. These two pieces were tackwelded together. The newly form

wiper arm was installed and tested thru its full arc. When that was achieved, I fully welded the two overlapped pieces together.

A Simple Fix for the Wiper Problem. Very Low Cost and ended up with a Wiper Blade that will always be Available.

Those those of you who want the original Blade-just keep the OEM one in a safe place and make one for every day use.

Unless you can afford $100 when your blade wears out.

January 30

This video is the Second Video concerning the Toyota A86 reproduced assembled body. They have several individuals that discuss the quality, licensing, and infor

about this car body.

In my opinion, the more detailed pics of the alignment and welds show that this body was not assemblied properly. If even used for the street, the body would require closing the panel gaps and alot more proper welding. Unitized bodies require proper panel alignment and sufficient amount of welding to provide a safe cafe.

Please give your comments about this car body. Remember this same company manufactures the 240Z assembled body also.

January 22

The Video is the most detailed Rebuild of the Power Brake Booster Unit. As the 240Z family goes older, aftermarket rebuild boosters

are getting harder to find. In some cases, they are impossible to find so rebuilding maybe the only solution.

January 19

The reason for this video is investigate the Quality of Car Bodies that are produced by a Chinese Manufacturer who also produces the

240Z assembled body. The Actual Chinese Reproduction of the 2025 SEMA SHOW Toyota A86 Body was purchased and examined by several individuals who expressed their opinions about the body. The owner will attempt to assemble the vehicle with available Aftermarket Parts( tail lights, interior parts,etc. This body was the same one at the SEMA Show so time will tell its quality and parts fitment is up to the OEM Standards. This body came from the same factory as the 240Z body at the 2024 Sema Show.

I checked this at the Sema Show and after watching this video, my opinion on this car is there is a definite lack of quality control in the welding of this car. There seems to be a lack of spot welds on some of the panels. On Utilized Body Cars, spot welds

will determine the strength of structure. Normally, the original manufacturer would use Robotic Spot Welders on the Assembly Line. On this car, the welds are not located close together thus not providing a strong panel. Another major flaw is the Front Strut Mounting Holes are oval not round as they should be. This shows a definite Quality Control Issue. It seems that assembly of this car was rushed and put together just for the show.

The Collision Industry has a established Standard -ICAR which provides proper methods of assembly of Body Parts. A ICAR Body Specialist should inspect this car before it is put on the road or used as a race car.

January 9

This 260Z Build for the 2026 SEMA SHOW comes all the way from Great Britain. Yorkshire Car Restoration is performing a Wild Build

with a complete Liberty Walk Body Kit, Mercedes V8 Motor and featuring Gull Wing Doors. This company is well known car restoration

companies in Europe. Since the car will represent them at a SEMA SHOW, you bet they will go all out. I seen some of their previous

restoration work and their workmanship is excellent. The 260Z Project Car is from California and is pretty good shape. The body seems to have relative only minor corrosion problems( even the floor pans probably don't need to be replaced.

https://youtu.be/QsBzrxPXM2c Use this Link________________________________________

January 2

Happy New Year!!

I decided to upgrade my alternator on my Z. During my engine swap, I wanted to install an alternator with at least 150 Amp Output. Unfortunately, due to tight spacing, the only alternator that would fit was a General Motors One Wire Connection 110 Amp Output one. That was before added a Silver Mine Electric Power Steering which had Max 50 Amp

Draw. So an upgrade was warranted. A POWERMASTER 165 Amp CS130 Alternator was selected. As it was the same

alternator model as the original one, no mounting modifications would be necessary.