nullbound

Interested.

Fish 'n chips are definitely good there, but I wasn't so big on eating peas with it. Gourmet Burger Kitchen has some really great food. Other than that, I mostly ate Indian or Asian food when I was there.

I met with the painter today and we went over what needs to be done and what all I want for this paint job. I've seen this guy's work before and really wanted him to do the car once this project came my way. There's a lot to be done, that's for sure. One thing he insisted on was that the windshield and hatch glass come out, which was definitely on my list of things to do. He's also going to be filling in many holes for me that were donated by previous owners. I'm looking forward to getting the car back, but want him to take his time with it as much as he can. I'm expecting to get the car back in under a month. I know this sounds strange, but this guy doesn't run a paint prison. Depending on his workload this week, he said I may get it back in two weeks. I'm going to Hawaii in two weeks, so I asked him to take it a little slower than that. One thing he's going to have to spend some time with, which I didn't know was this bad until I got the seals and scuff plates off: And unfortunately it's on both sides: He's going to do this the right way.... cutting out all the rust and welding in new metal. The engine bay has quite a few holes that need to be filled in, but he's going to take care of that, too. Some shots before we took it to the paint shop: It's going to cost more than I was originally planning for, but doesn't it always? I wasn't expecting the rust under the door sill plates and seals, but want that done right. That definitely raises the cost. Oh well... The car is now at the paint shop.

Very cool!

Paul picked up the car for me on Friday and took it to his house. I went over on Saturday and he and I began stripping the car in preparation for paint. We left the car on the trailer since we hoped to take it to the painter as soon as we were done. This actually made some of the work easier, since the car was sitting higher. I took as much as I could out from the engine bay and removed all the lights (headlights, side marker, and tail lights). Paul removed the side skirts, which he had rivetted on when he owned the car. I took out most of the interior panels and door panels. We took out the fuel cell and plugged the fule lines. I removed the four soft metal screws that hold the quarter windows in place on each side. Next was the fun part... The fender on the passenger side had a rust spot similar to what's shown on the roof in the first post. The driver's side fender had a few waves and a big dent. To make the paint and body work easier, I decided to use some new fenders that have been gathering dust in my basement. Anyone who has removed fenders knows how fun this can be. For whatever reason, most of the bolts used to hold the fenders are soft metal. This includes the screws underneath the cowl, as well as all the bolts and screws that hold the fenders next to the hood. Yeah, so the heads on most of these broke off. We went to the hardware store and bought a good drill bit and tap and Paul was kind enough to take care of the broken bolts and screws. We also bought some good bolts (no screws) to hold the new fenders in place. When installing the new fenders, the passenger side went on quite easily. The driver's side, however, didn't seem to want to line up with the lower bolt holes very well. We had to work the fender a bit to get it into place. One of the lower brackets wasn't lining up exactly right. We got it bent into the right position. Both fenders line up pretty well with the doors. Here's some pics from the day : A shot before it got too hot: Seven hours later: I like to keep a spare piston in the glove box, in case one goes bad New fenders mounted, wiring all tucked in a plastic bag I should have taken more pics showing progress, but it was really hot and humid. Working on a black car on a black trailer in direct sunlight didn't help me remind myself to snap pics. Some of the items from my datsun inventory going to the paint booth with the car: Kaminari front spoiler for 240/260 Rear valence from MSA New fenders from Nissan mentioned above New headlight extensions that came with a previous project Unfortunately, we haven't heard from the painter in about a week. The car is still on the trailer at Paul's place now. The guy is a mutual friend, so we hope to hear from him this week. I want to get this car in his booth this coming weekend.

I should have started this thread sooner. My friend Paul had this car a few years ago. He bought it with toasted 6 cylinder and converted it to chevy v-8 car. To start his project, he stripped the car down and took out the original motor and transmission. He swapped the rear suspension out for 280Z suspension in order to raise the rear end. He replaced most of the brake hardware (rotors, drums, pads, shoes, master cyliner, rear wheel cylinders) and upgraded to stainless braided brake lines. He installed suspension techniques springs and strut cartridges with kyb's. He replaced the rack boots, tie rod ends, ball joints, steering coupler, tension rod bushings, control arm bushings. He also upgraded to 280zx turbo cv axles. Paul bought a set of Weld drag lite wheels, which were later swapped for rod lites. For the motor, he built a chevy 377 with 6 inch rods and Edelbrock Performer RPM heads. This motor was topped with a performer air gap manifold and Edelbrock quadrajet carb and backed by a turbo 350 transmission. He installed the motor using the hooker/scarab kit. Here's some pics of what the car looked like when Paul had it: The car wasn't perfect, but it was really fun to drive and handled really well. Paul enjoyed the car for a while, but then decided he wanted to work on something else. A friend of his bought the car when he decided to sell it. That was about 2 years ago. The new owner enjoyed the car for a while, making a few changes here and there running it at a few recent DNI events. Then the new owner decided he wanted something faster. He bought a Chevy Luv race truck and swapped the 377 motor and transmission over to the truck from the Z, leaving the Z out in the pasture, so to speak. A short time later, the 260Z was back on the market, which is where I came into the picture. Paul wanted the car back, but has two 240's keeping him occupied. Paul mentioned to me that the car was for sale and would be coming with a lot of the stuff he had on the car, including most of the stuff that was bolted to the motor. Knowing the work that Paul had put into the car, it was a no brainer to buy the car without the engine and transmission. And I have to say it was a good deal. The 260Z has been sitting outside for quite some time and is showing definite signs of that. Here's some pics of the car as I bought it: The roof definitely needs attention, with surface rust getting to a bad state: The paint in the engine bay needs attention, too: The car looks rough compared to how it was. It definitely needs quick attention where the rust is on the roof. However, there's a lot already done here that is still good (suspension, brakes, wheels, etc). My plans for this car: 1. Strip the car and ready it for paint (currently working on this part) 2. Send it to the paint shop (within 2 weeks from now), with a few changes planned for the body 3. While the car is being painted, freshen up my previous 377 (5.7" rods, canfield 195 heads, team g intake) 4. Get spare turbo 350 rebuilt 5. Replace tires (I have 2 255/60-15's, but need new front tires) 6. When car comes out of paint, install the engine and transmission with JTR kit (I have a kit already) 7. Re-install usable parts from step 1 8. Have the car back on the road within a few months This should be a relatively quick project. In the end, it will be very similar to my silver 240z... and will actually have the old motor and transmission from my silver car. I wasn't really looking to do the silver car over again, but a good deal is a good deal. I don't really have to buy much to get this car back on the road and I have almost all the necessary parts to do this how I want. I'm just glad to be able to put a lot of parts I have to good use.