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Thanks! Yeah right now I'm going mainly stock just to get it on the road. I'm also a senior in college so I need to do everything on a budget for the time being. Eventually when I can afford stuff i'd like to do suspension and brakes as well as putting that other engine in. I have 6-1 headers and a 3" exhaust but I've heard it's a headache getting the original stuff off so i'm waiting on that as well. As far as the garage here are a couple pics of the place. The first picture is where all the work gets done (and yes it is all used for cars). theres two garage areas, both having three bays. There's a full lift in the middle bay and a sand blasting cabinet in the back. the other garage is mostly for storage. They have two 50's chevy's as well as the truck in the picture. I think you can see the Camero in the back and one of the cars in there is an AMX. I could list them all but i would be here all day thinking about what they have.

I guess now is as good a time as any to start my build thread. I got My 75' 280z nearly a year ago in December of 2011 with no brakes and an engine that didn't run. We trailered it to my friends house where the car currently resides the same day I bought it. Things, however, got slightly more complex after that. A week later I returned to get the Z off the trailer and into the garage to try and get her to run. After getting it off the trailer we had to tow it up his driveway to the garage but unfortunately the tow hook we connected to his 87' civic came undone somehow and the Datsun started rolling down the hill with me inside presumably to put the car in gear to stop it. Now I'll let it be known that I had driven one standard car for no more than 10 minutes prior to this experience and frankly, things happened so fast I don't know what else I could have done to prevent it. But what happened is what you see in the pictures below. After lots of back-hoeing, anticipation, and stress we got her out of the ditch but not unscathed. Luckily for me the previous owner was so kind as to put 2 MASSIVE steel pipes in place of the rear bumper which saved my window as well as the entire rear end of the car from a tree. So now I was left with a damaged 280z that didn't run or stop. And the work began. We began by replacing the AFM rubber intake boot as well as standard tune up stuff and a new Fuel pump. After some fussing we got her to run and after replacing the master cylinder and brake cylinders she was stopping as well. Eventually I got around to finding a new Hatch and did some body work. After that I studied abroad for the summer and was unable to work on the car for 3 months. But upon returning I put new stock brakes all around and started more body work. Recently I came upon a bunch of extra parts, a lot of them being 240z parts. And I have started transplanting them onto the 280z. I got a 1st generation hatch, taillights and a 240z engine that has an E31 head. I have the hatch installed and got the latch to work again. currently the lights are only mocked up. I plan on using the engine but that will be in the future when my 2.8 dies and when I have the money to build it. Right now Im trying to get the taillights done, straighten out the body, and fix anything else that it needs to get inspected. The house my car is at has pretty much a full garage. I also have access to a lot of other tools so I am hoping to do a lot of fabrication of parts myself whenever I can. Personally I am better at woodworking than anything else so I am looking forward to applying that to the car. I know this is a long intro but theres definitely a lot more to come.

heres them mocked up on my 280z

how did you mark where to drill the holes for bolting on the taillights? Mine did not come with any hardware so I'm not exactly sure what to do.

put the button in the shift knob, James Bond Style.

Thanks, I thought I had searched through nearly every "240z vz 280z" forum using the advanced search and google but I guess I wasn't searching for the obvious "rear hatch difference" term :/

I got a 1st generation hatch door with vents recently and I'm thinking about putting it on my 280z. I'm not near my car however and was wondering if anyone has done it before. I'm just concerned with the hinges being different and the latch being in a different spot. thanks

Found this right after looking at this post haha. it's not white though.

I'm not quite sure to be honest. All I know is that it still works and I listen to Chuck Berry and Creedence Clearwater Revival cassettes whenever I work on the car haha. It Seems to be pretty old judging by the wear and tear on the knobs and stuff but I couldn't say for certain if its original or not.

put new battery cables in and it runs like a champ now.

I replaced my hazard relay the other day. My right directional worked but neither the left directional or hazards worked. replacing the relay fixed both those issues.

That's true. Maybe I'll have them come out the sides or just make it only functional at a stand still.

I have a feeling thats the answer. My power antenna was disconnected when I bought the car and was really corroded so I just threw it out. I'll check this weekend when I go up to work on the car. However, if its serves no purpose now I really like the idea of James Bonding it. Maybe even some flame throwers on the front

So I've had my Z for a few months now and things are going well. Most of my electronics and lights and stuff are working properly but the only thing I can't seem to figure out is what this button does. It's a '75 280z and the button does not apear to do anything.

I haven't done anything to my Z in a while but this weekend I recieved LOTS of free parts from a garage that used to be a "280z specialist" back in the day. Will be going back later this week to pick up the last of the parts including a 240z engine block with an E31 head as well as a 5 speed transmission. Really excited, this will put my restoration on the fast track.

Lots of work to do but but heres my car in its current state.

Here is My Z. Still a lot of work needed to put into it. Working on getting it all one color once I take care of some rust so I can concentrate on other important stuff.

Do you have any idea on where to find the 240 rear bumpers? I need both bumpers but the rear is what I need most. I do like the price or the black dragon front bumper though. Thanks for the tip.