SHO-Z

Congrats on the new adventure. I went to the Kit Car Show at Knott’s Berry Farm a couple of years ago, all of the Factory Five owners and builders that I talked to were happy with there decision. For the money I really do not think you can find a better kit. I would really love to build one both the money is not there, I guess I am stuck with my stupid old convertible z, still needing an upgraded motor.

It sounds like a bent strut cartridge. It would seam that the spring would have enough rebound tension to overcome this. I would definitely check out the strut cartridge.

There are a lot of great ideas on side markers listed here. I have some questions What is required by law on these sidelights? Since the original design had front and back are both required? The original are reflectors too, is this required and is there a minimum area required? Can you have clear at both ends with colored bulbs? Almost all cars now days have the taillights wrapping around the corners, so rear side markers are not required, they are integrated into the taillights. It would be a complete bummer to do all of the work making this change to be pulled over and be told that the car is not legal on the street because of sidelights. These are federal regulations that required side markers

I painted my z the 70s corvette yellow and really was not happy with the color. The paint job got damaged during a move. I am now adding ground effects spoiler and side vents. I really think that the new mustang yellow will be the next paint job when I am finished with the body.

I welded pipe for 20 years on everything from commercial building to Nuclear Power Plants. Welding is like everything else it takes patience and practice. I use an old Huntsman hood and now have to have a cheater lense in it. Yea my eyes are not what they used to be, in fact have been out of the trade for 12 years now. If you buy a hood get one that is comfortable and fits correctly and forget the price, you only have on set of eyes. I use the Huntsman because it was light, narrow, has the click type drop mechanism and fits right. Just bought a Lincoln 135 T and am thinking buying and auto lense. Mig machines work neat on body panels and etc, used a cheap one on the convertible Z I built and could cover long seam in no time. But would never do that again with a cheap machine. Fought it constantly, it would run great then spit and spurt and go back and weld again. Tig welding is great on tubing and stainless. You can always wash over a weld to fix any flaws in the cap to make it look great. On tubing if you learn to walk the cup, you can really put on a slick weld. You do not need a foot petal unless you are really doing something delicate. Welded stainless steel pipe all day without one.

The old Jags had dual exhaust 123 to one pipe and 456 to the other. The E types had flow through mufflers in the front and glass packs in the rear from what I remember, I had a 140 and my brother and a 120 and E type back in the 60s. Part of the sound is splitting the flow, I do not think you can get the Jag sound through one exhaust pipe.

I think I will stay with the 70s era Trans-Am spoiler that I bought off of ebay for $30. I am not saying that it did not take a serious amount of time to make it fit right, especially on the ends. My z is just a driver and at 70 mph it will look ok. Besides I can use the extra $135 for more parts and pieces. If you want that era correct look the BRE spoiler does look good.

If you get some estimates on what you need done compare them to the cost of the tools you need to do it your self. I think you will have some new tools and fun doing it your self. One of the best things about having one of the old Zs is working on them and modifying them. I do agree with the post above, using a cheap mig welder, they are a pain and I was a pipe welder for years and fought that welder all of the time building my convertible, but it was borrowed! Have Fun Fixing the Rust!

From what I have driven around there is not noise at all. I went over some large dips and bumps and nothing. I did not drive on any wash board type of roads. The spring just clear the nipple threads and really have no where to move to cause any noise. Everyting is in compression.

The tops are stock. the spring sits on the lip on the centering ring. The way that this is constructed I had no worry about failure at on the upper end.

I have the pictures of the coilovers but have no way to get them posted. I will send them to anyone who wants them. Sorry about the wait.

I built a 260z convertible project. One thing that has to be done is to reinforce the frame rails before you remove the top. I used pictures that I got off of the internet for general information. The rear hatch was cut and shortened to form the trunk and the boxed hinge section for the hatch was tied into the rear strut towers. I used a drawing out of a Kit Car Magazine for how to reinforce the frame with 2x1" tube stock. The rest was just making templets out of card board and trial fitting them, then fabricating the real pieces out of sheet metal. For the price some one would charge for doing a conversion, you could buy all of the tools you need. You need a sawal, wire feed welder, small grinder, and a DA sander to get most of the work done. I would not cut up a 240 in good shape in my opinion. Also there has been a convertible kit on ebay a few weeks ago, you might check.

I saw Carbon Fiber Decal Sheets on Ebay and was wondering if anyone had tried it. It is suppose to be moldable with a hair dryer. There seem to be interior applications that would be neat to use this stuff on. Especially on some of the older parts z parts.

I build a 260z convertible and uses 1" x 2" square tube. As shown on the 2 x 2 tube stock I set in next to the existing rail. I rolled both ends up simular to what was shown. I welded 1/4 x 2" plates between the two rails and also stich welded the seam between the tubes. There is also a tube welded between the wheel wells behind the seats next to the jack storage boxes. I tied this tube into the tubes running next to the frame rails. With the top off car there is some flexing but not bad. I am planning in adding a bolt in "X" brace between the frame rails when the engine conversion happens.

I went through a simular problem after a spring change. Was about to pull what little hair I have out. Bleed about a gallon of fluid through the system. I then when looking at the master cylinder I saw the bleeds on the sides of it. One Squirt of air and everthing was great. Evan though you are getting no air at the wheels, you can still have air in the master cylinder.

I am going to be in Alaska for couple of weeks. I will get the pictures when I get back to AZ.

I went in an around about way coming up with this project. I really could not afford the cost of the coilovers that were made for the Z. I heard that the BMW 325 had larger struts housing. After finding some on E-Bay and getting the dimensions they sounded like they would work. I bought them for around $50 including shipping. To my dismay the adjusters were too small and only the front were struts. After a year of sitting on the garage shelf I started looking at different ways to make these work. The prior owner on my z had cut the springs to lower the car and it was really to low. Well being an ex-pipefitter I started looking at ways to build my own adjusters. Here is how I built mine. Bought two 2†electrical conduit threaded coupling and two 10†long 2†pipe nipples. I had both end of the treaded all of the way down leaving about 2†between the threads. I then cut them half and split them longitudinally. I did the same with the couplings. I tack welded a ½†nut on one side of the coupling and a 3/8†on the other for a pinch bolt. I then threaded the coupling on the nipple. To get the nipple over the strut housing I had to spread the nipple with a ½†chisel to started, Then tapped it on with a brass hammer. The inside diameter of the springs is 2.6†so it just clears the nipple threads. Adjustments is done with a large channel locks or a real strap wrench. I know that I added to the un-sprung weigh but for under $100 total cost I really do not care.

I paid $130 from LA to Phoenix for my kit for a 260z. Watch the quality of the kit my side pods are really twisted and have cracked gel coat and the rear bumper will take a major rework to fill the gaps up to 3/8".

Go with the steel bumpers. For what you want the chrome is not important. Find a straight bumper and sand blast it and paint. I have an Areo kit from MSA and the quality is not very good.

I took my Z down to bare metal during the conversion to a Z-therapy type convertible. I know every area that has filler on the car. The rear end is all straight metal. With the changes of the 240 thru 280z there probably has been changes to the contour of the rear end. The rear bumper just was trimmed too much by the manufacturer. It would make more sense to have to have the purchaser to have to trim the edge of the bumper to fit the car than to have to glass in large areas. As for the side pods the stress cracking of the gel coat and major twisting from end to end makes them all but unusable. Unless the entire crack is removed the crack will propagate and show up in the paint. I called MSA yesterday and was told that they never had problem with fit on this kit. That all of the pieces where of the "Highest quality" and never had a complaint. As you can see by 2 of the replies above that the side pods are has been a problem area to others. I am calling their B.S. They will take the kit back but I have to pay for shipping, another $130. I do not know about the rest of MSA products but I will never deal with them again or recommend anyone else dealing with them.

The fit and quality of the MSA aero kit that I just received seems to have much to be desired. The rear bumper fits tight in some placed and has 1/4 to 3/8" gaps in others across the back and sides. The side pods are about 3/8" too long to fit properly and are twisted. When one end is tight against the body the other end is 1/2" away and has stress cracks in the gel coat at the door corners. I have not tried the front bumper yet but it does appear to be a better fit that the rest of the components. Is this the normal quality of this kit? The only solution I can come up with is to glass in the underside if the rear bumper to get a tight fit to the body and filling the top with filler. I wish they had trimmed so much of the original glass off, it would me much easier to trim the excess to fit. The sides are going to take some work to get any decent fit. It appears like it might be just as easy to cut them in two and shorten them and then reglass them together. If anyone has had similar problems on this kit how did you solve them? I really think the best thing is to send it back and find something different. But what else in available?

The fit on the MSA aero kit that I just received seem to have much to be desired. The rear bumper fits tight in some placed and has 1/4 gaps in others across the back and sides. The side pods are about 3/8" too long to fit properly and are twisted. When one end is tight against the body the other end is 1/2" away. I have not tried the front bumper yet but it does appear to be a better fit that the rest of the components. Is this the normal quality of this kit? I was planning on having to glass in the underside if the rear bumper to get a tight fit to the body and filling the top with filler. I wish they had trimmed so much of the original glass off. The sides are going to take some work to get any decent fit. It appears like it might be just as easy to cut them in two and shorten them and then reglass them together. If anyone has had similar problems on this kit how did you solve them?

It is hard to say what thickness you need without some description of what you are planning to build. With proper reinforcement and gusseting it would work. If the steel is in compression or tension is another criteria. Someone could build some mounts out of 1/2" plate and have them fail if not properly thought out and designed and welded.

When I removed the trim off of my z I used a drill to just cut off the flat head screw. Just take your time as the screws are steel and the trim piece is aluminum. In that I was removing all of the paint from the car I soldered up the holes in the body when I was through. I prefer this to body filler on holes.

I built a 74 260Z Convertible. This conversion was done similar to the Z Therapy conversion. The rear hatch was shortened and layed down to form the trunk. This is an all-metal/ body filler conversion. The chassis is reinforced with 1”x2” tube stock under the floor pan. There is additional bracing behind the seats that ties into the tube under the floor. There does not seem to be any flexing of the chassis but torsionally I need to add a X brace under the car. I used 2" for the windshield cut and also slotted the top of the windshield and bent it down and welded it to the windshield framework to form a flat surface. The top of the hatch was tied into the rear strut towers to eliminate flexing. I hope this helps