[1975 260Z 2+2 coupe First timer project]

Jeez, it's been a lot longer than I thought since I posted an update on here...

 

But, I have made some progress! Not working at the moment so have plenty of time to dedicate to the car.

 

Finished off the passenger side rear quarter... Still need a lil finishing work.

 

 

Then I set about the rear quarter window...

 

 

 

Afterwards was over the the drivers side which turned out to be A LOT worse than the passenger side. It's obviously been bearing the brunt of the weather when it was stored, looks to have had water sitting in the sill as well as the bottom portion most of the way along was pretty well done for.

Seems like a huge mountain to climb but slowly and sure I worked my way through it as well as the driver rear quarter which I am working on now...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still to come!...

Ordered some cavity wax and sprayer so I can coat the inside of the sills and rails etc.. once they have been repaired to help stop any further rusting!

And then I will be moving on the the rear of the car... Lower rear quarters on both sides are pretty crappy and I will need to do a serious amount of work on the latch panel as well. Joy. Plus! the lattice sort of panel between the engine bay and windscreen needs repaired as well which will be a bit of a challenge.

 

Then finally, I can get the floor and rails looked at which once they are being done (by others), I will get in to the doors, wings, bonnet and hatch lid...

 

The fun (and spending money) never ends!!!

       

[1975 260Z 2+2 coupe First timer project]

Been a while since I updated this thread but have been updating my local NZ forum. Copied and pasted this info from there so please excuse the odd formatting etc..

 

So some more progress, got the shell completely stripped of everything. 

 

 

 

 

and a cheeky little picture of the new heart...

 

 

Next stage is to possibly get it sand blasted before getting all the rest removed. Actually struggling to find someone willing/able to do the work for a reasonable price. Would do it myself but I don't think I have the skill to get it done to a reasonable standard. Also with the floor I need it to be certified by a repair inspector. Will be fun to jump through those hoops...

 

Hopefully with the shell out the garage I will have the time and space to start tearing down the suspension and drivetrain to give it a bit of a tidy up and revamp.

 

The work goes on...

 

Also, got my new wheels today. I know it's a bit early in the project but they were a good size and price so thought I may as well. They are 16x9 et20. Let me know what you think. 

Thanks. 

 

 

 

 

Needing to strip the rubberised under-seal off the shell but not wanting to work under the car. I had to build a rotisserie for it. 

Got the idea of 2 engine stands and modifying them for the car. 

 

so after a lot of measuring and double checking and some welding.

 

 

I ended up with this...

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's reasonably stable and sturdy enough. Will do the job while i need it.

Hopefully have it stripped and off to get media blasted, primed and sent off to get the rust repaired.

 

Been a while since I updated this, been on Holiday the last month in Cambodia and Vietnam but managed to get a little bit done before I left.

 

Got bored of doing the body work so thought I would make a start on the sub-frame / suspension parts so stripped and removed the old knackered bushings (fairly easy with a blow torch and a vice) and put in some nice shiny new red polyurethane bushings and give them a lick of paint.

Pretty please with the way they turned out...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spent way too much money on holidays so progress may be slow for a while...

Hopefully get some more work done on it in the coming weeks.

 

Well, finally got the car to a point where I can take it to the blasted, took it in on Friday morning so should hopefully get it back on Monday, will put up some picture when I get it back.

Then after that it's off the get the holes repaired and the body work done.

While all thats happening I finally have space in the garage to work on all the other bits:

Rebuild suspension, brake upgrades and start work on the interior restoration.

Going to be good!

 

Picked up the shell today. Looking MUCH better all one colour and no visible rust. Turned out to look not as bad as I imagined. 

Plenty please with it 

 

 

 

 

But there are previous repairs which is actually where the worst corrosion has taken place. Disappointing. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So next is off to the body to shop to have all the holes sorted out. Exciting times!!

 

Body shop quoted me an enormous figure so thought I would tackle what I could on my own.

With the long weekend I though I had better get some work done on the car so set about cutting out and replacing the holes left by the sand blasting.

 

Little patch on the rear passenger corner. First time using a welder so please excuse the average welds:

 

 

 

Replaced the spare wheel well in the boot. All sealed and primed:

 

 

Then I took to the passenger door sill:

Removed a previous "repair" only to find that they had just welding a panel straight over the rusted area .    So the panel behind had rusted as well... So took that out and started replacing the area. There is a lot to do. I'm guessing the driver side is the same.

 

Removed the patch:

 

 

 

Cut out the rusted area:

 

 

Treated the area:

 

 

Welded in the new steel:

 

 

 

Still needs grinding and sealing but getting there. There is still a long way to go but little by little I will get through it.

 

On holiday back in Scotland at the moment but when I get back I will hopefully get stuck in to more work. Can't wait.

 

 

[260z manual pedal box]

Hey Guys,

I am doing a V8 swap and manual conversion in my 260z 2+2 and need the necessary parts for the manual swap.

Also I live in NZ but have a U.S. Address that parts can be sent to.

Please let me know if you have anything.

Thanks.

Dave.

[1975 260Z 2+2 coupe First timer project]

Thanks guys, looking forward to the challenge and eventual joy from owning this car!

 

Quick update, got the car home on Saturday then set to work on Sunday morning, stripped out most of the interior and started to identify areas of rust that will need immediate attention. Since I have never done any rust repair before and they are in some pretty important places, I'll probably leave this to a professional... Some pics of the rust...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Will keep the updates coming, should hopefully get some work done on it this weekend!

[1975 260Z 2+2 coupe First timer project]

Hi all,

Name is Dave, I'm Scottish but currently live in New Zealand... found this forum while searching for Z cars seemed to have a lot of projects and technical information so I thought I would throw in my 2 cents as well. I'm guessing most people on this site are from America?

 

Im new to the whole S30 game but have admired the cars for a long time so when one came up for sale near me I decided to have a look and made a bid, sadly it went for more than I was willing to pay for it but through some miracle it came back up for sale a few weeks later (sale fell through) so once again I bid and this time won the auction. Managed to get it for almost $2000 less than the first auction. Score! I pick it up on Saturday morning then the fun can begin.

 

This is the lucky lady herself...

 

 

 

Needs a bit of TLC... and when I say a bit I mean a lot. Anyway something to keep me busy and spend all my money on eh?

 

So I will hopefully keep updating this as often as I can or whenever I accomplish something or need help!