inmocean

exactly-my set of 78 bumpers more than paid for used 240 stuff. also-cygnusx1 has a great thread on this, lots of good tips on new brackets, grilles, spoilers, etc...

couldn't resist...my first, and last cars...

28 now, but i bought my z at 21, still have it. first car was a 76 mgb my dad and i restored, and it gave me an appreciation for sports cars. at some point or another my dad dragged a 280zx home, and suddenly here was a car that not only looked good, but was reliable enough to drive anywhere...something my mg, even with a weber carb, couldn't pull off repeatedly...then i started noticing z cars more and more, and a first generation car made its way to my list of dream cars...but in southern indiana, road salt has destroyed so many cars, and a good z is a rare thing... years went by and one day in oregon, after missing a flight home, my dad and i drove past a car lot, and there it was...a rust-free, low owner, low mileage 78 280z at a st. vincent de paul thrift store...it had been donated for a tax break three days previously, asking price $1000. after some haggling, a new battery, tires, and clutch slave cylinder later, i was on my way east. the car drove great, and got comments at every gas station, even more once i got east of the mississippi, where rust has made these cars so rare... i moved around the country for several years, all of my possessions fitting in my trusty 280z...aside from a mystery glitch which turned out to be a loose ecu connection, the car has never given me any problems. tires and oil changes were all the maintenance it really got, and half-shaft u-joints... i parked the z a year ago, with 200,000 on the odometer. the body has collected some parking lot dings, but still shines. i pulled the engine, as i was burning a fair bit of oil on the highway, and the clutch had at least 100,000 miles on it...rings, bearings, valve seals, a complete timing kit, clutch, and so on kept me occupied this summer. the engine is reassembled and in place, all that's left is a new radiator and exhaust, some hoses, and i'll be driving it again...when spring rolls around i'll tackle the body work, i'v already begun a bumper swap...(well, a 240 bumper in the front and i'm leaning towards no bumper in the rear, i'll fill holes with welder and fair out... as i work on my z i watch my dad tinker with his mgb projects, and my brother with his first project, a 57 mga. i like the little cars, and i'll probably do one of my own, but it will park next to my z. i really like the new 370z...but like i told my wife, in 30 years, i'd have likely traded it in for another car long ago, but i'd still own my 280... sorry to ramble, but a great thread, great cars, and great stories...

here's another misprint, different book though...datsun z, fairlady to 280z, by brian long...page 136, black and white of datsun restoration, can anyone tell me what's going on with that engine? it's backwards, oil filter on wrong side...exhaust manifold shown appears normal...someone out there must have seen this too!

thanks for the tip...

sorry, no other pics... "Does the bumper sit exactly where it's suppose to? Or is it suppose to be where the fin is?" -since you have to make or modify brackets for the bumpers, there really isn't a set spot for them to go...i found on my car that the location of the bumper didn't change much up or down with the fin gone, but it did draw tighter to the body. with the fin gone it left a row of spot-weld holes very visible, and i pulled the tow-hooks which left those indentions...you could move the bumper up, covering the spot welds, but you'd leave the indentions showing...and something has to be done to keep those spot-welds from turning into rust issues anyway...to make it right there will be body work in one degree or another. i'd still say go for it, its a fun project that helps the car in a lot of ways, with a little rust-treatment the body work could wait... in my case i feel its time better spent to fair the whole panel, the cars have very clean lines and the shaved rear(insert your own joke-no pun intended) fits well with the rest of the car. at what price beauty?

decided it all had to go...no rear bumper! filling holes and fairing it smooth!

thanks for the info...looking forward to losing my stock hubcaps!

i'v owned my 78 280z for 8 years now. i bought it because the car was perfectly original, no hacked-up wires or rust to be found. after 100,000 miles of rolling around on the 14" steels with original mag hub-caps, i'm going with a set of konig rewinds, leaning towards the 15x7 graphites... i've added lowering springs and new shocks, 1" all the way around... so my question, z guys, (and gals,) is, will these wheels with say a 225/50/15 tire still fit without rubbing? do i need wheel spacers for any reason? the car still has stock brakes, new, but stock...i was told at a tire shop to go with 205/60/15's...any suggestions on tire size are also welcome... i'm sure someone out there has done it, just looking for input before i spend a paycheck...

thanks for all the tips guys...used a set of 71 bumpers on my 78 280z. my front bumper is almost done, i built a new lower grille out of the original 78 lower and a spare 240 grille, looks awesome...i installed the rear with the painted "fin" in place, it just fit into place too well for me to want to cut it off...getting at the gas tank filler to drop the rear shocks was definately the worst part, and i still haven't resolved the corner fasteners on the rear, but it's getting there, will repaint grilles and replace the rubber strips before the car rolls out(waiting on radiator and exhaust to finish engine rebuild)...thanks again!

thank god for the factory service manual...recently rebuilt my l28, using "how to rebuild your nissan/datsun ohc engine" book by tom monroe as a resource...anyone else notice the misprints on pages 12 and 110/111? page 12 gives the correct firing order but illustrates it wrong on the cap, and the valve clearance specs are all mixed-up in the text on 110 and then to the photo caption on 111...