Forcesbeyondcontrol

Wow! it has been awhile since I have post any updates on my build. There has been some progress not as much as I would like, but thats life..... Finished welding up some problem areas in the floor boards, all the metal fab work is done and the front air dam has been mocked into place. Right now we are working on the rear spoiler. It started life as a once piece which I was not happy with. So some fitting, some cutting and we have a great looking three piece. Its almost done just some more sanding!!

Yes I know the tire is backwards, but its just being use for mock up work around the car making sure everything fits......

Yeah I see what your talking about, Weird when I open them on my computer they dont open that big. I will see what I can do to fix it. Thanks.

As I continued to work on the rear of the Z I decide that I wanted a new look for the tail lights. I searched high & low to figure out what I wanted and I found another member working on Mustang tail lights. That was it, they would work perfect. I went for the 2005 thru 2009 lights with the 2010 look. Note: the 280z tail light bulb sockets will plug right into the Mustang Light housing. We started out making the panel in one piece and decide that was not what I wanted so it was change to give it more depth. metal work is done all thats left is completion of the body work......but didn't I already do this section

Well I have been working on my 78 280z for a little over a year now and finally decided to start posting some pics of my progress. I traded a 1977 GMC 4x4 project for this car in Febuary of 2010. A friend of mine had one while we were in high school and since then I have always wanted one. When the car arrived at my residence it was running and some of the body work had been done. I inspected the car from top to bottom and I could appreciate the way some of the things were done on the car, but there were other things that I wanted to change. At several points in this build I have felt like I am going backwards, due I have torn the car down further than then when I received it. Here is what the 280z looked like the day I received it. It had fiberglass fenders, hood and headlight buckets that were in rough shape. Several areas of the fiberglass were broken and did not line up at all. The engine bay was miss match with old and new wiring (all of it needs to go) and it appear that the car had been sitting out side, due to the rust forming in the valve covers and other area in and around the engine. The floor pans for the most part were in great shape with only a small amount of rust in the passenger front pan. Over all a great project to start. I started by removing the engine, trans and all of the unwanted wiring. While I had the engine out I decide to freshing it up by removing the headers,intake and stripping the block. Both the intake and headers were still in good shape so I had them sand blasted and recoated. I strip the block back to bare metal and got rid of all the old parts. On to the body work! Decided not to go with the bumpers and side marker lights, so I weld them up and completed the body work on the rear shell,doors,and hatch. I found that several area had surface rust coming thru, so they had to be sanded back to bare metal. At that point it was time for priming and applying the engine color....

Since this has been raised from the dead....... This is what I have been working on for my tail light panel. I got the idea from a member on this tread. We are still in the fabrication process and have alot of bodywork left.

Thanks sq_creations, yes they are the 2005 thru 2009 Mustang tail lights with the 2010 lens look.

Thanks Pharaohabq, Still got a long ways to go. We started out with a paper template and them moved to carbroad. Once that was done the final template was made of wood. We made a top and a bottom to (lack of a better word) sandwich the sheet metal between. With them in place we cut out for the lights and the edges, leaving a small edge to bend with our hammer around the wood template. It seems like it took us for ever, but hopefully the other side with go quicker.

Thanks for the kind words. I got some more work done on the tail light conversion, seems like it is taking forever. The right side is almost done (still needs some minor adjustments). I started out doing a single piece rear panel, but changed direction. I think its going to look better this way. Here are some new pics:

Here is my 78 280z Project.....

Thanks for the comments.....So over the holidays we have begun the work on my taillight panel (did not get much done) but I thought I would put up an update. I wanted a modern but classic looking lights in the rear. I search all over looking a different lights trying to get an idea. So while I was searching for custom taillight here on Hybridz.....I found them. Another member here is doing 2005 - 2009 Mustang Gt tail lights and they look perfect. I am going with the 2005 - 2009 shape lights but the lens is the 2010 Mustang Gt style tail lights. We started out with making a paper template and then moved onto card board. We now have tacked the sheet metal in place and have made the templates for the taillight cut outs. It is really starting to look nice...I have to give a big thank you to some very good friends of mine Carlos and Tony. They both have been working hard on this project with me. Hopefully this weekend we can finish it up and move on to the next thing on the list.

Once the body work from the firewall back was complete. We reprimed the shell, doors, and hatch. Also during that time I had stripped down my SBC removing the several layers of old paint and grime. It was then reprimed and then it received it new coat of paint! Man I love that color blue! Now I feel I am starting to see some progress. Next to come is the engine bay and front end! I scrap the fiberglass for aftermarket steel fenders cuz I thought it would be less work man I may have been wrong. I will post more later.

Hello, My Name is Ryan and I have been working on my 78 280z for about a year now. I have finally decided to start posting some pics of my progress. I traded a 1977 GMC 4x4 project for this car in Febuary of this year. I thought that it was further along then my truck and I have always wanted one. When the car arrived at my residence it was running and some of the body work had been done. I inspected the car from top to bottom and I could appreciate the way some of the things were done on the car but there were other things that I wanted to change. At several points in this build I have felt like I am going backwards, due I have torn the car down further than then when I received it. Here is what the 280z looked like the day I received it. It had fiberglass fenders, hood and headlight buckets that were in rough shape. Several areas of the fiberglass were broken and did not line up at all. 280z was primered but it had surface rust coming through in many area such as door jams etc. Power plant is a SBC 350 with a 700r4 which included block hugger headers, aluminum radiator, and electric fans. All in all it was a good baseline to start with. So here we go, I first started by removing all of the front end parts. Then came the engine & trans and all of interior except for the dash, at least for the moment. Now that all of that is out of the way. I began working on the body work. I never like the bumpers on the 280z, so I decide to go with the smooth roll pan look. I also did not want the side marker lights either. I made my templates and then welded the new sheet metal in. Once everything was grinned down, I put the first layer of durglas over the welded area to smooth it out. After that came the thin layers of VZ grip with sanding and sanding and more sanding! I also roll the lips on the rear quarters. Once the body of the car was complete. I move on to the doors and the hatch. I am definitely not a professional, but I think it came out pretty good. More to come!

I am looking for a set of front fenders and headlight buckets for a 1978 280z.

As you can see I am new to this forum and to building a 280z. I just purchased my project car last week its a 78 280z with a sbc 350, 700r4 and a r200. Although the engine and transmission have been finished. I am in the process of completing my suspension and brakes and wheels. This is a great forum with tons of information that I have been reading for days....but I think I am on information overload!!!! So my question is.....What do I need to do to get these American Racing Vintage Shelby Cobra wheels to fit my 280z? 15x7 Offset -19 Backside 3.25 Bolt 5x114.3? 15x8 Offest 0 Backside 4.5 Bolt 5x114.3? http://www.americanracing.com/browse_vintage.asp