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Showing results for tags 'Restoration'.
Found 31 results
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Hey guys, I recently bought a 240z and it ended up having more rust than I originally thought, thus begins my new winter project. Pulling her home with my 1987 2WD Toyota Pickup. That was a long haul between northeast of Sacramento and Southern California. The truck performed well though! The car sat for a while and the engine internals have rusted. The overview plan is to pull the engine, fix the front half of the car's rust problems, swap the SUs from the L24 to my rebuilt L28, install the engine, and drive it while fixing other things (interior). Some hood damage. Hopefully I can bump these out. Starting to inspect for rust on the passenger side frame rail/firewall interface. It's definitely in need of some work. Inside engine bay rail. Engine removal In preparation for cutting into frame rails I dropped the front suspension to remove as much stressed from the rails as possible. Stand I welded up to support car from the transmission mounts. I've made a little more progress -- started making patch panel templates and cutting metal from the battery tray area. It looks like I'm going to be replacing a lot of metal around the battery tray area -- frame rail, battery tray inner fender, a piece of the firewall, and passenger side floor pan. Hopefully driver side isn't this bad.
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After much thought on whether or not I wanted to create a full thread of my first 240z build I have decided that it would be worth it in the long run and nice to look back to. I will have about a year to catch up with then I will continue to update as the build goes on. Backstory: I bought this Miata when I was a senior in high school. I wanted to see if I was truly passionate about cars and if I enjoyed working on them/driving them. This car was a blessing and a curse, I quickly found out that I loved cars and all of my money would be taken by them. Fast forward and I had supercharged it with all the basic Miata mods. The car was extremely fun, but it was not a car that I saw myself keeping for the long run and I had this long list of parts/mods I wanted to do to it. I had always wanted a few cars but they were just out of my price range; 240z, s2000 and a few old muscle cars. I thought about it and decided that if I was going to pour tons of money and time into a car I wanted it to be a car I wanted to keep and loved the looks of, not just enjoyed the drive. Once I had made this decision I was a sophomore in college and began the long search for a Z. I spent about 9 months of searching everyday for a s30, primarily looking at 240zs.
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So this isn't the best write up but when I started restoring these gauges there was nothing anywhere with this type of info so I felt I had to. They started off like this. The most important thing to do in any electrical restoration is to: A - take lots of pictures for reference. The more the better. B - label or draw a wire layout, I drew mine out because I needed to deep clean the connectors and wires. C - don't rush yourself. Take all the time you need and if you get frustrated take a break. Slowly take apart the wiring harness and remove the bulbs. Remember to label everything. Next take apart the two screws that hold the front housing onto the back gauge plate. It is only two small screws on each. Once disassembled, to this point there is 6 tabs on the dual gauges that need to be drimmeled out to remove the glass and metal divider. Be careful. The clock takes pressure because it's glued. Be careful not to brake the lense. Apply nice even pressure. Next I removed all the paint from the metal piece before applying a high filler primer because of the wire wheel lol. Then I sanded down the plastic gauge cover. Prepped them all and applied the primer to both side. Remember which side needs to be black and which white on the gauge divider. I used a satin black for all the parts requiring black paint, and a nice gloss white for the rest. The white is what helps reflect the OEM lights. To re attach the gauge lenses to the housing I used a high heat, clear gorilla type glue. Be careful applying it because if it gets on the lense you won't be able to fix it. I re used the clock lense and had a local glass shop cut two new Plexi lenses for the dual gauges which cost me 8 USD. Take your time putting everything back together and the finished project will look like this or even better.
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Hey guys been a member on here for a while but haven't been very active. Anyway for a little background, I live in Barbados in the Caribbean which is a pretty small island. Despite the obvious benefits of living on a tropical island like all year good weather and lovely beaches, our duties on vehicles here are crazy (over 200+%) and also there are serious restrictions on vehicle importation for instance nothing older than 4 years which automatically rules out any s30 Zs. However I have always wanted one of these cars so I was left with the only legal option of importing a shell or basic chassis and building a car from scratch. I spent some time scouring the net for just that and finally found a 280z in pretty good condition and the owner was willing to strip it to the point I wanted. He had done a basic restoration a few years back to the point of primer but it was too rough a job for my purpose so I decided a full strip down from the ground up was in order and at the same time I would modify to suit. One of the issues I faced was that there were no other driving Zs on the road and just a couple S30 shells lying around and since the body came missing most parts I would have to educate myself thoroughly on the workings of the car. Also because of the unreliable work ethic of many persons available I decided that for the fun and general experience of it I would undertake the restoration and modification almost exclusively along with a good friend. This naturally required somewhere to work and the tools to get the job done, so my first order, even before I had the car was to start getting the tools I didn't already have. It's been an on and off 3 year project so far and still not done. The car in it's original state when I first got it. Looked decent from far but far from great... Of course after stripping some rust issues were found but all in all was pretty good. After the rust areas were dealt with the next plan was to convert the car from LHD to RHD since that is the side of the road we drive on here. Finding donor parts prooved to be a bit of an issue so we eventually decided that the only real way was to fabricate everything from scratch. So we made up a couple templates and pulled out our spot weld remover bit and got to work. The next step was getting everything stripped down to metal and epoxy coated. Best way for this would be a rotisserie so that was our next project, building one. Then the fun could begin... After hearing alot of horror stories about 'professional' sandblasting services I decided to blast the car myself with a small blaster from eastwood and some glass. It was NOT fun. But the results were rewarding.
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From the album: 71 240z
Getting the hood ready for some paint. -
From the album: 71 240z
The under side of the hood painted flat black in the center and gloss on the edges. -
From the album: 71 240z
Tried to clean up the steering wheel. -
From the album: 71 240z
After putting everything back on it's looking much better. I really need to take care of that signal light though. -
From the album: 71 240z
Painted horn and hinge. -
From the album: 71 240z
After cleaning up the horn, hinge and hardware. -
From the album: 71 240z
I put most of the front pieces back together but I'm waiting to paint the underside of the hood so I can adjust it while the grill is off. -
From the album: 71 240z
Cleaning up the radiator support area. -
From the album: 71 240z
Front nose panted. -
From the album: 71 240z
Parts taken off to be cleaned up and painted. -
From the album: 71 240z
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From the album: 71 240z
Finished center console restoration. -
From the album: 71 240z
Finished the restoration, it's not perfect but it'll do for now. -
From the album: 71 240z
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From the album: 71 240z
Plastic pieces to be molded into the console to cover up holes. -
From the album: 71 240z
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From the album: 71 240z
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From the album: 71 240z
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After nearly 5 years of serving the Datsun community, Vintage Chrome will be terminating the service by the end of this year. There comes a time in most every entrepreneurial venture when you reach a point in which you have a tough decision to make......"get big or get out". Unfortunately, achieving significant growth at this stage of the venture would simply require a commitment of resources that I am not prepared to make at this stage of my life. So, I have decided that "getting out" is the best course of action for me and my family. I know that there are members of the club that would still like to have some plastic parts chrome plated, so I am announcing a final production run and club member discount. The Promotion will work as follows: 1. Orders will be accepted from today's date, October 15, 2016, through October 31, 2016. 2. Pricing for many of the more common Z and other Datsun parts are listed below, but we also have the capability to chrome plate any rigid plastic piece, even if it was not originally plated by Datsun . If you need this customized service, please email vintagechromellc@gmail.com for a specific quote. 3. The customer must ensure that parts to be chromed are disassembled to the point where only the pieces to be chromed are provided to us. No other preparation is required by the customer. All stripping and prep work will be completed by us. 4. Payment Policy: Payment via PayPal is due at time of order. Domestic (US) shipping and handling charges will be $9.95 per package. 5. INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS: Prices are the same as quoted here except non-US customers will be responsible for freight costs and applicable customs charges, if any. 6.Shipping Info: Your parts should be be shipped to the following address: M. Robbins - Vintage Chrome 7250 S. Durango Dr., Suite 130-164 Las Vegas, NV 89113 9. Please be sure to include with your packaged parts: Your name Return shipping address Email address Phone number Special instructions (even if previously communicated through PM or email). Examine your cores carefully before sending them to Vintage Chrome. Peeling or discolored chrome is OK, but parts must not be warped, have cracks, gouges or missing pieces in the substrate. We do not repair damaged plastic parts or re-paint parts after plating. Un-platable cores will be returned (if requested) or disposed of. Pricing for many common Z and other Datsun parts are listed below: Item Description 260/280z Tail Light Bezels (pair) $229.95 240/260/280Z Center Vents (each) $39.95 240/260/280z round a/c vents: (pair) $79.95 240/260/280Z Door Escutcheons (pair) $59.95 240Z Series I Hatch Grilles (pair) $59.95 260/280z hood vents (pair) $199.95 Plastic Wheel Center Caps (set of 4) $199.95 240/260/280Z Heater Control Panel (each) $129.95 240/260/280Z Door Pull Strap Finishers (pair) $49.95 240/260/280z emblems Email your needs for custom quote Please contact vintagechromellc@gmail.com for quotes on other parts or anything custom. Pictures of some past jobs will follow. -
Hello, This is my second post, my first was extremely vague and lazy on my part. I have always had a deep interest in cars and all things that move really. My experience with mechanics is limited to 2 semesters of high school auto class and minor experience with outboard boat engines. I also have rebuilt a 4 cylinder boat engine with the help of a friend who is a mechanic. I have basic tools,(screwdrivers, ratchet set, wire strippers etc.) and a home garage to work in with limited space and no large equipment such as welders or a lift, just the basic tools. I have only driven a manual car a handful of times but have some experience driving other manual vehicles. I really am set on getting a 240z. From my research I have found that it is a relatively easy car to work on, has excellent technology for its age and the L-series motors are extremely reliable and great sounding. The unique look and nostalgia of the car is really what sold me on making a z my first project. My project z would be garage kept and I would most likely sell my current car to buy a cheaper daily driver and use the leftover $ for the z. I have a decent budget for a college kid and plan on this project to take years, so my budget will eventually increase, but for now I am looking at approximately 25k. This must also cover the cost of buying the car. What Im looking to do is get a 240z (70'-74') in running condition with minimal rust. What I've heard is that rust can be the most unpleasant and expensive problem to deal with, and considering i have no means to do body work myself, i would like to avoid having to pay for major body repairs. I would like to begin with projects that mainly increase the reliability and drivability of the car. I would also like to use this car as a learning experience for whatever mods I can do myself. Wiring, electrical, filters, bushings, tires, coil etc. would all be things i would like to upgrade or improve and repair. Maybe a few years down the road if the frame and body of the car are sufficiently stiffened and the motor dies i will look to do an engine swap. But for now just handling and reliability mods,followed by suspension and, eventually I would like to do upgraded headers and exhaust for the l24 just to let it breath a little better, but not looking for a rocket ship. What I really want out of this project is a unique classic, not something that i will see 10 others just like it on a Sunday drive. A car that can be mostly for learning to build, fix and upgrade as well as help me become a better driver. Suggestions as to how much I should look to spend would really help. How much can I expect to pay for a running 240z with minimal rust. I would like to have some of the 25k leftover to do some of my own work with, because having a hand in the building of this car is very important to me. Also suggestions for what projects to start on or if i Should have the car looked over by a professional before starting any projects. I apologize for the long post and hope this better meets forum standards. Im am young an very passionate about getting into the z game. Thanks.
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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!
