quickdraw Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 (edited) I started a 280z build in 2004 but I picked up the car a lot sooner than that. In 2002, in need of car, I bought a '78 280z off of a buddy that came from Vermont (yeah...you probably see where this is going, huh?). The car got under my skin and I suspect I'm in similar company. After screwing up the engine racing two blondes in a red 73ish corvette I decided a rework was in order. But life had other plans with a deployment to Afghanistan. The car was vandalized while I was deployed...mostly body dings and broken windows. Not deterred by such a thing I decided on return for a full frame-off restoration. The rotisserie and all of the other doodads to make it work were purchased. After stripping the car and getting it up on the rotisserie I began the painful task of stripping the underbody which led to the unfortunate discovery of systemic rust...too much for my appetite. Thanks, Vermont. So, the project got shelved and scrapped. But the Z kept popping up in my thoughts over the years. The brief experience I had with the car finally drove me to pick another one up. So, this happened a week ago: A rust-free 280z from west Texas. A long road-trip later and she's home. More to come!!! Edited December 30, 2014 by quickdraw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted September 11, 2014 Author Share Posted September 11, 2014 So, I made the 16 hour round trip with a neighbor to pick up the car. High quality transportation service: And got it back to the house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted September 11, 2014 Author Share Posted September 11, 2014 Cleaning the fine West Texas dust off the car was surprisingly difficult. It was like baby powder everywhere. But I'll take it for a rust-free foundation. I've been focused on acquiring the parts that I lack and working on the items that can be executed while the car is in it's current state. As an exmaple, shaving a few things: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted September 11, 2014 Author Share Posted September 11, 2014 Getting the kiddos started young... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted September 11, 2014 Author Share Posted September 11, 2014 So, I was planning a L28et setup for the car with the longshot possibility of an rb25det. Well, thanks to an opportunity here on Hybridz the longshot came together. I bought a RB the other day. Super pumped! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted September 11, 2014 Author Share Posted September 11, 2014 I'm working on body work now and setting up a paint room in the garage for the primer work. Figure I'll save a few buck there and let the professionals do the tough stuff. I have a whole new appreciation for Dexter's hobby: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nite_Grind Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 Quickdraw, I'm gonna love this build. One day I hope to do a full rotisserie as well. That sound deadening in the door is the first I've seen of that but I like it. Good Luck and keep up the progress shots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted November 8, 2014 Author Share Posted November 8, 2014 Quickdraw, I'm gonna love this build. One day I hope to do a full rotisserie as well. That sound deadening in the door is the first I've seen of that but I like it. Good Luck and keep up the progress shots. Not sound deadening...thick paper to keep any paints spills off the garage floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted November 8, 2014 Author Share Posted November 8, 2014 (edited) Catching up a bit... Got all of the body cleaned up (surface rust) and sprayed with a rust converter. I had a tough experience with the passenger-side door. It looks as if the door was dropped on a corner and the skin shifted about a quarter of an inch off it's natural fit. This cause door fitment issues which caused fender issue which caused hood...etc. You get the idea. Washed and ready for body work. A little anxious about the effort but I think it will come together nicely. Edited November 8, 2014 by quickdraw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted November 8, 2014 Author Share Posted November 8, 2014 And the RB25DET has arrived!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted November 8, 2014 Author Share Posted November 8, 2014 The filler portion was little tougher than expected. Apparently there is a little art to this whole body work thing and I'm no artist. So, rinse and repeat until it's right seems to be the trick. Oh, and the cream hardener...make sure you have enough when mixing. It's a lot better to have the filler harden too quickly than to spend a weekend sanding off the gooey under-cured filler. A good lesson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted November 8, 2014 Author Share Posted November 8, 2014 A little epoxy primer... White's not a bad look. Then on to the high-build... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted November 8, 2014 Author Share Posted November 8, 2014 The block sanding is neat in it's on way...but pretty damn tedious. (And I got my air dam in...test fitted it for a quick glance at what she'll look like) I think I prefer tinkering with the suspension/engine/etc. Good thing this phase is close to being finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted November 19, 2014 Author Share Posted November 19, 2014 (edited) HaHA! ...Finally got all of the body and primer stuff done...block sanding be damned. Edited November 21, 2014 by quickdraw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted November 21, 2014 Author Share Posted November 21, 2014 So, I've been waiting on a suspension setup for about two months now. Realizing that the tokico/eibach setup I was going to go with was going to be particularly difficult with the distributor-bankruptcy-then-long-backorder thing on the tokicos...I decided to go with BC Racings new setup thinking they'd get here sooner...and they're coilovers. Pretty excited about it but still waiting. They sent the 240z's last week which are 4mm narrower so now I'm waiting on the correct ones. Bummer... In the meantime back in the kill room I decide to tackle cleaning up the remaining suspension pieces. Pretty nice bang for the buck I think and not a lot of effort to cleanup and repaint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted December 21, 2014 Author Share Posted December 21, 2014 I finally received the delayed parts. I ordered the new BC racing Coilovers setup through JPN garage, not the group buy. An original early October delivery date turned into a late November delivery date. Then BC sent the 240z sleeves not the 280z sleeves. Another few weeks delay on getting those from Japan. And then the USPS loses them for two weeks. Grumbling aside, JPN handled it well and the setup is impressive. It's at the suspension shop now getting welded on. I'm also having them press out the spindle pins. I know it's a right of passage...but for $30...I'll let them have that blessing. While I've been waiting on the suspension stuff which has been holding up paint I started working on the interior reconditioning and other little things. I rebuilt the hinges. A surprising amount of gratification there: And another car show. The P1 was amazing. The guy also owned a '73 240z with full Arizona Zcar setup and LS1. I think he was a bit surprised I was more interested in the Z: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted December 21, 2014 Author Share Posted December 21, 2014 And I've started work on this monster. It's in pretty rough shape. I thought I'd give it a go and see how it held up. Pretty minimal risk as I see it. And it's current state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted December 23, 2014 Author Share Posted December 23, 2014 (edited) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o22i_gqAf_o#t=53 Edited December 30, 2014 by quickdraw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickdraw Posted December 30, 2014 Author Share Posted December 30, 2014 ...alright..seriously. No words of encouragement or criticism? I've dropped a Celine Dion & Dexter reference, put my pics of my new P1 up (it's actually not mine) and the build is a full ground up resto with RB swap from a guy who's never touched a car. Tough crowd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 (edited) Sorry-you never know who wants comments and who doesn't. Here goes: looks freakin awesome! Keep up the great work. BTW-cute kids too! Subscribed and following. Edited December 30, 2014 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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