1974.5 260Z ATLAS build

[A to Z]

On the hood for my 260Z project. I will give some clarification. It is meant to be a picture frame. I want an open engine compartment. no hood at all looks unfinished. this is mean to close off the stuff that is mundane and let the engine shine through. black but blue underneath and a fully polished out engine. So, maybe once done you will understand what I am going for. The Behemoth at Z Car Garage has the same deal.....but the blue engine compartment, shaved, will really contrast with the black picture frame.

[A to Z]

ready for installation:

[FastFloridian]

12 hours ago, A to Z said:

ready for installation:

Looking good

[A to Z]

thanks.  It's a very expensive hobby I have.  

[A to Z]

12-06-2025.  I have boxes and boxes of stuff I have bought for the car, and today was the day to start throwing all the stuff on and make some room back!  First, I had the mobile welder stop by and weld my radiator support back in, and while here, I had a thick steel plate welded on to the top.  It is stronger now than it ever was.  Then it was time to start installing parts on the engine, getting the hood on, rear suspension back in and all 4 new wheels.  I took the dash down from the rafters so I could start on it on very cold days indoors, and it is a lot heavier than I remember......I am going to swiss cheese the frame and lighten it up a bit......I don't need that weight!  Pics:

[DAT26OZ]

At Harbor Freight they have carbon stipping discs for the angle grinder.  It takes the paint off like nothing and does not damage the panels at all. it actually polishes the metal so don't forget to hit with some 80 grit to get the mechanical bond back.

 

I also have the drum sander version from HF also and it strips paint like nothing!!

 

https://www.harborfreight.com/4-12-in-non-woven-paint-and-strip-abrasive-wheel-70419.html

 

great job on the progress!

Edited December 7 by DAT26OZ

[A to Z]

thanks.  I just picked up that drum sander they sell.  It comes with a 40 grit drum but I also grabbed a 120 grit drum for it also.  I got a good deal on this. 4 core with dual fans made to fit the 260Z I am building.  It's an eBay buy.  Read up on and decided to try the sanding blocks and tape sold by Eastwood that connects you your shop vac and is supposed to eliminate most of the dust from blocking.  Here's to hoping THAT works!

[A to Z]

I picked up my bellhousing and serpentine bracket for the 4200 engine today from the powdercoaters. The finish is called "polished aluminum". I had them done because frankly both pieces were ROUGH....really rough. R&S Powdercoating in Colorado Springs came through for me again. Sandblasted it out, masked off the gasket surfaces and did their thing.

[DAT26OZ]

you may want to look into sourcing new Spal or Maradyne fans to replace those.  I bought a similar setup for my c10 ls swap and the fans did not perform good enough.  i was running 220+ and then temps climbing in traffic. This was dead of summer in Cali central valley heat so 105 hot as ballz.  If it doesnt get as hot where you live you may not have that problem.

 

I ended up going to the wrecking yard and getting slightly larger spal fans and enlarging the shroud holes a little larger to fit the fans.  The Spal fans sucked WAY more cfms then those off brand.  They dont pull/push to the specs they claim.

 

I will be running dual pass 2 row on my z build.  i currently have the 4?3? pass on the truck and i'll be redoing that again in the future.  more passes is not better imho. bigger tubes for more heat displacement is what i'll be going for.  live and learn lol.

 

The powder coating looks great! if you dont mind me asking, what did that set you back? 

 

Powdercoating is expensive where i live. i have often considered this amazon setup. https://a.co/d/6zwvorr  I think a turkey deep fryer base with a metal disc blade with grooves plasma cut into it to use as a heat deflector and then a metal trash can wrapped in rockwool, for the oven may work! idk.  ive got all kinds of whacked ideas.  Seems like that gun setup works best for budget setup though.  i also seen where a guy used a shop diesel heater and then blew that into a metal duct into a box and that worked also. you only need to hold 400 degrees for 20min to set the powder coat.  I was thinking sheets of plywood wrapped in tinfoil would work also. i've seen pigs roasted in those for hours and thats similar temps.  also was thinking that if door hinges were used on the corners to hold it together you could just pull the hinge pins to dismantle and store all the pieces.  still would need to wrap in rockwool i think. 

 

anyways, sorry to ramble at you, i just got a lot of parts i want to powder coat also lol   i like the color you chose.. Rustoleum has a similar spray can color called "dark steel".  ive been using that a lot to. i did my engine block and motor mounts in that so far.

[DAT26OZ]

dont swiss cheese your frame bro. the weight savings is not worth the time and you need that strength. Hell, with the atlas power your going to need more frame rigidity. 

 

look into some rectangle tubing for frame to rear body of car frame rail extension. i dont know what its called but theres a lot of info on the frame rail upgrades on these cars. i bought bad dog frame rails but by the time i did it all and the time spent on fitting etc, your better off just fabbing your own imho

 

you may want to have some 8-10" long angle iron welded to the front sway bar mount area for extra support. thats an easy mod. just a piece of angle with 2 holes drilled in it. 

 

 

[A to Z]

I was talking about the dashboard frame, that the dash pad attaches also to.  It's HEAVY.

 

12-11-2025.  I got a nut and bolt run in today, got some painting going, ended up with a run on one side of the cowl, so once dry I will sand it out and repaint that side.  I also started on a restoration of my front turn signals.

 

PICS:

[A to Z]

12-13-2025.  I installed my new water pump, repainted pulley and new hardware, and then re-installed the tensioner bracket and the aluminum plate needed for the additional of an idler pulley to make it all work right.  I was able to use a drill bit to hold the pulley in place and measure for the spacers needed and the length of the longer bolt needed.  I went to install the alternator, but the kit I got sticks out just a tad too far, and thus the alternator hits the rail.....so I will have to grind down the bracket to bring it in closer to the engine and then it will be fine....also found that my new drive by wire throttle body does not clear in standard configuration, So I was able to get it to work by turning it 90 degrees.  Here's to hoping that will work.  Then I quickly installed my new 4 core radiator and dual fans to check the fit. because my engine has the radiator spigots on opposite sides, I will be taking my radiator to my fab guy to cut the hose ports and welding on tight 90's with a length of pipe to the other side and then another 90 to make it a nice-looking remedy.  I will make some nice aluminum brackets to hold the piping stationary.  At any rate, I was able to verify that my radiator height is sufficient to maintain its place as the highest point in the system.  After this, I cleaned out the garage, and went through a lot of boxes and prepped the car by covering the engine and front end to begin the sanding and block sanding, to get the rest in paint.  I pulled the windshield, but after 51 years, it just didn't want to let the windshield go, and so it came out broken and in pieces.  Not a crisis, as I wanted a new windshield anyway....just thank good ness the rear hatch glass came out just fine.  I pulled the old hatch off, gutted it and to the dumpster with that rotten thing.  I was also able to get a bit closer on the front blinker restoration, getting the housings painted white with rustoleum white. spray paint  Only thing left is to lengthen the wires.  I tri4d to wire wheel the headlight buckets, but decided they really just need to be sandblasted out.  My mobile welder didn't make it today, so welding the clothes hangers in pieces to the front edge of the doors to close up a big gap will have to wait.  Here comes sanding and blocking.