Questions about swaping dash's, and other ? about 280Z parts

[Guest ON3GO]

Hey guys. well my 280Z should be here soon from cali. Cant wait.I thought it was a 1977 but found out today its a 76, lol who cares but cool news i guess. The car needs a dash bad, as its all cracked and etc. Thing is i dont really care for the 280Z dash, as i always wanted a 240Z and fell in love with its dash. so i was wondering whats needed to swap dash boards? has anybody done this? Also i never really thought about owning a 280Z so i dont know much about the parts. but from the pics i got of it it has what it looks like a 160mph speedo and factory radio. i was wondering if these parts are worth anything, as i never thought the 280Z would have a 160mph speedo..lol.

thanks

 

mike

[RPMS]

The differences between the dash of the 280 and 240 extend far beyond just the dashboard itself. If you look closely at pictures in the gallery, you'll notice that the center panel (which mates to the indentions in the dashboard) is wider in the 280 to accomodate bigger climate control mechanism that was necessitated by factory air conditioning.

 

Also, the center console (which mates to the center panel) is different. If you replace one, you probably will want to exchange all three pieces. I do not know if a 240 heater panel will work with the 280's air handling system, so you might have to replace all of that, too.

 

In short it sounds like a cosmic pain in the ass. Not that it doesn't sound like a cool idea - if it were easier, I would be tempted to do so. Like you, I VASTLY prefer the look of the 240 dash. I have, however, become accustomed to the look of the 280 dash over time. I don't like it, but I no longer loathe it either. (hardly stunning praise, is it?)

[Sparky]

it will fit,

 

the climate control system is the only major PITA.

 

along with the entire dash board, you will have to change out the center console as well.

 

you can still use the 280Z gauges, but you must swap the 280 gauge housings with the 240Z housings (different mounting points) be very carefull when you pull the gauge apart, the tach has some little pheonolic (sp?) isolators in them and if the fall out, and you put it back together without them, the tach will fry itself after a couple miles (ask me how i know! )

 

the heater core and valves are all the same from first gen to first gen, but the controls are a little different. you will have to swap some cables to get it to work correctly.

 

Your going to have to re-wire the hazard switch, or put the big square 280 one somewhere else. Ive got a complete 280Z harness in my 240ZT, what i did was re-wire the old school 240 switches to work with the 280 harness, But i have seen people fabricate a mounting plate for all the 280 switches right above the fuse box cover plate on the center console. (just like where the mount in the 280.)

 

one other thing, If im not mistaken, on the trans tunnel, there is a mount that the dash bolts to (shaped like a U) I believe that its a little wider in the 280Z VS 240, so you might have to cut that out and weld a 240 on in (or just modify the other to work with some spacers)

 

 

just one more thing! the 240Z steering cover will not fit with the 280Z combo switches! the int. wiper control is slightly larger. you will have to modify the 280Z cover to fit the contours of the 240Z dash.

 

anywho, hope this helps.

 

 

oh....and good luck!

[Guest ON3GO]

hey thanks guys for the info.

i dont care about the a/c or heater controls or anything like that as im ripping all that crap out anyways. I knew you had to do something with the center consle.. thanks

 

mike