MSA Flairs and Bumpers

[Nissan-Fan]

Can anyone tell me if i will have fitment issues on my 78 280z with the MSA ZG Fibreglass flairs, Ducted Air dam, type 3 skirts, and fibreglass front and rear bumpers? i can see that with the bumpers it says only with 240z, how can i use these on my car?

thanks.

[Z-TARD]

The bumpers might be an issue, because the mounting methods between the 240z and 280z were quite different. The 280z bumpers are bolted up to large hydraulic cylinders that act as shocks, the 240z just had metal brackets that fit the bumper much closer to the body. Would it be possible to make the fiberglass bumpers fit on a 280? Absolutely, but not without doing some rework to the mounting points. The ZG flares, side skirts, and air dam should go on without too many issues. Probably the most difficult of those parts will be the ZG flares. I used threaded inserts to attach mine, they go in like rivets, but are threaded on the inside so you can bolt something to the surface of whatever you put them in. I've seen them advertised as both Nutserts and Rivnuts. They will require a special tool to install them. I've been able to find them on ebay quite often:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Threaded-Riveter-Combo-and-140-Nutserts-Rivnuts-NEW_W0QQitemZ7579270144QQcategoryZ42903QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Be sure to buy plenty of whatever size rivnut/nutsert you intend to use. You'll need at least 24 to do the fenders flares if I remember correctly. You could also use them on the side skirts and airdam. Sometimes they dont pull right, and have to be done over so get enough to make a few mistakes with if you plan on going this route.

 

Also, for the fitment of the ZG flares the method that worked for me was to drill all the holes in the flares first. Use wood backing behind them when you drill so the drill doesn't delaminate the fiberglass when it goes through. Once all the holes are drilled, use masking tape to position them on the side of the car exactly how you want them to sit. Use lots of tape and make sure they are sitting flush with the body, then mark the location of the holes with a permanent marker or grease pencil. Remove the flare and drill out all the holes to the correct size for whatever rivnut you are using. On the rear flares, you may end up drilling through both the outer fender AND inner wheel well on some of the holes, depending on how the flares are positioned when you mark the holes, keep this in mind when positioning the flares. After your holes are drilled, install the rivnuts (patience is key here) and bolt up your flares. It's a good idea to install all the bolts for the flare very loosely at first, and tighten them down once all of them are installed. This allows any stress from tightening it down to be distributed over the entire flare, not just one or two bolt holes which could lead to cracking. Hope this helps you out a little,

 

Mike

[Nissan-Fan]

Thanks alot mike, i think the front bumper will be fine already, because my car has a chrome 240z bumber on it already, the rear will be the tough part. Ill havto get my hands on one of those rivet guns