New 280Z Owner, Need advice

[JustinOlson]

I just recently bought a 77 280z and would like to do some improvements to the bumpers. I dont like the bulky bumpers that are currently on the car.

 

Here are some pictures of my car:

 

 

I would like to do a small front bumper and lower valence to give it a more sporty look like this:

 

 

 

From what I've read I will need 240z brackets to fit the smaller bumpers. Where should I go to buy these parts. Thanks for the help. I'm going to do some exterior modifications while I save up for a ls1 motor or I may throw the motor out of my audi into it with a turbo 400 transmission:

 

 

Regards,

Justin

[AK-Z]

My advice to you is to work on the structural stuff first and then the mechanical/electrical stuff next. The superficial (i.e. which bumper to use) stuff should be decided towards the end of the project inless it ties into structural or mechanical stuff.

 

 

I say check for the amount of rust damage to the floor, if its minor then it you shouldn't be too worried. Then depending on how much HP you want to get out of it then might want to concider a roll bar/cage.

 

That last bumper you posted can be purchased at MSA at zcarparts.com and they might have some other stuff you might consider buying.

[JustinOlson]

Thanks for the advice. Its just that I'd like to change the cosmetic stuff now as its fairly inexpensive. I'm going to get a rollbar setup in the car this spring. I dont want to do a full cage as this is my daily driver. I'm just going to do small things like suspension and exterior work for now.

 

I have plenty of other projects and this one wont be opened up for a couple years mechanically. The audi pictured above puts down 750AWHP, and is my racing car at this point. I dont need two cars like that, atleast not right now.

 

Thanks for the link to the Z store. They have a lot of the stuff I've been looking for.

 

Is the sheet metal different on the early 240Z? It seems I can't use the thin metal bumpers like the 240z. What would I need to change to make that work?

 

I'm really love Darius old front end look and would like to do this to my 280z.

 

 

Please help me out. I search a lot but am getting confused as to what I can do.

 

Regards,

Justin

[Lewis Maudlin]

My first Z, I worried only about interior and mechanical work first. When I got done, I found some frame rot that my body guy missed. It was serious. I was so disgusted, I stripped and parted my car. This time, I went cosmetic first. Mechanical can always be fixed, frame rot cannot.

[JustinOlson]

From what I've found there is very little rust on the car. I looked under all of the carpet and the floor boards aren't rusted. There is no rust in the back of the car around the spare tire well. I'm going to look underneath the car and see if I can find anything. I think I have a very solid car especially for the price I payed.

 

Regards,

Justin

[Z-TARD]

The sheetmetal on the front and rear of the 280 differs slightly from the 240 as far as bumper fitup is concerned. In the rear, the 240z has slight depressions along either side where it's bumper fits into, located behind the rear wheel openings. On the 280z this area is smooth, because the side extensions on it were made of rubber and fit directly against the body. In the front, you'll notice that the 240 turn signals are mounted below the bumper, directly under the headlights. On the 280, they were moved inboard into the grill area. Because of this the entire lower valence is different, the 280's is more bulbous and lacks the cutouts for the wraparound turn signals. Body kits for both cars are different because of this. A 240 airdam will require 240 turn signals, a 280 airdam will require turn signals located inside the grill.

 

The bumper mounting between the two is significantly different as well. The 240Z bumpers are mounted up with simple flat bar brackets that bolt up to sheetmetal with little reinforcement. The 280 brackets are large hydraulic cylinders that bolt up to reinforced areas, these are supposed to act as shocks in low speed collisions. For a closer fitting bumper, I've seen people drill holes in the cylinders to drain the fluid, after that they can be collapsed backward about 2 or 3 inches. To fit 240Z style bumpers on your 280, you will need to remove the hydraulic bumper mounts it currently has and fabricate mounts to bolt up the 240 bumper with. There are several threads on here covering that subject, although I don't recall any of them having drawings for the brackets. A search for "bumper swap" or "240Z bumper" should yield some results. The brackets shouldn't be too hard to figure out for a guy who can turbo an Audi to the tune of 750 HP. Hope this helps, and good luck with your new Z

 

Mike

[JustinOlson]

Thanks for the great response. I appreciate you helping me out as I'm so new to these Z's. After buying it as a daily driver Its been growing on me. My first RWD sports car

 

The list of things I want to do to it is growing by the day. I hope to have it looking sharp by spring. I'm trying to line up a good suspension and a set of Panasport 16" wheels.

 

The Audi has been a love of mine for a long time and I will continue to have it around. I just need something a little different because at this point I can't effectively use the power due to drivetrain strength. Its nice to have so many stout options as far as drivetrain is concerned. This will allow me to go real nuts with the car. Well, I'll be around here a lot as this seems to be the coolest Z forum around.

 

Regards,

Justin