Tim's 280Z (tons of pics)

[TeeJayHoward]

The saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, I certainly hope that's true, because I'm not the conversational type. I'm working on my 1976 280Z, trying to get the body into good enough shape for a weekend warrior-type car. I have no garage, no welder, and no experience with anything body related. It should be one hell of an adventure.

 

Many of these have already been posted elsewhere on the forums. However, as this is my "official" work log, I'd like to repost them so as to have a central repository. Also, it'll help those that hate having to search the forum, going "What the hell was he talking about?" Anywho, enough with the rant, now on with the pics!

 

The car when I first got it (Minus louver and spoiler):

 

It didn't take me long to get rid of the front bumper. Unfortunately, the lower valance was missing, and replaced with what I believe to be the rear bumper of a Ford, chopped in half and screwed together:

 

And that hood... It's about an inch-thick fiberglass, and in poor condition:

[TeeJayHoward]

So, I started working on the vehicle. My first "job" was to figure out where all the rust was, and find a good bodyshop to fix it. I'd do it myself, but without a welder, experience, a close power outlet, and a garage... Well, it wasn't going to happen.

 

Between a screwdriver, the striper, and some common sense, I managed to locate almost all of the rust on the car. I then Tal-Strip'd the paint off, bashed out what excess rust I could, and primered the area. I also fooled around with Bondo, completely embarassing myself on the rear hatch (forgot the hardener) and door (TONS of Bondo).

 

Less talk, more pics!

 

I bought this car with the following "repair" done to the passenger floorpan:

 

My ignition cylinder was trashed. This car-thief-wannabe-tool-thing is what currently starts my Z:

 

I've got a new ignition cylinder, just need someone to install it for me. I can't get the old one out!

[TeeJayHoward]

Upon closer inspection of the vehicle's underbody, I discovered that this car was somebody's introduction to welding. There's crap EVERYWHERE. Basically the entire underside of the vehicle needs to be replaced. That's in the to-do list, up near the very top.

 

[TeeJayHoward]

Introducing, the Z pile! Everything that's not on the car, is somewhere in here. At this point in time, I was preparing the car for the body shop - My intention was to strip and paint the front end of the vehicle while the rear end was being worked on. Unfortunately, life got in the way, but here's a few pictures nonetheless:

 

 

The car came with two spare tires! (The bottom one has the "matching" rim. I've got 4 of one style and 2 of another)

[TeeJayHoward]

While the Z was in the body shop, I started fiddling around with the front end. I found some etching primer at AutoZone, and picked it up. I didn't realized until I first sprayed it that it was green. Oh well - It works, I guess.

 

Paint that REFUSED to come off (Tried 60grit, chemical stripper, and a screwdriver)

 

Stripping the access panels:

[TeeJayHoward]

Life happens sometimes. Well, it happened to me, and my strip&paint plan was postponed. My Z did get back from the shop, though! I took some pics after driving it home. To say I was unhappy is an understatement - Those bastards ruined one taillight housing, filled my car with white dust, and didn't fix the top of my rear hatch bondo-ing experience. I guess you get what you pay for.

 

 

Note my rear hub is missing a stud - This is also pretty high on my to-do list.

 

To be fair, they did do a decent job on the bodywork I needed done.

[TeeJayHoward]

I found more rust. Yay. We hates it, we do...

 

 

Started working on the big pieces, because I wanted my car back together. This stuff is Dupli-Color rubberized undercoat. It's the cheapest stuff in the store. It's a lot harder to spray than spray-paint, because it starts out in a huge glob, instead of a fine mist.

 

I decided to fool around with the primer and some tape. The green reminded me of the OD green that the military uses, and this tape I found kinda accentuates it. Maybe it's just me, but this picture definitely reminds me of a government part:

 

Yeah, I did a crappy job painting it. So sue me, it's just primer.

[TeeJayHoward]

I drilled out the rivets holding on the ugly silver guard. Ooh, exciting... Not.

 

 

The Z pile just keeps growing! Included now are the interior bits. I started wiping down the plastic and vinyl, trying to get rid of the white dust that was everywhere, when I somehow or another came across the brilliant idea of "Hey, let's just take it all out, and use my bathtub!"

 

...So yes, I've now showered with my Z. And a large portion of my interior is in my living room. My apartment is quickly becoming a garage! Note the filthy (and broken) power antenna. This was replaced with a $8 el-cheapo rubber antenna that looks decent, and plugs the big hole in my rear fender. Does it get good reception? Hell if I know. A stereo is still months, if not YEARS away at this point in time.

 

 

Hehe... Another quick shot of my green bits:

[TeeJayHoward]

I decided on a color. It's called "Obsidian" or some such - It's a very dark gray, almost black. Pics of that in a moment. In the meantime...

 

 

I think the pile of Z parts looks much better like this. I simply remove the piece I'm working on while I'm working on it, and then replace it when I'm done. The missing pieces are currently drying their first of many coats. Here's a quick snap of the color in direct light. (With little or no light, it looks black)

 

[TeeJayHoward]

Well, damn, it's been a while. No updates, I'm afraid.

 

What's happened since I started this adventure:

 

1) My internship turned into a full-fledged job.

2) My daily driver took a dump.

3) I'm now putting a very large chunk of my paycheck into my new daily driver - Another 2 seater, RWD, lightweight car.

 

 

I tried to sell the Z for a little bit, hoping to pick up a different S30, but have had no luck. I'm now of the opinion I should keep it and turn it into a track car for the local SCCA runs. I've spoken with my folks, and they've agreed to let me use their land (3 hours away) to store my car while I work on it (weekends). This means I can strip the car down to nothing, and use it as a learning experience. Welding, fiberglass/carbon fiber, and sandblasting! Should be fun.

 

My car budget's sitting at $100/month. So it'll be a long journey. But hopefully a fruitful one! Heck, the worst that can happen is that I botch the repairwork, and "have" to get an early 240