YellowFever Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 After 2 years of ownership I finally bit the bullet and had my '76 280 painted. It was painted by a good friend of mine at his body shop in Auburn, AL (about 275 miles from my house). The engine and transmission were removed so the engine compartment could be painted too. The paint was finished the morning of Sept. 21st 2008, shortly afterwards I received a cell-phone picture of the car in the booth. I was as excited as a 43 year old little boy could be! The main color is Ford Vapor Clearcoat Metallic, the stripes were custom mixed to match the centers of my Konig Rewind wheels, and the clearcoat is some super-duper stuff that my painter buddy used on his personal project car a few months ago. There were also a few body modifications made: shaved and smoothed rear bumper/valance, shaved and filled windshield wipers, side marker lights, and FM antenna. Most of the car's emblems were removed... the Z vent emblems were replaced and the 280Z fender emblems were replaced with "DATSUN" fender emblems. An MSA type 2 airdam was installed and the stock gas cap and fuel door were replaced with a Kawasaki sportbike gas cap. In the booth... Look at that reflection! Smooooooooooth! With a gorgeous paint job like this you're probably wondering why the thread title mentions frustration. Well, that's a damn good question... The same day that the car was painted I had a little accident while working on my house. I broke my right ankle/fibula. Two days later I had surgery to fix the damage... I now have a stainless steel plate and 8 screws holding my fibula together, and an additional 2 screws to stabilize my ankle. It has been 3 weeks since my car was painted and I still haven't seen it in person... IT IS DRIVING ME ABSOLUTELY CRAZY!!! My next doctor visit is on Thursday the 23rd. The doctor might replace my cast, or he might put me in a "boot". I don't really care what he does because the next day I will be headed to Auburn to get my car! I plan to go to Auburn on Friday, install my new engine on Saturday (with a lot of help from some good friends), and trailer the car home on Sunday. Maybe someday I'll actually be able to drive it again! Ya'll be careful out there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Netrix Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 I'm sure the wait will be worth it, sorry to hear about your ankle. I'd like to see a closeup of that gas cap, it sounds like an interesting mod. That looks great and sure is shiny, bring sun glasses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators BRAAP Posted October 15, 2008 Administrators Share Posted October 15, 2008 WOWZERS! The paint is gorgeous. I like your emblem alterations as well. Total bummer regarding the ankle/fibula. We are praying you'll soon be reunited with your Z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Someone knows how to lay paint! Now keep the crutches AWAY from that paint and good luck with the ankle. I will NEVER forget the first time I walked into the bodyshop and saw my Z with new paint. That image NEVER leaves you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Sorry to hear of your troubles. Great looking car though! The paint turned out really nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deja Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Wow!! That is one beautiful paint job. Bummer about the ankle, hopefully it won't take too long to heal enough to drive the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Purple240zt Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Wow, thats one ride to be proud of. I love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gr8White Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Sweet, love the color..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSflyer Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Now THAT is a beautiful paint job! No, it's Beautiful with a capital B!! I love that color! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdv350ss Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Astonishing! Love the color and stripes! Congratulations on your great looking Z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkach Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Looks great do you have any close up pics of the gas cap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowFever Posted October 16, 2008 Author Share Posted October 16, 2008 Thanks for all of the kind words. The paint job actually turned out better than I ever imagined it would. The painter is a true artist... he suggested the color, I suggested the stripes, and we both decided on the body mods. Without his vision my car wouldn't be as pretty as it is (if I do say so myself). I have asked my buddy to send me a picture of the gas cap installed. Hopefully I'll get that picture tomorrow. He put a motorcycle gas cap on his yellow 300ZX twin turbo, and on an old red Z car that he used to have... it looked awesome on both of those cars! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nullbound Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Wow... that looks amazing:icon14: This makes me want to take my 280 to Auburn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowFever Posted October 17, 2008 Author Share Posted October 17, 2008 I'm still waiting for a picture of the motorcycle gas cap. But in the meantime here are a couple of xrays just for giggles. Before surgery After surgery (sorry 'bout the crappy quality) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoNkEyT88 Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Ouch, hope you heal soon, and get to see your car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJLamberson Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Oh my that car looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abel Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 thats amazing. thats the scheme i thought of doing with my 280zx. but what i was thinking of doing is making it a little darker tint on both the body and the stripes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktm Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 I am certainly jealous. I've been doing everything else but body and paint and I keep saying, "Body and paint are next year....." However, when next year comes I've identified other projects I want to do. Hell, NEXT year was supposed to be body and paint yet I've decided to go down the route of a worked head, custom intake manifold, Baddog rails and subframe connectors, etc. One of these days. I love the color and that clear makes the paint look so damn deep! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurnoutZ Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 Woah! Is that a rockford fosgate 15" power sub you got packin' back there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowFever Posted October 29, 2008 Author Share Posted October 29, 2008 Well, the weekend has come and gone and I still haven't seen my car in person. I was supposed to go to Auburn to pick it up and bring it home, but plans changed at the last minute. The company my wife works for bought a 4-day cruise to Mexico for some of their employees and a bunch of their customers. At the last minute one of the customers had to cancel so my wife and I were invited on the trip. There were a total of 160 emplyees/customers on the boat... and the booze was flowing! So instead of spending all day Saturday working on the Z so I could bring it home, I spent all day Saturday on the beach in Cozumel with a beer in my hand. Not a bad trade-off, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.