madkaw Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Well I went after those dreaded rear panels on the zx, you know the ones that are tore up on every 280zx out there. I ordered some vinyl and got lucky on the color match. The rest of the interior on my daughters car was pretty nice, but those panels sucked. Now she looks good-if I might say so myself. What's up with those panel fastners. The taillight panel fastners are hard to get locked, and I think I am missing the correct plastic nutplate for the big plastic screw-anyone have an extra???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbobluestreak Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 You need the plastic insert for the back pannel. You could junkyard or ebay to find it. tbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woldson Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Very nice! Yep, they suck, you did very nice job on restoring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madkaw Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 Thanks on the confirmation on the sucky fasteners. I thought it was just me. Maybe that's why all these panels are tore because of the owners fighting with them. That drivers side one was a real pain in the ass to get out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilbertZ Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 that looks great! where did you get the vinyl? what did you use to attach it/stretch it to fit the contours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madkaw Posted May 21, 2009 Author Share Posted May 21, 2009 I buy my interior stuff from the "yourautotrimstore" off the internet. I ordered their sample packet and then matched it up the best I could. As far as applying the vinyl, it is a lot of trial and error. I did spend the money and bought a real glue spray gun( a 20$ plastic one, but specific for spraying glue) and I bought a gallon of the glue. The vinyl is not too expensive, but you will probably waste some at first. It takes a lot of patience and a methodology. Unfortunetly there isn't much learning material on this. Books are vague, but maybe you can find some DVD's on "how to". I put the interior together today and it looks good. As far as the fasteners for the rear panel, I realized I had 2 different style plastic nut plates that go into the rear strip. It seems the fasteners I had grabbed one type better then another-is there different fasteners for this rear panel? It looks like one fastener might be slightly bigger(thicker) then another. Anyone have some extra tan fasteners around? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woldson Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Dang! Very nice! Now about that transmission......?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madkaw Posted May 21, 2009 Author Share Posted May 21, 2009 Sorry but the automatic stays. This is my daughter's car and she doesn't do 5speeds. I bought this car for her, but I told her that she has to give or sell it back to me when she is done with it, so I can have the engine. With only 90k miles the engine is barely broke in and I can tweek the motor while it is in the 280zx. This plan may backfire though, because she loves this car so much, I might never get it back. The auto performs well too. I am impressed with the performance of this car being a 1981 vehicle. This is the first 280zxt I have actually ridden in and besides some aging squeaks coming from the suspension, I like the ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 As far as the 2 different types of fasteners are concerned, you have both of them that you need... easy to figure out which goes where as the diameters and types of the screw threads themselves are different too. The FAT ones go on the outsides...(corners of panels) and truly screw in, the THIN ones go in the center of the rear panel only and only turn 90 degrees to lock into position once inserted. Hope that helps. BTW, GREAT WORK!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madkaw Posted May 21, 2009 Author Share Posted May 21, 2009 Warren, I realize that there is a difference in that one fastener is a half turn lock and the other is an actual screw thread, but my issue was that the half turns worked on one type nutplate and not the other, though they looked very similiar(not screw type). So either they(the nutplates) are wore out or their was two different diameter half turn locks. Sounds like the plastic nutplates were just wore out. Thanks for the compliment and info. Also, I need some pics of how the rear hatch tie down straps are configured. I started from scratch and the new hatch carpet has no slots for the straps, so I need a little help on where to cut. I debated on doing this, but I can't allow those heavy t-tops to flop around in there and possibly hurt someone in an accident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madkaw Posted May 21, 2009 Author Share Posted May 21, 2009 I obviously have the tan interior and I am trying to buy a SEM color to match. I purchased the Buckskin color from the SEM chart, but it seems way to light to match the plastic trim pieces. Now I am leaning towards the Palamino, but at 12$ a shot and shipping, I would like to hear from someone else that has done this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Wasn't trying to imply anything, just trying to clarify the proper places for the two types of fasteners. There was only 1 diameter half turn fastener. I didn't realize you had the nutplates already as they didn't show in your pictures when I first read the post. I had a similar situation with the strap locations on my new carpet too...no slots. I chose to leave them out completely. Haven't suffered any major setbacks from that decision, but I do keep the T-Tops in their storage bags as protection when they're not on the roof. They do slide around a bit, but not to the point where they're crashing into anything. I've seen SEM products at Advance Auto Parts before, you might check there for a better price without shipping...keeping in mind that Advance is part of the PartsAmerica group, meaning they're also Checker Shucks Kragen and a couple of other retail store names. My interior is black & silver, so there was really no big deal in color matching for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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