differences in the body....

[Guest BadKarmaCreepin]

is there any difference in the basic body design of the 240, 260, and 280? not counting the bumpers, the hood, the placement of the front turn signals. are the dimensions the same? thanks.

[staledale]

Hey Dan, They gotta be the same. The MSA parts cat. lists the fenders, door skins(locks and mech inside differ) and the patch panels for the rear quarter are all the same. On the whole rear quarter there is a differance because of the bumper. So over all they are just about the same. I think the ride height change with the crashable bumpers really changed the over all looks. Hope I'm right, just going by the parts cat. Hope it helps.

[Guest Anonymous]

Some of the doors dont interchange between the 240s to the other cars due to the hinges other than that I believe the rest of the parts will interchange. I have always been told that the 240 was a little bit smaller than the 280 yet I dont know where.

[randy 77zt]

unit body of 280 is heavier and stiffer-body had to be beefed up for 5mph bumpers.some times switching doors from different years the gaps wont line up.to raise ride height on 280 the spring cushions on struts were taller-the rubber part on top was thicker.i have found many parts different on 240 vs 280.if i was giong to build a v8 car with no added bracing i would build a 280-but you cant in california thanks to smog regs.

[Guest Martin Richelsoph]

The doors and jambs of 280s are completely different from 240s and early 260s. Only the outer skin is the same. The latches are completely different as is the inner panel. The rear strut towers are also taller on 280s and the unibody is supposed to be overall beefier and heavier probably to handle the front and rear crash bumpers. In short you can't put a 280 door onto a 240 or visa versa.

[Guest Fast Frog]

Also the rear wheel wells on the 240 series have more "hip" than the later 280s. the rear wheel wells stick out about an inch farther on each side.

[Andrew Bayley]

Can't speak so much for the external,

But there is MORE room between the frame rails in the 280Z's. The radiator that fit nicely in my previous 280's had to be shoe-horned into my early 260 after widening (hammer!) the frame rails a bit.

 

-Andy

[DavyZ]

Ahhh, yes! Fast Frog makes a good point--they are not exactly the same--I knew something like that was different and he just confirmed it. Also, somewhere I thought I saw that the 240Z (early model maybe) was actually shorter by an inch or so than the 280Z--maybe due to the bumpers?--aside from the bumper, I'd love to know if they are the same length. The hatch and hoods are interchangeable, but not much else.

 

Davy

 

[ October 03, 2001: Message edited by: DavyZ ]

[Mike C]

There were some floor pan changes on 240s during 72 as well. My early (November) car did not have retractable seat belts or the bumps to clear them, but my later car (January) does.

[Whittie]

i'm looking to put a roll cage in my 77 260 and need to know if one from a 240 would fit. so the question here is, are the dimensions of the 240 the same as the 260? i'm not really interested to know about the 280 just 240 v 260.

 

Thanks,

 

Tom.

[Whittie]

bump

[A. G. Olphart]

The OZ 260's must really be different... AFIK we in the USA only had 260s in 1974. Early part of the year were 240 sized, later ones 280 sized. Each owner has to figure out what he has.

 

If I were a betting type, I'd bet that yours is 280 sized... it would make little sense to keep building the slightly smaller chassis for some markets. (Smaller engines could easily be carried over to fit local tax/registration laws).

 

So bet a roll cage, or check out early 240's and the 280 badged cars to verify your 260's size .