Jump to content
HybridZ

fiberglass tilt front end


Guest zphreek

Recommended Posts

Guest zphreek

hey guys! i was wondering if anyone has experience with the one peice tilting front ends?? well i bought one from MAS racing a while ago and managed to rig up some hinges and get my headlights mounted, and just finished today installing a set of hydrolic struts to hold it open ( i stole a set of completely worn out ones from a 280ZX hatch and the work great) now i am contemplating buying a fiberglass airdam and bonding it on. the only thing i was wondering about is if it will clear averything when i tilt it up? has anyone done this??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

attach it temporarily, then see if it still opens. BTW, I am surprised that the pressure of the struts used on the hatch to not warp or distort the front cap. Even the rigid steel hatch had a little give where the struts attached.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest zphreek

blueovalz:

 

the reason the struts do not distort the front end is because, like i said in my earlier post, they are both totally worn out. the wouldnt even come close to holding up the hatch. they actually work perfectly on my Z smile.gif it will balance in the middle and then go up the rest of the way by itself. and as for the test fitting the airdam before attaching, i am definitly planning on doing just that. i just thought that if anyone had already done this and it didnt work i could save myself some shipping costs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest JAMIE T

Hey Zphreek, I was wondering how you put the head lights in. I have a MAS front clip also. I want to putheadlighhts in it also. I have a Xenon urathane air dam that I am going to atach to my nose. I am going to bolt it on, not bond it on. Anyway, If you could detail how you attached your headlights, that would be great.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest zphreek

its kinda hard to explane how i attached my headlights... if you look at a stock Z i believe there is a ring that holds the light and a metal bucket that covers the back of it. i took the two piece ring that holds the light and welded three 1"x1" tabs with holes in them then i set the light into the cutout in the front-end and dropped 3" bolts into the holes. i then layed some fiberglass over the bolts to hold them onto the inside of the "sugar scoop". so if you are looking at it from the back with the headlight removed, you will see a round hole for the headlight with three bolts sticking up around the perimiter of the hole. you can use two nuts on each bolt and move that part of the headlight in or out enough to adjust it. do you kind of understand what i am saying?? if you dont just say so and i will try to clarify myself. i am not sure if this is the best way to attach them but it was the best i could think of.

how are you coming with your front end?? is it going to tilt or be stationary? i would be interested to see how someone else did everything since i have never seen another car with one on it and i just had to make my own hinges, hold downs, etc... if you are tilting, what did you do about the lower fenders?? this is what i am kinda stuck on right now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was very interested in this, but with hours of searching could not find a web site for them. Also, the shipping to CA was going to put it out of reach for me (purchasing through JCWhitney), almost a grand all said and done.Plus I believe it needs alot of cleanup work.

Tim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest zphreek

hey guys! well MAS racing is one of them "low-tech" companies that doesnt have a website :eek: they are the ones who manufacture the front ends for JC Whitney. i got mine dirctly from them and ended up paying about $475 with shipping to nebraska. ( they cut me a deal on it because the said the "mold was old" and shipping was about 80 bucks) they will require a lot of work to make them look good. here is there address and phone number:

 

MAS Racing Products

2288 University Ave.

St. Paul, MN 55114

(651)-644-6811

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...Yup, contact MAS directly...Tim, they shipped from Minnisotta for $60 to Virginia, which should be further than you. Jamie has my old front end, and I think it is a decent starting place for a glass front end. UI wasn't happy with the hinges they sent, so I was gonna make it a bolt in unit, but I supose those hinges would work with a little help!

 

Good luck and send us some pics! BTW, MAS Sells several sizes of fender flare and they are MUCH CHEAPER than MSA twak.gif , so shop there first. They have NO website, but will send you a catalog. I can vouch for the quality of their flares, but the front end will need work!

 

Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest JAMIE T

I'm just making mine removable. The hood removes seperately(Mike had cut it out nicely before I got it). I pretty much want my car to look all steel, like any other street car. But when the hood comes off(with Sparco pins), I want the jaws to drop at the site of the full race front clip and super light weight(not to mention the 600hp V8 rockon.gif )

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest gprix1

As for the front spoiler, I would make a quick mock-up of the basic shape with some cardboard and duct tape. Tape it on and try raising the hood.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Z_tilt_frtup_ss.jpg

 

Gang,

 

It's been awhile since I had my tilt front end. The front hinge point on mine made it problematic for addition of front bumper that could protect parking spot bumps from other cars, but overall it's fit. when closed. was excellent without any warpage. Not sure what brand it was back in mid eighties, but I presumed it was the one from JC Whitney .

 

Probably my best contribution to this thread would be to point you to a page I have devouted to featuring my old tilt front end and that of several others that have purchased the unit and installed it in different ways. Check out the photos at Examples of Tilt Front Ends on Z cars

 

I am always looking for more photo samples and brief text descriptions about them from other owners in case any of you care to contribute.

 

SLEEK Z (aka Eric Neyerlin of ZPARTS.COM)

eric@zparts.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...