VKLR Posted December 11, 2010 Share Posted December 11, 2010 (edited) I've always driven and worked on GM muscle cars and make my living today going bumper to bumper on all year models of Corvettes. The older Z cars have interested me since i was in high school. I just got a 1975 280z. I bought it sight un-seen for a great price. I had to wait two weeks for it to ship to me. During that time I did alot of reading up on the cars. I was prepared to install floor pans and deal with some rust issues. Today was the first time I had a chance to start working on the car. The bad. Removed 4 point roll bar. Now I have to repair holes. Removed rear louvers. Need to repair holes. Very minor surface rust on pass floorboard. Already removed factory sound deadening material. Minor clean-up left. Frame rails and floor boards have a few dents, nothing real bad but absolutely no rust. Both rear storage doors are cut for after market speakers. Need to get new ones. One gas tank mounting strap, mount point on the body is torn slightly. Need to repair. Hood has a dent. Seats and carpet need replacing. Thats all of the bad things. The good thing is is a very well preserved car. I havent uncovered any problem rust areas. I'm very pleased with the purchase and can see this is going to be a fun car to work on. Edited December 12, 2010 by VKLR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nullbound Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 Looks like a great place to start. What are you going to do with the roll bar? I know someone local who is looking for one for his project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VKLR Posted December 12, 2010 Author Share Posted December 12, 2010 Looks like a great place to start. What are you going to do with the roll bar? I know someone local who is looking for one for his project. I'll be willing to sell it no problem. Got some louvers up for grabs too... I want to meet some of the local Z crowd. I got alot to learn about these cars lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSM Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 Welcome and congrats. Looks to have good paint too. Is the driver side hood tweeked or is just a reflection toward the very front? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VKLR Posted December 12, 2010 Author Share Posted December 12, 2010 Welcome and congrats. Looks to have good paint too. Is the driver side hood tweeked or is just a reflection toward the very front? Hood is tweeked and the light bucket has a tiny ding. I'm looking at the CF hoods? Overall the body is great, alignment and doors etc. Clear coat is coming off in places though. It already has a early 240 front bumper but still has the rear park bench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nullbound Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 I'll be willing to sell it no problem. Got some louvers up for grabs too... I want to meet some of the local Z crowd. I got alot to learn about these cars lol. Cool, I sent you a PM about the rollbar. What are your overall plans for the car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VKLR Posted December 12, 2010 Author Share Posted December 12, 2010 I'll work with you on the roll bar. My route with the car was going to depend on the condition of the car i got. If it was rusty and needed a bunch of work I was going to go with an heavily moded street-autocross car. This car IMO is in really, really great shape. I'm going back with the original paint code and a very stock appearance except 240 bumpers front and rear, brake upgrades, wheels, later on a turbo motor. Stock appearance could include a CF hood painted...etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakeoster Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 Clean car! I user to have. green 75' 280z. Will keep an eye on your build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UofA_ZCar Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 Too bad the paint is peeling up, it look like a pretty sweet color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VKLR Posted December 12, 2010 Author Share Posted December 12, 2010 Here is the removed roll bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VKLR Posted December 17, 2010 Author Share Posted December 17, 2010 I removed the battery and was very pleased to find the battery tray in great condition. No rust, nope none at all. I think this car was stored for a few years in a garage but was brought into service recently. There are brand new Tokico struts and springs, evap core, compressor, dryer, high amp alt, starter. I feel really fortunate to have gotten this car. I've only driven it one mile but love it to death. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VKLR Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 I just finished with the wiper linkage and cowl area. I stripped and repainted the cowl area, it was in really good condition but now it's dang near perfect. While I was in there I took the wiper linkage completely apart,cleaned and lubed everything. After removing the sound insulation in the passenger compartment, I decided to remove it on the driver's side also. For the driver's side I used the dry ice method. Worked really well, it's cool how it actually starts cracking and popping off on it's own. Underneath the sound insulation material the floor pan was in excellent shape. In the process of painting now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nullbound Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 This thread needs more pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VKLR Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 Progress. Nothing like having a 4 day weekend to get things done on your car. I got the passenger's seat recovered. It came out good but i should have spent a little more time checking to see if it was centered. The top section is off center some. The seat tracks and pivot brackets cleaned up very good and are like new. A little time was devoted to cleaning the interior prior to carpet installation. While sorting out the speaker replacement i learned that these cars only came with one rear speaker. Now i have to get another speaker bracket for the passenger's side. The short throw shifter was removed and a stock unit installed along with all three new shift boots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VKLR Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Interior is Done, well done can mean a few things, let's just say it's done for now. On to the engine compartment. First thing was to clean it up. I think there is dust from area 51 covering the entire engine compartment. It's really hard to remove but once it's gone the paint looks good, maybe it actually protected the finish some? There are a couple of injectors that are bad. I'm trying to get some used one's to put in because I don't plan on running the stock L28E very long. Today I went and picked up my TWO L28ET engines. I feel like i got a smokin deal on them but that will remain to be seen until i tear them down. Next up will be new wheels, tires and all new brake parts including SS lines, bearings, seals ETC. Oh yea, last week I picked up another 75 as a parts car. I'm just having too much fun working on the Z. I'm really impressed by the design and engineering of these little cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VKLR Posted March 13, 2011 Author Share Posted March 13, 2011 Well everything is coming together nicely. Interior is done for now. I'll start getting all the necessary parts together for a quality paint job down the road some. New wheels and tires really changed the looks allot. Next up is a cooling system upgrade and then Megasquirt then turbo motor. The current plan is to strip my parts car. Clean, powder coat and install new bushings into all of the suspension arms and members. Then when i go to do my car all i have to do is strip the parts off, clean the car and install new components. Turn around time should be quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nullbound Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Wow, looks great! That thing need new paint? I'd drive it like it is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neotech84 Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 WOW that is the NICEST stock engine bay I have seen in a LONG time. You could eat off that! Love that color too. Reminds me of Blakt Out's bay pure awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VKLR Posted March 17, 2011 Author Share Posted March 17, 2011 Null, Thanks. There are some areas that need paint to protect the car from any future problems and some clear coat peeling up. Paint is definitely on the to do list but the list is long. Neo, thanks for the compliment but my car is by no means anywhere close to Blakt's car except the fact they are Datsuns. He built the coolest 240 ever IMHO. Mostly all I did was clean things up, very few parts replaced. Oh yea,, cleaning hose clamps suck. The insulation underneath the intake is from a C-5 Corvette. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VKLR Posted August 13, 2011 Author Share Posted August 13, 2011 (edited) So,, where in the heck are we at with the little Z car...... It drives great, slammed but still manages to smooth out the bumps as if it's a portly Cadillac. Runs good, actually really good. New wheels, tires, brakes, interior, still could use some paint. Looks good sitting in the garage. The problem is the poor motor is tired. A few leaks here and there, smoke on acceleration and deceleration. Smooth as silk but tired. I was thinking about going the turbo route but i feel this car is in too good of condition to anything other than go back somewhat close to stock and rebuild the original motor. Currently looking for "THE" machine shop around the Atlanta area that deals with the L-28 on a regular basis.... Edited August 13, 2011 by VKLR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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