1974 datsun 260z project journal

[xxxpatsabxxx]

so im 15 and i recently purchased an automatic 74 260z that sat in a field for a few years. she runs now but needs work. if u can tell me where i can find some good places to find parts it would be much appreciated. so far i have

-Ripped out interior panels, seats, and center console for cleaning and repair.

-Replaced all fluids in the vehicle

-Replaced oil filter, fuel filters, and mechanical fuel pump

-And i am currently sanding and doing bondo for paint.

she does have rust holes. the rubbers the go between the body and the bumpers turn to dust when i squeeze them in between my finger tips. the front left running light is broken but when i plug a new bulb in it still works. the dash has severe cracks. i need replacements. fans, tachometer, clock, and horn dont work.

PICTURES ON DAY 2 AUGUST 6

Edited August 10, 2008 by xxxpatsabxxx

[zbane]

For the dash, I would suggest reading this thread.

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23919

Welcome to the wonderful world of Datsun!

ps: the search feature will soon become a great friend of yours, and thanks for posting some photos right of the bat (we all like photos)

[xxxpatsabxxx]

wow thanks for showing me the dash repair thread. i will do it ASAP (my brother has a 85 300zx turbo with the same problem.) but i would have put up more pictures but my camera is really touchy. i will get more up as soon as i have the time. but as for the search i didnt even see it up there. =) and thank you for the warm welcome. i am glad to have somewhere to share my passion for the Z family.

[mikewags]

I wish you luck on the dash repair. I did this method and found it much harder than it actually looks. I was able to seal the cracks on my dash, and paint over them...it looks better, but you can still faintly tell that it was repaired; because it isn't perfectly uniform on the top like some of the other success stories.

If you want to get it perfect, fill the deep portions of the crack with foam, then fill the top layers with the plastic/bumper repair. I would go a few layers up over the dash surface and sand down. Be prepared to sand and sand until it uniforms perfectly with the dash, or it will be hard to mask the work area when painting. If you can run your hand over the dash and not feel the difference where the filling is, you should be good to go. This is the way to have a nice even surface with the texture coating/trim paint.

When I get around to it I will post some pics of my dash.

Nice looking car, i'm sure it will clean up nicely.

[mikewags]

Nice color too!

[xxxpatsabxxx]

well i just tried to remove my dash. i noticed i have ALOT more cracks then the example. =/ but i got the top screws off but when i got to the last one.... stripped it. =( so i need to go to buy a stripped screw remover from somewhere. more money down the drain. : ' (

and i tried to knock some dents out of my door took about 30 mins to take the door panel off and figured out that knocking out the dents would be impossible.

but i have the entire car sanded with 40 grit and im going to move up to a finer grit tomorrow morning.

not a very good day for me.

[Danglybanger]

...Sun City eh? I didn't think 15 year olds were allowed there

Anyway, luck with the project... someone put a late 280 hood on that thing, huh. That thing'll be sweet once sorted, door panels look good anyway... Do you plan on keeping the auto?

[xxxpatsabxxx]

hahaha yea well im on the other side of the 215 not the old ppl side =P. so its a 280 hood eh? wow. never woulda known. well if i have enough money ill swap a manual tranny in. and its the driver side door panel. if u look closely in one of the pictures u can see a long dent in it. do u know what tranny will swap cleanly? yea but its just alot of little things that need to be done. im going to take some pictures tomorrow of how it looks sanded and if all goes well they should be on the site at around mid day. =)

Edited August 10, 2008 by xxxpatsabxxx

[74L28Z]

Nice find, good luck with the project. It's great to see the younger generation taking interest in these cars. At least your interior is in better shape than mine when I got it...

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29347

[xxxpatsabxxx]

can u tell me where u bought the parts to restore it. and the name of the paint because my car was resprayed the blue color it is now but in some areas there is that brown color.

[xxxpatsabxxx]

oh and by the way my aim is xxxpatsabxxx if u have it just send me an im and tell me ur from the forums so i can get to know u better

[74L28Z]

Most of what I needed, I found on ebay and the rest was from Motorsport Auto http://www.thezstore.com/store/merchant.mvc?. If you are wanting to go back to the original color, there is a decal on the radiator support towards the passenger side next to the hood support rod that has the color code.