What to do...280z

[Tim 76' 280Z]

I was wondering if there are any of you out there that own 280z's that have left and only used the stock boby pieces and have done something custom to the grill/frontend of the car. Im not wanting to buy a front air dam because I like the look of the stock body but not the hugh bumper. So I want something custom and im looking for ideas...

[Arne]

Tim, there's a blue 280Z here in the Eugene area whose owner has removed the bumpers. He built a custom tube grill for it to fill the huge grill opening. He also built a little nerf bar set up for the rear. I don't particularly care for the look, myself, I'd rather have the stock bumpers than what he has done even though I generally dislike the big bumpers.

I guess while I don't care for the 280Z bumpers, they are still better to me than some of the home-built alternatives. But to each his own.

[Mr Camouflage]

Replace the front end with 240Z bumpers and lower valance panels.

[280~Master]

I don't have bumpers on my 280. Those were the first items removed. I did keep them just in case. I know MSA front ends don't have that big bumper on it but as Craig says put some 240 bumpers on it. Right now for my car I have went to Home Depot and bought a metal mesh, the stuff used to hold stuco on the wall, and made a 1 piece grill in the front. Its not the best looking but I am now about 140lbs lighter.

[Arne]

Take a look at these:

http://www.zccjdm.com/catalog.php/azcarbum/dt55266/pd1790406/280Z_TO_240Z_FRONT_BUMPER_CONVERSION_BRACKETS_

[Danglybanger]

...Totally with you on hating the look of air dams, thanks for not cutting apart another 280

Only sort of with you on stock bumper hating, they're ugly, but do provide much more protection, and they're also unique and make your car stand out a bit... It's a period look

Though it's hard to blame you for wanting the earlier bumpers... But really, what puts me over the edge on keeping mine is that they provide much, much more protection (than the 240 bumpers, which give nearly none).

[Arne]

Though it's hard to blame you for wanting the earlier bumpers... But really, what puts me over the edge on keeping mine is that they provide much, much more protection (than the 240 bumpers, which give nearly none).

No, not 'nearly none' - pretty much none at all. 240Z bumpers are an appearance item, and a place to hang the front plate from, nothing more.

Ask kyropa what he thinks about his 280Z bumpers. While driving at a local Datsun gathering last month, he hit a deer with his 280Z. Very low speed, but hard enough that it bounced the doe back off the road. The deer then left the scene without leaving her name or insurance info.

Damage to the Z? A slightly bent license plate. That's all. The big 280Z bumper took the rest of the impact. That same story on my 240Z would have been ugly.

[Danglybanger]

...Impressive, even though deer aren't a danger here (not much bigger than lizards, rabbits and roadrunners, and thankfully they don't get to bumper height), in this area other drivers are the ones who typically push for your extinction, though good to know they're deer safe :bandit:

Despite many citing the ugliness that the safety bumper has imposed on automotive design even up to this decade, new bumpers seem more deficient than the old, stiff chrome 70s monsters as the 280 has (which I've heard were often designed to withstand 10, 15, or even 20mph impacts, in anticipation of pending stricter regulation which never came)... And even if the modern bumpers do protect the car's structure, it hardly matters if you then have to pay over $1000 to replace/repaint/repair the painted cover, bumper structure etc.

...Well look at it this way. Your car is a 76, and at least doesn't have the biggest, most monstrous bumpers. Though I go back and forth between which 280 bumper actually looks best...

[Jeff G 78]

I hate the looks of my big bumpers, but I am really worried that if I remove them, I will get rear ended at 5mph and total my Z :disappoin

Just a few days ago, a woman ran into the back of my Toyota 4x4. She was going less than 5mph, but it was enough to buckle her hood, bend the core support, and take out the grille, lights, and radiator. Her bumper went under my bumper and she took the hit right in her grille. My bumper did bend up, but only because it is rusty. I bent it back today by hand.

If I had been driving my Z with a 240 bumper swap, it might have been enough to do serious damage. On the other hand, I think my car with its big, ugly bumpers would have taken the hit with little to no damage.

[Tim 76' 280Z]

Its not the fact that I hate the bumpers. Its really that the rubber is in need of replacing. I also would like to do something custom if I could. The rubber is so spendy and personaly all the rubber products Ive bought for older cars in the past dont last as long as the originals. They crack and fade like 20 times faster. Waste of money in my opinion. I do like the look of the cars with out bumpers. Really the 240z bumper serves one purpose and that is to dress the car up some more. Plus the prices for those things are thru the roof. Im not looking for a esay way out but I guess just something different. So when people see the Z they will say wow Ive never seen one like that before. But im wanting to do this without doing anything to the body... that is a very important thing to me. I have an idea for the rear end just not the front... Oh and by the way FREAKIN LOVE THE NEW 370Z!!!

[Tim 76' 280Z]

Arne,

Would you happen to have the two side pieces for the 240z bumper??? Or wait... is it all one piece? or not? Ive seen some 280z with the two side pieces and a big grill to fill the center. There is someone on this site that has this mod. Its an orange car and he is from marysville washington. His name is Dave and his screen name is Zs-ondabrain. i would like to do something like he has done.

Edited November 2, 2008 by Tim 76' 280Z

[Arne]

Arne' date='

Would you happen to have the two side pieces for the 240z bumper??? Or wait... is it all one piece? or not? Ive seen some 280z with the two side pieces and a big grill to fill the center. There is someone on this site that has this mod. Its an orange car and he is from marysville washington. His name is Dave and his screen name is Zs-ondabrain. i would like to do something like he has done.[/quote']The 240Z front bumper is a one-piece unit, unlike the rear. Dave's car is a '70 240Z, but it'd be fairly simple to do the same on a 280Z, I should think. Dave built all that himself. He's pretty handy that way.