Body work is moving along, slowly BUT..... I finally got my FatMat in from eBay (Noise-Killers on ebay A++) and started right on it. And a big thinks to Logan1 for the visual inspiration to do the every friggin panel I can reach. The FatMat is a great deal at $130 for 100 sq.ft. which is EASILY enough to cover the everything that Needs to be covered, including the headlinerless roof, firewall, inner rear quarters, wheel wells, shock towers, spare well and everything in between.

Here it is so far....

hopefully more to come this week. Also, rear wheels are on and all 4 are on rollers, so I can totally spin the car around and keep the sun on the area that needs a little warmth (it was actually 55 degrees out today) not bad for mid Feb. here in the Great NW.

Dave

Edited February 19, 201015 yr by Zs-ondabrain

So I got a little more FatMat done today but nothing worth posting about.

BUT after 3 months of waiting for my metal guy to get around to cutting and shaping my rear panel for an easy instal, he calls me monday and tells me he's getting to it. Tuesday he calls and says "It's cut and ready for you to pick it up" then he says" You'll have to do a little cutting and grinding and it'll be good to go"..............

Solm bich gave me a square peice of 18 gauge sheet metal with a 90* bend at the top, THAT'S IT!! So pissed off and falling behind, I figured screw it and start woprking on it.

So I made some relief cuts and had to cut the $^!# out of a huge peice of metal. I'll post more when it starts looking like a rear panel. Still gotta cut the holes for the rear lenses, license plate and thinking about doing a straight line of SuperBrite White LED's across the bottom half under the licence plate area (about 12" to 18" long) You'll see.

Dave

Edited February 20, 201015 yr by Zs-ondabrain

Moving right along.... The wifes "To-Do" list killed a lot of productive hours but I got a few things done. As the pictures show, it all started with some card board and went from there. The license plate will be inward and the lights will barely be 1/4" out of the rear panel. Any opinions thus far???

So I got one side done today, had to help the neighbor get his Subs working again (Crazy azz audio system w/ about 5000 watts) anyways, now I gotta figure out a gasket and mounting for the assemblies. Hell of a lot of filing and figuring for 4 small lenses.

Dave

did a little more yesterday and I'm heading back out to finish the license plate recess.

Dave

Dave,

looks great with the recess for the plate! Looked too plain before but the recess really turned out nice. I also like the Klearz lenses. I looked into some but read about some quality control issues. I ended up scoring a set of Euro amber lenses off of Ebay last month instead. Installed them over the weekend, more of a pain than I thought.

Keep us posted

So Dave, when you gonna offer the tail assembly with lights and license plate recess as a kit? :laugh:

Dave,

looks great with the recess for the plate! Looked too plain before but the recess really turned out nice. I also like the Klearz lenses. I looked into some but read about some quality control issues. I ended up scoring a set of Euro amber lenses off of Ebay last month instead. Installed them over the weekend, more of a pain than I thought.

Keep us posted

I felt the same after I saw it without the recess. I wanted to keep with a similar OEM look with the plate at a slight tilt and didn't stray from the stock lenses either. The Brake lights are actually the old turn signal lenses!! The old right side T/S is now the New left brake light (notice the lack of a reflector on either lens??

And on the plus side, the recess will allow me to do internal row of LED's and the frosty white lens will sit up under that lip, above the license plate, out of side until I turn on the parking lights.

I also plan on the KlearZ clear front markers with Yellow LED's like the rears.

Still finaggling the front bumper ("To be or Not to be"? That IS the question.

So Dave, when you gonna offer the tail assembly with lights and license plate recess as a kit? :laugh:

Not in This lifetime.

1) The LED lens (96 Red LED's and 72 Yellow LED's, 36 resistors and 4 diodes) Took a while to make.

2) The Rear Plate is 18 gauge mild steel and a bitch to work with when all you have is cutting wheels, a 4" grinder, an air saw and a dremel with quick release cutting wheels and a POS Flux-core welder.

3) the rear of the Z's have a vertical droop and and inward slope. NOT an easy area to replicate under the currect tool conditions that I'm working with.

I don't think I would do it for any less than $600 fully loaded cause this was a BIG pain in the butt. And I'm not even done with this one. I still gotta do the license plate light and the reverse light strip. AND figure out how to make all the lights servicable (removable and replacable) after it's all welded into place, glassed and painted.

And I couldn't guarantee that each S30's rear section is the same, mm by mm (millimeter)

But thanks for thinking its worthy of Reproduction

And here's what I did today. You can see the holding brackets for the lenses, welded in nuts for the license plate bolts and welded nut brackets for the lens holding plates. Still much to do.

Dave

Looks like the LEDs in Post 29 took awhile. Really unique -- most DIY taillights I've browsed through look... out of place.

I was wondering: why you chose the solid caliper/rotor over the vented?

Looks like the LEDs in Post 29 took awhile. Really unique -- most DIY taillights I've browsed through look... out of place.

I was wondering: why you chose the solid caliper/rotor over the vented?

The LED's do take time. I have to make the plates, design and drill out the holes Just Right for an exact snug fit, sand down the face to remove the drill rash and glue on the Aluminum foil, cut the foil from each hole, load the LED's so the +/- poles are aligned for wiring correctly, bent cut and solder every LED, then wire them up for correct operation or design of that particular board. All this X 4, 2 turns and 2 stop/parking light.

Cause I already had a brand new set of rotors for the 260Z and that made the non-vented rotor/caliper pair a pretty easy decision. go with what ya got. And the Vented rotor / caliper pair was more pricey. I'm on a budget and every dollar counts.

Dave

Edited February 24, 201015 yr by Zs-ondabrain

got a little more done today in between Arne's 3rd brake light and a few other jobs. The roof!!!, Spare well, inner dog legs up to the quarter windows and a few other spots.

Kinda jumpin around so you'll see a few blank spots that'll be filled later, Not gonna do the quarter panels or rear tailgate panel till all the welding is done. Just seems easier that way.

Dave

Wow, this is a very interesting build! Loving the progress