Rear Bumper Shocks Removal (1977 280z)

[TheCrazySwede]

Dear Forums,

I'm in the process of taking off my stock rear bumpers on my 280. I got the driver side shock absorber off with ease (bolts were easy to get to, and it just slides out) but the bolts on the passenger side shock is located above the gas tank. Now, I was thinking, could I not just cut the part of the shock off that is under the gas tank? I'll make sure to release all the pressure first, of course. I'm planning on cutting that part and then weld up all the holes left behind to cover it all up. The bolts holding the housing for the shock will still be on there, but the part sticking out will be cut off, if that makes sense. I'm curious to know if anyone has done this before or if it's a good/bad idea. I'll update this thread with pictures for a better understanding.

Cheers!

[siteunseen]

Google has this info https://www.google.com/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=280z+rear+bumper+removal&oq=280z+rear+bumper+removal&gs_l=hp.3..0.3909.13479.0.14076.24.18.0.6.6.0.145.1434.16j2.18.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.1.4B6ll6JZg8Y&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=42d1a54cca937312&biw=1280&bih=620

[EuroDat]

I fiddled around trying to get it out, but ended up dropping the tank. That was a pain because I just tanked the car the a couple of days before I decided to remove the 280Z bumpers. On my car the panel above the rear bumper was spot welded to the rear body panel. Paint work is also something to consider when changing the bumpers. Ill be respraying anyway so its not a problem. Strange; Ive nether read about this in the forums.

[Kurbycar32]

I also dropped my tank. In the end it was worth it though because i found a bunch of rotted fuel lines that were about to fail and i got to clean the tank up a bit. Its not hard to remove if the fuel is mostly gone

[ihiryu]

Yeah......I figured it'd be easy too, but lo and behold, drop the tank