280Z Full Restore in 5 months, hopefully.

[CG240Z]

One more update, worked on removing the original rubber floor insulation. The driver side I used a heat gun, was messy and didn't come off that well. Passenger side and rear decided to try the dry ice method. I will never touch a heat gun again! Not only was it fun, but it worked great. The ice froze up all the insulation, and it came off in fairly big chucks with just a tae of a hammer in chisel.

So much still do it, just have to keep trucking and enjoy the journey!

[Virto]

Dry ice works great, you're right about never going back to heat gunning it.

Have you planned to reinforce the mounting for the sway bars? There was a post just today about the effects the upgraded bars can have on even rust-free mounts on these cars.

[CG240Z]

Dry ice works great, you're right about never going back to heat gunning it.

Have you planned to reinforce the mounting for the sway bars? There was a post just today about the effects the upgraded bars can have on even rust-free mounts on these cars.

I haven't seen the thread yet, I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the heads up. I was looking at Bad Dog's sway bar plates. They look pretty simply to make. I am definitely going to want to do some kind of reinforcement. Last thing I want is for the frame to crack.

[Virto]

I think the Bad Dog plates are like 35 bucks, but they do look fairly simple. Just depends on if you'd rather spend the time fabbing some or buy them and weld them on. For 30 bucks, the cost seems reasonable.

[CG240Z]

I think the Bad Dog plates are like 35 bucks, but they do look fairly simple. Just depends on if you'd rather spend the time fabbing some or buy them and weld them on. For 30 bucks, the cost seems reasonable.

I hear what you are saying. I don't really have time, so prefabbed brackets aren't a bad idea. I just ordered a set,. If $32 keeps my frame from cracking, I'm good with that. I'm thinking about ordering their weld in jack points too, looks convenient.

[EuroDat]

The front bumper will be 240, the grill will be 280 with the turn signals in the light, valence is 280 with brake vents. I like the 240 front valence better with the blinkers built in, but I have the 280 valence, and I'm okay with it. As far as the 280 grill and 240 bumpers going to go together, I'm not sure how they'll match up. I haven't gotten to the stage of mocking things up. I'll keep you posted when I get there.

Im still playing with mine. Not real happy with the gap between the grill and the bumper. I can set the bumper further back to the grill, but then the sides dont line up with the recess in the vender at the wheel arch.

Thinking about fitting the trim that covers the cap between the 280Z bumper and the grill. Ill take some photos of my progress so far, which is very very slow compared to you;)

Later Ill fit the 240Z air-dam plus indicators, but for now it has the 280Z valences. The original grill under the bumper is way too small and leaves a big gap.

You can also try the JDM grill that 1 tuff Z (on Hybridz) made. You can order them via MSA. There is also a thread here about it. You will need to remove the 280Z indicators.

Cheers and goodluck. Dry ice has the WOW effect.

[CG240Z]

Progress is being made! But lately it has been fighting every inch of the way!

Gas tank painted, looks good!

Got the patch for the inner fender and battery tray welded in. I know it doesn't look original, but it's rust free and it works. Plus the battery will be on top and no one will ever be able to tell.

Pops welding in the sway bar reinforcement to the frame rail.

Got the engine bay painted and fuel lines installed. That's a huge step. It's hard to tell the exact color in the picture, but you'd recognize it from Gone in 60 seconds. It's Eleanor's paint color. It came out really well and I can't wait to see when the whole car is painted, but lots of body work needs to be done first. Maybe I need to call this project Eleanor Z now?

Front and rear suspension put in! The u-joints kicked my arse on the half shafts, the ears on the yolks were bent in so I couldn't get the C clips on. Had to heat them all up and give them some good smacks with a big hammer. The powder coated parts came out better than expected. Plus I added the Arizona Z billet mustache bar for some bling. It looks great.

The toughest thing about the front suspension was putting the urethane Tension arm bushings in. They have absolutely no give, so trying to get the bar to line up with the control arm was no easy task.

Also my driver's side bushing on the rack and pinion doesn't fit at all, in my opinion it's flat out the wrong design. I googled this and have read other drivers having this same problem. Some suggested boiling it and stretching it out, tried it, it had no give at all. I e-mail the company stating that their bushing was no where close to fitting, they basically said I was crazy, so I e-mailed them back with a picture of it not fitting. Then they e-mailed me with a phone number to a random "Z expert" customer saying call him and he can help. Thanks, that was a helpful answer...not at all.

Next up is to get the engine bay ready for the engine and BODY WORK BODY WORK BODY WORK. It's the most time consuming and is going to make this car look great.

[CG240Z]

Also I forgot to note that the MSA sway bars are thick and are pretty close to matching the paint. I like them a lot! They were a bit of a pain putting them in, just from the tension and getting in the way of things, but well worth it!

[CG240Z]

Here's it sitting on all fours. You can't tell, but everything below the doors is restored. Now it's time for everything floor up.

[CG240Z]

Ordered the complete interior kit and header. Pretty exciting! Just keep throwing thousands into the car and it will start looking nice, right? That's the plan anyways. Hoping to get the body work done and painted in 3 weeks. So far I've been holding to my timeline, which is remarkable.

[CG240Z]

I forgot, also dropping the gas tank off this week to get it boiled. I tried running various chemicals through it to get all the crap and rust out. It looks a lot better than it did when I first dropped it, but it still has junk in it. Boiling should get it looking brand new.

[grannyknot]

I don't think it's going to take you anywhere near 5 months to get this car done at your present rate.

Love the pics

Chris