HELP - Need Advice, Parts to Reconstruct Front End

[sopwith21]

Hi all;

The nose of my '74 260z *racecar* has been altered from stock. A different front air dam/valance has been installed and is so low to the ground that I can barely load the car onto a trailer to get to a race. Aerodynamics are not that critical since our speeds are less than 130 mph, so I'd like to make the car appear as stock as possible by restoring the nose to something resembling a stock configuration. The more factory appearance I can get, the better I'll like it.

Important note - the headlight openings and the fog lamp openings are now used for brake ducts and must remain. They're vital to the car's performance.

Can anyone recommend stock-appearing parts to reconstruct the lower valance and grill area? Many thanks!

[Captain_Zeros]

Looks like you'd need a lower valence and a bumper to start with, also your grill looks pushed in.

If you wanna look really killer, get a BRE spook front spoiler to maintain a lot of the stock-Z lines and actually have some aero advantage.

[Montezuma]

I have all three parts in metal for the lower valance for a 74 and up Z. The part requires the turnsignal lights to go in the grill. If interested in the part hit me.

[Jeff G 78]

We kept the stock valence and added garden edging. It's held on with wing nuts, so it comes right off for loading/unloading. There are a series of L brackets with studs looking forward to attach the "airdam" to the valence. It works well and doesn't flex at speed. It comes off in less than a minute, looks pretty good and the cost was almost nothing.

[sopwith21]

Jeff, I love the garden edging idea. I have a whole yard full of that junk and I hate it... this is the perfect chance to recycle! Can you post close-up photos of how the L brackets and studs are placed... that would save us a lot of experimenting. Many thanks!

[sopwith21]

I like the look, but my trailer has such a bad angle that I'm afraid it wouldn't clear. That's a constant headache on this car... and since valances are cheaper than trailers... well...

[Jeff G 78]

I don't have any pics with the plastic edging removed, but you might be able to see how the brackets are installed in these pics. They are simply sheet metal bent to the right angle and they are held on with screws (rivets would be better). You can see that the ones in the grille opening are attached to the top of the valence with the bracket looking down. The bolts go through the L brackets and have a nut to keep them tight. The plastic is then held on with washers and wing nuts. It isn't a work of art, but the whole thing was made in less than an hour. We bought a 20' roll of the edging and we made at least one spare so it could be replaced if it gets torn or wears down.

[Captain_Zeros]

Speak of the Devil, Arizona Z Car Source has free ground shipping on orders over $100 through 2/19/14 (eligible items, I hope bumpers and front aero are eligible!) No promo codes necessary.

[sopwith21]

Need complete lower front valance... best deal I can find online is $155 for all 3 pieces, shipping included.

Does anyone have any better ideas? Thanks!

[Captain_Zeros]

$155 shipping included sounds like a pretty good deal, actually.

Only way I can think of doing it cheaper would be to pull used parts of a parts car locally.

[sopwith21]

Is there any difference between the early and late model 260 front valances?

[Jeff G 78]

Yes, the early has the turn signal holes like a 240 and the late doesn't have the holes like a 280.