New Z on the road again...

[rossiz]

Hi all,

Been lurking for a couple months while slowly restoring a new-to-me 1978 280z with the help of all the great info on this forum, and of course my new friends at MSA and Black Dragon... Just wanted to introduce the project to you all.

History:

I'm the 3rd owner - the PO bought it for his wife back in '83 with 30k miles on it and she drove it until she passed away a few years ago. I was lucky enough to find a very original, relatively rust-free example and I've been having a great time working on it.

Work Done:

The PO was a very nice older gentleman who meant well, but lacked a decent mechanic... The car was believed to be a "reliable daily driver" and ready to go as is, but that was not entirely accurate. It was, however, straight and un-crashed, relatively un-molested and a good starting point for a backyard restoration.

There were a leaks in the back hatch glass seal and the passenger side window so the carpet was trashed, car smelled musty and there was quite a bit of surface rust in the passenger side floor pan. The wire harness was a mess, all the hoses were dried out/cracked and it had more vacuum leaks than I can count.

I gutted it to the pans, wire wheeled to bare metal as needed, Eastwing Rust Encapsulator paint, Hush-Mat sound deadener, re-wired the primary system, swapping the fusible links (rotted out) with Maxi-Fuse blocks mounted inside the cabin on the passenger side, also relocated all the relays from the engine bay to an aluminum bar mounted inside under the HVAC fan. Replaced all the heater hoses, inside and out, all new radiator hoses, new thermostat, flushed system (several times - lots of rusty water), blanked off EGR valve (broken base, frozen up) new FI lines throughout, new fuel filter back between the tank & pump, new E-brake cable (broken), new halogen headlights + lense covers, re-upholstered the seats (splurged on seat heater kit!) new headliner, tore out and cleaned up all the interior bits, new carpet + floor mats, new door/window seals, new hatch seals, new power antenna (broken), new stereo + speaker boxes in back, tossed the spare tire and lowered the rear deck down to pick up some add'l cargo space, capped the dash, new brighter gauge lights, new console, new rubber shifter inner boots, new leather outer boot, re-finished 240z woodgrain steering wheel, pulled the bumpers, new JDM front 240z bumper on custom brackets, new rear hatch struts (old ones were gutless), new battery tray and leads, re-wired all the injectors, new PCV valve + hose & heat wrap, new plugs, K&N intake, stripped & polished the SST wiper arms, along with a whole lot of little details I can't even remember at this point...

I still have to do some body work at the rear to clean up the old bumper holes, and then I'd like to get some 15" rims and wider tires, and maybe lower it an inch to get the stance a little more aggressive. Also thinking about a SST exhaust from the manifold back w/a glasspack resonator and a decent flowing (but not obnoxious) muffler - I want to enjoy a throatier rumble, but without the highway drone.

But for now I'm loving the car :classic: It's a blast to drive, and now that it's running well I find my right foot seems to have gotten a bit heavier... At this point it's a pretty solid driver and looks ok too, so I'm just going to enjoy it and take my time with the rest.

Geoff

[Reverend]

Looks good! Congrats!

[bartsscooterservice]

Cool ride ! That green/brown interior combo is really nice

[240260280z]

Beautiful car. I love the bumper re-work.

i think the springs may be a bit too long. It seems to be riding higher than most Z's.

[LeonV]

Very nice job! Just needs to be dropped a bit, proper wheels, and you're good to go. Love the green over butterscotch.

[olzed]

The height looks about how my 240 did at stock height.. A very 60's early 70's look.

I love the British Racing Green and the wire wheels with full height tyres to fill the wheel arches. I saw an Austin Healey over the weekend that had similar colour and wheels. Nice.

[rossiz]

Thanks for all the kind words - I'm almost done fiddling with it (for now)...

I have to wait for another couple of paychecks before doing wheels/tires, but I can certainly live with it as is for a while The wire wheels are from the PO and are chromed steel, so starting to rust and a major pain to keep clean. I'm thinking of some slotted mags and raised white letter tires to hit the classic 70's muscle look (re-living my childhood).

[FastWoman]

NICE! Love the colors. I also love the wheels, though they're certainly difficult to keep clean. True spoke wheels were EXPENSIVE back when I was considering them for my '75 Z. But they're certainly not practical for use on a DD.

[rcb280z]

I always did like that color combo. Nice Z!