1976 280Z Restoration Project

[wheee!]

Hi everyone! My name is Mark and I will be restoring my 1976 280Z coupe HLS30-271295 starting this year. I look forward to your feedback and help as I am sure most of you have a lot of experience with restoring your own cars! I am hoping you will all chip in and help me avoid some common pitfalls and mistakes along the way.

 

I will post photos and updates as I go. For now, these are pics of the day I picked up the car in Calgary in March of last year.

[wheee!]

The car has sat untouched basically for the last year. I did not have a good place to start such a big project so I bought a new house with lots of garage space PLUS a 24x24 shop garage in the back of the property. I am running a gas line to it this spring, insulating and finishing the inside so I can hook up the furnace for year round workshop use.

 

Once that is done, the teardown will begin! Parts are starting to accumulate too.... A friend is doing a similar resto and has donated his L28 and four spd from a 76 280  that he will not be re-using as he is going with an newer motor (RB25 or VQ35). I will use this block as a spare to rebuild for more fun later...

 

I have sourced another 5 spd tranny from a 78 Z and an R200 3.90 rear end. I also have a P90 head that I will probably shave and reuse on the spare block when I rebuild it. For now, I will re-use my stock L28 and do a mild rebuild with flattop pistons for a higher compression on the N47 head. That's the plan for now...

 

The body will be getting a complete frame up resto with new floor pans etc. Can't wait to tear it all apart! Who knows what I will find...

Edited March 5, 2015 by wheee!

[wheee!]

The rebuilt starter and cleaned up R200. The rubber rear support has been removed and the studs reconditioned for mounting on the 280Z.

Sent from Canadia

[wheee!]

The 280 was last driven in 1997. The PO did an engine rebuild in 1992/93 supposedly. The car was also repaired a few times. The original colour was 240 Green and I will be repainting it as such.








Sent from Canadia

Edited March 4, 2015 by wheee!

[wheee!]

I have a rotisserie being delivered once the snow is gone too. This is from a fellow Z car enthusiast in town. He built it for his car.

https://vimeo.com/118950718

Sent from Canadia

[wheee!]

The new garages! Life is good...

Sent from Canadia

[Patcon]

Love the garage. The vanity plate is nice too.

C

[jfa.series1]

You're killing me with those garage pics - be still my heart!  I've been down the full resto/rebuild path with my car so here's a few quick tips:

- don't trust your memory!  Bag and tag every nut/screw/bolt/part immediately as it comes off the car.  Become the zip bag king of your block.

- tag both ends of each electrical connection before they come apart or tag a single end with its function/location.

- write down each item to be replaced as soon as you identify it as such.

- throw nothing away until after the replacement is fully installed.

 

I fully dismantled my car and then life intervened.  When I got back to it 10 years later the above practices paid off big time.

 

Looking forward to your updates.

[wheee!]

Excellent advice Jim! I had planned on doing just that... but it doesn't hurt to be reminded of it again!

[HaZmatt]

OMG your garage! Awesome!

 

Just adding to Jims excellent advice, make sure to take thousands of pictures. Even if you dont think its important. Take pics of everything together, before you disassemble, while you disasemble, and after. I set up a google+ account so whenever I took a picture it automatically saves it on google+. It made it easy to go back and view my pictures while I was assembling. Plus if you break or lose your phone, youre pics will be automatically backed up. Good luck!

[wheee!]

Thanks HaZmatt! Your build thread is awesome too! You have no idea how many people you have inspired with your project...!

Sent from Canadia

[HaZmatt]

Thanks HaZmatt! Your build thread is awesome too! You have no idea how many people you have inspired with your project...!

Sent from Canadia

 

Well your garage is giving me some inspiration! I wonder if the wife will let me build a shop in the backyard. Hmm