1976 280Z Restoration Project

[w3wilkes]

WOW! I figured at todays exchange rate it would be more like $340 CDN for both seats foam. So with tax and all else it is probably be close to a wash on the aftermarket race seats. And you would be able to use the covers and seats that you already have.

[Patcon]

Yeah, those import duties into Canada are crazy!

[wheee!]

Yup. What was it, like 12 years ago that Cdn dollar was actually worth more than the greenback? Didn’t own the 370 or the 280 then.... would have made parts a lot cheaper.

[wheee!]

SO hopefully with the change of seasons I am going to be able to move into more of the restoration phase of SASSZ. Last night I pulled the hatch glass and hardware and started prepping the hatch for stripping. I used the new Eastwood green "brush" paint remover on the grinder and was dismayed to see the amount of paint, primer and bondo on the hatch. After some aggressive stripping I was even more dismayed to see the left bottom quarter of the hatch completely oil-canned.... Not thrilled to have to deal with that but c'est la vie!

While the hatch was disassembled, I looked at the latching mechanism a bit. I am planning on running the rear spoiler on the hatch, and it interferes with the push button trunk release. @zKars had previously had this on his 73 with a remote trunk release and had welded over the hatch release and lock button. I plan to do the same and have been looking into an alternative way to remotely release the hatch. It involves inverting the latching system and using parts from other vehicles, but basically I will have a striker latch on the hatch itself, and a latching mech on the bottom with a remote solenoid and cable release through to the drivers side of the cabin . I will post more on that as parts arrive and I get closer to testing it. Might work....might not!

[rcb280z]

I like the sounds of a remote operated hatch. Can't wait to see your results.

[wheee!]

Nope. I am eliminating the door locks too. Too easy for people to break into the old style locks. Extra layer of security and no water access.
I never liked the notched look on the rear spoiler anyway. To each their own.

[wheee!]

You must be new here....

[Zed Head]

45 minutes ago, Kamikazi240 said:

New or old, common sense is common sense. Drilling holes or plunging holes that were original is just plain dumb. No one wants a modified Z. 

If you're going to be a donkey at least get your spelling right.  Nobody likes a donkey, especially a lazy one.

 

[wheee!]

And now back to our regular programming..

The rear hatch pictures show how the PO had applied massive dumps of bondo to fill the oil canning. Glad to know it wasn’t my stripping wheel. Still going to be a challenge to flatten this out properly.





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[wheee!]

Mostly cleaned off but thankfully most of the damage is the bottom left corner. Looks like I will be ordering that shrinking wheel soon...

[wheee!]

Looks pretty good with a little hammer and dolly work but it is still oil canned. The PO had done a small patch weld in the corner that probably started the tension issues in the metal.

[calvinhg]

Haha, *grabs popcorn* nice discussion going on! As Wheee! said, to each their own style. Calling someone "plain dumb" may not be the best way to get your ideas across...

Also, while you may seem to be able to afford a few Zs, I'm not sure all of us can! Once I get my Z, I want to make it as perfect as I can, but it'll still be a daily driver...