1976 280Z Restoration Project

[wheee!]

Now to strip my original passenger door and see how bad it is compared to the donor. Wish me luck.

[Namerow]

8 hours ago, wheee! said:

The first one (passenger side) was a disappointment with a lot of bondo and mashed panel metal.

That was an impressive amount of bondo on that door. I suppose someone considered it easier than trying to align the door with the rocker and the door pillar.

There's an interesting build thread on the Ferrarichat website that details the restoration of a 275GTB that had been bought for $$$ and was being restored to make it worth 10 x $$$.  The 'before' photos show a car that looked ready to compete in a concours.  However, when the shop started to strip the body for a re-paint, they discovered that the entire nose are had been re-sculpted with bondo.  Almost an inch thick in some places!  The work of an artist, to be sure.

Re your Zkars replacement door, are you going to replace the metal in the mirror mount area?  That seems to be a chronic corrosion area for these doors.

[wheee!]

I think the metal in the mirror area is solid, just pitted. I will neutralize the rust and skim coat that.
I don’t mind a small amount of body filler in places. I am not building a concours car. I just want it to look good and last. Heavy bondo tends to separate after a while.

[wheee!]

Grandson making my day..

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More cool stuff in the mail..
Password JDM bolts and collars. I thought these would be a good replacement for factory low head bolts.

[wheee!]

Some more work modifying the lower heat shield to align the throttle cable linkage. I think I should have enough distance for the SS cable to be safe from any heat related damage.

This pic shows the hole I opened in the heat shield for the cable to pass through to the "wheel guide" I made. The heat shields will be powder coated when complete.

This pic shows the side view and the washer I welded into place to retain the cable and locking collar for tension on the cable. You can also see the slotted hole which will serve as the tensioner on the wheel guide.

From here, you can see the path of the cable will align to under the throttle body to allow the cable to "pull" the butterfly open in a smooth arc.

[wheee!]

Where would we be without friends?@convertt stopped by with a new (to me) fender for me! Much better condition and near perfect fit!
Thanks Kent!

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Sneak peak...

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Thanks to @Convertt, I also have a very nice cowl piece. It was originally a lime yellow part which is kinda cool.

[ConVerTT]

2 hours ago, wheee! said:

Thanks to @Convertt, I also have a very nice cowl piece. It was originally a lime yellow part which is kinda cool.

Do you ever sleep?  

 

J/k - your project is coming along fantastically!  Great to finally see it in person.  Great work!

Edited July 23, 2019 by ConVerTT
Added text

[wheee!]

Nope! I work round the clock

Heat shield powdered.

[wheee!]

A little progress tonight. Powder coated the fantastic new COP manifold from @convertt and added a little JDM Password bling with dress up bolts.