1976 280Z Restoration Project

[wheee!]

Thank you. I find it helpful to post info as I go so that others benefit from what I’ve learned, both successes and mistakes.

There are some legends on this forum that have made this journey possible. I learned everything from the people here. I hope in some way my thread will help someone else too.

[ETI4K]

That may well be the best part of it - the oops, aw craps, and wish I hads. 

Easy success is not always the best educator.

[wheee!]

Adjusted the front coil overs a little to get a little more clearance. The added weight of all the kit I installed the last two months dropped the front end about half an inch too much. Picked her up a bit, tightened all the pretty bling suspension bits and put the vto’s back on!
Added water to the rad for test day. Will confirm no leaks before I adjust the mix with coolant. Charged the battery, checked all the wiring and secured the engine bay.
A couple of nice shiny parts arrived so installed new led 1156 bulbs in the taillights. 1157’s and shorty 1156 coming too. Some H4 LED headlight bulbs arrived too. Amazingly bright and look awesome in the period correct Cibie headlights!

[wheee!]

Pic of the taillights and marker. 

low beam and high beam showing the cutoff. Photography doesn’t do justice to the brightness and colour temp of these lights. 

 

high beam

[wheee!]

As a side note, I installed my custom fabricated A/C system using the basic VIntage Air Mini Gen II kit plus my own hose kit, condenser and drier. I was loathe to start the engine with a parasitic pump attached even without the clutch engaged with the potential for damage to the a/c system, so I purchased a vacuum pump and manifold and purged the system myself. Was pleasantly surprised to find no leaks and proceeded to load a full charge of 12a refrigerant into the system. This $200 investment was worth it to have a functioning A/C system that I can personally service rather than pay someone else to do.

Edited July 3, 2020 by wheee!

[grannyknot]

Where did you find 12a? I thought that stuff was all gone.

[wheee!]

It’s on the shelf next to the DDT and the 99% DEET Off... Welcome to Canada.

[Pilgrim]

You can still get R12 installed in the US if you find a licensed installer. I was fortunate to find one last year after getting my '83 ZXT back on the road. The fill wasn't cheap but my AC is working fine.

[grannyknot]

I'm pretty sure they stopped the sale of it here in Ontario but I see it is available again with an environmental tax on it now.

[wheee!]

Got the new engine bay plate installed last night!

[siteunseen]

On 7/3/2020 at 5:08 PM, wheee! said:

It’s on the shelf next to the DDT and the 99% DEET Off... Welcome to Canada.

I'm sure the Round-Up was on the same shelf, Zantac and baby powder too. 

I was working in a paint store back in the 90's when the EPA cops came in and took all of our wood preservative Creosote off the shelf, put them in their car and drove away. The owner came in later that day and was pissed to put it mildly. Told me they weren't EPA, they were thieves in broad daylight and did I actually read their badge. He was mad at me! 

Our refrigeration guy claims he has a drop in for the older walk-ins with R-12. It's in a pink bottle, 401 something I think he said. I'm going to try it someday in my 280 with factory a/c. We have about 212 percent humidity today and that drains my old arse out faster than a hangover.

[Pilgrim]

6 hours ago, siteunseen said:

 

Our refrigeration guy claims he has a drop in for the older walk-ins with R-12. It's in a pink bottle, 401 something I think he said. I'm going to try it someday in my 280 with factory a/c. We have about 212 percent humidity today and that drains my old arse out faster than a hangover.

Be careful with that. There have been many different substances substituted for R12 and R134, many of which are flammable or potentially explosive. 

I've converted three cars from R12 to R134 and all i did was change drier, screen (orifice valve) in the AC tubing, and install a compressor with seals set up for 134. In the case of a Z or ZX, that would probably mean having a compressor rebuilt to your specs.

In each case where I did a conversion, the AC worked fine, it just took a bit longer for full cooling to build up.

Edited July 9, 2020 by Pilgrim