1976 280Z Restoration Project

[wheee!]

Above post was supposed to quote Grannyknot about getting his inspection doors done....

Edited September 5, 2015 by wheee!

[grannyknot]

Thanks Wheee, I'll do that.

[rossiz]

old school - love it!

[wheee!]

The results are great and I am very glad to louver rather than weld!

Sent from my iPizzle ringy dingy device....

[wheee!]

Couple of updated pictures after priming. So much less work than welding!

Sent from my iPizzle ringy dingy device....

[wheee!]

One of the inspection doors got a little dent near where the metal support for the latching mechanism is. The press caught a little bit of the corner and pushed the metal a little higher than the surrounding area. No big deal to fix though. A lot easier than if I had welded!

Edited September 20, 2015 by wheee!

[wheee!]

Picking up a gently used 60 gallon 18.5 cfm compressor tonight. Time to get serious!

Sent from my iPizzle ringy dingy device....

[wheee!]

New compressor went in; makes a huge difference.

 

Otherwise I am having a 'fun' time removing the wiring harness from the engine bay, trying to loosen 40 year old fittings on the brake and clutch lines, removing tons of undercoating and generally bashing away at the disassembly. At times it is fun and exciting, others more frustratingly slow and tedious.

 

Hats off to all who have gone before as I am sure I am going to make mistakes along the way! Trying to take my time, labelling and tagging everything as I go. I have gone through three boxes of Ziplock baggies already..... 

 

Hoping to have the rotisserie here soon, even though I am not ready for it.... snow is coming soon to our parts so I want it in the garage at least!

[wheee!]

Years from the finish line but the wife got her vanity plate already...

Sent from my iPizzle ringy dingy device....

[wheee!]

A really productive night! Pulled the engine bay harness and removed the steering column and dash tonight! That is no easy job.... I am glad this is a full resto project otherwise I can see why people "half-do" a lot of these jobs. Massive amounts of equipment and wiring to move etc. A lot of PO's hobbled bits and pieces to remove and label as well.... Found some of the ventilation tubing tied up with string etc. Wires cut and spliced to add an aftermarket flasher unit etc. Lots to sort out! 

Overall I am happy with the progress made so far. Looking forward to having the car completely stripped!!

[ksechler]

A bit of advice on disassembly...

 

No matter how well you think you are documenting you aren't.  Get a bunch of ziplock bags, tape, a sharpie and a camera.  Take tons of pictures and bag the parts by sub-assembly.  Bags are cheap, readily available and digital photography is a piece of cake.  My car spent 2 years on the rotisserie and memories get kinda vague in that time frame.  

 

Even though I thought I was doing a good job with documenting I was not.  I've spent a lot of hours digging through boxes and assembling things only to take them apart later so I can put it back together right.  I found that one of the best favors I did myself was to label and bag harware and then tape the bag of parts to what they held on.  I wish I'd done more of that. 

 

Good luck! 

[wheee!]

A bit of advice on disassembly...

 

No matter how well you think you are documenting you aren't.  Get a bunch of ziplock bags, tape, a sharpie and a camera.  Take tons of pictures and bag the parts by sub-assembly.  Bags are cheap, readily available and digital photography is a piece of cake.  My car spent 2 years on the rotisserie and memories get kinda vague in that time frame.  

 

Even though I thought I was doing a good job with documenting I was not.  I've spent a lot of hours digging through boxes and assembling things only to take them apart later so I can put it back together right.  I found that one of the best favors I did myself was to label and bag harware and then tape the bag of parts to what they held on.  I wish I'd done more of that. 

 

Good luck! 

 

Thanks for the tips! I am doing all of the above already, however, the advice to tape the screws etc in their Ziplocks bags to the parts is an interesting idea. I have a rubbermaid container holding all of the Ziplocks at the moment. All components are tagged as they come out as well. Even the obvious ones. I have alot of spare parts too so I keep them marked as original or spare. I have also tagged the wiring harness at critical junctions for ease of reinstallation.I have been documenting a lot of the disassembly with the digital camera for reference as well. I will post a few pics this weekend...