280zx 1979 2+2 slick roof restauration

[bartsscooterservice]

? jeez ! 

 

[dutchzcarguy]

Not much done this last week.. Putting cables in place with new tape, cleaning stuff and waiting for the body guy to finish the car for paint.

 

[dutchzcarguy]

This past week, lots of sanding was been done… my favorite hobby... NOT!!  Giving me trouble with my shoulder.. eating pain pills for breakfast..   But somebody has to do it.

Paint was already ordered and now we are discussing who is painter haha.. me or "them"?  I sprayed over a 100 cans and used a prof. paintergun a few times..  I think..  if i can do the inside doors and hood in a perfect way i'm the painter of my own car!!  (It can't be THAT hard...? the only thing you have to look after is putting paint everywhere and at the same thickness.. HAHAHA...) 

some pic's of the progress..

 

Doors..

 

Rear hatch..

 

Hood..

 

 

Difference in sanded and not sanded.. clearly to see..

 

Here a pic of the workshop.. all kinds of zx stuff. Front of the car is done and the roof also.. I think paint this month.. at least the colorcoat in the edges (post of the doors and hood etc.) and inner side.

 

Edited March 8, 2020 by dutchzcarguy

[bartsscooterservice]

Cool that the guys from the shop let you work on it. The shop I go wouldn't allow that lol

[dutchzcarguy]

This last week… sitting at home... Corona....  After 6 years of working and waiting, this virus is now the thing to stop me from restoring this damn car… oh well...  just have a little more patience... pffff…   Almost ready for primer..  Only one person is working in the shop! (and a few in the office but most metalworkers and painters are at home..

For me as a (more or less) disabled person, nothing much has changed (due to corona) …  meeting even less other people.. sitting in my chair behind my pc... wondering when i can start painting the damn thing..  oh welll….patience..

[bartsscooterservice]

I closed my shop today also until at least next monday. This week we will know what the goverment will do with the corona virus...

[dutchzcarguy]

Finally some progress.. at last..   As there are few cars on the road there are few collisions..  so the paintshop did the Primer!  Incl: a guidecoat so the Datsun looks very cloudy now, no.. no pic's yet..  I will make some next week because i'm allowed to work in my own corner of the shop. 

Going to seal some joints on the car and in edges of the doors etc.etc.

Feel a bit sad that i could not do the paintjob myself but in these times (of corona) it's a small sacrifice..

Now the panels are painted in primer they look unbelievable FLAT!  Do we need the guidecoat after the many hours of flattening those Surfaces? The answer… yep!  because after good comes better…    ( Yeah yeah we don't need Best!)  hihi.... streber... ?

[dutchzcarguy]

This time some pic's of the Primer and guide coat..

 

With a bit of dust on it from sanding the dooropening.

 

Without the sealer the joints are immaculate..

 

 

 

Here a close look at the Original left (driversdoor) hinge.. see how unworn it is? It's one of the things that were eye-catching. The last owners must have taken good care of it..  (the last owner was a ex nissan subdealer and the owner before that was from our Dutch "rijksdienst wegverkeer" a sort of chief technician that worked for the federal government taking care everything round MOT.  I guess former owners were knowing what they were doing.

 

Installed the "like new" rear tower covers also..

 

[bartsscooterservice]

That's going to be one nice 280ZX Mart..

[dutchzcarguy]

Thanks Bart.

The last weeks Nico is sanding the zx and as he only works 2 days a week it is not going very fast (if i may say.. ?)  But it's getting there.. some day.. (maybe i sand the inside doors and hood next week so the car can to the painterman to get sprayed..)

In the mean time i work on stuff that is getting installed after the paintwork is done. (blue metallic) The bumpers/numberplates etc. and interior parts. (small rubber and other linings to keep the interior parts from making weard noises!)

Here an example of the sanding work (taking of the guidecoat ?  )

 

The dark edges get taken care of at the end.. it shows how straight the panels are..

 

Door ready for paint, just needs a good cleaning and go! (dusty!)

I hope to show you some blue paint next time! All door/hood and other edges are going to be painted first and then after installing the doors and hood etc. the car gets a range of coats.

 

[dutchzcarguy]

And then... Last thursday everybody waked up it seemed... There was not much work at the bodyshop so things around the 280zx went into high gear! Suddenly all the parts were sanded and ready for the paintbooth!  I got excited because this was what i was waiting for, for 6 years now!

The first step.. (yeah.. you can't paint it in one go if... you want to do it the right way!)  Painting al the inside parts.. where the doors go.. the hood.. the rear hatch...

In the last years i got a lot of comments about the color i have choosen for this project.. People whose opinion i value..  And what happens..  The day it got painted i went home because i was drained from all the work and decided i could wait to see it for another day.. (then your exhausted or what?)  I decided this because i've been waiting for this for 6 years and another day more was no problem. Anyhow.. The next day i saw the car and there came some very positiv reactions to the color!  I'm very happy with it. 

The Upholsterer called that the roof liner was ready so i was curious and got it the same day in my 300zxtt (nice weather good for a ride)

Nice silver original color!

 

(3 holes for the mirror) map reading light.

 

Before paint we had to seal all the joints with special sealer..

 

Masking also took a few hours.. pff...

busy with sanding also.. taking of the guidecoat..

This what it looked like unsealed..

 

 

Now.. before you think it's very dark color i must say the photo's don't do the colour justice.  The name of the paint: Nissan Blue pearl Graphite..

 

A part of the screws and bolts were also painted..

Next week installing the doors,hood and hatch.. some sanding on the edges and ready for the big paintjob!  For the color we have to wait for a pic in the sun!  This car is almost black in the garage and realy nice blue when in the sun!

 

Another pic from the doorjam.

I'm now in it for about a 1000 hours of labour... (not counted them yet.. but i think i'm going beyond the 1000 hours easely.. ?

Edited May 17, 2020 by dutchzcarguy

[dutchzcarguy]

Friday the 29th of may 2020..  the car got painted this 3th time in the booth completely. (exept some small front parts they do next week.. headlamp sugarscoops and lower front..) 

Damn what a load of prepwork it was!  Loads of sanding cleaning and lets not forget the work we had putting in the doors, hood and hatch the right way and not make a scratch.. good news, didn't made one scratch or anything! (took -as always- my time to do it right i guess..?)

Here are the pic's..

Ready for PAINT !!!  (after covering the hole in the left window and the wheels ofcourse.)

 

Then.. picasso got to work..  haha those painter jokes..

sorry the paintbooth windowcleaner was sick.. ?

 

And a few hours later..

 

All the paper and special masking material removed..

Now we leave it a few days allowing the paint to cure.

A few pic's of the paint with a flashlight on it.. but in the sun it's different.. ( that pic in a few weeks i hope.)

near the doorhandle..

 

At home busy with some parts, like these rear window stainless parts.. I got three sets of those and none is perfect so take the best of them all to make one set. (3th from left is upside down, you can see the u-shaped edge that go's into the rubber.. we need some grease!!!  ?)