Lowering Bottom Spring Perch

[Captain Obvious]

Here's the comparison pic between 240 and 260 from that other thread:

I'm wondering if anyone has done a similar comparison for the 280's.

[grannyknot]

1977 280z  so the same as the 260z, 16 1/8th long,  9 5/8th from bottom to spring perch weld.

 

 

Edited August 24, 2018 by grannyknot

[Patcon]

8 minutes ago, grannyknot said:

1977 280z  so the same as the 260z, 16 1/8th long,  9 5/8th from bottom to spring perch weld.

 

 

But a larger diameter than a 240z, I don't know about the 260z diameter

[LeonV]

I've never held any 280Z struts but looks like you got your answer. My early 260Z struts were the same diameter as the 240Z.

[EuroDat]

Captain, Did you make any progress on this? Interested to see any results.

I want to do that on my front struts and the bottoming issue will not be a problem for me because I'm correcting height gain from when I removed the 280Z bumpers. Height gain front was a little over an inch so I will be returning to the height before the bumper mod.

Chucks idea of shortening the top insulator mount is interesting. I have a couple extra sets to play with, but reluctant to sacrifice a set. I would like to investigate the perch mod more.

[Namerow]

A little off-topic, but your experience with height gain reminds me of the very first column that Peter Egan wrote for Road & Track magazine about 20 years ago... or maybe it was 30 years ago  (time flies).  In it, he describes his very first efforts as a teenager to get into the local racing scene ('jalopy racing' on a local 1/2-mile dirt track).  For that purpose, he and his buddy secured a mid-1950's Buick sedan from the local wrecking yard.  Reasoning (like Colin Chapman) that 'adding lightness' would improve not just acceleration, but also cornering and braking, they set about removing all of the Buick's unnecessary bodywork -- including the (massive) front and rear bumpers and the also-massive chrome front grill.  They were dismayed to find that the result was a car with about 1 foot of ground clearance and a center of gravity  that was probably 30 inches above the ground.  Great read if you an find it online.

[Captain Obvious]

Embarrassingly... No.

I have spring perches which have been removed from a pair of scrap front strut tubes, but I never procured a set of front struts on which to transplant the donor perches. I'm not confident in the success of this project to just go ahead and modify the struts that are currently on my car. I want another spare set to cut up.

In any event, here's where I am now:

I have recently started a couple different avenues to get my hands on a pair of front struts to finish this project, but haven't had anything delivered yet. And no... I didn't start trying again because you prompted me.   I really did start a couple weeks ago.

So, is anyone parting out a 260 or 280 that has a pair of front struts available?

[Patcon]

2 hours ago, Captain Obvious said:

Embarrassingly... No.

I have spring perches which have been removed from a pair of scrap front strut tubes, but I never procured a set of front struts on which to transplant the donor perches. I'm not confident in the success of this project to just go ahead and modify the struts that are currently on my car. I want another spare set to cut up.

In any event, here's where I am now:

I have recently started a couple different avenues to get my hands on a pair of front struts to finish this project, but haven't had anything delivered yet. And no... I didn't start trying again because you prompted me.   I really did start a couple weeks ago.

So, is anyone parting out a 260 or 280 that has a pair of front struts available?

I might have a pair...

[SoCalJim]

12 hours ago, EuroDat said:

Captain, Did you make any progress on this? Interested to see any results.

I want to do that on my front struts and the bottoming issue will not be a problem for me because I'm correcting height gain from when I removed the 280Z bumpers. Height gain front was a little over an inch so I will be returning to the height before the bumper mod.

Chucks idea of shortening the top insulator mount is interesting. I have a couple extra sets to play with, but reluctant to sacrifice a set. I would like to investigate the perch mod more.

I’m in the same boat.  I’d like to lower my ‘75Z a little now that it has 240Z bumpers, and I’m leaning towards keeping the stock springs.  This topic is of great interest to me.  ?

[Captain Obvious]

@Patcon, if you have a pair, that would be fantastic. I was hoping for a complete pair (with springs) so I wouldn't have to transfer everything over from the pair currently on the car. Best thing would be something with springs and hubs. I guess I don't care about rotors unless you've got something in really good shape. I was expecting to replace the rotors and strut inserts.

I've got some feelers out for a pair.  I've sent a couple messages to FB marketplace sellers and have gotten just one response from any of them. I'm not a FB guy at all, and I'm assuming I'm doing something wrong. I've also got a possibility on a pair from a guy here on the forum who will be getting a parts car soon. But at this point, it sounds like this project needs to pick up a little speed.

[Patcon]

I will try to look around tomorrow some

[Captain Obvious]

That would be great. Let me know what you find!