On 12/12/2018 at 11:43 AM, Bill McPherson said:

AlbatrossCafe: Maybe, maybe not. They were rusted out pretty bad. Plus, I like that booty without the park bench ? . Mark/Patcon, I was thinking of slightly relocating the current brackets that are currently bolted to the original valence and are attached to the frame on either side (or making new ones) and bolting a piece of thick flat steel just behind the valence, in front of the gas tank straps. That way, I could unbolt them if I needed to get to the tank in the future.

 

I did the same thing on my 76, only I did install some 240z bumpers.  I wanted to keep the big bumpers for protection (the 240z bumpers do nothing...), but I've noticed that even with the larger bumpers, the bumpers sit too low and most modern cars on the road would just hit your tail light panel regardless.   It would be interesting to see how much the rear bumper really does, or if it is too low.  

I know that if a large truck (F150 or something) rear ended a Z, no bumper is doing anything.

I wonder how a 240 bumper would do against a new car that has no bumper. A lot of cars have large plastic panels attached with plastic clips. The crumple zones might mitigate the damage to the other car. Hopefully not a Z.

14 minutes ago, Mark Maras said:

I wonder how a 240 bumper would do against a new car that has no bumper. A lot of cars have large plastic panels attached with plastic clips. The crumple zones might mitigate the damage to the other car. Hopefully not a Z.

Are they really making them without bumpers now?  I know for a long time, the actual "bumper" was hidden behind the plastic/urethane cover.  At least it was on most of the cars I've worked on.

Either way, the likelihood of a Z surviving a mid speed rear end is pretty low...unless it did have the park bench bumpers, and the car behind you's bumper lined up perfectly with the Z's.  (One good thing I've noticed around here is that with the killer potholes, people are forced to not tailgate, so they can see the potholes coming)

Look at what happened to this nice blue Z that was just restored, then rear ended.... ouch...

 

Edited April 2, 20196 yr by ramsesosirus
new thought

Pretty much all modern cars have aluminum or steel bars under the bumper cover. One of the problems with the z is not the bumpers. It's where the bumpers mount. If the bumpers were super strong, the force would just be transferred to the chassis and hatch floor. It would do alot more damage if it were transferred further into the car. Even the blue car above are starting to be viable for rebuilding due to the price of these cars.

yes!  My 2000 Camry has a very similar aluminium bumper like this Cruz under the bumper cover.

1 hour ago, Patcon said:

Pretty much all modern cars have aluminum or steel bars under the bumper cover. One of the problems with the z is not the bumpers. It's where the bumpers mount. If the bumpers were super strong, the force would just be transferred to the chassis and hatch floor. It would do alot more damage if it were transferred further into the car. Even the blue car above are starting to be viable for rebuilding due to the price of these cars.

 

39 minutes ago, siteunseen said:

yes!  My 2000 Camry has a very similar aluminium bumper like this Cruz under the bumper cover.

 

That is what I thought, they're just "hidden" beneath the cover.

That blue Z actually was fixed, according to the guy who put up the youtube video.  But it looks like even the quarters got bent.  

I see lots of cars like this on the salvage auction. I bought a 330Ci convertible one time that had some slight bends in the quarters. When they put it on the rack and pulled it back they disappeared. Most of those wrinkles on the blue Z would smooth out when pulled back. One of the problems with Z's is figuring out where to pull them from with out tearing seams apart. The blue z's quarters would still need some dolly work but it is fascinating to watch them disappear when they're on the rack.

11 minutes ago, Patcon said:

I see lots of cars like this on the salvage auction. I bought a 330Ci convertible one time that had some slight bends in the quarters. 

That's a heck of a nice car to get a deal on.  I've never done much body work, but it's amazing what can be fixed by someone with the tools and knowledge.  I suppose you could have quite a side business just buying salvage vehicles, fixing them, and reselling them

5 hours ago, ramsesosirus said:

That's a heck of a nice car to get a deal on.  I've never done much body work, but it's amazing what can be fixed by someone with the tools and knowledge.  I suppose you could have quite a side business just buying salvage vehicles, fixing them, and reselling them

You can if you know what to buy and what kind of repairs are easiest to make. I know several people in my area that make a living rebuilding cars

On 12/12/2018 at 11:43 AM, Bill McPherson said:

AlbatrossCafe: Maybe, maybe not. They were rusted out pretty bad. Plus, I like that booty without the park bench ? . Mark/Patcon, I was thinking of slightly relocating the current brackets that are currently bolted to the original valence and are attached to the frame on either side (or making new ones) and bolting a piece of thick flat steel just behind the valence, in front of the gas tank straps. That way, I could unbolt them if I needed to get to the tank in the future.

I think even the stock 280z bumpers are too low, most modern cars would go right over the bumper and into your tail panel.. and if it's any kind of truck, van, or SUV.... you can imagine how well those bumpers line up

Edited May 31, 20195 yr by ramsesosirus