Restoration of BringaTrailer 240z - HLS30-35883

[inline6]

The front bumper is now fully fitted.  One thing that is odd to me is how the over riders fit.  The natural fitted position of these is such that a minor tap is likely going to push them into contact the fiberglass head light buckets.  I've only taken the time to look at pictures of a couple other 240z's and it seems to me that the correct fit aligns these just inside the grill opening.  I also am unsure what the correct depth of mounting the bumper is.  I have room to slide it out a tad if that is more correct.  The way I have it now, the closest part of the over rider to the body is at about 1/4".  

    

When setting the bumper height, I went for an even amount of space above the front turn lamp and below the body recess in the headlight bucket - "centered" in the recessed area:

    

 

I like the replica competition steering wheel.  It is a little smaller in diameter than the original, which I like.  And it has a thicker grip diameter, which is nice also.  However, it has less dish (so less depth).  Without a seat to sit in, I can't tell if that will be an issue.  I don't want there to be an ergonomics issue where hands and arms don't fit comfortably when my feet are the right distance to the pedals.  Because it has less depth, the rim sits further away compared to the stock rim - I'd say about 1.5 inches less depth.  And because of that, the turn signal stalk has to be bent back some.  When I put the wheel in place, the end of the stalk was only about one and a quarter inches from the back of the rim.  That is not enough clearance for free hand movement on the steering wheel.  The distance between the stalk and the stock steering wheel is about 2 and 7/8" inches.  I think after bending the stalk a bit, I have about 2".  I will give that a try and adjust further if necessary.

Replica competition wheel with wood rim... rebuilt headlight combination switch... cleaned and polished surfaces

    

 

Turn signal stalk depth... cleaned and rebuilt turn signal switch assembly... Front side marker

    

 

Front and rear side markers after cleaning polishing and installation

    

[inline6]

The time has come for me to install the rear tower and wheel well interior trim.  The reproduction pieces have a "shallower" diamond imprint.  I prefer the original.  These pieces are often damaged, I think from putting in and retrieving things out of the rear hatch area,  Objects nick and slice the vinyl, especially on the inner most portions that protrude.  

For the rear strut tower pieces, I took three complete pairs which I had accumulated over the past few years to a local auto upholstery shop.  There, we determined the best sections for use.  I left them with instructions to pull them apart as necessary and to re-stitch one complete pair using the best sections from the lot.

Another "issue" I have noticed looking at 240z's over the years is that the vinyl covering the rear strut towers, if removed, often looks terrible when it is put back in.  Whether, the wrong adhesive is used, or the installer lacks the necessary skills, or something else, the result often falls short vs. the other restoration work done on the car.  

So, as I started yesterday with my plan, one that included having all of the remaining diamond vinyl glued into place on the car before the end of the day, I knew I was in for some long, and stressful hours.  First, I used Wesley's Bleche-White (an ancient bottle) to clean the backsides of the vinyl trim.  Over the years, the white (I assume cotton) backing wicks up water and collects dirt with it.  Wesley's Bleche-White that you can buy today appears to be a different chemical composition (based on a few minutes only) of searching online.  The one I have appears to be the original stuff.  I was amazed at how much dirt came out of the backside of the vinyl.  I rinsed them thoroughly and then hung them outside in the GA heat to dry.  

  

While they were drying, I taped up parts of the back hatch area to protect from glue overspray.

I once again used the Landau contact cement.  When it is 90+ degrees, this stuff dries a bit quicker.  That, and the very odd shape of the strut vinyl trim parts makes installation very challenging.  On the first one, I struggled a bit because I didn't get the alignment right and it kept sticking to itself.  With each passing second, the glue got drier and drier and more sticky.  I screamed some obscenities and tried helplessly to reposition it without pulling it back off completely.   Within two minutes, I realized I had failed, so I pulled it off completely.  

One important thing to note about contact adhesive is that it can be reactivated by applying more.  So, before it dried even more, I grabbed the gun and went with a bit of a different plan.  Instead of lightly coating the entire inside of the vinyl as I did before, I only sprayed the top (horizontal) section.  I resprayed the corresponding top of the strut tower.  Then, I positioned the top section so that the triangular cut out for the upper strut mount bolts was in the right location.  From there, I put my attention at the portion of the top surface of vinyl that presses up against the inner quarter panel.  I aligned the holes (those that accept the black plastic trim clips) that were in the vinyl to the holes in the inner quarter panel.  I pushed the part contacting the inner quarter panel against it firmly.  When I was sure those holes lined up, I lifted up on the triangle cut out area and pulled the vinyl taut as I repositioned the top (horizontal) section.  You have a bit of work time, but you have to move quickly.  At that point, I had only the top section in place, but the alignment looked good.  

From there, I lifted the other sections up so that I could spray glue onto the backside of the vinyl and onto the metal strut support structure.  I applied more glue in areas where the factory workers had.  Flat expanses got less, areas of transition from one surface to another, got more.  From there, it was less challenging.  I focused on getting the backmost section located properly against the inner quarter panel, making sure to put some tension on it as I pressed in into place.  This is necessary to keep wrinkles from forming.  I did have to lift back up some and reposition, but not a lot.  Anyway, for the second one, I copied my successful second effort on the first.  It went well. 

I still have some glue overspray, and the white haze that you see on the black vinyl to clean off.  I think the white haze came from the Westley's Bleche-White, but it comes off.  These pic were catching a lot of afternoon sun as well, so the black looks like it is washed out a bit, but it isn't.  I think it will look nice when all cleaned up.

    

      

    

Edited July 6 by inline6

[inline6]

Removing double post.  I think the forum software is acting up.  🙂

Edited July 6 by inline6

[Patcon]

You did great! I'm not looking forward to doing this. I'm also going back with leather, so I have no reference marks to work from...

[dutchzcarguy]

7 hours ago, inline6 said:

I still have some glue overspray

I know that you can take the overspray glue out of carpets and stuff with a light oil like sawingmachine oil, take a rag with some oil and you can rub it out.. no.. not rub one out, i said rub IT out! 🙊

BTW, nice job! Looks very good. Are those towercovers 2 pieces? So one piece is front wheelwell and the other the rest like the tower and the smaller rear wheelwell? (I believe i have the tower and rear wheelwell parts in my parts cellar.. i sure hope never to do that job though!)

Edited July 6 by dutchzcarguy

[inline6]

16 hours ago, dutchzcarguy said:

Are those tower covers 2 pieces?  So one piece is front wheel well and the other the rest like the tower and the smaller rear wheel well? (I believe i have the tower and rear wheel well parts in my parts cellar.. i sure hope never to do that job though!)

Correct, the tower and smaller rear wheel well are covered by one piece first.  Then, you put on a second piece that covers the front wheel well.  The "riser", behind the seats is installed last.

Yesterday and today I worked on removing scratches from the replacement left door glass I got from @Patcon.  I had to order some more discs and powder, so I set it aside for now.  

I went to install my tail lights and upon close inspection, determined that one of them needed more sanding and polishing to restore the proper shine to the lenses.  After some more effort was expended there, I was able to glue the lenses onto the housings.  For that job, I used auto body seam sealer.  Seems like and odd thing to use, right?   But, the old stuff that I removed from the housings when I pulled the lenses off looked like seam sealer.  And, I had good luck with using it once before on the tail lights on my other 240z.  

My tail light lenses were in rough shape to start.  Lots of pitting and scratches, some of them deep.  I bought a small roll of felt from Home Depot and made little pieces to replace those that were originally in the bottom of the assemblies.  I guess these are vents... to allow any moisture that finds its way into the assemblies to dry.

    

 

While the housing were separate from the lenses, I used a heat gun to attempt to straighten the mounting flanges of the tail lights.  These distort over time and prevent the stock rubber gaskets from sealing to the body of the car like they should.  When "gluing" the lenses back to the assemblies, there is a need to use clamps (and boards and rags) to clamp the lenses to the housings, and let the sealant cure for 24 hours.

    

 

Even with the housing flanges straightened somewhat, I used some self adhesive weather stripping (highly compressible) between the tail light assemblies and the body.  These are now air tight - no exhaust fumes will be coming in through this notorious location.  While not perfect, the lenses look very nice now.

    

[Patcon]

Yes, they do!

[inline6]

Lately, everything I attempt to do on this car fights back.  For example, I have sourced a new battery, battery tray, and battery frame from a Nissan dealer.  So, with all these "factory original" parts, how do I end up in this situation?

    

 

A closer look:

 

Is this battery shorter than the original?  Is the battery tray thinner/shorter than the original?  A combination?  When I saw this, I just laughed and walked away to do something else.  I am also wondering why the slot in the rubber part here is offset to one side.  I have no clue.

Next came more work on the right side door.  I am still dealing with the consequences of the paint shop removing the doors (and I specifically said not to).  Getting the right side door aligned exactly the way it was is a pain in the arse.  Tightening the hinge locating bolts, loosening... rinse, repeat.  I had them where they belong and did final body work finishing across the door gaps.  I had it really close to perfect.  Now, I am struggling.  

The door is made of thin metal.  It is quite possible that by the time you bolt in the stainless steel window frame and put in the regulator and the glass, the shape of the door changes a bit.  Probably a key piece of helpful info for those of you reading this and yet to apply paint to your car in the future.  

After quite a bit of fiddling, I got the "feel" of rolling the window up and down right - consistent slight amount of force throughout the travel both downwards and upwards.  Next, I made a vapor barrier for the door and put that in place (sorry, no pics - I will remember when I do the left side).  

I had to straighten the lock pull rods as they were a bit "bent".

    

 

The product I used to attach the vapor barrier to the door (first pic of three), and new door frame seals:

    

    

 

For the front door frame seal, I couldn't get my favorite contact adhesive to stick to it properly until the third try.  After the first two, I scuff sanded it.  Only then did the adhesive stick to it properly.  I have some adhesive clean up to do still.  After these seals were glued into place, I could put the inner door panel on.  

    

 

I sourced reproduction door panels some time ago, probably a couple of years.  They appear to be good quality, but I decided to move the door panels from my track car to this car.  I purchased these new from a Nissan dealer around 1994.  They are still in very good condition.  The track car will get the repro panels.

Getting the pull strap on took a crazy amount of time and effort.  The chrome pieces do not want to snap into place.  I had to massage and modify a bit here and there until they would finally latch into place.  

Anyway, that is how it can go sometimes.  Much more difficult than it should be.  But, I press onwards.  😉

 

 

[dutchzcarguy]

I wondered why the "cut outs"on that battery frame are where they are as it looks like they did it for the poles not to come to close to the frame? Then it looks like it's made for a 6V battery instead of the 12V battery!  As the 12V has the poles both on the same side of the battery.. (a 6V batery has them, as there are only 3 cells in a 6V. opposite, one front one in the back!)

Are they all the same i think they should have the cut outs both in the front (or rear depending on how you install them.)

Am i the only one that sees this?

Edited July 12 by dutchzcarguy

[Yarb]

Those trays were built for a 24 series battery. Height and width is the difference. You probably have a 34 series which is shorter. Had to put a thin plank of wood under the battery itself on mine.

[zed2]

I recommend you use thick pieces of plastic rather than wood to increase the battery height. Plastic will not retain moisture the way wood would.

Keith

[dutchzcarguy]

On 7/10/2024 at 6:17 PM, zed2 said:

recommend you use thick pieces of plastic rather than wood

True, unless he painted it or oiled it up..