Door Sill Benchtop

[SteveJ]

I did a quick search for the home made tool thread, but I didn't find it. (Of course, I didn't spend too much time looking for it.)

I bought some folding table leg brackets from Amazon a while back for this project, and I finally made the time to execute. The video shows the door sill height benchtop I made for when I have to lie on my back to work in the footwell. I used 2x12 for the benchtop with 2x4 legs.

I hope you find it useful.

 

[Racer X]

Ingenious Steve.

Nice work.

 

[SteveJ]

4 minutes ago, Racer X said:

Ingenious Steve.

Nice work.

 

Thank you. It wasn't my first effort. I made another bench many years ago, but it had fixed legs and a rectangular shape. It took up too much space, and it couldn't get as close to the door sill. Eventually, it got tossed. I was actually thinking of mounting a hook to the underside of the bench so I could hang it from my shelves to keep it more out of the way.

[SteveJ]

Well, I had a chance to use the bench to work on the car today. I was about to take the 240Z to a car show, but it wouldn't start. I pulled the #1 plug and tried again. There was no spark. I got in the 260Z instead and went to the show.

When I got back home, I hooked the voltmeter to the coil. No voltage in start or run. After just a moment to contemplate the test results, I determined that the tachometer must have become unplugged, probably when I was messing with the hazard light switch a week ago. No better time than the present to test the bench in real world conditions. I set it up, put the pad on it and scooted under the steering column. After groping around some behind the dash, I found the unplugged connector and put it back securely.  I slid out from under the steering column and stood up with no strain on the back. I then folded up the legs and put the bench away. The car started right up.

It's so nice to see a project work out so well.

[Racer X]

2 hours ago, SteveJ said:

 I got in the 260Z instead and went to the show.

 

Nice to have an extra for times like this.

[SteveJ]

On 10/29/2022 at 10:49 PM, Racer X said:

Nice to have an extra for times like this.

What? You don't carry a back up Z with you?

[Racer X]

2 hours ago, SteveJ said:

What? You don't carry a back up Z with you?

Well, I own 14 Z cars, although some are not complete, and at present only two are in a state where they could be running and driving with minimal effort.

I’m retiring January 5, and the plan is to get busy assembling and tuning.

Oh, and selling off the ones that are essentially a title, vin tag and data plates.

 

 

[SteveJ]

5 minutes ago, Racer X said:

Well, I own 14 Z cars, although some are not complete, and at present only two are in a state where they could be running and driving with minimal effort.

I’m retiring January 5, and the plan is to get busy assembling and tuning.

Oh, and selling off the ones that are essentially a title, vin tag and data plates.

 

 

Are you selling the ones with the trees growing through them, or are you parting those out? And congratulations on the upcoming retirement. I envision retiring in about 8 years and working more and more on Z cars myself.

[Racer X]

4 hours ago, SteveJ said:

Are you selling the ones with the trees growing through them, or are you parting those out? And congratulations on the upcoming retirement. I envision retiring in about 8 years and working more and more on Z cars myself.

I hope to sell all of the ones outside. All but one has a title, and getting a title for that one should be easy considering how long it has been since it was last registered.

The 280ZX, a 280Z, and a 240Z we’re running when I parked them 18 years ago.

A couple of the others look like some heavy snow was unkind to the roofs. I’ll be able to make a better assessment after I get them away from the back wall of the shop and cleaned up a bit.

 I have 5 complete cars inside, and hope to keep them all, but time will tell . . . . . . . 
 

The brown 72 I’m keeping for sure, as well as the race Z. I also have a low number 240Z, 6/70 manufacture date, vin 5957, but it doesn’t have the original engine, and is in rough shape. I also have a 280Z, yellow, with louvers, I suspect it is one of those Zapp cars.