75 280Z Skillard Tall Grille & Skinny Bumper Install

[HusseinHolland]

Had a few hours after work, so I focused on fitting the Skillet grille & the front bumper & brackets, after I replaced the 3 pedal pads

Brackets in first, then test fit bumper

With the bracket alignment figured out, I worked on the Skillet grille. 4 brackets are loosely fitted to the grille prior to mounting. I bought the full grille, not the bumper version, as that version has large cutouts on either side.

I cut narrow slots to allow the bumper brackets to pass through

 

Then I put the bumper on before I ran out of light. The fit is really nice. 4 M10 studs secured through the brackets with 17mm head stainless nuts. I'll put the spoiler back on tomorrow. The only catch with doing it this way, is that the valance has to go in after the grille, so the 3 mount screws , and then the horns have to be fitted from above.

There are small bumper blocks that I also bought from ZcarDepot (800-924). A M6 bolt passes through the fender & into a captive nut in the bumper

 

Edited March 22, 2023 by HusseinHolland

[HusseinHolland]

Finished the install after work - did the motor mounts first, since I had the car jacked up anyway. The car has 250K miles, I don't think he did any suspension bushings or any mounts in all that time.

 

I'm happy with the fit & look. Not sure I needed to splurge for the Skillard grille, but I didn't want any of the gap I've seen without a full grille

The bumper fit is very good

 

 

[siteunseen]

That looks great. I suggests you check your torsion control arm bushings. They play a big part in your steering wheel feel and shake.

 

[HusseinHolland]

2 minutes ago, siteunseen said:

That looks great. I suggests you check your torsion control arm bushings. They play a big part in your steering wheel feel and shake.

 

The caster rods? They are buggered along with every bushing. I can take the right front wheel & move it fore/aft about 6 inches(!) The control arm bushing is GONE. The left wheel bearing is toast... 

I bought a full poly bushing kit for the car, along with the OEM diff mount. Also new Eibach springs, KYB struts & balljoints. I didn't buy any rack related parts yet, besides the mounts. I found both boots are gone. The rack itself seems to be OK, I do need to recheck the tie rods. 

[Reptoid Overlords]

That's a slick Volvo caddy

Edited March 23, 2023 by Reptoid Overlords

[HusseinHolland]

On 3/22/2023 at 9:14 PM, Reptoid Overlords said:

That's a slick Volvo caddy

Thank you. I made that last year - took about 3 months to do the cut & weld work on it. I wanted to keep the gate functional, and keep the flow of the factory body lines as much as possible.

On the bumper install, I removed the rear bumper yesterday. I was surprised to find that my valance is a bolt on desgin - I've seen many YT where they had to cut spot welds to remove it. Perhaps that is only the late 280z?

I need to drop the tank so I can get the bumper shocks out before I test fit the rear bumper.

While I was on the back end, I added M5 rivnuts and some closed cell foam as a surround for the hatch louvre, that got rid of the rattles & open holes that will only be rust magnets now the car is in NY climate

 

 

Edited April 11, 2023 by HusseinHolland

[HusseinHolland]

Still don't have the back bumper on, and with all the other work that has taken precedent, it is unlikely I will be dropping the exhaust & gas tank any time soon, so I cut off the bumper shocks (Sawsall) for now, so I can at least get the rear bumper installed. Removed the end screws to relieve the gas before cutting. Chopped back the tailpipe while I was at it.

 

[Racer X]

Regarding the access to the right side. There should be a small panel, behind the right rear tire that can be removed. Several small hex head screws hold it in.

Then you don’t have to drop the tank.

 

[HusseinHolland]

Finally got back to this - assembled & installed the rear bumper today. I test-fitted it yesterday & marked the 2 drill locations for the side attachments. Primed & painted the holes prior to assembly. Had to do it jammed in the garage, it rained all day.

I had to retap both the side captive nuts - neither would accept the M12x1.25 bolts. 

Also had to use 3M VHB tape to secure the rubber strips - otherwise they 'flop' away from the bumper in-between the mount studs. I had removed the fronts & done the same previously. The vendor claims you just have to pull the rubber & then tighten in place. That would work if the bolt holes were elongated, which they are not.

The right side I had to shorten the bolt & grind the tip to a point to guide it into the bumper bracket. Not much room given the gas tank proximity 

Made sure both sides were level - holes were about 9" down from the side molding, and about 5.5" forward of the existing bumper side mount captive nut

rubber sleeve over side bracket

Edited July 7, 2023 by HusseinHolland

[HusseinHolland]

While I was working on the front directional cleanup & LED conversion, I decided to take care of relocating the front plate. I bought a cheap aluminum bracket of Amazon. After playing with placement, I decided the only practical location was to attach the bracket to the Skilled grille. I wanted the plate offset as far right as possible without blocking the spoiler duct, and/or extending to far out where the bumper & fender line starts to run rearward.

Added rivnuts and studs to allow me to use acorn head retaining nuts for the plate. Cut some material off the length where it hit the Skilled grille opening, changed the angle of the mount tab to get the plate vertical.

drilled mount holes in the grille

cut off the stainless tangs welded to the bumper

Before & After. Much happier with this. Still blocks some air passage into the radiator, but at least it's not a giant deflector 

Edited November 5, 2023 by HusseinHolland