MEZZZ

I was going to go with the same setup, Eibachs and KYB but decided against it after reading a similar post by Arne in the past. I went with Eibachs and Tokico Illuminas instead. I just pulled the fronts struts off today and opened them up and my bump stops were totally gone! The biggest piece was about 1/2 inch, most was literally dust! It will be awhile to get it back together, I figured I might as well do the bushings while I have it down this far. Oh, and the Toyota brake upgrade, new rotors, S/S brake lines, tie rod ends...does it ever end?

that is definitely the pickup from inside your distributor.

I highly suggest going to look, especially if you are that close. These cars are very decieving in photos, take my word for it Rims are rusty, doors look suspect and those are obvious flaws. Overall, not a bad presentation but it needs a much closer review.

I bought the rear bumper from a 73 and after speaking to the guy about the front, I thought it best to go fiberglass. The guy told me the 73 had rubber on it and sat back a little further from the body, he didnt have the rubber pieces. I looked for an earlier steel one before going to fiberglass. The mounts work fine from the link I posted earlier in the thread. They are a bit flimsier than I imagined but everything tightens up nice when you bolt them down. The seller claims he makes them out of a thinner guage so they can be tweaked if necessary.

Thanks Dave, I will check it out today. I never had any problems with any lighting before yesterday. I went out last night after writing this and tried them a couple dozen times and they came on every time. I havent had any electrical problems at all with my car, I just figured the grounding kit wouldnt hurt and it looked cool too I got it in red to match my MSD coil and Taylor spark plug wires. That red is addicting, I may end up looking like your car when finished I will be doing the LED lights from you as well, once I get to that point in my journey. Ive seen some pics and think they look great and a vast improvement over stock.

And under the battery tray! The P.O. told me my car was solid, even under the battery tray. Of course, that wasnt the case. Once I pulled up all the battery residue, literally 1/2 inch thick, it was cracked and rusted. I opened up 2 nice size holes. Thats what I get for using Ebay and buying a car 2000 miles away.

Yes Mike, the set looked brand new. The guy had a link to his site that walked you through the process of cleaning them. They are cleaned and tested and the seller claims they are all matched to 1%. I was very happy with the kit. Soldering is not that hard. I'm not the best at it but got it done. The ones from MSA I believe are made for the thermotime switch and the bullet connectors shown do not match up on the injector wires. I suppose you could splice some inline vs. soldering.

Another trick to sanding is using a small rubber squeegee. You can pick one up made by 3M at any paint supply store. When wet sanding, keep your sandpaper very wet. You must sand until there is no shine left. Then drag the squeegee across the area and look for any little spots of gloss. If you see them, you are not finished sanding.

I bought the L.E.D. dome light kit from MSA, Very nice, lights up the whole interior very nicely in a bluish light. I installed it last year and have not really driven my car much in that time because Im working on it. About a month ago, I opened the door and the dome was like a strobe light. One of the rows was completely out, the center row was blinking and the last row stayed on the way it should. So much for 114 years I ordered some stuff from MSA a couple weeks ago and begrudgingly bought another light kit. The guy that took my order said he was unaware of any problems with the kit and of course, I had to pay full price (less my club discount) for another one. I just put it on today and it works great. But...my 8 yr old son got in and turned on the headlights and nothing but running lights came on. After he tapped the brakes a few times they popped on. He turned them on and off about a dozen times with no issues. Then about a minute later he tried turning them back on and, no headlights again! Could these be related, the dome light install vs. the headlights? Or, I installed a grounding kit from MSA last night, could this be causing it? It runs from the negative battery terminal to the ground on the alternator, from there to the engine hoist bolt, then onto the mounting bolt for the distributor and finally to the mounting bracket of the ignition coil. Any thoughts?

The fiberglass front I got from MSA was the same way. It pulled in when I mounted it to the sides. Not sure about the steel one though, I would think it would pull in as well though.

Glad to see you got them on Kevin, you are more than welcome for the wheels! I hope they work out for you. I can always use a hand. I ripped off the front bumper and valance and rear bumper and mounted up the 240Z bumpers and air dam. I put on the new exhaust and mounted the Konigs. Last night I installed the grounding kit I got from MSA and next are struts & springs, possibly tomorrow. I'll be around if you get bored

Brandon, head west on Route 50 and travel about 7 hours, turn right at Coney Island in Cincinnati, go 2.1 miles and turn right in my driveway. Call ahead so I make sure my car is ready for you to lay down a nice paint job

I agree Dave, I will be contacting you when i get to that point to be sure.

I dont know much at all about working on cars either but replaced my injectors and fuel regulator, filter, etc. I bought a pressure guage and tested everything as well. Its not that hard if you have the slightest mechanical ability. I simply pay attention to soemthing when removing it and put it back the same way I bought a set of beautifully reconditioned injectors for $143.40 with all the hardware, if interested, let me knowand I'll find a link to post here. I do know I got them on Ebay and they were very nice. Here, I took the liberty of finding the link http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31048

Looks very nice Dave. Ive shopped for the Klearz and they are definitely PROUD of their products. $100 for a set of lenses seems a bit steep. I wanted a set of amber to make the euro look but can buy a set of repro's from MSA for not alot more. I really like the LED look, let me know when you have them perfected and available.

Here is a slew of pics I ran across while surfing. Enjoy http://www.zparts.com/showcase/taillight_showcase/index.html

I ripped off the bumpers on my 280 and am replacing them with the smaller 240 bumpers. I bought a fiberglass front and urethane air dam from MSA. Those went on without any issues. The rear however, I am having problems with. I pulled my exhaust (replaced it anyway while I was there) and got the strut removed. I couldnt get it through the hole in the back so I cut the mount a bit to get it to come through. There must have been a pound of mud and dirt in that thing! The passenger side, as many know, mandates the lowering (or Ive been told, complete removal) of the fuel tank. I didnt want to mess with that Sunday, so I simply cut the strut close to the hole. I mounted the brackets I got from here, they work well enough. A bit flimsier than I thought but he said he makes them that way to tweak. http://www.zccjdm.com/catalog.php/azcarbum/dt81970/pd1790406/280Z_TO_240Z_FF__RR__BUMPER_CONVERSION_BRACKETS_ The problem lies in drilling a new hole in the quarter panel to match up to the 240 bumper. (BTW, I bought a very straight one from a member that is primed and ready for paint, all holes welded up, POR15 on the inside, etc) The drivers side was no problem, I already had the interior panel off to replace the antenna. The passenger side is the problem. I removed the interior panel and there is a molded steel plate that I dont have on the driver side. I removed the screws and the fuel filler goes through that area and the place I need to get to where I drilled the hole has about 3/4 inch from the body until it hits more steel. Long story short(sorry, Im trying to be precise), how in the heck can I get a bolt in there? I cant get my fingers in there to angle it into place and I have small hands. I tried using the bolt in the bumper and attaching a nut from the inside. I cant get my fingers in there to hold the nut. Best I could do was hold the nut in place with an open end wrench and tape and try to twist the fender onto it. Am I missing something here? Like an easier way to complete this? Alot of work but I really like the look as has been discussed on hear ad nauseum.

Depending on which manufacturing plant the ‘77/78 was manufactured in dictated how the that false floor in the hatch area finished out to the rear. Mystery solved on why some build dates swept up in the rear and others didnt. Fastwoman, I just happened to snap that picture last weekend. I wanted to snap some "before" pics so I can look back someday and remember all the b.s. I went through

Fastwoman, I would imagine you could do the flat floor id you wish. You would have to remove the supports that raise up. Also, the tailight area would need some sort of a finisher panel. The raised part in front of the tool storage, if my memory is right, would have to be cut. I dont think you would find a spare to fit in the new reduced area though...seems pretty narrow. Not worth it IMHO to pick up a few inches for groceries. Just eat out instead

I was looking at my 77 last night, I have the interior out to remove the insulation, etc, do the POR15 and Dynamat thing. My car has a raised masonite floor to accomodate the spare tire. If I remember correctly, some '77 models came with a floor that "sweeps" up toward the rear and is held down by 2 knobs mounted above the lights. There is no taillight finisher on the car, the swept up back negated the need for it. This is how my car is and I think it was a partial year thing. I remember reading about it shopping for carpet last year. You could always do what Im thinking of doing, going spare less. A can of fix a flat and my cell phone to call AAA if that doesnt work

Thanks for making my day Dave!! : ) I figured it wouldnt be easy.

After 2 years now of owning my car and piddling on it here and there, I finally spent all day ripping into it and actaully had alot of fun doing it! Usually, when things dont go good I tend to get a little p!ssed off but I took it all in stride today, maybe I am maturing I started by removing the hideous '77 280 front bumper. The bolts came out easily enough, not much of any rust after 32 years. No penatrating oil needed. I went out this morning and bought a 21 gallon compressor and a couple inpact wrenches to make the job easier. Then off came the beat to hell lower front valance. I received the MSA fiberglass front bumper and urethane air dam while I was out buying the compressor. What a surprise that they came Fed Ex on a Saturday. Also sitting there in my garage were 4 other boxes containing the new Konig Rewinds with Toyo 225/60/15's! I felt like a kid at christmas! I ripped off the front and mocked up the air dam and bumper using the mounts from Z Car Customs-JDM (which came in the mail today). It looks so much better. Then I started to remove the exhaust. I got the Pacestter Monza "cat back" system (it came yesterday). Thats the main reason I got the air compressor as I could not get the nuts to budge. After some PB Blaster they finally popped off. I mounted the pipe and was going to put the muffler on and figured it was a good time to rip the rear bumper off. I got the driver side strut mount loose but cannot get the nuts off the bumper. I cant get an impact wrench in there and the air socket doesnt have enough a$$ to crack them. I started to cut the strut and thought I hit oil when I got that far, it shot out about 5 feet in the air The pain will be the right side with the gas tank, does anyone have any tips on removing it without dropping the tank? Can I just loosen the tank straps and drop it down to get it out? If not, any tips on dropping the tank is appreciated.

Great post Arne. After reading this and a few other posts, I decided to go with a Monza system because I saw it still in the catalog for Black Dragon. However when I tried to add it to my basket, I came up dry, not currently available. I should state I was attempting to get a system for a 280 btw. I got on Ebay and found the system listed for $39 less and snagged one up. It was delivered today. Not sure how it will look bolted up as I havent been able to find a pic of one installed, (horizontal tips on the 280) but figured it was that or the MSA system and I really dont like the look of that huge oval hanging down. There was nothing wrong with my current setup, just a bit too quiet. One thing that concerns me on the Monza system for the 280 is they claim it is a "cat back" system for use with a catalyst or non-catalyst car. I am hoping they mean it bolts up to the front muffler of my car as I have a non-catalyst model.

I have looked for quite awhile, hoping to run across a nice pair at a decent price, good luck I found a user with a set of stock that he had worked over for paint. Welded the holes, sandblasted, POR15 the backside, filled, priimed, etc. I bought the rear, but the front is off a '73 and I am a bit unsure of fitment. I picked it up for about 2/3 the cost of the fiberglass one. I would love to go chrome but want it to be very nice quality, I just dont want to pay $1,000 or more, i.e, the stainless set on Ebay right now.

it goes down to $214.16 on MSA ith the club discount.