dutchzcarguy

Normally i wouldn't recommend this but as i welded the car a new bottom.. (long ago..) i was sure this would go O.K...

Terrapin Z , Thank you very much for your efforts, I've seen those before, and my car had the same stuff under the stainless strips.. I thought it was'nt original and something those Carglass guys used to put in his 2th windscreen ( there was no longer an original screen in my car when i bought it.. the rust around the screen was also the biggest problem of my 280zx.. the screen was thrown in.. not installed! thrown at the car! and that was why the whole window edge was rusted away..) I wonder if the edge of that plastic (with sticky tape) comes from under the stainless and is visable? So there is a sort of rubber edge visable on the outside? but not on the glass side.. You could see the openings (for bending) then on the edge of the stainless? Think there is some rubber sealant over it? still a bit unclear.. but i think we get it right tomorrow! The glass guy has a lot of experience! Thanks again Terrapin z !

I AGREE 100%

Sorry no.. But there are for sure pic's in a user manual ? I'm just ending (ahumm...) a restore of a 280zx, a car i would normally not put on a painters lift ( also known as a tire lift, cleaning lift.) it takes the car up on the 4 jack-up points that are also seen in the service manual you can get here on the forum.. My 280zx is now 41 years old and has had a dinitrol or other anti rust treatment in his early years and i was confident to put it on those small lifts without any damage. but now it's painted i don't put it on those lifts, just a bit scared i crack the paint.. From now on i take it up on my 4 post lift or under an axle.

The underside looks good, yes, but this car was also, - as many many others - abused on a 2 column, YOU CAN'T LIFT A CAR LIKE THAT! Sorry but those front lift points should not lift a car there.. (those points can NOT take the whole front car weight) I use a 4 colomn and always under the axle lift the car. If there is no 4 colomn lift use or make yourself (!) some bars to lift the car under the axles.. Once (a few years ago) a APK (Like an MOT only dutch) technician tried to do this with my perfect nissan 300zxtt and i almost had to kick him in the **** to stop him! It has the same just steel sheet beams there.. and you will ruin the car if you lifted it there for sure! (a nissan 300zxtt weighs 1630 kg.. a lot of pounds haha yeah about 3585 Lbs) That technician is no longer in that shop.. luckely i ALWAYS stay at the garage that is checking my car.. If i can't? there will be no work on my car!

Hihi... Zed Head must have been a bit sleepy..? (what's the headline of this Topic, Zed??) It's about a 280ZX.. never mind. Tuesday the glass guy comes and takes a look.. he does all the repairwork on all the paintshop cars that come in for a paint or repair job. I'm sure he has a solution to this problem (fingers crossed!) ?

Thanks for the fast response! Make some pic's if you can and post them here.. Thanks you in advance! (If you don't have the time for it, it's no disaster as the glass guy is coming to see the car next week.) Last week was a busy one.. lots of parts went on the car and next tuesday the Glassguy is coming to see my car for the windscreen! (He does all the glass work in the paintershop where my car is now for half a year or so..) Wednesday i was busy with the rear window rubber/glass/stainless... pff.. I made the parts VERY clean and sprayed them with special rubber conditioner, otherwise it would have been very difficult to get it right. The stainless went into the rubber sealer very smóóóth! Then i had the do the corners .. they have to go in in only one way! Important is that your rubber is soft and stretches easely.. Here you can see (partly) the rear glass and stainless.. (liing on the decklid for now..) The rear lights and numberplate lighting is also on! ( As are the rear screen whiper motor and the radio antenna.. all working very well) Due to a "as new" bootlid rubber, the lid is a little to high, i wait with correcting this till after i put in the glass and all the trim inside.. Dito for the hight of decklid.. Under the front fenders plastic wheelwell covers installed.. clips.. details..details...? Some shiny parts in the hood...? This week i made an appointment for the APK.. (Like a TUV in Germany or a MOT in England) I'm working towards that date of Wednesday the first of July 2020.. yeah so i'll have 2 weeks to put in the windscreen and a few other things.. (doorwindows and some rubber stuff..) My APK garage is still the same guy who has done easy over 40 Z- car APK-checks for me! He's also excited to see the result of years of work haha.. I believe i said this before but this is my 8th z or zx car.. (I had or have 2 x 240z 3x 280zx and 3 x 300zx) (At the moment i own one of each.. 240z, 280zx and a 300zxtt.)

In 1981 or so they changed the way they install the windscreen ? These are from the top stainless trim 1982 (Terrapin z's) , don;t know if they fit on my '79.. window opening could be different..? so mine will need the strips with clips for the stainless strips?

(it's about the windscreen..) @Terrapin Z HI! I'm busy building the car and next week the windscreen is up.. Did you remove the bottom trim already of your car? Are they different width? (upper and lower clips?) The main problem i have with the windscreen fitting is that there should be a sort of rubber edge visable along the stainless strip.. On your car it was made out of sealant? Can get messy when i have to make one out of sealant haha.. Maybe @Zed Head Knows a solution? A rubber tape/band to lay into the sealant? Just brainstorming.. ?? (it's for a 280zx 1979)

Yeah SHINY NEW and... to me.. worthless!!.. a good radiator is made from copper NOT aluminum.. All that cheap $^!# from china (i hope yours isn't one) .. I would get me a new core and repair the old one.. (my 240z car has still the original copper core in it.. and is well over 25 years old, you don't see them in aluminum that old i think?) Fill it with proper coolant otherwise it will leak soon again. (soon is in a few years.. ? )

Yeah.. bought the car in 2013 and yesterday i sat in the car.. in it's original seat in place! I'm slowly installing all the parts since last week when it was painted.. I also bought a few stickers.. in excellent condition. DATSUN tripple crown. DATSUN Dutch Dealer team. Tuner: JanSpeed. Some pic's of installing the parts.. The kick plates left and right.. The speakers for the cass. player.. a funny thing.. the radio has it's own speaker in the center on top of the dash (mono!) and the cass player (in stereo!) in the sides near the rear seat.. haha.. The roof trimming.. The rear lid rubbers and stuff.. Rear wiper.. Installed in the back door incl. the cables for the rear window defrogger.. and ..do not forget.. the rear window washer tube. Gave it some extra grease.. Internal parts doors... The stainless strips (pillar garnish nissan calls it.) for the door rubber. steering wheel, cleaning the track from the horn and putting some grease on it.. some more trimming parts... pfff... "Testing" the rear side windows.. They need to come out again because the stainless (chrome) part needs to get in first... RTFM.. (Read the f*****g manual !!! ? ) The lock of the rear windows.. (this time real chrome!) More next week. I'm sure i'll install some parts more than ones.. But after 6 years the most written phrase in the servicemanual: INSTALLATION IS IN REVERSE ORDER OF REMOVAL isn't that easy..

Bart, i advice you to do it like i did.. put a nylon fan on the car so you have no problems and hang the metall fan on the wall.. very decorative (Yeah i know mine is the wrong color.. as we say: Boejúúúúhh.. (Meaning: don't care for that.))

Friday the 29th of may 2020.. the car got painted this 3th time in the booth completely. (exept some small front parts they do next week.. headlamp sugarscoops and lower front..) Damn what a load of prepwork it was! Loads of sanding cleaning and lets not forget the work we had putting in the doors, hood and hatch the right way and not make a scratch.. good news, didn't made one scratch or anything! (took -as always- my time to do it right i guess..?) Here are the pic's.. Ready for PAINT !!! (after covering the hole in the left window and the wheels ofcourse.) Then.. picasso got to work.. haha those painter jokes.. sorry the paintbooth windowcleaner was sick.. ? And a few hours later.. All the paper and special masking material removed.. Now we leave it a few days allowing the paint to cure. A few pic's of the paint with a flashlight on it.. but in the sun it's different.. ( that pic in a few weeks i hope.) near the doorhandle.. At home busy with some parts, like these rear window stainless parts.. I got three sets of those and none is perfect so take the best of them all to make one set. (3th from left is upside down, you can see the u-shaped edge that go's into the rubber.. we need some grease!!! ?)

I agree! If you get one with low miles, you don't need to work in the crowded engine compartment, the last 13 years (summers) i drove one and besides maintenance (not expensive) all it needed was a masterbrake cylinder revision because of a very small leak i didn't like.. On topic, i like this design (in the video) a lot more!!

Just an UGLY SHARK! reminded me of that damned ugly toyota C-HR.. Much better, just a bit higher on the wheels for road use and no rear spoiler (not that big..)

Hi Roland, Are those parts of a 2 or 2+2 car? all red interior parts no blue? I am almost ready with a original dutch (Netherlands) slick roof 2+2 280zx.. Next week a last paintjob and then assemble it.. hope i got everything if not i let you know haha! You can find it overhere on classiczcars.com Type :280zx 1979 2+2 slick roof restauration

Welcome Roland, Are you going to make it original as they drove in Switzerland or as it was in de states? Was a Swiss car a 5 speed as overhere in the Netherlands? for one.. And no bumperettes (i find those ugly..) a clean bumper gives a clean (and lighter!) look.. There were a lot of differences between the US. and euro cars... Brakelights and therefore the wiring harness.. no side markers on the back, and the list go's on.

I for shure wanted i could say it was me.. but no.. in a few days it wil be for sale again.. just (a little?) more expensive..

My thought is.. all the topics are letters and difficult to find back.. If started a special forum that starts with numbers? Lets say first YY/MM/DD and partnumber.. or without the DD Part could be found for a specific month in a year.. Just a thought..?

And then... Last thursday everybody waked up it seemed... There was not much work at the bodyshop so things around the 280zx went into high gear! Suddenly all the parts were sanded and ready for the paintbooth! I got excited because this was what i was waiting for, for 6 years now! The first step.. (yeah.. you can't paint it in one go if... you want to do it the right way!) Painting al the inside parts.. where the doors go.. the hood.. the rear hatch... In the last years i got a lot of comments about the color i have choosen for this project.. People whose opinion i value.. And what happens.. The day it got painted i went home because i was drained from all the work and decided i could wait to see it for another day.. (then your exhausted or what?) I decided this because i've been waiting for this for 6 years and another day more was no problem. Anyhow.. The next day i saw the car and there came some very positiv reactions to the color! I'm very happy with it. The Upholsterer called that the roof liner was ready so i was curious and got it the same day in my 300zxtt (nice weather good for a ride) Nice silver original color! (3 holes for the mirror) map reading light. Before paint we had to seal all the joints with special sealer.. Masking also took a few hours.. pff... busy with sanding also.. taking of the guidecoat.. This what it looked like unsealed.. Now.. before you think it's very dark color i must say the photo's don't do the colour justice. The name of the paint: Nissan Blue pearl Graphite.. A part of the screws and bolts were also painted.. Next week installing the doors,hood and hatch.. some sanding on the edges and ready for the big paintjob! For the color we have to wait for a pic in the sun! This car is almost black in the garage and realy nice blue when in the sun! Another pic from the doorjam. I'm now in it for about a 1000 hours of labour... (not counted them yet.. but i think i'm going beyond the 1000 hours easely.. ?

Sorry, does let me think about the policeman from Allo allo in the france resistance.. war time series.. haha! ? You have some nibs? yes we Knobs have some nibs hihi... sorry.. seriously, i have a lot of knobs in my electronics workshop but i don't think i have lose knobs.. only a few on Original 240z radios (yes europe had Clarion radios from the beginning in zeds..)

Sorry to but in but yeah i think so.. My early 240z starts when warm in a little kick from the starter but when cold i Always have to start a longer time, he Always starts but it needs to suck some gas.. i think.. on the other hand there should be enough gas in the carb bowls.. never realy investigated it but always started that way.. (Mine has no check valve )

Welcome, If you restore the flattops to a new state i think just ones doing a tune-up should work.. Investigate if you can get al the new rubber parts etc. to restore them properly.. Tuning these flats is a bit more labour intensive but once done the right way (service manual!) it should work well... i think.. ?

Thanks Bart. The last weeks Nico is sanding the zx and as he only works 2 days a week it is not going very fast (if i may say.. ?) But it's getting there.. some day.. (maybe i sand the inside doors and hood next week so the car can to the painterman to get sprayed..) In the mean time i work on stuff that is getting installed after the paintwork is done. (blue metallic) The bumpers/numberplates etc. and interior parts. (small rubber and other linings to keep the interior parts from making weard noises!) Here an example of the sanding work (taking of the guidecoat ? ) The dark edges get taken care of at the end.. it shows how straight the panels are.. Door ready for paint, just needs a good cleaning and go! (dusty!) I hope to show you some blue paint next time! All door/hood and other edges are going to be painted first and then after installing the doors and hood etc. the car gets a range of coats.

This time some pic's of the Primer and guide coat.. With a bit of dust on it from sanding the dooropening. Without the sealer the joints are immaculate.. Here a close look at the Original left (driversdoor) hinge.. see how unworn it is? It's one of the things that were eye-catching. The last owners must have taken good care of it.. (the last owner was a ex nissan subdealer and the owner before that was from our Dutch "rijksdienst wegverkeer" a sort of chief technician that worked for the federal government taking care everything round MOT. I guess former owners were knowing what they were doing. Installed the "like new" rear tower covers also..