dmorales-bello

Upon starting college (1977, Wlikes University, Wilkes-Barre, Pa) my twin brother and I begged our parents for a "vehicle allowance" because he would be going to school 3 hours away in New Jersey and this would be our first "separation". We never thought it would work but it did! After a very long conversation to make sure we understood the value and importance of his gift, our amazingly generous Dad gave me a check for $15,000 to be split between my brother and I in the purchase of 2 new vehicles. This was just one more episode in which Dad showed his love and sacrificed his own perks to benefit one of us kids (and we're 5 boys!). We understood the message and never let him down. I had dreamed of owning a Z for about 3 years and knew that they were very close to 8 grand by 1977, which was more than the $7,500 allotted to me. I kept my desire for a Z secret and started a campaign to convince my brother that the best car for us was a Pontiac Trans Am. He would buy a white one, I would buy one in black. We visited dealers and worked out a deal for $6,700 each, fully loaded, out the door. We would have about $1,000 for "extras" . He fell for it (I still laugh at him for that) and I backed out at the last minute (as planned) and rushed to Fred Schuler's Datsun on King Street in Wilkes-Barre and bought my amazing yellow 280Zap for exactly $8,000 plus $500 for a technologically advanced AM/FM/cassette/CB radio by Clarion that would switch seamlessly between functions during those numerous 3 hour rides from Pennsylvania to New Jersey and back almost every weekend listening to Billy Joel's "The Stranger" and the soundtrack to "Star Wars". Never before or since have I enjoyed or loved a car more. I traded it for a 1980 280ZX once I started medical school but dreamed of driving a Z again for the last 20 years. Literally, I had a recurrent dream of driving my '77 yellow Z around town only to wake up when it would break down and nobody had the knowledge to work on them anymore ! A friggin' nightmare. I decided to hunt down a 1977 280Zap 4 years ago and read every forum I could find (thank you so much). I opted for a final year of S30 production May of '78 280Z in amazing condition and have immensely enjoyed driving and working on it with my 14 year old son who loves it and will eventually inherit it, closing the circle and paying it forward.

Look forward to your build. Great luck!

100 bucks for the swap is cheap. The $200 charge for the antenna install must include the antenna itself. If you don't have a dedicated switch to lower and raise the antenna, the Retrosound radio has a lead to automatically raise/lower the antenna when you power the radio on/off. If you're OCD like me, you may want to cover the exposed plastic surfaces of your console and HVAC trim with blue masking tape so they don't get scratched by a careless audio technician (redundant perhaps). Do warn them that those old plastic bits are quite brittle and must be handled with lots of care. If any panels get scratched or cracked those 100 bucks won't seem that cheap anymore. BTW, I purchased from Crutchfield online. Great service, better prices and choices of different knobs and finishes. https://www.crutchfield.com/shopsearch/retrosound_sale.html

Like Mike W, I also opted for the Retrosound unit with Bluetooth and USB connections (it has 2 USB remote ports). I actually like the sound for the USB much better than the AM/FM tuner. Very happy with the functionality, sound and looks. I did a little custom work with the faceplate so it would look a little more like the original but I'm not finished with it yet. Also used different knobs (Blaupunkt type) to achieve a more vintage look.

Fantastic photos!!

I'm running 16x7 Konig Rewinds (zero offset) with Goodyear Eagle Sport 225/55/16 rubber, and they did rub slightly both front and rear before front and rear fenders got rolled professionally. Even so I would occassionally get some rub on the front but was able to correct it by adjusting Techno Toy Tuning tension control arms during alignment. I have Tokico blue struts and Eibach lowering springs.

Sure Chris, The material I used is called Ultimate self healing film by a company called Xpel (well known in wrap application circles). It's not too difficult to apply on flat surfaces with soft contours, however, applying on surfaces with multiple compound curves like the airdam or the headlight scoops takes a lot of practice. You need to learn to use a heat gun properly on this material and watch a lot of Youtube instructional videos before even attempting it. A very clean and very wet surface is critical. Has to be done indoors with as little as possible ambient dust. I applied it successfully on the cowl, hood and front fenders but after failing miserably several times on the headlight scoops and airdam, I had those done professionally. Once applied it's virtually invisible and can be washed and waxed as if it wasn't there. I think life expectancy is about 8 to 10 years but If damaged it peels off without harming the paint and a new piece is applied. Another important detail is not to use UV resistant film (unless you apply it to absolutely every surface of the car) because, in time, the uncovered paint will discolor differently from where the film was applied. I also used it to protect my NOS perfect fusebox cover from careless passengers' shoes. Applications are numerous. Hope this helps, Dave

For very damaged dashes with brittle plastic and large cracks I think having them restored by Just Dashes makes sense, but how about for a virtually perfect dash with 2 hairline cracks that are very hard to see? Can anything be done to prevent them from growing larger? Some sort of epoxy or filler to "freeze" the cracks?

It will be interesting to see your restoration process. It seems to be in pretty bad shape.

I think you make a valid point however it seems to me that you would be decreasing the amount of rubber and increasing the amount of metal in the "new" isolator design compared to the original 280Z larger isolator. Regardless, we will have a direct impression through you soon. Please report back.

Site, you paint so many mental pictures in so many levels with this post that I've read it 4 times and can't stop grinning every time. Best post I've read since I joined this great group!

Got it Capn' ! Thanks. So in effect, any 2 wire piezo chime (pulse or continuous tone) would work to substitute the annoying OEM buzzer with a more pleasant tone by just connecting them to the stock "timer box".

Is it just a straight 2 wire swap?

I applied clear film protection on it nonetheless since it's so exposed to rock chips.

Here's a video of my polyurethane airdam paint. Used flex agent and it's perfect almost 2 years on.

Very cool Capn' O. Maybe you could adapt a ZX "talking lady" to work in your car !! On a serious note: where did you find that chime box?

Agreed, but will it increase vibrations transmitted through the strut towers?

As a 280Z owner I've found out that Nissan no longer produces the taller REAR STRUT INSULATORS needed for these models. Although some people opt for the 240Z and 260Z insulators (those are the same for front or back) the rear of the 280Z will drop about 0.75" if the shorter insulators are installed in the rear. ZCar Depot has just made available a billet aluminum spacer which (when placed atop the shorter 240Z/260Z insulator) will make up for the needed height. I'm concerned that (in spite of maintaining OE suspension geometry and stance) a metal spacer in direct contact with the car body will not function as effectively as a vibration isolator as the original rubber/metal Datsun part did. Would appreciate other members take on this new part. Dave PS: I was fortunate to source a pair of OEM rear isolators from Jim (S30driver) which look almost brand new! https://zcardepot.com/suspension/rear-suspension/upper-strut-mount-spacer-240z-260z-280z.html

Captain O, what a great and thorough job! It certainly seems like a lot of work but your lights look great, a mix of vintage green with modern tech.

Body color!

Great compliment coming from you! Thanks friend. Glad I could help.

CapnO: Great idea with the extra bulb location on the speedo. Do you have any pics of the illuminated gauge face?

Thanks very much, Jeff.

What siteunseen suggests might be a lot easier since you wouldn't have to take the cover off (definitely try it that way first) but if that doesn't work you'll have to remove the cover. The mechanism on my '78 is on top of the rear strut tower and the plastic cover comes off by removing 3 (I think) plastic clips by pushing in the pin in the center of each one. I'm not sure if it's exactly the same on your '76.

Hi Jai, You're almost in the clear! If you uncover the seatbelt retractor mechanism, a couple of shots of WD40 and a little wiggling around will probably free the jam.