78' Rear Deck Tool Boxes???

[sparrow6190]

In my 78 I was digging around under the rear deck compartment a while back and found an old breaker bar and the original tool bag up behind the seats sticking out of one of the tool box openings behind the passenger seat, but there is no cut out for a hatch in the deck or in the carpet.

Ive been looking for confirmation that Datsun quit installing the boxes in later z's but I can't find any help.

Is this the norm? And does anyone know where I could get a kit to install the boxes? In my old 75 280 back home it has the metal lids and everything so i was confused when there werent any on this 78.

[sblake01]

I'm not sure exactly when they stopped installing the lids, maybe 76, but I can tell you that my 78 didn't have them. The raised deck would cover them which would generally make them useless.

[ZCurves]

Yep, my '78 doesn't have lids either. It would have made a good place to put a sub-woofer though. I would like to see if anyone has a mod where they made these useful -BUT still retained the look of the raised deck.

I never really understood why Nissan used the raised rear deck on the later years.. It seemed kind of silly to incorporate all that additional hardware just for aesthetics and close off a useful space.

Hmmmm - now that you have me thinking.....

[leftover z]

My '76 had them. My early '77 does not...

[sblake01]

I never really understood why Nissan used the raised rear deck on the later years.. It seemed kind of silly to incorporate all that additional hardware just for aesthetics and close off a useful space.

Hmmmm - now that you have me thinking.....

My '76 had them. My early '77 does not...

I understand now though I never really though much about it in the past. 77 and 78 had the larger gas tank so the deck had to be raised. The 'false floor' was added to cover the spare tire which now sat higher and that wooden 'floor' continued forward to where it covered the tool box openings.

[Jeff G 78]

The raised deck makes for a much less useful cargo area, but it makes a great space for stereo equipment. I have two small amps and a crossover mounted under my deck forward of the spare tire and they are completely hidden from view. Even if someone broke into my Z, I doubt they'd ever find the components.

[mlaw7]

The raised deck makes for a much less useful cargo area, but it makes a great space for stereo equipment. I have two small amps and a crossover mounted under my deck forward of the spare tire and they are completely hidden from view. Even if someone broke into my Z, I doubt they'd ever find the components.

I've been thinking about something similar in my '78. What do you do about ventilation and preventing the electronics from overheating? Or is it even an issue? It doesn't seem like there's much in the way of air flow in there.

[Jeff G 78]

I've been thinking about something similar in my '78. What do you do about ventilation and preventing the electronics from overheating? Or is it even an issue? It doesn't seem like there's much in the way of air flow in there.

It's certainly true that there isn't much airflow, but the volume is rather large under the deck, so I doubt there would be a problem with any moderate setup. My system is actually very low power, so I have nothing to worry about. I have two 40watt Alpine amps and a crossover. One amp powers a pair of Boston 4" speakers in the factory location under the quarter windows and the other will power 6x9's in the rear using the MSA box. I don't have that box yet though, so for now, I'm rocking with a pair of 4" speakers.

[sparrow6190]

Thats a real shame, I have the two cut outs under the deck and I can't use them!

Im sure there are some more tools down there too... I hear some things slide around when im driving a little too fast.

What is the main difference in the raised deck besides its obviously raised, did they do it for any good reason?

I might try and modify the deck when I have the car apart before I take it to the paint shop and transplant my old lids from the 75' in.

I just can't deal with the fact I have all that open space I could be using!

[sblake01]

What is the main difference in the raised deck besides its obviously raised, did they do it for any good reason?

I answered that in post #5.

[sparrow6190]

oh my bad, i read the posts but must have missed it, thanks