Build Log: My 77' 280z

[tymarbry]

Didnt see a build log section or anything so I guess I will drop this here for now. hope no one minds.

So I got my 77' 280z on March 3rd, 2001 and I am now a happy owner of a great datsun.

Sadly I had to sell my 1986 Corolla GTS in favor of my new car. (9 years older, albiet)

The car has good looks, still sporty and so far its reliable and doesnt leak oil.

My Corolla had quite a bit of trouble and it was all unlucky stuff for me.

The outside of the car is alittle rough on the paint, alittle worse than the Corolla was.

There is of course some rust, after all its 30years old so thats expected. But its to a minimal. You can see the extent of it in the last photo above, in the rear fender arch.

Suprisingly there arnt really any dings, just minor sratches and stuff. The body is damn straight, just how I like it!

Car came from storage in Texas and looks nice for its age. The car was $2700. which is kinda expensive but it will be reliable and its simple to work on and I can actually find parts for it around here (The one thing Kansas is good for really).

Here is the better part!

The Interior Baby!

Much better than the corolla by a longshot. The 280z still retains its youth and smells like a classic car even! imagine that!

All black leather interior thats pretty clean still and has very little baggage from previous owners. Amazingly the dash is still fine after all the years of the sun beating down on it.

I think the only downside is that crappy shift knob that came with the car. it lost its threading and wouldnt tighten up. So replaced it with a knob from an automatic Lexus ES300 or something. fits good.

Im hopping to get some work in this week and see what my options are for a 5speed trans and maybe remove the bumpers. What do you think?

[5thhorsemann]

I like the remove the bumper idea. They are huge. At least try to early 240 bumpers.

[tymarbry]

So the rain and hail cleaned my car a bit and now it looks super gooder better.

I tested all of the instruments the other day I posted and I saw that the Headlights/gauges/tail lights/side markers didnt come on when switched.

So today I went about sorting through electric work and gremlins.

Hate this kind of stuff.

Started by tracking down a FSM online to get wiring diagrams so I could look on where to start. If anyone has an S30 here on the forums:

http://www.xenons30.com/

Has a FSM for all years of early model Z car. Big Help

After doing some simple light tests and bending my torso in strange angles to get my head under the dash to find any misplaced connections, I came to the conclusion that my problem all along was with the Headlight switch itself.

I then went on to rebuild it.

Took the switch off and grabbed some sand paper.

This is the switch box

It has 2 tabs that make contact to turn lights on from off - parking - headlamps.

These tabs buildup carbon deposits over the years and makes them finicky.

Using a small philips head I took off the 3 screws that hold this little box together.

Make sure not to lose the little plastic washer on one of the screws in case your following these directions!

Taking the box off now. There are 4 small tabs on the top of this brass case that keeps the dust and stuff out.

Using a small flat head or something I pryed them up and took off the brass.

With the brass off you can see the little tabs that make contact. These have already been cleaned by me and placed back in reverse. That way if any of these tabs have pitting then by reversing where you put them there will be fresh metal and a fresh connection!

[tymarbry]

This picture shows the pitting and a cleaned surface.

Also installed my signature NERV parking permit.

Yeah thats all I did really, the lights all work now and shes a real beauty!

Hoping also to get my Kansas antique plate on soon.

[tymarbry]

Wow Ive been busy but I havent done much it seems.

I ordered AUTOPAL H4 headlamps and LEDs for my interior lights.

The thing is, when replacing the bulbs for the dash lights you get frustrated because the designer was an arse.

yes Im stupid

To easily replace the dash lights you need to remove the entire dash and steering column suport the push or pull the gauges out as you pull forward the dash.

This dash weighs about 30lbs as compared to the 86 dash which is like 15lbs or less.

Total pain in the arse. Makes me regret how easy I had it.

[tymarbry]

Also did the usual BS with repainting my wheels, well one for today.

Before:

After:

Look nice, its the little things in my opinion.

[tymarbry]

Alittle Update

Went to the junkyard and found a lonesome 240z rusted and neglected.

Very very sad.

In the meantime Ive been trying to overhaul the lighting system for the Z.

Including the interior lights. The stock lights are green tint and are really hard to see even on the highest setting.

Most dash/instrument bulbs have a green or blue plastic coating on the tip to give the standard green for the gauges and such.

The Z however has regular bulbs with no coatings but the gauges themselves have a little dome built in to the gauge that is a clear green color that makes the gauges as such.

I was tired of squinting to see what speed I was going when driving at night.

So I took the gauges out again this time to remove the green domes so hopefully less light will be obstructed and filtered.

Went through the dash and removed gauges in order.

The backs of the gauges have the dome held in with 2 plastic nubs that I punched out with a nail. Then I rotated the gauge to let the little dome thing fall out. I collected all the bulb domes in case I need them later.

The climate faceplate had a wedge type bulb and I chose an amber bulb to try and match the color scheme of the new gauge color. The faceplate had a press fit dome thing that I removed by drilling the pegs a bit.

Looks better in the end and brighter.

[tymarbry]

The speedometer was also pretty hard. The dome fitting isnt able to slide past the face of the gauge so I had to take the needle off and the faceplate also.

The needle is pretty damn hard to pull and be carefull not to twist or bend while pulling because then things will be really crap for a while.

The faceplate has 2 screws holding it on and after that its an easy deal.

Yeah so in the end its pretty darn good.

The right side is the tach with the green domes left in still. pretty bleak.

I just need to wait for my H4 headlight setup from Autopal and the lighting upgrade will be done.

[Travel'n Man]

Great looking projects and pictures - keep it up!!

[steve91tt]

Nice looking project car. I need to take on guage lights at some point so your photos are a great help. Keep posting!

[Kuro]

Love this! and wow what a great looking z! I just bought one (black also) and started working on it (your z is in better condition then mine), and will be watching everything you do.

BTW, I'm assuming you meant 2011?

Edited March 23, 2011 by Kuro

[cozye]

good work. Nice pics.