I have officially joined the club

[ksechler]

I found this nice '76 280 and now it is mine. It does have some issues as to be expected from a 36 year old car. I crawled all over it and did identify some rust, but not serious. No holes, good frame. It runs and is drivable, but I think the rack (steering) needs to be rebuilt. It is extremely stiff at the extremes and ambiguous in the middle. The brakes also need some work. They stop the car but lack authority. I'm really excited to have this car.

[jfa.series1]

Welcome aboard - you have met the basic membership requirement by posting pics. Looks like a nice find, enjoy the ride!

[EuroDat]

Welcome, Now your truly got Z fever:D She looks tidy and clean.

What are your plans with the car?

[kitran01]

Looks great.

[240260280z]

Welcome to the club! 76 was a great year.

[ksechler]

Welcome, Now your truly got Z fever:D She looks tidy and clean.

What are your plans with the car?

I'm still processing. I expected to look longer before finding a good car, but the right one popped up so I bought it. In the long run, I'm going to tear it down to bare metal and do a resto-mod with a lot of effort to retain the original flavor of the car. My thoughts at this point are to modernize the brakes to four-wheel discs, rebuild the suspension and possible drop it down an inch. It wallows in turns right now probably because the shocks and bushings are worn out. I also want to pull the motor, and transmission and do a complete rebuild. I want to keep the original inline 6 but modify it to get the output near the 300 hp mark. I don't know if that is realistic. I need to do more research. I will need to get some fatter tires to handle the power and give the right stance. I will flare the fenders if I need to, but I intend to keep the body as close to original as possible. I will try to pull the bumpers in closer to the body and clean up a little here and little there, but at the end of the day I want it to continue to look like a 280z but kick the crap out the usual assortment of Mushtangs and Camaros.

Right now the car only needs a little effort. There are the beginnings of rust on the passenger floor pan (no holes) and the temperature gauge doesn't work. That's it!