Datsun 280Z Restoration (Mother's Day update!) -Shaved Bumper

[Schema]

I keep forgetting about this site, buh meh, I’m bored at work and got time to kill, so I’ll post a few pics .

I’m in the middle of doing a “body off” restoration of a 1977 Datsun 280Z. Picked it from a local guy who moved to Cali. This year I’m not going to worry too much about a balls to the walls engine swap, just going to throw a spare KA24de in there and work diligentley on the frame and body. As of 2/27/07, I have the car down to it’s bare unibody without a single bolt to unscrew. I tore of the fiberglass fenders someone did as a quick fix to hide rust. This week I’m going around filling the rivet holes along with sheet metal replacement on any exterior damage/rust. Once that’s done it will go on the rotissirie (car twirler) to take care of the underside, replace/extend frame rails, and any other structural modifications needed should I go the LS2 route in 2008 ( just gonna keep on eye out for wrecked GTO’s).

Anywho, just a broad collection of the teardown/assesment phase, got the car at the end of 06, probably have about 25 hours in to it thus far (original inline 6 was already pulled )

eBay listing pic:

First day in the shop

Lets see, Front suspension out,windows,hatch, hood, most of the interior is out

Tsk tsk, look at that mess, rear suspension finally out, that was a pain

At this point the rear buper/lights, wiring, fuel rails, etc etc etc are all out. There’s little if anything that can be unbolted or taken out.

If anyone else would like to see more pictures, they can be seen at the link below. I believe you can only visit the site up to three time before you have to register, but I’ll post up the “end of the day” pics here.

http://www.driverx.net/forum/showthread.php?t=109

[Adictd2b00st]

very cool, definitly keep us posted :tup:

[Kramer]

ls2 for the win

[Xander]

Subscribed.

x…

[POOPRA]

Looks like a pretty nice shop you got there, where are you from?

[Onyx_Z32]

Nice :tup:

[Schema]

[quote=“POOPRA,post:5,topic:25179"”]

Looks like a pretty nice shop you got there, where are you from?

[/quote]

Thanks bud, I’m here in Rochester (henrietta) I know a bunch of people on this forum, just keep forgetting about the site. The shop isnt a car shop, used to be a plastic injection company in there, had to flatbed the Datsun on to a loading dock. A buddy and I rent the place to work on our own hobbies/toys, most of which never get done haha.

[TrueBlue]

You sound like you’re project goals are close to mine this winter. Looks like a lot of fun. Some time in the future I’d like to do one of those.

So, welcome :tup:

[9ONA3OOZX]

:tup:

can’t wait to see how this ends up

In that second to last pic though, looks like the stand is almost hanging off of that roller :ohnoes:

That would make me super nervous…just putting a car on jackstands that are on a roller alone makes me nervous…i’m a pussy when it comes to stuff like that…i make sure NOTHING can move on the car or ground when it’s in the air…

[Schema]

[quote=“90NA300ZX,post:9,topic:25179"”]

:tup:

can’t wait to see how this ends up

In that second to last pic though, looks like the stand is almost hanging off of that roller :ohnoes:

That would make me super nervous…just putting a car on jackstands that are on a roller alone makes me nervous…i’m a pussy when it comes to stuff like that…i make sure NOTHING can move on the car or ground when it’s in the air…

[/quote]

haha, believe it or not, none of the weight was on the front of that picture, check out the shot below, when the rear suspension was still on, it was balanced perfectley and the front was hovering.

I guess I can be a little more carefull, but the car is on there pretty solid and I haven’t rolled it around much, the frame is SUPER light, all unibody.

I’m pickin up the sheet metal tonight, probably play with some welds ( still getting used to my welder, got it less than a week ago) I don’t want to burn through anything. Anywho, that hovercraft shot I was talking about;

[Schema]

Well, I got the car completley stripped down to it’s frame and bare metal…

Lol ok enough fun

OK, so I’ve slacked for about a month on the project because the next step was bodywork, figured I couldnt do anything till the welder came in.:banghead: So I’m going to be spending the next two weeks sanding and if I can vent it, aircraft stripper.

So here’s what I just started on yesterday. The owner(s) before me decided to put fiberglass fenders over the quarter panel to “hide” any rust or damage. Friggin slackers. The quarters weren’t even that bad!! Nearly the whole lip was intact and rust free, though where there was rust, it was pretty bad.

The fenders. I was thinking about selling them on the Z forums, still might, but may turn these in to a widebody :gotme: That’s later down the line, I’ll keep them around just in case.

There are about 20 rivet holes on each fender. LUCKILY none of them had the slightest sign of rust, that would have been a pain. The less curved pieces I have the cut and reweld the better.

BUT, as my luck would have it, I ran out of argon/co2. Guess I played with it a but too much this week since I got. I’ll put some more time in to sanding/stripping tonight, can’t make it to a welding shop till Sat.

Till next time…

[Anonymity]

looks nice, what welder are u using. i am thinking about picking one up, how much did you pay and where?

[zwarbyt]

needs more turbo

[Schema]

[quote=“Anonymity,post:12,topic:25179"”]

looks nice, what welder are u using. i am thinking about picking one up, how much did you pay and where?

[/quote]

Millermatic 135, got it from Mahany Welding in rochester NY. AWESOME place, highly recommended to anyone. The owner is always there and is a kid in his own candy store, you really wouldnt have guess he’s the man behind the wheel when talking to him.

I think the 140’s are replacing the 135’s, so I’d look in to those. This was one fo the welders he used for welding class demostrations.

[quote=“zwarbyt,post:13,topic:25179"”]

needs more turbo

[/quote]

bah, turbo shmurbo, I’ve got a box full of NOS stickers, type R badges , and yerrow paint.

[boardjnky4]

[quote=“Schema,post:14,topic:25179"”]

Millermatic 135, got it from Mahany Welding in rochester NY. AWESOME place, highly recommended to anyone. The owner is always there and is a kid in his own candy store, you really wouldnt have guess he’s the man behind the wheel when talking to him.

I think the 140’s are replacing the 135’s, so I’d look in to those. This was one fo the welders he used for welding class demostrations.

[/quote]

the millermatics are great welder. Ive got a 175 and its super reliable has been pretty good to learn on.

[travisn]

schema if you ever need help with body work or welding during the week gimme a call…

[Schema]

[quote=“travisnewberry,post:16,topic:25179"”]

schema if you ever need help with body work or welding during the week gimme a call…

[/quote]

Sweet deal man, I’ve been at it quite a bit with the paint stripper. I’d post but these are the times where you can do hours of work and not much to show for. As soon as I can get a hold of TN I’m gonna get a shit load of 18-22ga sheet metal from him, and I can use a hand then.

I’ll give ya a call a day or two ahead of time

[Schema]

Just a small update. I’ve only put about another 10-15 hours in to the car since the last update. Been doing all the paint stripping/body filler removal.

There’s not too many pictures that can be taken as a result, but I just picked up a bunch of 18 and 16 ga sheet metal that I’ve started fab’ing up new parts with (just got around to making a new rocker panel, got to the shop pretty late tonight). The old stuff must’ve been as thin as 20-22 ga, was pretty surprised, no wonder why these things twist out of shape.

Anywho, just a few pics of what I did tonight. I need to pick up a press, I did these bends with a clamp, edge of a table, and a hammer. Old-school beyotch

I’m planning to spend the day there tomorrow (Sunday) if anyone’s handy with metal shaping. For me, this is the fun part, I finally get to see some moving forward in the project. More pics to follow for tomorrow night.

[TrueBlue]

:tup:

I hate putting in 10-15 hours and really not having much to “show” for it. Car’s coming along nicely.

[Rovert]

im gettin motivated. i test drove that 280 i PM 'd u about it ran allright for awhile but died out on me, the battery was shot, but even more it wasnt gettin fuel… me and my friend did a little fuel filter bypass right to the fuel rail and it ran good for another 10 min and then shit out again. needless to say the bodys lookin great so im really excited. ill be fallowing this for sure.