TomoHawk

You could also polish the intake manifold (hard), or just powder-coat that (easier). You can even powder-coat things yourself at home.

That sounds like your basic injected resin system, but in this case it looks like the resin was poured in. I'm thinking what needs to be done is to remove the emblem, heat it up to sometemperature, then scrape off the oxidized surface layer and add a coating of some protective stuff (UV screen epoxy?) I just hate pulling off the emblems. It seems the PO of my car used double-sided tape to attach the emblems, and I didn't find out until the first one pulled off a few patches of paint. :mad: thx

That's the whole point, George. When you restore an old car, you really should restore what's THERE. Buying new parts isn't my idea of a restoration, assuming the part CAN be restored. If it really is too far gone, or broken, then replacement is the proper thing to do. These old Zs have character because they have aged as a whole car, not just the emblem or the steering wheel or whatever. If restoration was just buying everything new, we'd all be driving 350Zs (yeesh!) Add to that the great feeling of accomplishment that you really did rastore what was there, instead of taking the easy way out.

I haven't seen any thin ply anyware in the car, which is why I was asking. So I bought some heavy card from a place that makes picture frames. They called it "3X board".

It will have to be 0.60 inch (2mm) thick for lightness. I've never seen anything thinner than 1/4 inch (6mm). So I will stop at the art & craft store to see what they have. there.

I have a 280Z, Mike. I'll try to give them a phone call to get some details. At $30, it wouldn't be too bad to buy, even if you could use most of it and change the connectors (if you had to).

While you're at it cleaning & polishing everything under the hood, what about the alternator? It starts out as a rough-cast shell, but what would it look like with some sanding? You probably wouldn't have to polish it to mirrorness, but a smooth sanded shell ( 600 grit, then steel wool) might look nicer. Would it be difficultto extract the alternator to sand it? thoughts? thx

It's on pg. 51 of the VB catalog Z.45 (accessories section) Does anybody know what this is about? It's supposed to connect direct to the battery, has relays for both low- and high-beams, and "OE-style headlight sockets?" no splicing or cutting? Only $30!?? Makes you wonder...

I think the epoxy coating would work, after either scraping the top layer off to get to the layer with good color or just add some more colored epoxy on top. Either way, you'll need to scuff the top to get the epoxy to adhere. thx

OK, now that we're all agreed about the color ( or range of), the original question was about how it can be restored. Not knowing what it looked like new, I am up for ideas from y'all. A friend in the local Z clun told me it was easy to restore. I'm headed to the copy center later to get my Wick book rebound. Maybe there's some help in there. thx

That last one is what we have with the gold.

To be sure, I'm referring to the emblem near the bottom of the fender behind the front wheels. All the 280Zs in my area are chrome letters "280" on black, and on the end, is a Z in a 'box' with a gold background, which is faded or dirty. thx

How can you restore the GOLD part ( around the Z) on the 280Z fender emblem? thx

I l;ike the part where the guy pulls off the rear-view mirror and throws it away, "What is behind me is of no concern."

After that, check the connector under the steering column. Ifyou know which pins to use, you can jumper it to ground to complete the circuit, which is basically what the light switch & dimmer switch do. YOU can test both low and high beams separately that way. If it's not that, it must be something really strange. thx

On my 280Z, I think I'll use the regular size interior rivets for the panel, if they will fit in the hole. thx for the discussion.

I believe those are screws with decorative washer things holding that panel on.

It's that old & still holding? wow... I've been replacing stuff like rubber & plastic parts because the rubber is so dry & crumbles when you touch it, and the plastic stuff cracks if you touch (or bend/push) it. thx

The ones I saw at the car show Saturday were the same kind used for interior panels (black).

good picture. I'll go see if I have enough rivets. thx

I'm taliking about the EXTERIOR panel BTW, Rob. not the one inside with the removeable shells for the lightbulbs. So... I need to remove the screws & put in rivets. Why'd you think the P.O. put in screws? They were honding well. I even took them out to polish the heads. On the other hand, rivets don't have threads to cut the metal underneath & rust. The Murray's (discount auto) had some rivets that are really cheap & very close to the Datsun rivets, but look stringer & removeable (phillips-head) Should we start using a new term for the "R-word?"

I got hit with penaties last weekend at a show because my taillight panel didn't have rivets (regular interior rivets) along the top? I saw one car with rivets there, but mine had button-head screws. Which is correct? thx

I'm sure you could probably get the E-Clip you need to replace the circlip, I put on some new ones, as they didn't seem to fit well;, and I thopugfht they might fall off. thx

I ordered a 'kickpanel from Zspecialties. he tells me the only other pieces down there are the one accress the firewall to cover the wires, and the 'ski' piece aling the right front bottom. thx

Is there a common material that you can find at a DIY or art store, etc., that can be used to make panels like on the hatch bottom, etc? It should be thin, yet stiff enough to not flex much if you touch it and not crush when you attach with screws. thx