dmorales-bello

Billy Joel's The Stranger album playing in my Casio AM/FM/Cassette/CB Radio was the "drug of choice" in my '77 280Z.

Thanks Hr369. Does that mean I have to take all the panels apart again or can I spray something like WD40 where the panels join one another?

Just finished my '78 280Z and I'm loving driving it except for the terrible creaking coming from almost all the interior plastic panels! Is there some sort of trick to improve this other than cranking up the radio?

Thanks again for all the trouble. Would it be the same placement for the 78s? I could have sworn both my decals were on the passenger side only!

Thanks very much!!! I suppose these are pics of your '77 Z hood, correct? Should they be the same for the 1978 model year? I'm sure I only had 2 decals: the emissions and an AC one. You seem to have another one plus what looks like a spot on the drivers side where another decal is missing.

I'm in the very last stages of my 1978 280Z project and I inadvertently erased the pictures of the underside of my hood and now have no visual references to replace the emissions and AC decals. I went through every forum topic and although there are several references none of the show a picture of the the underside of the 1978 hood with it's factory decals! Can anyone please help me with this?

Great job and a gorgeous car as a result of an excellent find and a lot of hard work. I had a '77 280Z as well (in 1977) and enjoyed the article.

I spray dyed my carpets on an old Range Rover. Ended up looking like a dried out dead dog on the side of the road. Even smelled like crap!

Incredible amount and depth of knowledge from the across the pond! People like you make this forum an invaluable tool for all of us trying to keep these great vehicles on the road in proper form. Thank you.

Total agreement. Painting is so hard that even the very best pros rarely (if ever) get it absolutely perfect. But no amount of talent will make a paint job look great if the body prep isn't up to par.

A full tank of gas will aid the fuel pump do it's job. Testing your fuel pump would be a simple diagnostic test.

...and I thought that flare was looking pretty good

Definitely get it and heed to all the safety suggestions you've gotten from all the guys. Enjoy life. I'ts shorter than you think.

Hi Comet, I had a new 1977 280Z which I drove for 5 years. I had a head-on collision at about 35 MPH while trying to avoid a lady in a station wagon (you will need to Google this term) that cut in front of me at an intersection in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. My Z took the impact well and only sheet metal needed replacement (front valance, left fender, hood) but the Lincoln Continental I met accidentally was not able to roll. The Z is a tough little vehicle but definitely has limitations due to size and lack of all modern injury prevention features. I have a 13 year old son who is "helping" me in my "78 restomod with the understanding the car will be available for him to drive occasionally but his daily driver will be a used Honda Accord. Buy/fix/enjoy your Z but use something else as a daily driver. You will be preserving a classic and protecting your well being.

Gorgeous car! Keep posting. Enjoy.

Careless: Certainly museum quality build! Congrats! Are you sure you're gonna want to run this engine and dirty it up? .

Metalman, any progress or updates on your work?

I happen to like the OEM bumpers on the the later Zs. IMO they visually extend the nose. If looked at in profile, the line of the hood can be continued forward and actually meets that big front bumper. Do wish it was lighter.

Burgundy interior in a silver car is a beautiful and classic combination reminiscent of 60s Ferrari, Jaguar, MG, etc. Mercedes-Benz still uses that combination frequently today as well as red interiors with silver cars that looks amazing! You can see many example pics online. My favorite is a black interior on silver cars but I suspect that's exactly what you're trying to change from.

Is there a separate registry for 260 and 280Zs ?

Great write up and a superb final result, EuroDat. BTW, did you do the work on the van in the background in the "after" pic? That turned out nicely as well!

No wonder that Cobra looked sooo good. Nice replica.

Great story that definitely echoes in many of us, I'm sure. I've always wondered whatever happened to my beautiful "77 Z after I painfully left it as a trade for a VW Rabbit in 1980 before going off to med school. I needed some quick extra cash and still have a vehicle and that was my solution at the time. If that car is still around and the current owner tracks me down I would be so eager to see my car again and provide whatever insight and memories I could to him or her. Great memories! Thanks for the story.

Enviously cool trip! BTW, is that a proper Cobra or replica?

Without having taken into account the dimming function of the OEM rheostat, I swapped the bulbs in my dash instruments to bright white LEDs, the idea being to get brighter and sharper illumination on my instruments. I left incandescent bulbs in the places I wasn't looking to get brighter lights: turn signal indicators, brake indicator, charge indicator, HVAC controls. The dimmer allows full brightness BUT will dim the incandescent lights more than the LEDs. The change in light intensity in the LEDs is not very noticeable as you turn the dimmer control counterclockwise. Not a problem in my case since I did achieve what I wanted which was crisp white light from my instruments.