Selling the X & Bought an 75 Datsun 280Z

[rx1900]

Hey Hussein - and JKidd. I have a friend up here who has raced a 240Z for several decades now. And has naturally accumulated lots of spare bits.

For example.....he would buy a 280z for its engine. And would use that base engine for its bigger displacement...but would use mostly 240z ancillary components...like for example the thermostat housing you were both looking for. And he of course ran triple carbs...so he has no need for all the EFI components and such.

Same goes for stock suspension bits. And trim, seats, lights, brakes, etc......

If you are stuck for something...let me know and I will put you in contact with him. Shipping from Canada might be a pain though.

And Hussein......are you enjoying the book ?

 

[lookforjoe]

Hey Hussein - and JKidd. I have a friend up here who has raced a 240Z for several decades now. And has naturally accumulated lots of spare bits.

For example.....he would buy a 280z for its engine. And would use that base engine for its bigger displacement...but would use mostly 240z ancillary components...like for example the thermostat housing you were both looking for. And he of course ran triple carbs...so he has no need for all the EFI components and such.

Same goes for stock suspension bits. And trim, seats, lights, brakes, etc......

If you are stuck for something...let me know and I will put you in contact with him. Shipping from Canada might be a pain though.

And Hussein......are you enjoying the book ?

Thanks Doug - I took the book with me to Philly to read on the bus. Didn't work too well for that though. I read some of it over the weekend. Interesting stuff. I need to review the suspension section to see if there is anything there that makes sense for me. Thank you for sending it. I'm going to adjust the valves at some point, so I'll likely check the cam timing at that juncture. The tool will be handy should I need to do that adjustment.

 

[lookforjoe]

I removed my undermatting to clean & dry them, and didn't take a pic. putting them in, I don't seem to find a obvious orientation that doesn't seem to have fitment issues. There are cut-outs that don't seem to align with anything



Any Z owners know if this is correct?





We had a deluge here while I was out of town for the school field trip to Philly. When I checked the car Monday afternoon, it was obvious water had got into the car, but I can't be sure where to look for the source. There are no stains on the inner roof trim that would indicate the passage of water, however most of the wet area was along the lip behind the seats, down into the pockets and from there out onto the floor pans. I had a box sitting on the ledge and it obviously absorbed an amount of water. This pic was after I mopped up the water by the ridge.



I started dealing with the body seals yesterday. I removed the rear roof trim to look at the hinge seals, and from what I can see, if those leak it will run down the 1/4's into the body sides. Can't see how it would run into the rear floor area



I have 4 pieces that go with the hatch opening, but I only know where the main seal fits. Mine doesn't have any other seals around the hatch opening .



I got both door seals in. Doors are a bitch to close / open now. I moved the latches slightly outward, just to reduce the load on the release mechanisms





I started on the scraper molding seal, but I don't know what type of stapler would even work to staple the new retainer strip in place.

 

[lookforjoe]

Still don't have the back bumper on, and with all the other work that has taken precedent, it is unlikely I will be dropping the exhaust & gas tank any time soon, so I cut off the bumper shocks (Sawsall) for now, so I can at least get the rear bumper installed. Removed the end screws to relieve the gas before cutting. Chopped back the tailpipe while I was at it.

 

[lookforjoe]

I did order new hinge seals, however it really doesn't appear that any water has come in through there. I may pour a little water into the hinge cup just to confirm it though. Those seals won't be here for a couple weeks and I'm doing the hatch seals NOW.

I removed all the remnants of the main hatch seal & all the glue/foam residue all around the lip. I used xylene, which softens the glue & foam, makes it easier to remove. Still took 2 hours to get it to where it is now though







Still need to clean out the remaining crud from the hinge inner boot. Looks like I'm going to be removing the hatch to finish this, there is some surface rust in the upper drip channel behind the hatch. Can't get in there properly with the hatch on



I did redrill the metal strip & staple the scraper for the drivers side. I'll likely go with pop rivets on the pass side, but I need to get a good drill bit for the stainless.

 

[carl]

Finding leak sources is a real pain, be it your car or water stains on the ceiling of rooms in your house. My Fat rat gets the driver seat all wet when parked in front of my house and it rains. The street is on a hill and the car points down. If I park the car on our flat driveway the seat does not get wet when it rains.

I hate putting in new seals for doors on my Fiats. The doors never close with new seals in place.

 

[kmead]

Mmmm xylene one of my favorites in a closed space. I had classmates who carried that stuff around for use with chalk and baby powder to make render backgrounds… Probably part of why they were so creative or created things which made no sense

I was thinking the same for the staples being made by hand. Careful with the pop rivets that you don’t distort the parts with the pressure they exert.

I take it I will be the other one holding the hatch when you realign the for install…

 

[lookforjoe]

Hey Hussein - and JKidd. I have a friend up here who has raced a 240Z for several decades now. And has naturally accumulated lots of spare bits

Same goes for stock suspension bits. And trim, seats, lights, brakes, etc......

If you are stuck for something...let me know and I will put you in contact with him. Shipping from Canada might be a pain though.

And Hussein......are you enjoying the book ?

@rx1900 - I could use the tail ight exterior trim panels, mine are cracked. Has to be 280Z though, I can see the 240Z version is not interchangeable

 

[lookforjoe]

Mmmm xylene one of my favorites in a closed space. I had classmates who carried that stuff around for use with chalk and baby powder to make render backgrounds… Probably part of why they were so creative or created things which made no sense

I was thinking the same for the staples being made by hand. Careful with the pop rivets that you don’t distort the parts with the pressure they exert.

I take it I will be the other one holding the hatch when you realign the for install…

Yeah - thankfully I'm not inhaling too much of those fumes. The pop rivets were suggested by a Z forum member. I think it would be more likely to put 'waves' in the molding, that would not be good.

I'm hoping I can get my neighbor to assist - since the car is parked outdoors until the X1/9 departs, I really can't leave the car exposed for too long. The cover I have is not waterproof. I thought about leaving the hatch off, but I really don't have the space to store that, either....

 

[rx1900]

@rx1900 - I could use the tail ight exterior trim panels, mine are cracked. Has to be 280Z though, I can see the 240Z version is not interchangeable

no...sorry...i asked him...he does not have....

 

[lookforjoe]

no...sorry...i asked him...he does not have....

Thanks for asking!

I just looked at the seals in the Precision Kit I bought from ZcarDepot. I saw that the lower seals they provide have a square profile, and no bulb.
I really don't care for these ones, they don't sit flat at all in the channel. I'll have to find where the bulb version can be sourced for the outer sides

I was able to remove the hatch (with assistance from a neighbor), clean up the channels, prime & paint the upper outer channel, install the inner hatch seal, and the top outer seal. Had to get the hatch back on as it's going to rain overnight & tomorrow morning





base coat & clear





side channels





Test fitting the hatch seal. took a couple tries to get the correct orientation. Also had to drop the seat belt reels to get the seal inner lip properly tucked under the plastic trim at the top sides



overlap ridge that gets the glue



had to notch the seal inner lip where the hatch brackets attach to the hatch opening



Glued in with weatherstrip adhesive. With it in-situ, I worked the lower run first, then the left side, top & finally the right side. After that I put the upper side buffer blocks back in. Then I put the upper outer seal on.





Hatch & louvres back on



It will all have to come apart again at some point, I found that the hatch screws were not fully tight & the hinge was pressing into the rubber seal cup on the pass side, creating a rub hole on the inner side. I sincerely doubt that was the cause of the water in the hatch/cubby area, seems much more likely the lack of proper hatch sealing was the culprit.

 

[lookforjoe]

Took out the left side 1/4 glass/frame & replaced the inner, outer & forward vertical seal. That was a bitch! Getting the frame pressed back in place to align the retaining screws was quite a challenge . I had to do it twice, as the first time the top lip folded inwards instead of out.

Frame sections all cleaned, I painted where the securing plates are welded, as there was small amounts of rust. The forward edge of the main frame I sanded back & repainted. scrubbed the glass clean of all sealant residue





opening needed a little cleanup, but no paint issues



glass & seal set into frame, outer seal glued to frame



top outer seal lip properly situated on second attempt. Liberal amounts of vaseline helped to get it to slide into place



forward vertical seal



that takes care of the driver's side openings, with just the seal inside the driver's door window frame to address



the end cap was gone from the scraper molding, so I modified a trim panel retain clip to fit

 

[JKIDD]

Took out the left side 1/4 glass/frame & replaced the inner, outer & forward vertical seal. That was a bitch! Getting the frame pressed back in place to align the retaining screws was quite a challenge . I had to do it twice, as the first time the top lip folded inwards instead of out.

Frame sections all cleaned, I painted where the securing plates are welded, as there was small amounts of rust. The forward edge of the main frame I sanded back & repainted. scrubbed the glass clean of all sealant residue





opening needed a little cleanup, but no paint issues



glass & seal set into frame, outer seal glued to frame



top outer seal lip properly situated on second attempt. Liberal amounts of vaseline helped to get it to slide into place



forward vertical seal



that takes care of the driver's side openings, with just the seal inside the driver's door window frame to address



the end cap was gone from the scraper molding, so I modified a trim panel retain clip to fit

I admire your restraint and determination. I usually can't wait to just drive the car & that seems to ultimately delay the jobs I want to complete.

 

[lookforjoe]

I admire your restraint and determination. I usually can't wait to just drive the car & that seems to ultimately delay the jobs I want to complete.

I really want to drive it (her?) - but.... the little I have, the suspension is SO worn, it feels like a 60's American flotilla, very un-nerving. I want to get that tight responsive feel or the flotilla effect is what's going to stick in my memory as first impression. I've been sidetracked by the water ingress

 

[dherr]

I remember my 280Z as being a missile that I could point down the road, especially with that long hood. Should not float at all, so definitely sounds like the suspension will be the next thing to tackle.

 

[lookforjoe]

I didn't lube the upper outer seal to make sure it didn't cling to the hatch edge then closing and the seal bond had not fully dried, so it pealed inward - I found out today. We have rain forecast pretty much from now until Monday, so I removed the hatch, stripped all the adhesive (which messed up the new paint, since I clearly didn't let the paint cure/harden long enough) and repainted the upper trough/lip. I'm leaving the paint to harden until Monday when the rain gives over, then I'll re-glue the outer seal, and leave the hatch off until it's clearly properly bonded. I also bought the black super weatherstrip adhesive instead of the yellow I used previously.



taped up the opening, then covered the car with 2 breathable covers

 

[kmead]

I didn't lube the upper outer seal to make sure it didn't cling to the hatch edge then closing and the seal bond had not fully dried, so it pealed inward - I found out today. We have rain forecast pretty much from now until Monday, so I removed the hatch, stripped all the adhesive (which messed up the new paint, since I clearly didn't let the paint cure/harden long enough) and repainted the upper trough/lip. I'm leaving the paint to harden until Monday when the rain gives over, then I'll re-glue the outer seal, and leave the hatch off until it's clearly properly bonded. I also bought the black super weatherstrip adhesive instead of the yellow I used previously.



taped up the opening, then covered the car with 2 breathable covers

Out of curiosity how are the Z car forums? Helpful or ?

You have made a ton of progress on this car, impressive as always.

 

[tvmaster]

Probably below your pay grade as far as restoration goes, but nonetheless.
Season 13, Ep. 2 on ‘Motortrend’ app. But the episode number is different in the U.K.
Ed China removed the automatic tranny and installed a manual. That was interesting...

 

[lookforjoe]

Out of curiosity how are the Z car forums? Helpful or ?

You have made a ton of progress on this car, impressive as always.

Somewhat. I've been posting on the ClassicZ forum. Ads are less annoying & the forum is properly sectioned by category - the HyridZ one is a mess, but more likely to have answers for less 'purist' moves on the car

Since it's been rainy all weekend I've been working inside on vinyl covering for the all-plastic 280Z hatch area panels. Closed cell foam to replace the old foam padding.

added a canvas edging where the hatch inner panel sits against the opening - I don't like that one can see the mount hardware & gap between the inside of the glass & the trim, hopefully this will fill it



undecided on covering the 1/4 glass trim, so many curves it will be a PITA to cover



closed cell foam on the lamp access covers



roof hatch trim





tail lamp cover panel







left rear hatch area panel. The right side is going to be a bitch.

 

[lookforjoe]

Probably below your pay grade as far as restoration goes, but nonetheless.
Season 13, Ep. 2 on ‘Motortrend’ app. But the episode number is different in the U.K.
Ed China removed the automatic tranny and installed a manual. That was interesting...

I'll check it out later today, thank you for the link