gilltech

Am old school but bi-lingual in metric and imperial. Yes, 10mm or maybe less. I could try using a thin bit of wood as a feeler gauge..(!!). the fuel tank is in the way so hard to access up in there... will look again tomorrow with my lead light. If your car has taken a nudge in the back then check out the boot floor for any ripples, and how much 'crush' where the taillight panel is pushed against the curve of the spare wheel well, may help you decide what side or where the impact happened, and work back from there.

My 260 2-seat is on jack stands at present to replace perished exhaust hangers so I took a look as the back of my car is undamaged. Reaching up between fuel tank and valance, I can't quite fit my fingers between the rail and the wheel well at tightest point. So even if your rail is out of shape I doubt that it's as far bent inwards as you think. Hopefully someone here can provide you with a definitive measurement.

It all depends which diff you intend to use, doesn't it? The R180 vs the heavier (and longer) R200 installed on many of the manual 260Zs.

? ? ? (Confused). So you have two shells, is the grey primer one not the better of the two then?

Good luck finding one! Better you fix what you've got rather than do a cut'n'shut anyway. And it's not like it's completely rotted out going by the photos. I suggest you measure it all up and compare to the factory specs to see if it's within tolerances or whether the basic structure has to be pushed/pulled on a chassis aligner to tweak it, before you lock it into your jig and rotisserie structure. But the way you're going with all this is a credit to you.

Sorry if getting off topic, but how does one tell the 260Z, 240K and 280ZX gearboxes apart, externally, again? Something to do with the position of the oil filler, or is it the speedo drive? Just curious.

Correct. Which is why lubrication of the base plate to allow the single cylinder, and brake shoes, to react and slide as required is so important. All detailed in the manuals. But, look, if you've got a set of rear brakes off a '77/'78 car to hand then by all means use them, assuming you can recondition or renew the double cylinders. If you haven't, you may struggle to find some, as AFAIK there weren't many late 260Zs sold in Australia. Much easier for the enthusiasts in the USA with their much larger supply of late 280Zs and availability of parts. Unless you're hell bent on having rear discs then IMHO the KISS principle is best. Just get the stock set-up of rear drum brakes and handbrake well renovated, sorted and balanced using only quality components and all should be fine.

Mmm, somewhat debateable I think. Double means there are more parts to go wrong, leak etc. Nothing personal, I just don't believe in rushing to modify stuff before the stock set up is properly installed using good quality parts, adjusted to optimum and assessed. But your call for whatever suits your needs.

The single set up does self adjust, via the handbrake. All works well IMO as long as it is all adjusted correctly, that none of the adjuster parts are damaged or missing, that an idiot PO hasn't dicked around with it, and the various surfaces that need lube have got lube and aren't sticking. Both the factory manual and the Haynes manual spell out what is required.

I've just touched up the paint on mine so I took a close look at it again. I totally agree, someone put some design effort in there.

I had the same some years back, I decided the shoes were more likely for a 240K, couldn't return them so they went in the bin.

I don't understand the issue. On my very early 260 there is just one taillight harness running from right rear to left rear corner, with a square plug to each taillight unit - as per the one in your hand, a wire to the registration plate lighting in between them, and connections to the electric aerial and speaker at the very end. But later Zeds had many different harness wiring plugs to mine, could that harness be out of a later Zed perhaps?

Nope, it should be two keys - one key for the ignition, and a different key for doors / hatch / fuel filler / glovebox. (Some cars just had a turn knob on the fuel filler, non-locking).

Looks pretty sound. I guess prices are creeping up in NZ too as they are here. Registered, and WOF - which stands for "Warrant of Fitness" and equates to a 'roadworthy' in Australia. A car must have a new WOF every 6 months and can't have registration transferred or renewed without one. The rules are more onerous than here in Qld. The only thing that looks wrong to me are the mirrors. All the NZ 260Zs I've seen that still had factory wing mirrors they were much more rounded in shape than those and also chrome not black. But looks nice, in that colour I'd be proud to own it.

But that's less than it owes him.

Mine is just the same as AndBir's. It's original and not been messed with. Except it's plain black underseal and doesn't photograph well. The outer wheelhouse lands on that horizontal sill section as per his photo, closing off where yours has a gap. The wheelarch lip section just sort of peters out in a raggedy curve, as you'll be aware it's the outer wheelhouse tucked under the rear quarter panel and a bunch of not-too-flash welds joining them. That's one area that benefits from a general tidy-up during restoration time. Quality restoration work such as the CAF / Wags project raise the bar over what the factory did half a century ago. And I'm sure anything you do to that area to close the gaps and join everything together as one will be good work judging by your diligent repair work to date!

Suggest you maybe grab a photo from the CAF / Wags restoration guys in the relevant thread. I tried taking a photo of mine but the rear wheel is in the way and my car although un-messed-with in that dogleg area has a coating of underseal to the wheelarch. PS. but all those gaps need to be closed up IMO, such as between the inner and outer wheelarch panels, going by mine anyway.

Now you're really teasing us. Like I suggested before, this is a work of art that's too good to drive. Just imagine the sinking feeling when you find the first stone chip... or first carpark door ding... Fantastic work in any case.

The man is an artisan nothing less. The finished car should immediately be put on the concours d'elegance show circuit and forever more be trailered, not driven.

Absolutely right. Same as for all the Mustangs etc people have been bringing in for years. Although in the US it can be difficult finding much of a paper trail to check whether a said car has in fact spent all its life in the 'dry' state where it has been found versus up in the mountains or over on the coast. (Although a Mustang' VIN and door data tag at least tells which factory the car was built in and which sales location the car was first supplied to, so that's a good start. One can avoid a car built and first sold in the eastern states for example). One thing to bear in mind though, those cars that have come from a hot dry state may to all intents and purposes be rust free but with some of the ones I've seen the vinyl and plastic interiors are well cooked as is the paintwork. Not a problem with Mustangs etc as repro dash pads and other interior parts are freely available and inexpensive, but it's a different story with the 240/260/280Zs.

Looks good. So the car was silver originally? That's a nice red, did the PO tell you what mix he used? Would be handy to know for touch-up purposes.

I just use the tapered end of an artist's wooden handle paint brush jammed in to the disconnected hard line... low tech maybe it is, but also zero cost...

From what I can surmise from the several Z owner's manuals and sales brochures I have, the 'passing light switch' was not fitted to all 260Zs and/or in all markets. One manual I sourced from the USA states the passing switch is 'for Europe'. One brochure lists the 'passing light' under Optional Equipment. Many years ago I replaced the switch lever on my early '74 with one from a later donor car; and it came with the button. But the passing light has never worked; the only effect it has is that with the headlamps on it actually turns them off, so works in reverse if you like. So maybe, your switch lever is, like mine, a replacement, and doesn't quite match the wiring? But your guess is as good as mine.

A rather less common interior colour? If no luck then find a good clean one of a different colour and vinyl spray it?

Have you looked on eBay? Last time I looked there were a couple of options. All depends whether you want the add-on spoiler that attaches to the factory front valance panels, or the one-piece panel which replaces them entirely as well as providing a spoiler. Lots of different designs of both types have been and gone over the years.