TonyJ

Well its finally on the road. We actually finished a few weeks ago but there were a few delays around things like the brakes (reco booster from US , the "out rod" was 1 cm short!) and a few minor things for the road worthy. Anyhow the car is on the road and we are keen to go on the next Z trip.

Matto, the car is original "gold", which im sure you know is a Tan/gold. The idea is to keep it as original as possible and that was the original colour (under a few dodgy coats of similar color paint!!). Thanks for the complement.. its getting close.

Simon, thanks again for the bumpers. I took your advice and picked up some 'Mothers" on the way home and spent last night applying a few coats. They have come up realy well. Thanks again, Tony

That is one great looking car. I have to stop myself sometimes from thinking that it would be easier to just buy one. The whole rebuild started as a project for my son and myself to do together and give him some knowledge in how a car is put together. To that end he went from not knowing much about cars to being able to can change a 280 oil pump in 30 minutes (we had it in and out a few times) he is doing the electrical testing as we go (we spent tonight putting the dash back together, while the wife is at work we can use the lounge room). I guess the old saying is true for us "It's the jouney....." and so far it has been well worth it. Tony For the purist, yes we are going to try the series 2 clock in the series 1.

Thanks for the comments, We are staying with original, the interior will be the original tan/brown except that the wheel arches and shocker towers will be covered in carpet (the vinyl is pretty bad). As for the gold, I'll add a photo of it in the spray booth. Without the clear coat it looked like a block of gold, a little too bright. But it come out just right in the end. Thanks again, Tony

Hi, my name is Tony, my son and If have had a great time restoring a 1980 280zx 2+2 over the last 18 months. My son started the whole thing by chosing the 280zx and buying it himself. He really loved the car from the beginning, both for its style/engineering and (thanks to UTUBE for the original tv ads) the whole 70/80's image the 280 tried to catch. We havn't had anything to do with car clubs in the past, but looking over the club site, it's easy to see that people here are passionate about their cars. As all of you would know getting the common parts mechanical parts has been easy but we couldn't knock back a second 280 (Series 2) for spares. This has donated lots of parts from the panels, interior, electrical, trims and dash parts. Due to my wife running out of patience (with 2 cars ) I will be offering any of the left overs, after the original is actually registered and has been driving for a few weeks. We are very keen on the country drives and are looking forward to our first. Anyway, thanks for having us. I have a few before and after photos attached. Tony

"So I take it your another blow in just looking for parts.....and thats about it, no personal intro like hi guys Im (whoever you are) this is a great site with good info, no project pics etc....or did I miss something when I blinked...." Nice welcome and yes, I should have introduced myself. My name is Tony and my son and I have been bringing back from the dead a 1980 280zx 2+2. It was in a barn in Cowra, running, but in need of everything except more rust. We then found a second 280, this time outside of Ballarat, this has become our donor car and once the original is back on the road (Around 6 weeks) I will be offering parts off this one. As for the "Good luck" we do have bumpers, its just that since the rest of the car has come up so well, we wanted the best bumpers we could get. If no one wants to sell us their bumpers, then we will do with what we have. Secondly, this is a great site and we would love to take part in the club drives, if we are still welcome. Lastly, I would like to post some pics, if I could work out how...............I have attached a few recent shots.

Last parts I need to get car back on the road. Series 1 280zx front and rear bumpers in good condition. I'm in Melbourne.