red76z

Thanks guys for the comments. I am taking next week off work to put the z back together. A bit of quality shed time. Looking forward to it.

Finally the day has come and the Z is painted. 19 coats Base, metallic, candy then clear. It took about 16 hours to complete this job. I am going to let it sit for a week and then it is final assembly time. The fun is about to start.

Very cool mate. The car is what YOU want it to be and how you want it. Enjoy the Z experience.

I have finally finished sanding the car in preparation to paint. This would have to be one of the most repetitive jobs I have had to do on this build and I am glad it is over for now. The colour will be sprayed on Monday. Years of prep will now be rewarded with a shiny new paint job, I can not wait. Pics will be poste on that day. The poor shed looks like a bomb has gone off leaving white dust every where . Speek soon.

It is good to see another 2+2 coming together. Just keep chipping away at it and enjoy the build. I am only months away from ending my build. I have done the Hylux and R31 conversion so if you need any measurements just let me know. Nice work. 76 260z 2+2

Still running the standard 260z outer uni joints with the commodore inner cv grafted on. It held up to years of punishment with the previous 4.5l V8. If it blows up Then it will be upgraded. Thanks for the suggestions guys.

Nice work mate. I was the same age when I bought my 260z. Even has the same front spoiler. You will learn alot when building your dream car. Congrats and enjoy the journey.

Got to spend some time on the re assembly part of the build today. Drivers door and both front guards and headlight buckets all bolted back on. It is amazing just how long it takes to get the alignment of all panels just perfect again. Still a small amount of tweaking left. Then touch up a few small low points, and spray the whole thing again with primer and sand with some 800grit wet n dry paper then colour. I picked up the interior the other day and it looks awesome. All of the ugly brown is gone and replaced with black. Door trim, rear seat, head lining, gear stick boot and hand brake boot and other parts all a really neet black vinyl. Then all the existing carpet a new car style black. I will put some pics up soon when installed.

Thanks Howdy. The engine mounts just bolt on to the origional tower mounst of the zed. They are from a croud in Texas called John's Cars. http://www.brokenkitty.com/zcar/zcar.htm They do a full mount to suit the Z cars. In regards to the outer uni joints only time will tell. Mick24Oau has been running the same thing in his LS1 400hp 240Z with out any problems yet. The hub spline should be the weak point in theory.

Thanks Phill My magic trick with all of the old rusty bolts is to replace them with new ones. One of the perks owing a automotive tool shop. As I have heaps of oem bolts in stock. It is all the small things that make the most impact on the build. I will post a few more progress pics in the next couple of days to keep you up to date.

Nothing is availability for the 2+2 I spent along time trying to find a bob tail. Other styles available if you want something different.

http://m.ebay.com.au/itm/DATSUN-240Z-260Z-REAR-BOBTAIL-SPOILER-/231315801779 This is from the 240z. They are about 1-1/2" to narrow for the 2+2 but there is nothing in the bobtail form to suit the 2+2 yet. Fitment is quite easy but the outer bolt tabs are right on the edge of the hatch. So I am using 4 of the 6 fixing point's. Maby bit of sicka on the edges for final assembly. All in all a good option.

All fitted up today. It is a little narrow for the 2+2 but I think it works quite well.

I got to spend a few more hours in the shed today fitting all of the guts back into the two door shell's. When I pulled them apart about 2 years ago I took a large number of photos to be my memory when re fitting was to be done, but they were not required and the whole process went quite smooth. If any one is to pull the door apart the sequence is as follows. 260z 2+2 guide 240z should be the same except for the removal of the upperdoor handle. as is does not exist. 1. Remove the window steel frame work be careful as the bolts at the front of the frame work will more than likely brake off due to rust. 2. Undo the 4 screws holding the glass to the winder mechanism. Wind the window up and down to gain access to these. 3. Pull glass out. 4. Remove the glass guide rails front and rear, 3 x 17mm nuts each side. DO NOT adjust the height adaptors as this will slow down reassembly. 5. Remove the four screws holding the winder mechanism and the 2 screws that stop it from swivelling located on the inner door skin then remove complete unit. 6. Unclip the plastic clip from the rod that connects on to the door lock. Then remove the latch assembly 3 small philips head screws on the outer skin this will allow it to fall into the door frame. Undo the upper and lower door handles screws and disconect the lower handle from the long rod that runs up to the door latch, then undo the 2 pivot point bolts for this rod and the upper handle rod. All of these components Will come out the large hole at the bottom of the door, except the glass. Assembly is the reverse of this sequence I hope this will help save you some time on your builds.

Nice work mate. This will be one fun toy, enjoy.

Unwrapped the car today after the paint job. It turned out perfect. Now let the paint harden up for a week then bolt it back together then a bit more sanding, priming then paint. The trim should be ready this week. Went from brown to black.

Thanks dat240z The luvered inspection lids get rid of the engine bay heat really well. I have only had the car on stands to test them with a pedestal fan feeding the radiator and the amount of heat that comes out of these vents is about 90deg. And it keeps the hood temp down quite a bit. Plus they look cool to.

Just a few more pics

Finally finished sanding and today was paint time. 4 coats of base red 3 coats of metalic red 7 coats of candy 4 coats of clear And this only tool 11 hours to do. The next car I paint will be flat white. It is all worth the effort the finished results are awesome. This red at certain angles is near black and other angles it sparkling red is so bright.

Thanks for the offer guys. I have purchased a bre bobtail spoiler and will do some grafting to make it work on the 2+2. Not alot of options available for the old zed.

Nice work mate. A handy tool to have is a air operated punch and flange tool. This allows you to put a step in the patch panel and overlay the patch on the job by about 10mm making it a stronger repair instead of doing a butt weld. Also saves you blowing holes through the metal when welding. This reminds me of all the work I have done on my z. keep up the posts.

Finished the guards today all primed up ready for paint. I really like the fluted look, just breaks up the front end a bit. They are a patch panel available from rare spares to suit a HJ, HZ Monaro. If you are thinking if doing this expect to spend at least 4 days per guard to get them right. The welding process really makes the guard warp and twist. But the final result is very cool. I will post a few more pics soon as colour is on the way.

Hey guys I am trying to find a rear bre style spoiler to suit a 260z 2+2 any info? And has any one fitted a 240z spoiler on to a 260 2+2 ? I have measured the rear of my 260 and it is a bit fatter than the 240 also the hatch angle is not as steep as the 240. I have looked into other threads on various sights and no real helpful info so hoping experience can help.

Finally got the z back to the ground. Fitted the new wheels and tyres to it today. 18 x 235 x 40 with +15 offset running 10mm spacers in the front.

Spent today in the shed modifying the rear spoiler to take the new twin 3" exhaust system. I used alloy nutserts to hold it on to the car body this time instead of the self tappers used 20 years ago. A small skim of bog on a few parts before the high fill primer. Another step closer.