1978 Datsun 280Z

[camerashy]

Dec 19, 2011 11:51:26 GMT luckygti said:

Wow, just caught up on all of the drama. Great to see a new car to receive the long planned treatment, such a shame that the old one was in such a state. Coming to Toronto for new year, how far away are you from downtown/Newmarket?

Take note...Toronto is close...Newmarket is only a bit further.

maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=Waterloo,+Ontario&daddr=Newmarket,+ON&hl=en&sll=43.861267,-79.366608&sspn=0.544593,0.883026&geocode=FUI2lwIdJlsz-ykrZ_5fVvEriDGQHSPHKHsDBQ%3BFd0woAIdDYxD-ylPAa7wC9IqiDGP3HIAc785yw&vpsrc=0&gl=ca&mra=ls&t=m&z=9

It's about an hour up the 401 to Toronto (where I will likely be on NYE) but the girlfriend is flying in from B.C. on the 30th, PM me and let me know where you think you will be and I'll see if we can meet for drinks. Chances are though, I will be booked up. Pretty busy time at the moment!

[lee4391]

Really enjoyed reading this. I have an obscene love for these cars. The sounds of an L28 on triple side drafts sounds so good. Book marked.

[camerashy]

In keeping with tradition...tonight we're drinking....from the Big Rock brewery of Calgary, Alberta...and from Dublin, Ireland...



Warthog and Guinness.

A fine combination.

Anyway...back to Christmasy business...earlier...I took a $5 cobalt drill bit, one rubbish drill...and got shot of the awful bumper strips that have plagued this car since it left the dealers.



+



=




Who knows, maybe someone even wants to buy the ugly things.

In less cold efforts...I have gotten a step closer to making the interior a bit cosier, so the 'swatch' of fabric I bought, came today, and it turned out to be a huge thing of it, very impressed with the quality, although the diamonds could do with being a touch bigger I think. Definitely going to have this as a new headliner, it's where else I should put it that is puzzling me...




So should I use it to recover the fibreboard door panel? i.e. this..



L=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/194/pc230250c.jpg/][/URL]

These also came to replace the large armrests/door pulls




Can anyone follow where I'm trying to go with this? I mean I love Nakaemae interiors for MX5's.





I also love the Umbrella Auto interior they did on a R-35 GTR.



I can't afford Ultrasuede, and a miata interior won't fit a Datsun, can anyone else see with the diamond fabric, what I'm trying to do, or am I totally bonkers? I almost think it needs some white/silver stitching following the contours of the door panel as a highlight to keep it classy looking. The other thought was basketweave vinyl.

Thoughts on a postcard please peoples.

[Ian]

When I first saw the fabric, I wasnt convinced, but seeing the MX5 and GTR interiors, I really like the plans.

[gn3dr]

Yeah - know what you mean - something like this?

from here
www.dep-o.co.uk/2011/08/along-came-a-spider/

[camerashy]

So in a slightly drunk state...I wandered over to Canadian Tire which is like a giant halfords/homebase only considerably cheaper/better/possessing more awesome stuff. There is Princess Auto which is even more awesome, but alas, it's nowhere near my house.

I had to return some Christmas lights that were faulty...I exchanged said Christmas lights and with little better to do...wandered the aisles...I came back with


\

Spur of the moment, and while watching The League, I thought 'heck with it' quit thinking about it, just get on with it. So with that, I stripped off the vinyl, which looking a bit tatty...the pin for the window winder had pierced the vinyl..





So off it came...




...decided which way I wanted the diamonds to point, I.e. vertical or horizontal....made a template...





applied glue liberally to both pieces...and somehow got it right first time. I rollered like crazy to get the fabric to follow the contours of the fibreboard, once it's dry tomorrow I'll tidy up the edges





Looks a bit better than this in my opinion...

[niterida]

Yep that looks cool. Definitely needs to be done to the seat faces too.

[Mystery Machine]

Fiat did something similar too (bad shot, but you get the idea)



Personally, I think the door card needs to be smooth around the main outside surround and then have the diamond pattern in the central recess part. This would mean making a thin piece of board to sit in the recess (a couple of mm smaller) which is covered with the diamond fabric then bonded onto the already covered doorcard. Black vinyl with the diamond insert would look VERY retro.

If you look at all the other pics (MX5, Skyline, Barchetta etc...) you'll see the diamond pattern is always surrounded by, bordered by or broken up by something smooth. This gives a visual break to all the business of the diamonds while drawing your eye to them even more. Call it framing if you like.

Please don't hate me for saying this but I think the doorcard completely covered looks a bit too much and you lose the impact of the effect you're trying to acheive.

I know you're going to laugh right in my face for even suggesting this, but you know what I would do if it were me? (and that the diamond check wasn't quite the right size?) Borrow a sewing machine and get learning. That way you can choose whatever size diamond you like and also choose the colour of the stitching. PLUS....just think how satisfied you'd be when you look at that doorcard and think to youself, "I did that....I actually DID that"

[camerashy]

Yeh I was thinking that MM, it DOES seem a bit much, and almost makes me think of a military helicopter interior - but then...what's wrong with that? I'm waiting on some other fabrics, and given this only cost me a matter of $5 I'm not against not experimenting with the other panel to find what works. That said, I want to try it with the panel 'finished' before I make a decision. I'm waiting on some pop buttons from the UK too so I'll see where I get with that. Again. Nothing is final on this car until I'm happy with it.

Pretty sure further up I mentioned getting hold of a sewing machine, that being said, the more I look at it, the more I prefer the smaller diamonds to the larger ones. Really I need to finish the rest of the interior before I can make a properly informed decision.

[camerashy]

.....it was a cold....cold day...with the five-o pulling people for turning left when they shouldn't....








...but that's okay....because.....








.....Father Christmas has been for a vist......

.........and emptied his sack........

(...okay...okay... so it was a UPS guy wearing a santa hat...but who cares...)

....it was full of presents!!!!

........round ones!.....

...so it says Watanabe on the box...but my friends are well-known for their very elaborate hoaxes... (this one time...at...who cares...)




...hmm...it's circular...



....yes that does appear to infact be a wheel...

Obligatory

...damn well better be!

Rears

New modern art in the living room...

[lee4391]

They are going to look Naughty! I love where this is going.

[meltdown]

trouser changing time......

..loving this just as much 2nd time around too lol....

[camerashy]

I need to stop browsing Kijiji. This SM is within walking distance of my house.



Clicky SM

Sure the engine would denotate and the valves explode if I tried to start it after so long in storage...and I live in Canada...nowhere near anything even reasonably 'Citroen dealer' sounding....but oh my god do I like SM's!



Clicky 600s

The 600's are a little bit further...and I'm damn lucky they're not coupes, or I'd have already picked up both.

[camerashy]

It's -13 degrees at present...windchill takes it to -18...(centigrade) *insert grumble here*

Still...boredom in suburbia gets to even the best of us....so...the used 3 piece fibreglass valance I got from eBay a few months back deserved some love and repairs.



First job. Wash the fibreglass.







Note stress cracking around bolt holes, general damage, cuts made presumably for fogs.



I'll get it rubbed down tomorrow with acetone, sanded, more acetone and some proper fibreglass repair action so I can test fit the air dam I've got for fitment.







Fibreglass repairs tomorrow.

[thechadzone]

My God, man... Your build thread is excellent. I'm not even partial to Japanese cars, but I'm gaining a new appreciation for the 240-280 series as I see your progress.

You've made me further appreciate the heated shop space that I have for my Fiat 124 Sport Coupe build. Good on ya for getting out there when it's below zero out! I know of a complete 280 parts car in Western Oregon if you can't find something you need somewhere else...

[camerashy]

Thanks chadzone I'm okay for parts generally, Canada is pretty good for car parts.

So...some acetone...



Some resin and glass cloth...





At these temperatures...probably 3 days to cure

While I was at it, I figured it best to take off some of the unnecessary brackets that the 280z had that the 260 and 240z's didn't. It fouls the 3 piece valance, so off it came!





I'll tidy it up when I can stomach my hands freezing some more. Also took off some small brackets for the grill, on a 280z the grill is a 'stubby' version of what appears on a 240z, and given it was mostly iron oxide...it went in the bin. I know exactly what I want the grill to be like...it's just finding the material to make it from



Until next time

[audiboy]

So much love for this thread! Certainly worthy of a build-threads feature! Out of interest, what'd you do for the day job?

[Deleted]

Jan 16, 2011 3:10:27 GMT du13ster said:

Still keeping an eye on this great thread, however no I have a confession to make. I did vote for the subtle orange, no flares & narrow wheels. I saw this picture and have changed my mind so I hope that it gives you a liitle food for thought....Keep up the great work!!!

[Deleted]

This is an awesome thread about an awesome car. I must have one of these.

[camerashy]

...Oh Mummy.