Russell's 260Z 2+2 Restoration

Russell

Club Member
So the car is stripped and ready for the body shop to do their bit. I haven't been able to track down the "B" pillars anywhere yet and it looks like I will need to source a new rear slam panel if anyone has any ideas where to get one? It looked OK on the surface but upon removal of the lights it looks like only the paint is holding it together!

Anyway pics so far...









 

Russell

Club Member
Few more picture updates for this week.
Welding has begun and the roof has now had all the rust cut out and new metal fabricated in its place.




The donor doors I bought which were good turned out not to be so good at the bottoms after about 3 inches of filler was removed. I got them sand blasted in the end to see whats left and make sure all the rust was addressed.
The bottom of this one is luckily the worst of it. the rest of the door and the other one is no where near as bad.




The wings always looked like they were perfect and would just need a blow over but there was some micro blistering in the paint. However many hours of sanding and filling later they are getting there

 

Russell

Club Member
Starting to go over the pile of parts in the garage to get them ready to go back on when the car comes back.

I have noticed that the metal clips inside the chrome trim that goes around the roof gutter down the windscreen gutter are pretty rusty. The actual trim itself is perfect.

Any idea where I can get new ones from?
 

uk66fastback

Club Member
All looking good - I'd be covering that interior and as as much as I could of the engine bay etc, that filler dust gets 'everywhere' ...
 

andrew muir

Club Member
I was looking for those a while back but think they are no longer availiable, if you find a source let me know.
Nice to see another 2+2 getting restored!:thumbs:

Starting to go over the pile of parts in the garage to get them ready to go back on when the car comes back.

I have noticed that the metal clips inside the chrome trim that goes around the roof gutter down the windscreen gutter are pretty rusty. The actual trim itself is perfect.

Any idea where I can get new ones from?
 

Russell

Club Member
So, work continues and the car should be in primer by the end of this week. I would love to have the money to completely strip the car to the shell, sand blast and start from scratch but alas, I do not.

There have been quite a few delays getting it this far as the paintwork had hidden some previous poor repairs and much more underlying rust than I had expected and budgeted for.

Anyway, here are some pictures of how it stands today









 

Russell

Club Member
Car is now all one colour!

Decided to change colour in the end as I was never 100% taken with the Blue.

Collecting on Monday and I can start to put it back together.







 

s2k_adz

Club Member
This looks awesome Russ! Yours is still the only Z Ive actually driven!!!

Have you seen the 2+2 in white from Sweden? Its all over instagram etc with 1000bhp!
 

Russell

Club Member
I know there are only a few 2+2 owners on here but hoping someone can help me out with the rear quarter light and B pillar challenge I have.

The B pillars have been made good but are by no means 100%. Whilst talking to Paul (farmer42) he suggested that I could change to the older style where the B pillar isnt even used.

I have found some in good condition and can see that they just bolt into the same place on the door shut but I cant find much information on the tops. Is there another bracket I need that as well and will it all just bolt into the same original location?

Thanks
 

toopy

Club Member
I know there are only a few 2+2 owners on here but hoping someone can help me out with the rear quarter light and B pillar challenge I have.

The B pillars have been made good but are by no means 100%. Whilst talking to Paul (farmer42) he suggested that I could change to the older style where the B pillar isnt even used.

I have found some in good condition and can see that they just bolt into the same place on the door shut but I cant find much information on the tops. Is there another bracket I need that as well and will it all just bolt into the same original location?

Thanks

That's not something i have ever heard of being done before, not in the UK anyway because there's so few of us to of tried it previously!

I would think its a case of buy'em and see if they will fit, if not, you can sell them on, but i would of thought its probably better to source a better pair of B pillar's from europe somewhere :unsure:
 

Russell

Club Member
That's not something i have ever heard of being done before, not in the UK anyway because there's so few of us to of tried it previously!

I would think its a case of buy'em and see if they will fit, if not, you can sell them on, but i would of thought its probably better to source a better pair of B pillar's from europe somewhere :unsure:

I agree and by B Pillars really do look pretty much perfect now.

The older style ones I have found are complete with correct rubber etc.

I looked at mine properly this evening and it looks like its just a different bracket at the top for the post to slot into.

I think I will put mine back together and if I don't feel its good enough I can go down that route.
 

Farmer42

Club Member
I think the question that would be on my mind is whether the metal remains strong enough to take the hinges for the window pivoting on it without bowing or even breaking. If it bows, you will get wind noise and leakage where it will not seal properly.

I reckon you will have trouble sourcing replacement pillars which is why I suggested using the earlier quarterlight units which are chrome and look stronger. If you are trying to source new B-pillars, I reckon Oz would be a better bet as I understand they had more 2+2s there. Try their owners forum AusZcar.

However, as said before, if you are happy with it as it is, leave well alone especially if you have painted it.
 

Russell

Club Member
They are definitely strong enough as they have been welded up properly.

The other reason I would consider it is that the seals that go over them are ruined and pretty much the only ones I couldn't source anywhere.
 

Russell

Club Member
So a bit of an update with some pictures as everyone likes a photo, especially shiny ones!

Having spent many evenings upsetting my wife by cleaning car parts in the kitchen (FYI apparently the kitchen side is an area for food preparation only not for piles of lights, wiring, brackets, clips and rubber) I have got everything looking pretty nice.



Quite proud of how the rear badge came out which was looking really tatty.



So the car arrived home



with the help of my youngest, doing her best to scratch it with her doll and backpack that has to go everywhere



Started bolting pieces back on and its looking a lot better now. I'm really happy with how the B pillars came out considering how bad they were







There is still a lot to do, mainly getting the doors to fit and rewiring the lights. I am changing to H4 halogens to rewiring them so they go through separate relays, the sidelights are now inside the main lights and the front indicators are LEDs that will be hidden in the grill.

Pretty happy so far...
 

Russell

Club Member
So while I went to scavenge a few final bits from the plucky donor 2+2 I have I spotted the VIN plate and noticed how early it was.
Mine isn't exactly a late one at 10227 but this one is within the first thousand!


A couple of small issues lead me to think that it may be slightly too far gone for even the bravest of enthusiasts though!





The main pictures are a bit older so some more bits are missing but if anyone needs any bits before it gets turned back into coke cans and Zanussi washing machines, let me know...
 

Russell

Club Member
You should probably cut off the rear quarters just in case you get rear ended as there are no more to be had else where!

Not a bad shout, not sure how much of them are still there but at least the main shape is still there to work from.

Storage is the issue though, don't have somewhere to store them for a just in case.
 

andrew muir

Club Member
Its a good point and something the club should address in my opinion.
A small lockup somewhere central to store all the rare and treasured parts.
Not sure how it would run though??
 
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