1979 UK S130 - 2 Seater Non-Turbo

WazzaJB

Club Member
Hi Warren.

Looks like a nice little project you've got there. :thumbs:

If you need any assistance feel free to give me shout, more than happy to offer up my experiences when doing my rebuild.

Most obvious is don't throw anything away as some bits are not as easy to get as others think. There are still a few good sources of 280ZX bits about however.

They rust in all the obvious places as you will no doubt have been told (front scuttle, front valance, doors, sills, tail gate - everywhere really). I had very bad rust in the inner wings and chassis rails especially the dog leg where the handbrake mechanism fixes to it.

If yours has still got the reciprocating ball steering set up (loads of rods, ball joints and big old steering box), it would be worth while you sourcing a power steering rack, steering pump and steering column from a later model. Its an easy mod and makes so much difference to the handing.

Derricks thread has some great photos for reference:

https://zclub.net/community/index.p...resto-pics-what-do-u-think-made-bigger.16715/

My Resto thread is not so details but may have something to help:

https://zclub.net/community/index.php?threads/280zx-never-ending-rebuild.17434/page-6#post-277573

All the best with it and look forward to following your progress.

Huw
Hey Huw, thanks for the huge response! Will definitely reach out when we inevitably hit road blocks.

We have a lot of spares and don't intent to let any go until we're finished :)

Yeah there is a lot of rust, most concerning is that I can see through the bottom of the doors... Don't fancy trying to source replacement doors though.

I believe it does have the ball steering set up, upgrading to power steering will definitely be on the cards down the road.

Looking at yours and Derricks is great motivation, I assume your rust was as bad as his? Either way, they change is amazing. Just shows with the right amount of time, care and effort you can achieve lots. Definitely makes our project worth it!
 

WazzaJB

Club Member
Anytime.

https://zclub.net/community/index.php?media/users/huw.85/albums

Some pics I didn't get around to adding to my thread, because I took so long doing my car I never really started a thread until much later down the line. My car was as about as rusty as Derricks I would say once you got beneath the paint and underseal!
Some pics!? There's loads! Love seeing a project documented like this.

Thanks for the link, shows you had a lot more nasties to deal with than I first thought.

If you don't mind me asking, do you have an appraised value for your car now?
 

Huw

Club Member
Not at all. Moggy did a club valuation for me 3 years ago at £12,000. That figure is a replacement cost figure for insurance and not a reflection of 'value' to sell. Which is a completely different bun fight in its own right!!
 

WazzaJB

Club Member
Not at all. Moggy did a club valuation for me 3 years ago at £12,000. That figure is a replacement cost figure for insurance and not a reflection of 'value' to sell. Which is a completely different bun fight in its own right!!
That's brilliant, I'll be honest that's about what I had in mind but would fully expect to pay more for an example like yours if buying.
 

WazzaJB

Club Member
Started stripping what is left of the interior today, only the steering column and pedals left really with some loom.

Onto removing the engine and panels ready for fixing up the body then!
 

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Huw

Club Member
Are you taking the screen out? Beggars bonded in. Comes out easy enough though. I used an old steel guitar string (big E sting ) with two dowels as handles as a saw to cut through the stuff holding it in. Will need two of you to do it, one holding one end on the inside, one outside with the other end. Fun times :rolleyes:
 

WazzaJB

Club Member
Me and my brother have a full week next week on the S130, we'll have to send customer orders out but that is all.

Given that, we decided to get a better look at what we're dealing with - taking the wings and doors off to start with.

Oh lord, what have we gotten ourselves into? I have a welder & fabricator coming in on Tuesday and he's not going to have a pleasant time of this.


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SacCyclone

Club Member
ok, I'm scared for you.

If you find that it will be thousands in metal work, might have me look for a solid ZX stateside to send over and convert to RHD with the parts you have?????
Mike
 

WazzaJB

Club Member
ok, I'm scared for you.

If you find that it will be thousands in metal work, might have me look for a solid ZX stateside to send over and convert to RHD with the parts you have?????
Mike
Appreciate the offer Mike! I think I'd be more interested in a S30 shell to transplant the L28 and RHD parts I have into.

I am seriously worried about next week, the car is a bit worse than "a few bad spots" originally suspected. Still, we're committed to giving it a go so will sand and grind it all back and see what we're left with!

This will never be a concourse car, but if we can get it structurally sound with a smooth exterior I'll be happy enough.

Such a shame that the PO has welded whatever tin cans he had on hand to "repair" it... Really upsets me that it could even get to this state but we'll do what we can.
 

WazzaJB

Club Member
Seen this?

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1078149

Dodgy advert however it may be worth a phone call?
Cheers Rob, although I'm fairly sure this is the one mentioned earlier in the thread that sold for 5.5k?

I have to be honest, me and my brother were looking for a big project to share after my dad passed. If this one doesn't work out we'll just sell the spares we have and call it a bad experience.

We just don't have thousands to throw at this immediately unfortunately.
 

richiep

Club Member
Appreciate the offer Mike! I think I'd be more interested in a S30 shell to transplant the L28 and RHD parts I have into.

That’s not going to work. The L28, yes; but nothing else is going to be of use from an S130 in an S30 shell - they are fundamentally different in pretty much all respects. No RHD components from a 130 will transfer to a 30.
 

Huw

Club Member
Having looked at those pictures Warren , I’m inclined to agree with the others on the thread. I think you will spend as much of not more that the cost of another shell employing a welder fabricator to do the repairs. That Door pillar repair is going to be a big job in its own right. I also don’t like the look of the previous repairs to the inner wings. There is a drainage channel behind that and it must be put back or water will pool in the inner wing/bulk head. I will put money they will have rotted away.

Tough one mate. Unless you are handy with a welder and like a challenge I would be inclined to either re-shell it or look for a better example.
 
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