280Z - Miscellaneous Upgrades

[WazzaJB]

Hey everyone

It's been a hell of a long time since I posted on here, sincerely hope everyone has been doing well! I have tried to keep up to date but fell pretty short of that.

Long story short, some family and I bought a small-holding to build our dream houses on, which has been my primary focus. I get a pretty decent workshop out of it, which was the goal for me to house the Datsun and an office.

With that going on for the last 18 months, the 280Z has been really neglected (although dry stored in a barn at least!).

I'm realistically not going to get any time to work on the Datsun and it's been a bit unloved... Basically doing the bare minimum to keep it on the road so I could take it out for half an hour every few months.

I've decided to leave it with some friends for them to do the work for me, they specialise in classic restorations (They had a few Aston Martins, a Mustang, and a Golf GTI in when I visited them). I'm confident they will take good care of it and they are very like minded so understand my vision for the car. Figured I would try and keep this thread up to date to kind of document the process.

This is the car when I first saw it before collecting it from Chris:



So... As of 2 weeks ago this was it:



To date all I have done to it is:

- Removed US Bumpers
- Atara Psiang 15"
- BC Racing Coilovers
- Corbeau Seats
- Skillard Grill with 240z Indicators
- Rear Strut Bar with Harnesses

This was the picture I got the following week captioned "No turning back now":



I don't want to say too much about where it's going because things can change, but I will certainly do my best to keep this thread going!

 

[WazzaJB]

(Should I be putting the pictures in full size or as thumbnails!? What do people prefer?)

I went over a week after dropping them the car with a Subaru Legacy FULL to the brim of parts I collected:

- RHD dashboard
- 240Z center console
- RHD pedal box
- RHD heater matrix
- RHD wiper linkage
- RHD steering column
- RHD steering rack
- RHD scuttle panel
- Dog leg repair panel
- Headlight covers
- Front and rear bumpers
- Full rubber kit
- Heated Seat Wiring Kit (aiming for a daily!)

I think they were impressed with the amount of stuff I had collected, but it meant they could get cracking! I can't believe how quickly they did too, the guys are moving through the car.

Soon had the trim off and patched up:



Replaced the poorly dog leg, and had to do some repairs behind too:



Started to patch in the side markers!




I am really pleased so far, I dropped it off two weeks ago...

 

[Bazzateer]

Looks like they know what they're doing.

 

[datsfun]

Sterling effort. Looks like its in good hands

 

[WazzaJB]

Also, just to say that they were incredibly impressed with the condition of the car. Even in spite of the fact I have neglected it a little over the years. I can't thank @chrisvega enough really for everything he did 3 years ago to land me a solid car, such a great base to work on

Forgot to add! I ordered T3s big brake kit today, front and rear, alongside some minor Skillard goodies - rock guards, window rubber wipe kit, and 240Z bumper mounting kit.

Probably going to get asked about paint... I was insisting on going for a modern red, but the guys polished a wing to give me an indication of what the orange (sorry, persimmon red) could look like:



Yeah, I'm keeping it orange.

 

[Mark N]

+1 for @chrisvega, he supplied my first 280Z which only required three small patches of rust to be cut out and new metal welded in.

 

[WazzaJB]

+1 for @chrisvega, he supplied my first 280Z which only required three small patches of rust to be cut out and new metal welded in.

I really feel like I owe Chris and the club big time, can't put into words my gratitude really. Had I made a different decision, not had the guidance and help, I'm not sure I would still have an S30 given the challenges people face (both financially and emotionally!) when tackling a poor shell.

 

[uk66fastback]

Fantastic stuff. Yes, keep it 110!

 

[Paul_S]

Great work! Keep the thread alive with updates please

 

[Nik]

That looks awesome. Seeing this makes me want to carry on with mine.

 

[chrisvega]

Many thanks for the big-ups Warren and Mark, really touched to see the appreciation
There are quite a few others here on the forum to whom I've sold S30Z's over recent years and always nice to progress the stories and see the end results.
Always tried to import the most worthy examples and only sell cars I would happily own myself.

I now live in Portugal, near Estoril circuit and after 33 years have (almost) retired from what for me has always been the most interesting of sideline/hobby business'.
I say almost as co-incidentally I have just bought a late model 280Z from an old contact in the Sonoma wine country, old habits die hard!
One owner, original paint, 72k miles ticks all the boxes.
Will be available for sale in UK/Europe when arrives in a couple of months, plug, plug........ well someone has to keep me in stock of Superbock

 

[Alphabettispaghetti]

Glad you're well Chris. did you sell the place in Woodbury? good to hear you're keeping your hands 'oily'.

 

[chrisvega]

Glad you're well Chris. did you sell the place in Woodbury? good to hear you're keeping your hands 'oily'.

Thanks Jason, not been in the Woodbury unit for a couple of years or so now. Still have the barn in Cheshire shared with Richie P and some storage space not too far from you in Devon. I haven't been able to bring a Z over here as there is a ridiculous emission tax (ISV) on all imports with no allowance for age. EU ruled this illegal but the Govt here prefers to pay the fines to EU and make a huge profit on the surplus. To bring a 240Z over would cost around 32,000 euros in ISV tax alone and now we are no longer in the EU add VAT at 23% on top, you can see it's just not viable. No wonder prices of cars here in general and especially classics are amongst the highest in Europe!

 

[Alphabettispaghetti]

Thanks Jason, not been in the Woodbury unit for a couple of years or so now. Still have the barn in Cheshire shared with Richie P and some storage space not too far from you in Devon. I haven't been able to bring a Z over here as there is a ridiculous emission tax (ISV) on all imports with no allowance for age. EU ruled this illegal but the Govt here prefers to pay the fines to EU and make a huge profit on the surplus. To bring a 240Z over would cost around 32,000 euros in ISV tax alone and now we are no longer in the EU add VAT at 23% on top, you can see it's just not viable. No wonder prices of cars here in general and especially classics are amongst the highest in Europe!

I thought its expensive there because of all the tax perks of moving there

can you have a uk reg car and move it out every 5 months or so?

 

[chrisvega]

I thought its expensive there because of all the tax perks of moving there

can you have a uk reg car and move it out every 5 months or so?

Nice to see you are up to speed

No, unfortunately they have all bases covered.
As a Portuguese resident you are not allowed to drive a foreign registered car.
There are regular random roadside checks by police with no reason necessary to pull you over, just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

[Rushingphil]

Looks like I'll have to review my retirement plans :-(

 

[WazzaJB]

Little update on progress; the Skillard goodies have arrived so I am looking forward to seeing how the FRP bumpers fit!

The guys have finished cleaning up and replacing the boot sill alongside making a start on the firewall.

 

[WazzaJB]

The wilwoods have arrived from T3 and they look absolutely incredible... sadly I am an idiot and forgot to take a picture though.

Car is booked in for paint at the end of September, so it's a case of working towards that now.

Photos attached showing firewall work, booster and steering etc.

Yes, the booster will be reconditioned!

 

[Mr Tenno]

The guys have finished cleaning up and replacing the boot sill alongside making a start on the firewall.

Don't forget on the slam panel you also need to drill the holes for the light surrounds. Made that mistake myself!

 

[WazzaJB]

Don't forget on the slam panel you also need to drill the holes for the light surrounds. Made that mistake myself!

Oooh nice one, will pass that on! Thanks