Chris159
Club Member
Hi all, After acquiring my 260z last year I have been keeping somewhat in the shadows on here until now, after meeting some of you guys over the last couple of months when acquiring parts I thought it would be good to get a proper build thread on the go. Back in 2018 I had been looking for the right project for over a year when I decided to take the plunge and acquire a rusty UK delivered 260z that had been off the road for some time and needed some serious attention, and as with all projects as you look deeper the more you find, this became apparent earlier this year.
My plans for the build are to create a usable but period in keeping rally car that is close to the privateer and works cars seen in the era, the goal is to make the build eligible to allow me to take part in regularity rally reliably or even tarmac rallies in the future with a good base car. I know this won’t be easy but I’m up for the challenge.
After getting the Z home and oust my dad’s Mini Cooper out of the garage that I’ve spend to long underneath getting covered in rust and fighting BMW’s first attempt at a mini, I started striping it down to the shell over the winter months while bagging and marking all the parts that came off as my memory is rubbish and I know from experience in a year or mores time I will have forgotten what bolt goes where.
After getting it down to a shell, mounting it to basic rotisserie and sending it off to a local media blaster in April the list of work I needed to undertake needed become longer.
Since then I planned out what needed to be done to get the shell sorted and started acquiring as many prefabricated panels so I could use to get my Z back on track. In May I made a very productive trip north up to see woody and get some great panels he is producing to help sort out the majority of rust eaten shell.
Earlier in June I then made another trip south to see IbanezDan51 for a massive time saving and originality bonus to help out the patchwork quilt front end of my 260z with a front end cut of a 73 240z imported form the US and then continuing down to see Mr.F to pick up some US repair panels I can massage in to shape.
My next step is strengthen the shell and making a full chassis jig for the shell to sit on, measured fully allowing for the removal of parts like the chassis legs as there will be a lot of cutting and fabrication to the front of the car. After following some of the other amazing build and peoples dedication on here I’m looking forward to getting started on mine and sharing the rest of the journey from rust to rally with you all.
My plans for the build are to create a usable but period in keeping rally car that is close to the privateer and works cars seen in the era, the goal is to make the build eligible to allow me to take part in regularity rally reliably or even tarmac rallies in the future with a good base car. I know this won’t be easy but I’m up for the challenge.
After getting the Z home and oust my dad’s Mini Cooper out of the garage that I’ve spend to long underneath getting covered in rust and fighting BMW’s first attempt at a mini, I started striping it down to the shell over the winter months while bagging and marking all the parts that came off as my memory is rubbish and I know from experience in a year or mores time I will have forgotten what bolt goes where.
After getting it down to a shell, mounting it to basic rotisserie and sending it off to a local media blaster in April the list of work I needed to undertake needed become longer.
Since then I planned out what needed to be done to get the shell sorted and started acquiring as many prefabricated panels so I could use to get my Z back on track. In May I made a very productive trip north up to see woody and get some great panels he is producing to help sort out the majority of rust eaten shell.
Earlier in June I then made another trip south to see IbanezDan51 for a massive time saving and originality bonus to help out the patchwork quilt front end of my 260z with a front end cut of a 73 240z imported form the US and then continuing down to see Mr.F to pick up some US repair panels I can massage in to shape.
My next step is strengthen the shell and making a full chassis jig for the shell to sit on, measured fully allowing for the removal of parts like the chassis legs as there will be a lot of cutting and fabrication to the front of the car. After following some of the other amazing build and peoples dedication on here I’m looking forward to getting started on mine and sharing the rest of the journey from rust to rally with you all.