I had some time this weekend to finally put on that front bumper.
I bought a bumper on CL a while back, and while it isn’t in perfect condition (dent in front), it’ll do for now. On with the install! (and lots of pics)
You’ll need:
– bolts that held in the 280z bumper shocks
– nuts that held on the 280z bumper to the shocks
– 14mm socket wrench
– drill w/ a bit between 1/2″ and 3/8″ bit (if you’re going to drill the 2nd hole into the frame)
A few posts ago, I was cleaning up whipping into shape those stainless steel Z bumper brackets in order to put a 240z bumper on a 280z. Now that they’re ready to go, it’s time to fit the bumper.
After some finagling, I figured out how the brackets should go and attached to the car frame. Here’s a diagram:
Note: the brackets point outward and positioned so that the slots are on the lower half. You can see where the existing hole lines up.
However, the bumper guards didn’t exactly line up! Ugh – off by an 1/4″ on both sides. So for now, off they go, until I can figure something out (because I do like them!).
A quick dry fit – not too bad. From the bird’s eye view, you can really see that dent. Eh, we’ll roll with it for now!
Okay, so the bumper isn’t show room, but I at least want to clean out some rust and polish that chrome up. But first, and little straightening.
The inside was fairly rusted so i took to it with a drill wire brush attachment, primed with rust enamel and finished it with good ol truck bed lining black. At least it’ll look super clean should anyone take a peek.
0000 (quadruple zero) steel wool is the way to go for cleaning up chrome. Anything more coarse will just leave scratches. Here’s what looks to be some oxidation and left over gray paint over-spray from the previous owner. Cleaned up nicely with the 0000 steel wool and polished with Mother’s chrome / mag polish. And now i can see the reflection of the car.
Another example of cleaning on the license plate tabs.
Mount and screw with the existing bolts / nuts from the 280z bumper… viola!
Overall, not too bad of a fitment. The brackets (if i may say once again) are a little less than desirable, so be prepared to modify them to get the right fit. At stock, the brackets are pretty much maxed out, pushing right up against the frame of the car, so I won’t be able to move the bumper back any further. There are additional bolts that help keep the bumper in plain with the ground, and they barely meet up. If you notice from the passenger side picture, the bumper tip and hole into the body don’t quite match up (which could also be in part to the dented bumper). I’ll figure something out, but for now, I’m happy.
Next up will be drilling some holes in the frame for the 2nd slot in the bumper bracket; give it some some extra stability.
But for now, another 240z bumper has been installed on another 280z, and all is looking good in the Z world.
the DAILY DATSUN 