Tag: paint

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Scuff plate – scuffed and painted

Finally, the Datsun 280z gets a little interior treatment with refurbished scuff plates – those nice vinyl covered plates along the door sill.  A little ways back I posted a bit on a great way to remove the original vinyl from the scuff plate. Now it’s time to finish them up. Original condition showed dirty, torn up, peeling vinyl covering the rust. Preventing rust is great, but by go through great lengths to clean these up, when they’re only $30 / piece at BlackDragonAuto.com?

Well in this day in age, we’re a culture trying to get out of the wasteful / throw-away mentality. Nearly everything can be replaced with something new. But often times we’re replacing something that’s still functional, still can serve its purpose – often the reason is just cosmetic! So the 280z restoration parts flow will go something like this: Part missing / need to be replaced? > Can it be refurbished / repaired? > Can a used one be found? > Can a used one be refurbished / repaired? > Can a new part be found? Sounds good to me.

 

The scuff plates after peeling off the torn, encrusted vinyl with the heat gun.

Used a rust inhibiting primer, then a truck-bed paint spray to give it that textured rugged look! After all, it IS a scuff plate for when the shoes are on the door sill!

 

 

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New Digs – Part 2: New Shoes

Well as they say, New Shirt… New Shoes!

You may have seen the “New Shirt” poll for the 280z’s new paint (which will finish at the end of the month), but with a new paint job, how can you not have new rims?! right?… right?

Current situation:
Tires: Front tires are worn, cracking, need to be replaced. Rear tires are new, excellent tread.
Wheels: Original Nissan “Iron Cross” wheels, 14×6, zero offset, 4×114.3 bolt pattern

I could rock those for a bit… or taste these!

Rota RB-R, 16×8, +4mm offset, Matte Black

They’ve got great style like the retro Panasport or Watanabe wheels without the cost. And off an 1″ more width than the Konig Rewinds. Yep you read my mind: Bad Ass.

As for the right rubber, I’ll probably be running 205/55-16 to help keep the overall tire diameter / circumference the same (wouldn’t want my mileage / speed to be off).

It’s been interesting to read all the forums and learn about what wheels sizes to choose and what offset means.
Here’s a few good resources for that: Wheel Calculator, Wheel Offset

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New Digs – Part 1: New Shirt

First wash of the new years. After getting back from vacation, the 280z was slathered w/ dirt, berries, and other mess like a well frosted cupcake. Seriously as if we lived next door to Angry Birds. Amazing what a fresh wash can do!

Scrubbing the car down also gave me a chance to really assess the paint situation panel by panel. As mentioned before, some are in horrid condition (the repaint is just peeling off w/ ease), and other sections seemed well bonded. Either way, it’s really leaving me no choice but to sand and re-paint it all.

Here are a few *amazing* examples:

Don’t forget to wipe up the drool!

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Happy Datsun New Years!

*breaths in* … Jan 1st!

Smells like a new year! With only a few months on, the 280z’s path is becoming clearer. This year is going to be a wonderful challenge as both time and $$ are great factors – wedding, life, you know, the usual!

Let me tell you straight up, i love Jetblue – that DirectTV is great… especially when you’ve got the Speed channel replaying the last Barrett-Jackson auctions! Dad and I started watching in the morning, then I continued all throughout the flight, and it wrapped up as we landed. **salivating** Every car across that stage is amazing – so much to gawk at: Malibus, 442s, 350s, Stingrays, shiny and matte finishes, wood, metal – incredible. What’s great too are all the ideas you get for restoring / modifying your car! Yep, the Datsun’s definitely got something to aspire to.

ImageThis year, the goal is to get both the exterior and interior done up:
EXTERIOR – 920 Gold Poly; black undercarridge
INTERIOR – 240z reminiscent w/ a strong ode to the Vox amps of the 50’s/60’s

… or Black with the Fender tweed interior (as it’d be much more recognizable.. oy!

Well just a short post today – Happy New Years
Can’t wait to work on some mock ups for this – it’s gonna be great!

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Morning spark

[edit – do you want the BEST spark plug for your Datsun 240z, 260z, or 280z? Check out the newer post!]

Just a light morning today – a few little things here and there.
But i mostly just sat in the car the whole morning… sigh! ^__^

Spark plugs – ordered some spark plugs the other day. Previously had Bosch Super’s and inspection showed a lot of carbon build up (normal wear stuff), some corrosion around the outside plug nut, so it’s time to change. Replaced w/ Bosch Platinum Plus’ and what a difference; engine ran much smoother. Bosch Platinum Plus, Mfg#4015

Spray spray – tagged a few spots that were surface rusting till i can get a handle on what to do with the paint – it’s horrible. The re-paint job seemed like it was done without even prepping the original paint! Get this: as the re-paint flakes off, the paint underneath is still good! For a 34 year old car, that clear coat could still shine! ugh.. for now, i don’t mind primer gray on the rust spots.

So after that, I opened the door, sat in there one leg out. Soaking up the sun…and to think about the interior. Oh man, that 70’s shag has got to go. You may have seen from previous pictures, that “black” carpet is light brown! So i’ve been drumming up ideas, materials, deciding whether to keep it stock carpet or not, etc… but for now, i’ll just soak up that sun.

Bad paint! Bad!

 So if removing the bad re-paint ultimately means scuffing up the original paint, then this is the color that i’m thinking: Marigold! Original color is a 240z color called  ‘gold poly’, Datsun color#920.

Beautiful.

If you want THIS one, it’s actually up for sale at All Datsun Classifieds.

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