scuff plate – the DAILY DATSUN

April 23, 2012

Datsun 280z: Gutted

Yesterday I started to tear down the 280z.
In about 2.5 hrs, I had the car just about 80% done before it can go to the painter.

Carpet: out.
Seats: gone.
Passenger door: stripped.
Center console: removed.
Passenger side door trim / seal: off.

Just need to remove the driver side door / trim, all the lights, and most importantly the windows…
And I need to make more room in the garage to store all this.

We’ll let the pics do the talking.

with the door paneling off, i was able to grease up the sticky door locks. NO MORE CRAWLING THROUGH THE BACK HATCH TO UNLOCK THE DOORS! :]

Like a well worn couch, it’s amazing what you’ll find after 35yrs…

… a nasty 400W amp under the driver seat (that’s probably 400W PMP (max rating) haha, so more like 100W).

And i’m now $0.39 richer. Oldest coin here though is 1983 (the quarter).

January 18, 2012

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!

November 27, 2011

Scuff and rubber

Any natural material or substance has a tendency to crack and wear over time – rubber and glue is no exception.

So yesterday’s gorgeous morning resulted in replacing the rubber hood bumpers on both the top and sides of the engine bay…

As well as attacking the scuff plates – all the glue was cracked / too old, and the vinyl covering was just peeling off. And just check out all that rust!

Now don’t get alarmed – the rust is localized to the scuff plate only. There seems to have been a white plastic barrier placed in between the carpet and scuff plate.. though, not really sure of the logic in that.

Kris and i figured out a great method for removing the old vinyl covering from the scuff plates – a heat gun! At 450F, that’s hot enough to soften the glue, but unfortunately also hot enough to melt the vinyl. So the trick is to heat the scuff plate from the BACK side, and slowly peel off the vinyl.

And as a minor addition, got a replacement escutcheon (door handle well) cover for the driver side door handle from Black Dragon Automotive. Quality is adequate – looks the same as original, feels a bit lighter and cheaper plastic-like, but fit is only “okay”. It doesn’t sit square with the metal escutcheon, but though there’s a slight angle to it, it not really noticeable.