zxguy1986

Doors look great. A little faded. Just right.

I use Fantastik. Straight from the bottle, damp terrycloth wipe. Cleans up anything.

Hey, that could be pot smoke or real expensive cigars... You never know with a Z that old.

PredatorZ

I know for a fact the previous owner was a chain smoker, ash in every nook and cranny of the console and dash, was pretty nasty. So there is this weird grayish tar residue on everything. I have been using Windex all Surface w/ vinegar, seems to work nicely, I have had to use a tooth brush and scrub pad to get down in the texture of the vinyl.

PredatorZ

Put the finishing touches on my stereo, sounds incredible, I spent several hours just adjusting the sound. I dropped the carpet I had just cleaned into the back, an 86 z31 rear carpet fits pretty nicely in my 280zx. I am going to scrub up the rest of the carpet and see if I can piece it into my car. I installed my main amp that runs the 4 speakers & 4 tweeters on the back of the sub, it is a pretty large amp, so it hides nicely there. I put the amp running the Sub in the drivers side hidden storage area( next to the rear 6 1/2's. I made a bracket out of parts from my 84 to hold the head unit, and I modified the speaker plates that go over the z31 shock towers for the rear speakers, if you notice it gives them a nice inward angle, which helps keep them on axis with my ears. I will probably get this instead, might help hide things.
Universal Underdash Kit Put a new stereo into your hard-to-fit vehicle! at Crutchfield.com

PredatorZ

With a bit of Modding I was able to adapt the ignition switch / lock to my 280zx, I had been fighting a bad / sloppy tumblers in the lock, hard to start and hard to turn off, it was close to a nightmare sometimes. I had to cut a section of a z31 column up to make a spacer, the z31 has a larger diameter housing where the lock bolts on. I slipped the cut piece over the column and used some JB quick weld and electrical tape to hold in place to dry. It is in a lower location, I had to cut up the trim piece to get it to fit, ill glass it in before I'm done to make it appear stock. The plugs exactly the same, plug and play !

I took the nasty front carpet section out of the 86t, scrubbed it up real good, you can see in the dirty pictures, it had nasty white mold. Looks much better now, will attempt to install it tomorrow.


I completely deleted the radio harness, as I am not using any of it. You can see the bare plug above the fuse box.

NismoPick

A++ for you!

PredatorZ

Thanks Nismo, it was a pretty easy fix and I am trying to do as much on the cheap as I can. of course a purist might cringe, but it's all good.

The really good part, asides from it starting and turning off exacting when I want it to, is that it has been a blast to drive so far. I have no idea if the engine has been rebuilt, it looks like it had 360k of grit and grime, but the motor runs really well, and my minor bushing upgrades keeps her flat and tight in the corners. I can clearly see my weak spot at the moment is tires. I have good tread on all 4, Pirelli p400 tires, but they must be 10 years old, checked and cracking, the rubber isn't sticky like it once was, too much sun and harsh weather.

After 2 days of drying out in not so hot 80ish weather, I will see if the front carpet are close to fitting.

PredatorZ

Installed the carpet and center console from an 86 300zx, for the most part I only had to do minor trimming. The holes for the seats lined right up, the placement of the hatch release was different, but worked out perfect. I still haven't got all the trim the same color yet. I had to shorten the console an inch or two, off the front end, to get it to fit under my stereo, the holes lined up almost perfect for the console too, just a bit narrower.

PredatorZ

I put my velour seats from my 84 z31 into my 81 280zx, wasn't exactly a direct bolt in. The passenger side was pretty easy, just had to widen the bolt holes in the track. The drivers side tracks are completely different and makes the seat sit **** eyed. I put the rails from the 81 on the seats but they won't bolt up to the side ways mounted brackets, so I bent them over and drilled holes approx where they actually needed to be, the seat bolts are about 14 3/4 inches center to center on the s130 and about 15 1/8 on the z31's, close but some cutting required. I also had to remove the air pump gizmo, but I might be able to use it in a hidden location, ill see.

PredatorZ

I cut out a big rust spot and hammered out a piece to fit from a scrap z31 fender, sealed it with Black RTV, then screwed it down all around and undercoated it. I also replaced the rotten seals on my tail lights, I used a rubberized foam tape, from Lowes. Between the hole in the wheel well and the tail lights leaking, I shouldn't be getting any exhaust and gas smells in the car anymore, hopefully !

PredatorZ

Since my interior is basically done, I have moved to the Body, for the most part I have 3 problem area, passenger door, tip of the hood, and the drivers rear quarter. I managed to get to most of the door from inside, with a few custom rods I made I worked out a lot of the dent, at worst in one spot its about 1/4 inch deep. The hood I was able to cut some of the supporting metal behind to get to the back of the dent, was larger that I had 1st thought, and still isn't perfect. The wheel well is another story, so much filler, I ground at it for an hour or so before I got rid of most of it, went from the rear bumper to the door. I am using the fiber glass bondo, it is extremely hard once it cures, putting it on to thick can mean lots of extra sanding or grinding

PredatorZ

I was messing around today, I managed to get my air filter/ cold air setup into my zx. I tried to pull max revs in 2nd gear, she was pulling really hard up to about 5800 rpm, which was about 78 in 2nd gear, I am pretty sure I was experiencing either valve float or just intake restriction, I backed off and got back to a legal speed. I was pretty happy with almost 80 mph in 2nd gear, that works out pretty good for short races.. not that I think I would win any, but you never know. Next time the local drag strip is open I'm going to get a time slip, Firebird raceway is about 30 miles outside of town, then I can post my numbers, since we have that ability on the site, and I am very curious to see how she will do. I was getting the faint smell of clutch after a few of those hard shifts, to my surprise It won't break, or hasn't yet. Don't get me wrong, I am not thrashing on it all the time, I just do little tests like that to see what her limits are.