Jason C.

I have a 1983 280zx turbo that I have just started restoring,it needs paint and interior bad. I have decided to paint the car black but i am not sure what color to redu the interior. The previous owner completely guted the inside on the car, so i am starting from scratch. any ideas on what color to redu the interior?

juggalo280ZX

If you want to do some custom stuff by yourself hears some things I've done. My whole interior from the front seats back is out right now for recovering.

the pics are in the thread "My Latest Accomplishment" It wouldn't let me put the same pics somewhere else.

P.S. welcome to the Fam.

Jason C.

Also i was thinking of puting a aftermarket cd player in the center console part of the dash, is that hard
to do.
p.s
is it hard to convert digital insterment panel into analog? wich is better?

juggalo280ZX

they make a kit to put in a aftermarket sterio, I'll try to find a link for you.

jfairladyz

Hey juggalo, thats one of the parts I'm going to be making. I already bought a metal one to make a template from. I think those are going to look perty (shameless plug)

juggalo280ZX

Nice J! I'll be adding that to my list.

newb81280zx

if you want it to be easy go with a tan interior that would look nice with black. Red would look ok and parts would be cheap. White would look awesome with black but it would all have to be painted and custom etc. black on black has crossed my mind. Good luck and let us know what you choose.

Jason C.

I am leaning towards black leather seats, black carpet, chrome shifter, and nice looking steering wheel from msa.
tell me what you think. do u think there will be to much black on the car? this is my fist car to completely restore so i am open for any sugestions.

also when u turn the key on the first knotch u can hear a click in the dash, but it is hard to tell which side it is coming from. anyway somthing is staying on all the time and if you do not take the battery cable off the battery will run down over night. nothing appears to be on (radio,gages,cruise control).
what should i do?

juggalo280ZX

black on black will look nice. I'm doin (eventually) black and white two-tone on dark blue/ light gray int.

RodMoyes

I haven't taken any recent pictures of my car since blacking out the trim, blacking out the interior with red accent, and changing the wheels (again) to 10 spoke gun metal with machined outer lip (Still 17 inch). I'll try and take some and post them this afternoon if I can so you can get a good idea of just how black on black looks with some red accent here and there... Just don't copy my masterpiece

Rod.

jfairladyz

If you go black on black you might want to consider tinting your windows too. Unless of course you live somewhere like alaska or canada. I'm never doing a black interior or exterior again in my life. My Mustang and ZX2 were black outside and the mustang had black interior too. I hated life in the summer time in both cars. The ZX2 had ac so it was alright after it had a chance to cool down, but the mustang, I couldn't grab the steering wheel, shifter, nothing. I love black cars, its my favorite color on a car. But F... that!! Never again. Oh, I tinted the Mustang and it helped a lot. Until I flipped it Black looks great though.

RodMoyes

Here's some pictures I promised.Rod.

Jason C.

thanks guys! i was planning on tinting the windows and my car has t tops so maybe i won't be that hot

DoTheDrew888

Wow Rod, that blacked out trim looks awesome. It really gives the car a mean look. I like it.

Jason C.

thanks for the pics, i really like your car, mine is a 2+2 i wish i had a two seater
to me datsun messed up the lines of the car when they made the 2+2

RodMoyes

It certainly looks a lot more angry than it used to. Thanks for the props. Just this evening I was sitting at Starbucks with a friend of mine who has a 350Z, which was sitting right next to my car. A group of guys came over and started ogling my car and asking questions about my car and telling me how cool it was... meanwhile, as is usually the case my 350Z driving buddy is just stting there thinking WTF? So as the guys started to walk away, I said "oh, by the way... there's a White Z parked right next to it" One of the guys say's "Yeah, but it's not that cool." and walked away. My buddy hates that! He spent 35 grand and his car is virtually invisible when it's parked next to mine. I love it!!!

Thanks again for the compliments.

Rod.

Jason C.

i'm not really a fan of the 350z, my friend has a black 350z conv. and its ok but i'd still rather have a 280zx.

RodMoyes

Yeah, the 350 is cool, but it lacks the mystique of the older Z's. You should see the Starbucks parking lot where my friends and I hang out some time. On any given night there is my car, the white 350, a red '87 300ZX, a black '79 280ZX, another black '80 280Zx (but of all the 280ZX's, you know mine is the coolest.), a yellow '77 280Z with a 383ci "Stroker" chevy motor that put's out about 600hp (we call that car "Bastardized", and the occasional Z32. People are always walking up and asking if it's a Z car club. Pretty damn funny.


Rod.

Jason C.

theres not to many z's where i live(small town) but i do know of a guy in town that dropped a 406ci
motor in a 280z. our local hang out is called wilsons, it is a local mechanic shop that does buisness
on weekdays and builds fast cars on weekends. they just finished a 1968 camaro ss witch happens to
be one of my friends car. it has a CHROMED OUT 383 stroker. theres so much chrome you have to
where sun glasses to look at it in the sun.one day i hope to own a car like that, i mean z cars
are awesome but you really can't beat the power of an american muscle car.

ZedZilla

Hey Rod!

That is a real life example of what I have known all along. The Z, when properly done up, will attract more attention then most anything else that comes out of a showroom these days. Awesome stuff man.

BTW the black out trim looks great. Just painted up I assume or??

I want to do my trim in black chrome. Sort of a hybrid between the jet black and the chrome. I believ it will look good when I am done with it.