Hey NismoPick,
 

Hey NismoPick, 1st of all, thanks for signing my guestbook at cardomain. Next, Is there still a Chinese restaurant in Bountifull called "The Mandarin"? I only ask this because to this day, it is still the best damn Chinese food I've ever had. Lastly, you might be interested to know that the town of Woods Cross... just south of you, was named after my great grandfather Daniel Woods. They have a creepy little family cemetary right in the middle of town. In case that leads anyone to question... No I'm not a Mormon... a Moron maybe, but not a Mormon.

Rod.

Sick bro! I live 2 blocks from the Mandarin Restaurant. It's still there & still awesome food! Funny you mention that, because just the other day I took a couple pics of it, as I was looking @ some nearby real estate (see pics). As for that cemetary in the middle of WX... I haven't heard of that, but sounds deff like something that would be there.

Man... I might have to hit up the Mandarin now that I'm thinkin about it. Anytime you're in Utah, I'll treat ya to a dinner thur!

Hey NismoPick, i left a message in your Cardomain guest book. I was wondering how much/how difficult it was to transplant the t top roof to your car??

Thanks
J

ah yeah! sorry bout not gettin back to ya sooner. I was workin at a body shop when I did that transplant, so I had all the needed supplies right there, but it really wasn't that hard.

Just find a t-topped z of your choice & cut (or have the junk yard cut) the roof off all the way around, half way down all the pillars. You will be splitting your original roof away from the tops of the pillars... DO NOT GET THE IDEA THAT YOU CAN JUST CUT THE PILLARS, LINE THEM UP W/ THE NEW ROOF & WELD UP THE SEAMS! That makes for a weak body. The t-topped roof pillars will need to be split apart & removed as well, to fit over your pillars. It's pretty much just like taking apart a puzzle & putting it back together. Just pay attention to where everything should fit & make sure it's all lined up before welding it back together. That is the super fast verion of it... there will be plenty of adjustments to do along the way.

Tools needed:
-spot weld drill,
-pneumatic hammer (chisel)
-good argon gas MIG Welder
-lots of duck billed clamps
-fusor & body filler

If you are really serious about doing it, I will help ya along the way. Email me @ any time ya need.

Wow, what a small world. Here I am 900 miles away asking about a restaurant, only to find that you just took pictures of same restaurant. Crazy. I don't know if my Z will ever get up in that area, but I get up there from time to time. I'll definatly let you know if and when I'm heading that way.

Rod.

Definitely make it known ... I'd be more than happy to cut my plans and hang out with y'all. I'm only 35 minutes south of NismoPick.

Nismo, I have a friend who did the t-top conversion onto a 280Z. Its pretty freaking cool. When I first looked at the car I said "Something looks funny about that thing..." My friend said "Maybe thats because it has T-tops haha". Anyway, he basically did the same thing you did. He took a T-top roof from a 2-seater 280ZX and welded it on to a 2-seater 280Z. It fit perfectly.

THAT IS THE CRAZY SHIT :D :D :D :D :D

Hey Black, I want to see a big picture of your newly painted Z. Did you do a 2-tone black and silver? That looks dope man, let me see, let me seee!! :D :D

:o Doh I should've kept looking at the other threads. Again awesome job man, that Z is totally friggin' cool!! :D

Alright, I'm going to cut the roof off my t-tops parts car and hang onto it for somebody. :)

hey man, thanks for the info! If I do it, it may be sometime in the future.. I've gotta get her alive first! I was also going to ask, do you think it would be possible to do a custom targa top? I think that would be awesome, just wondering if it was even doable...

Anything's do-able these days... just depends on your metal working skills & the available tools. If DoTheDrew's buddy can convert a 280z to a t-top w/ not too much pain, I'm sure a targa top will be an alright job.

That reminds me of "Junkyard Wars." What ever happened to that TV show? I'd watch that & get pumped up to go weld something in the garage.

I did that on my donor car... Just took a Sawsall to it and Wa-Lah! I ended up dumpin it @ the land fill tho. $$$ for metal. Couldn't find anyone local that wanted it (before the Z forum days).

so basically you cut out the bar in the middle that connects the top of the windshield to the rear. Not much different than T-tops. Looks like a Porshe or late model Supra... :rolleyes:

Once I build my cage, I'll do a targa top, just to see how it goes. Problem then, will be figuring out how to make the two T-Top pieces one big, solid unit ...

Where there's a will, bondo, and plywood, there's a way. :D

Hey Nismo and Dorifto...


I was just talking to my wife about making a trip up that way here in the near future. I'll definatly let you guys know when the time comes. We can have the Mandarin parking lot looking like my local starbucks... Z cars everywhere.

Rod.

i wonder if anyone ever had the guts to turn a Z into a convertible... SWEET!

Nice Rod! Keep us posted on your trip! Deffinate picture day!


Lots of conversions to convertibles have been done:

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/768663 is one guy that has done a good job. I've seen a handfull of chopped Z's.

Nah... nobody would ever make a convertible 280ZX...


Rod.

heres onehttp://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1982-...QQcmdZViewItem

Yuck auggh! Those look terrible! :eek: I like the hatchback, that is what gives the Z their sporty look! Of course I really never liked convertibles in the first place! Those look like reject Mercedes Benz convertibles from the '80's! I'm blind save me from this awfull torture!! :rolleyes:

yah, i think that would be a good look... What would you use as the actual targa top? I would like all glass, but that may be hard to comeby for a car that a targa top never existed...

I was thinking about this: What if you "dummied" your t-tops, so that they couldn't come out, then had a latch on each side, that when opened, the entire piece (including the bar in the middle) came out together?

true, never seen any car that I would want the Convertible or Roadster version. Even the 350Z roadster is ugly to me...

That red 280 conv. rod posted looks like an 88 LeBaron. :D

How about this: remove the outter edge on each T-top. The part that latches into the body. Then make a sheetmetal/fiberglass center section that connects both of them. You would use the factory t-tops locks to hold the unit in place. It should work good. If you make the outter frame steel you could probably have some glass made for the middle part... or plexiglass.

you guys are talking crazy talk :D :D :D ...i dont like the covert ... tops for life :D

A full targa top would be kinda scary. That bar in the middle is a huge structural strength. Like those convertible conversions... I'm sure some heavy re-inforcements would be needed. I have seen one Z that they modified the t-bar in the middle to sit lower than the roof, and they made a custom top that fit across the whole top. I think I've got a pic @ home that I'll post tonight.

Here's something else to think about. If you somehow make a full targa top, where in the hell are you gonna stow the thing when you take it off? It ain't gonna fit in the hatch area. Would you just leave it at home? I think the targa top would be kinda cool, but this car wasn't made with that in mind. Nowhere to stow it, and stuctural integrity would suffer greatly. Stiffening the body means MORE WEIGHT. For a show car though... it would be totally SHWEEEET.

Rod.

Agreed.... he's got a good point. T-Tops are plenty good for me!

The Mk.III and Mk.IV didn't have a place for their targa top, at least that I've seen.

As for strength, just add a cage, and tie in the A-pillars and B-pillars with a couple crossbars. Defeats a lot of the purpose of a targa top, but it sounds like it could easily be done.

And Convertible 280ZXs? That's about as crazy as scissor doors on a Hyundai.

Agreed what a terrible thing to do to a nice 280zx! :eek: Now scissor doors on a Hyundai, that would be assnine as it gets! Oh and by the way T-tops rule them all!! :rolleyes: :D

Well, I like the convertibles...

I think I'll take the sawsall to my Fairlady Z. Those cars are a dime a dozen. :p

where is the "I'M GUNNA BE SICK" smilies????

Yeah right, I see those right hand drive fairlady's on a daily basis! :rolleyes:

The Supras just stowed them vertically behind the seat I believe if memory serves me correct. The Mk.IV anyways, I can't vouch for the Mk.III though. And why in the world would anyone want a targa over Ttops anyways? what benefit is there? You're either going to lose alot of rigity or you're going to have to add a ton of weight in reinforcement to make up for removing a section of roof. Unless you install some sort of support in its place, but then whats the point of removing it in the first place. Unless its a show car and it's just to be different then I really dont see the poing of it. And convertibles are even worse. Even with all the structural reinforcing you can do to a conv. it still wont be as rigid as a hardtop. I'd take a 79 coupe over the Ttops even if I could just find one for next to nothing. And then just transplant my newly acquired turbo motor into that car instead of my 81.

I'll take it off your hands for a dime Bleach. Then you could use it to buy 12 more anyways right?

Hey Nismo,

My buddy with the '79 is pretty serious about turning his car into a t-top car. He's got the motivation, just needs the details. Let me know if you could put together some detailed instructions... that way, if he fu&*s it up, I can blame you;) . Really, any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Rod.