This 1978 one owner 280z was one of my first full rebuilds/ restorations. Before then I had just done partial restorations. I had been known in the Z community for a while now and was one day messaged by Francis D. He told me his brother had a 280z that he would like to commission me to restore. I was a bit hesitant at first as I was not as familiar with the 280z platform but after hearing his story I decided it was for a good cause. Francis told me his brother Rupert was told by his wife in the winter of 1978 to go buy a new reliable winter car. Rupert was always the type of person to like stylish sports cars but when he came home with this new 1978 green metallic 5 speed 280z his wife nearly kicked him out. She came to love the car though as it was a fun and defying car just like Rupert. They both enjoyed the car up until 2008 when Rupert's wife passed away. The car sat in the shop on a lift since then. It wasn't until 2020 that it saw light again.
The whole car came apart and was resprayed in the OEM 240 code metallic green. That paired with the tan interior is the perfect match.
I did a full mechanical restoration changing out everything in the braking system and suspension. The engine received a complete gasket and wear item replacement.
The end result was a fantastically running back to the original 280z. I did end up using Vogtland coil springs and KYB shocks to get a better stance and suspension feel. It ended up being in the top ten highest bid 280z on BAT, which was good for both myself and Rupert.
