Originally Posted by donandal

Ok,
Here is the next update… this is the interior progress.
The dash from the Z was disassembled and the two bigger pieces of the dash were loosely mocked up over the 240SX steering column and old steel dash support.


It looked like everything would fit with a little trimming. We could use a “cut” line in the dash at each side and would end up with a clean look…perhaps. The steel sub-frame for the dash was mocked up and it looked good as well. At the proper distance for the steering column used from the Z, there would be a gap at the front of the panel at the windshield, but the curves looked natural and we could fabricate an aluminum filler strip and cover it with black vinyl. We will also fabricate two end fillers that transition to the door panels for a clean look.

Next we looked at all of the dash components for air and heat and checked their fit also. It was very tight but would work with some modification. The heater core was located more near the middle. The A/C would work also if we added some clearance and modified the air intake plenum.


We made these collars to fit the firewall and allow the heater hoses to pass thru. They are recessed to allow more clearance between the engine and firewall.

This is what they look like installed. The big hole next to this collar was added for one of the main harnesses from the Z that goes to the gas pedal and steering column.

The other holes that weren’t needed were welded up.

The steering column was also moved toward the frame rail to give extra clearance at the starter. This collar and bearing piece was made, and uses the original studs in the firewall.



Everything fit pretty well, so we fabricated the 350Z steel dash support into the 240. The center support lined right up with the tunnel as well. Once the steel support was in, everything else just snapped into place.

The inside primed… the flanged grey bracket will hold the front of the dash and trim strip

Primed with epoxy

These brackets are gusseted at both ends. When it’s all bolted up and bolted to the tunnel it’s quite sturdy.

The center fit nicely. We built a custom lower dash panel that transitions to the center console and everything fits…. more of that later.

The dash support is in and stuff is going back into place. There are a lot of wires!

Here’s Allen, checking out the steering wheel position.

The 240 center console didn’t line up with the new Z dash, so we built a center console from .060 aluminum. The three hole A/C control cluster bracket is made from .080 aluminum.




The hardware from both the Z and 240 were used.

The grey pieces have been black wrinkle powder coated. The trim ring and shifter boot are from the Z .


This panel had the airbag. We made a plate to cover the big hole where it was,and skimmed it with bondo and recovered it in black vinyl





That’s about it for the front part of the interior.
More to come ….