Hi Everyone - quick question for you. I had my hood sprayed by a body shop and in the process they removed the old Z hood badge. I get the car back tomorrow, and supposedly the guy marked where the new ornament goes, but I'd like to have confirmation from a fellow Z owner. Can one of you 280zx owners hop out to your garage/driveway when you get a chance and measure the distance from the tip/edge of your hood to the bottom of the circular Z emblem? Oh yes... I do have a new badge in hand, and I'm going to place it on the car myself.

Also, on the new badge, there appears to be more 'black' area on one side of the Z itself than the other. The problem is, I'm not sure which side the 'more black' area should be on.. top or bottom (top being the side closer to the windshield). The difference in size of black area is actually very very slight, and I'd bet most of you 280zx owners never even noticed the difference! ...unless of course my new Z badge is just a little off center... hmmmmm..

Anyway, any help on either of these two questions would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully it won't take you more than a couple minutes to check it out for me.

THANKS!!

Aren't there two holes in the hood for the pins to go thru? Or did the later carz just get glued-on?

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1970 240Z

You're correct! The Z is offset in the circle by 1/8 of an inch to the left! Never noticed that, I wonder why? 1/4 black space on the right side, 1/8 of an inch on the left.

The bottom of the badge on my Z measures 3 1/4 inches from the top of the fold where it breaks down to the bumper cover. And it appears to have two pins through the hood to attach it. One is obscured by a brace.

Looks like I have some polishing to do!

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Phil
1981 280zxt - Now in the care my son!
2014 370Z Sports Touring Roadster

Thanks for the lightning-quick responses, guys - I really appreciate it!

Phil, I was actually referring to the 'top' and 'bottom' of the Z itself, though it's interesting that the sides aren't equidistant either.

One side of the 'Z' is 8/16" from the inner edge of the circle, while the other is 9/16" away. It's actually noticeable, which is why I asked which way the emblem should be oriented. Anyhow, I took some photos of the new badge and hood too. The second picture is the same as the first, but I turned the badge around (simply turned it left to right). You can see 'holes' or depressions - they actually line up with the two holes in the hood (picture 3). The funny thing is that in picutre 2, there is an arrow and a T/F kinda-looking thing which insinuates that THAT is the top side. It's clear that it's NOT the top, as then the Z wouldn't look right - the larger 'black' area should definitely be on the bottom of the Z. That way, the thicker part of the Z (the bottom 'leg' of the Z) is actually on the bottom and it just looks correct. Therefore I'm sure that the Arrow and T/F thing are not correct.

Anyhow, the holes/indentations on the back side line up with the holes on the hood. There was one grommet sticking out of my hood when I got the car back.. I'm sure the badge used to be attached with two pins. I guess the replacement badges don't need them (?), as there is double-sided tape mounted on the back of the badge already. ..so I basically removed the remaining grommet from the hood, lined everything up using painter's tape... peeled and stuck it. Don't know why there's even holes/circles on the back of the new badges - they're kinda pointless.

Thanks again for your help guys

As I recall, that "TF" symbol means "toward leading edge", which makes sense in this application.

My own nose badge flew off in a tunnel one night at about 70-80mph in Hawaii. It was the first part which ever fell off my Z and I was horrified. It bounced off my windscreen, over the car and into traffic behind me. Lots of noise back there as it must have bounced from one car to the next. Horns, tires, yelling voices.

I wanted to stop and run back to collect it, but.....I was in a tunnel where heavy traffic always sped as fast as they could uphill, and considering I had just 'bombed' their cars, it didn't seem like a smart thing to stop and get out.

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1970 240Z

Well that explains the T/F thing. I thought maybe the manufacturer made a mistake.

I'll be sure not to drive behind you, Frank.

You would think TF stand for The Front. So that new badge has the holes were the pins would go? This isn't a refurbished one that had broken pegs?