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Definitely Purple 260z


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If it were me I'd be getting an engineer to sign off on the repairs to the structural elements of the car to ensure safety for its occupants, get it rego'd and drive it. Worry about a rebuild later when you can afford it (tip: don't get married and have kids).

When the time comes, strip, blast or deep the shell and make the call to do or dump then.

Enjoy the ride.

Mick

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Andrew, with the benefit of hindsight I'll offer this advice. Always, always always start with the best example you can find. Right now this car has just come onto the market.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Datsun-260z-2-2-auto-suit-240z-280z-300z-fairlady-drifter-/262268489352

 

It looks like an 'honest' survivor with a little bit of rust bubble here and there, but it's like not got serious (more than skin deep) cancer. A car like this would require a higher initial outlay but will pay dividends in the long run, as you'll spend more time enjoying it.

 

2+2s have started to pick up in value lately, I don't know if you saw the 280z 2+2 that sold for $70K AUD recently.

http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/2016/01/28/datsun-280z-2-plus-2-sold-for-45000-at-auction/

 

The reason it sold that high is because of originality and low miles, if you are looking at a car worth restoring the Blue 1 on eBay would be a better prospect, now and in the future but it all depends on what you want from the car.

 

I had a white 2+2 years ago and it was a disaster if I'm honest, lots of botched repairs, previous accident damage to rear 1/4 panel, everything was changed from it's original form and it gave me nonstop hassle. When it was written off I was kind of relieved. I've not regretted any of the other S30z's I've bought, only regret the 1 I sold, which was also my first car. 

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So if the car isn't worth restoring should I just look at getting an engineering cert.

 

I don't want to say a car is or isn't worth restoring, as that's totally up to you. But it is my opinion that you try to start with the cleanest example you can find because it's a lot less work to restore a good solid car than to try and bring a rough example up to the same level.

 

I personally like to go with cars wearing their original paint or colour, it's always good if it hasn't been repainted multiple times. Lots of layers of paint usually = hiding lots of stuff.

 

The more original a car is, often the better it is as a restoration candidate because it hasn't suffered botched modifications. 

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Ok well perhaps I should continue my venture to get her back on the road and decide on a full resto in the future. I just don't want to be pouring money into this shell to find out it's stuffed in the future. I suppose I could always look at getting a rolling shell in the future and just use my current z for parts.

 

Andrew

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Ok well perhaps I should continue my venture to get her back on the road and decide on a full resto in the future. I just don't want to be pouring money into this shell to find out it's stuffed in the future. I suppose I could always look at getting a rolling shell in the future and just use my current z for parts.

 

Andrew

 

That sounds sensible to me, see if you can patch up what you've got. Then look for a good shell that could be transplanted onto. Just be careful of year differences though. Nissan made a lot of changes to the later 260z's and some parts may not swap over. So it's best to find a good shell and similar year car if possible.

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But it is my opinion that you try to start with the cleanest example you can find because it's a lot less work to restore a good solid car than to try and bring a rough example up to the same level.

 

 

I will add, it cost the same to restore a 2+2 as a coupe from the same condition, better investment principles dictate that you are better off restoring coupe.

We all know the initial purchase price is just the beginning ...

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blu260z - I think you may have misread Andrew's post (#122) - he said "It's all because I have very little trust in this shell..." - not "very little rust".

I did. My mistake :/

As did I, just so used to seeing the word "rust" in threads

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi all, not much progress has been made except for finding a roadie guy who, also today I discovered something really strange again. It's the rear hatch all over again (Someone not grinding down their welds and bogging over them). It actually seems like a half decent repair. Far from perfect however it's not like the've just bogged straight over rust holes.

 

I just don't understand why anyone would bother doing this, It's not that hard to grind down your welds people!

 

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Does anyone have any idea why this was done. I'm at a loss as to why you wouldn't grind the welds down and therefore do an overall good job?

 

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Edited by Andrew_L26
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Does anyone have any idea why this was done. I'm at a loss as to why you wouldn't grind the welds down and therefore do an overall good job?

 

Combination of being lazy, and just not caring enough.

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Woot! got all the bog out (using a hard plastic chisel like object and a hammer) and pretty much it looks like this was because the metal underneath is flat... also found some more bog (same story) in the rear beaver. I am most likely going to fill this back up after repairing the tiny bit of rust that has occurred since a small section was cut out and WELDED! This is because It's I am really happy that other then a little rust the complex part of the beaver is in really condition (compared to what I was expecting) under all the bog.

Next weekend I will finish off the job by welding in a few new bits of metal and rewelding a few small holes that appeared after grinding the weld down.

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I did actually get all of the bog out before priming my phone just went flat and I couldn't be bothered stopping haha

Edited by Andrew_L26
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So I've completed my repair, I was able to look inside the dogleg and it appeared that the sill was in good condition so I continued with the repair, over all I'm fairly happy with the result, It's not perfect but It's better then what was there. I must note that I did get the welds done much nicer however I ended up filling in a few spots where the previous repairer had damaged the metal work so that is why it looks fairly un-neat.

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My first time using bog so go easy haha. I'll probably re-do this in a little while, just sand it down more and apply a THIN layer of bog, unlike the body shop who had this car before me, I don't want to have to remove stacks of bog when I do a full resto eventually.

 

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I also repaired a few small rust holes in the passanger door.

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Next thing is some colour matched paint, a rwc and a manual tranny  8)

Or, depending on what my roadie guy says it may go something like: Colour matched paint, manual tranny, 6 months saving, front frame rails, rwc

 

Also got my wheel alignment done + a few other things such as re-adjusted front bearings and the car is driving incredibly!

 

-Andrew

Edited by Andrew_L26
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Hi Andrew

 

There's no doubting your enthusiasm and dedication, but I have to ask, are these body filler repairs meant to be temporary so as to get you past a RWC? 

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Hi Andrew

 

There's no doubting your enthusiasm and dedication, but I have to ask, are these body filler repairs meant to be temporary so as to get you past a RWC? 

Well underneath I have cut out a small section and welded in some sheet metal, I just used the body filler to bring it all up to the level of the paint as it has some really thick primer + original paint so although there is fresh sheet underneath and it's all welded to a reasonable standard it just looked terrible with just primer.

 

You can sort of see what I mean here in the corner.

 

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I do intend to strip the car back entirely in a few years and that is when I will look at things such as tin filling etc, but for now I just want to get her on the road and stop any rust from getting any worse.

 

EDIT** I see what you mean with the repair at the bottom of the door, that photo was taken before my last go with the welder. I was sort of filling with the welder as I went, it appears to have some holes in that photo however they were welded up and ground down so it was all smooth(ish)

Edited by Andrew_L26
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Hi Andrew

 

There's no doubting your enthusiasm and dedication, but I have to ask, are these body filler repairs meant to be temporary so as to get you past a RWC?

 

Andrew I think what Sirpent said is the nicest way he could put it. What he is saying is, is all this just for RWC? Because Its not really "fixing" the problem, its pretty much the same as it was before. The entire area needs to be completely cut out and the time you spent cutting, welding, grinding then bogging and sanding you might aswell spent an extra day or 2 and done it properly. Its difficult as I know your only young and cash can be an issue but in the long run doing things twice, costs twice as much if not more. !!! Edited by blu260z
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It is partially to get a rwc however I do intend to re-do the repairs when I have the time and money. I've rust converter under all of my repairs (also had the door trim off and did the door skins) so the rust shouldn't get any worse. I'm certainly new to all of this so if there is a different way that I could do things let me know, with the door jamb repair it was a bit hard working around a pervious repair however I did manage to cut out the majority of the rust and I had a bit of sheet metal that I bent into shape and welded in. With the door skin the top part seemed very solid and had just had a chip in the paint when I got the car and the paint was lifting so I sanded off the paint and surface rust leaving a section where the paint was missing which was what I bogged up, the bottom piece I cut out a slit where the metal had split and welded in another slit. Now that I think about it I should have cut out a small rectangle around it and done it that way. When I have the time I'll probably re-do the repair. I'm sort of working my way around the car re-doing things that I didn't do correctly the first time such as the firewall which was my first attempt at welding and it looks terrible so I'll probably either grind the welds down and re weld it or cut it out and do it again.

 

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I really wish I had the time to do things a bit better but I fully intend to slowly bring the quality of repairs up with my skills!

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Short version, yes it's for a rwc so I can actually drive it and enjoy the car, first it's going to be a daily for an 18 year old and a pristine show car later. I just want to get her on the road and prevent anything from getting worse.

Edited by Andrew_L26
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Andrew,

 

If this is a temporary fix to get past a RWC then I understand, but Blu260Z is correct in that doing it twice over will mean twice the pain so these are repairs you dont want to leave in situ for a long period, what ever caused the rust in the first place will probably continue to effect the same area's long term, i.e water seapage from a poor seal elsewhere.

 

DON'T BE DISCOURAGED, none of us wish that for a minute, get it on the road and going enjoy the car first and foremost and if this is the car you want to eventually restore work out a strategy to have critical areas addressed progressively. If not it will be a great learning curve for you and another Z might become your focus down the track ;-)

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Andrew,

 

If this is a temporary fix to get past a RWC then I understand, but Blu260Z is correct in that doing it twice over will mean twice the pain so these are repairs you dont want to leave in situ for a long period, what ever caused the rust in the first place will probably continue to effect the same area's long term, i.e water seapage from a poor seal elsewhere.

 

DON'T BE DISCOURAGED, none of us wish that for a minute, get it on the road and going enjoy the car first and foremost and if this is the car you want to eventually restore work out a strategy to have critical areas addressed progressively. If not it will be a great learning curve for you and another Z might become your focus down the track ;-)

Thanks mate, I defiantly feel more positive!

Whilst on the topic of leaks and sealing stuff, what are people using to seal the seams in metal, I was just going to use a silicone based sealant.

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