mspecr Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Greetings, So I managed to snap up a classic z with the current intentions of doing this in stages. Personally its the largest project I will undertake with basically a ground up resto with mods to come, with majority of the work being attempted myself and hopefully (will be) finishing it. From the story I been told this car was bought new back in 1975, was one owner till a ill fate of health he was unable to continue driving, the car was then passed on to his best mate who in turn had intentions of restoring it. A friend of mine actually saw the car while out driving and stopped by and inquired about it, thus finding out it's history, a few years later he was driving through the same area and noted that it hadn't moved, That's when he pitched a offer on the basis to restore it, the owner accepted the proposal. There it was stored at his place thou with many other projects on the go he had to let it go, which in turn I jumped at it. I was mid way of restoring a 2+2, this is has now gone into storage which i ll resume later and or / use for parts. Some day once this is complete I would like to catch up with the original owners to present it to them, that's the intent anyways. So the idea is to be done in two stages. (plus for me to have some sort of record of what I'm doing, i forget things :s ) Stage 1 : Restoration of shell, rust repair, added strengthening, panel work ect. Rebuilding of brakes, suspension - std items for the moment for compliance Rb26 conversion - just engine / gearbox / exhaust for compliance. Complete rewire. - this will help suit the conversion. Interior re trim. Basically to get it on the road and compliance with the RB Stage 2 : Track prep. will edit later for finer details. Among the original owner books i found the 1st owners cams licence, since this is what she was used for, its only fitting that this is where she will go. So it starts like this - paper work. 2 years to complete, ample time to get this done. While it took a while to get approval I was well underway stripping her down to find out how a ex tracked z was..well simply it was surprising. will need to strip this. no coolant lines or welsh plugs. all coolant lines where near blocked passenger side rear took a good hit somewhere in life, explains the new door. normal rust point. expected that. upside down pic.. but normal rust in fender. nose has been replaced some time in the past. welds rusting through. drivers side arch, kink .. suggestions ? we have lift off.. passenger side door frame seen better days. drivers side rear window. drivers side front pillar. found money ! winnings. So that's just a quick overview, will be interesting to see what else is in store. stay tuned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew_L26 Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Pwho, looks like a big job! at least you know what you're dealing with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted February 20, 2016 Administrators Share Posted February 20, 2016 Yeah it's had a front end shunt which was pretty hard from the looks of it, this car needs to be fully blasted down to bare metal and probably many panels unpicked to really treat the rust. I hope you're up for it? It certainly looks to have spent some time outside judging by the corrosion its got. A big project but it's a 2 seater and not many left out there now. Good luck! Andrew_L26 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mspecr Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 Cheers, I hope so too,as they say nothing ventured nothing gained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mspecr Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 strip down continues.. Front end deloomed, engine + box out. worth ever cent, makes life a dream. front out.. Pending where you place your jacks expect the car kick backwards with no weight at the front. safety is paramount !. this did just that as intended, I already had the safety step under the diff to take the load. With this the front was more then high enough for the front end to slide out. left hand stitch welds. left hand firewall will need some tlc same as this one. stay tuned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mspecr Posted February 26, 2016 Author Share Posted February 26, 2016 Busy Busy... Drained fuel tank and what came out wasn't pleasant, could only described as burnt tranny oil.. Will have to clean and inspect later. Rear end out. Front and rear stripped / itemized. have to organize getting them blasted later on. Fitting regarding the situation . Self explanatory ... many drill holes and a few cuts later you end up with this. outer This oem rear quarter came with sale of the car, which frankly was a blessing in itself. PN : 78101 - N4650 I did have intentions of not using it and mount it to the garage wall, thou given the situation its best being used as it was intended for. The show must go on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted February 26, 2016 Administrators Share Posted February 26, 2016 Can't believe the colour of that fuel lol... OEM 1/4 panel is awesome score, getting harder to find. At least it doesn't look like it was hit in the passenger rear 1/4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CroS13 Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 wow your a braver man than i am mate! looking forward to the buildRudi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mspecr Posted March 6, 2016 Author Share Posted March 6, 2016 Can't believe the colour of that fuel lol... OEM 1/4 panel is awesome score, getting harder to find. At least it doesn't look like it was hit in the passenger rear 1/4. Me either, didn't look very inviting haha, It did gas me out of the garage for a while... wow your a braver man than i am mate! looking forward to the build Rudi Cheers for the kind words Rudi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mspecr Posted March 6, 2016 Author Share Posted March 6, 2016 Been busy... Removed the rocker panel, not much to damage internally besides the little support panel on the right corner, the inner panels where wire brushed down, cleaned , POR-15, then coated with chassis black etch primed internals and chassis black of new panel. cut this out little patch made Tacked in the rocker panel for temp fitment, since you can move this panel a fair amount naturally it has to align with the door. To finalize this I have to wait till the rear quarter panel is on as the door has to line up with that. That's the methodology atm ..? eyeballed it looks ok ? placing the front fender on with the original bolt marks turned out great, loads of adjustment available for the fender. Hacking out the rear light surround took a long time specially around boot floor as this was all brazed in, I'll admit this was done quite well but I was not having fun, and I thought drilling out spot welds was bad... by the looks of the boot area the entire pan has been brazed in. Removed the top layer to find only surface rust in the rear hatch area. could of been worse i guess. A good wire brush n POR-15 will save this. corner gone and prepped. new corner tack welded in. After a few hours of measuring / tacking / measuring / grinding / belting it with a hammer. / measuring I have a replacement corner, This piece is actually from the new rear quarter panel, reason to this extra work was the replacement panel goes under the roof and is part of the door arch / main roof support. Since mine actually looked reasonable I had no intentions of attacking the roof nor play around with that upper area, this way i could play with main support beams down low and not touch that roof join, added to that I can full weld the support beam and treat it later on. Checking the lock arrangement stumped me.. So as far as i gathered I have the early 240 / 260 type lock ( 3 bolts ), where the replacement panel I have is the for the later 260 maybe 280 style ( 2 bolt ) ?.. the inner profile of this door jam also is different. So do I either : A : Remove the 3 bolt locking mech from the original early panel and graft it onto the new (later) panel, cut / chop / trim the sealing edge to suit the original profile as the inner dogleg area is lot different. ( outside is the same profile where the door edge sits ) B : Find a early donor and swap out that inner door jam area, 3 bolt and all. C: Refab / repair the original rusted one and then graft it onto the new replacement panel. aww its 1.30 am ... have too sleep on this for a few days, other then that its taking shape. till next time, stay true stay Datsun. Andrew_L26 and gav240z 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 Mate - You seem really organized and impressive amount of work done already - keep up - mad skills. Andrew_L26 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted March 6, 2016 Administrators Share Posted March 6, 2016 Yeah moving fast, thanks for the instant shot of motivation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mspecr Posted March 17, 2016 Author Share Posted March 17, 2016 So ended up going with option B from the last post. - Just need to find a early donor, thou while i'm waiting to source that I started on other areas that needed some attention. note even a " new " panel has started surface rust between joins. (available if anyone wants it) many drills later and a few cuts. cowl is off. no treasure just brown gold, leaving this panel off for a while til after it goes for a media blast. this plate helps stiffens where your pedal box hangs off. attacked with a drill you get this. this area was paper thin, even mores so after hitting it with a wire wheel. this was the reason why I was curious. cut cut cut and start of patches. That's it for the moment, still lots to go through, thou I will leave with this "know your datsun" question ; Who can guess what/where this is. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBR Jeff Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 This is very impressive. I just read through your build thread and had to keep going back to the first post to check the start date!!!!!!!!!!! You are seating a cracking speed. Nice Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew_L26 Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 Who can guess what/where this is. ? I guess the front frame rails! If I win can I win new front frame rails...I need new front frame rails.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mspecr Posted March 22, 2016 Author Share Posted March 22, 2016 I guess the front frame rails! If I win can I win new front frame rails...I need new front frame rails.... Winner ! thou sadly I don't have any to give away mine seen better days. Andrew_L26 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mspecr Posted March 22, 2016 Author Share Posted March 22, 2016 Been hacking at it again. I started mounting it to a rotisserie using the previous mounts that where already attached to the car. (which I'll be honest didn't take much of a look at them) Once started to take the weight it wasn't sounding to great, with couple of pops and crackles coming from the front mounts. Turns out I didn't have much of a drivers rail with only a few hidden tacks and bog holding it in place. This is going to be a nose job for later. Drivers side front pillar. looks innocent... dig. keep digging. more digging. and brown gold. drill Was actually happy to see that it was only the top skin that was gone and a small section on the rain gutter, other then that I didn't seam it was necessary to brace the front as there was 3 other main panels that made the pillar. same thing wire wheel, POR-15, while was here I tried as much to get into the other cavities with POR. " I like grinders. " Mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBR Jeff Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Mark Are you using some parts from a donor car? Or are you having to fabricate all the bits. After looking through your photos I'm amazed how dirty the car was when you started. Did you dig it out of a paddock? Looks like it has had a hard few years. My dog rocky said to say hi to your dog.... Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff43 Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Hi Mark, Some good work you are doing. Where would we be without grinders, wire wheels, flapper discs etc. You have plenty of work in front of you that's for sure. You appear to be equally up to the task, keep at it, you will beat the brown gold and most likely end up with a car worth a pot of gold when you are finished. Cheers Jeff CBR Jeff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mspecr Posted March 22, 2016 Author Share Posted March 22, 2016 Mark Are you using some parts from a donor car? Or are you having to fabricate all the bits. After looking through your photos I'm amazed how dirty the car was when you started. Did you dig it out of a paddock? Looks like it has had a hard few years. My dog rocky said to say hi to your dog.... Jeff At this stage its looking that way, I do have a 2+2 that i was working on before I obtained this girl, it also had its own share of brown gold. As much i don't like the idea, the overall picture I would rather have one running then two "lifeless" ones, also it hurts as I spent already a fair bit on time on the 2+2. Parts that I can get my paws onto I will take, thou there are going to be areas which simply have to go with the flow. Good question i was told it was in storage thou chunks keep falling off this one as I keep working at it haha, I should clean up the garage and lift my game, I'll admit my floor is nowhere as clean as yours ... thou there is a massive tarp down for this reason. Haha Ahri sends her regards. Hi Mark, Some good work you are doing. Where would we be without grinders, wire wheels, flapper discs etc. You have plenty of work in front of you that's for sure. You appear to be equally up to the task, keep at it, you will beat the brown gold and most likely end up with a car worth a pot of gold when you are finished. Cheers Jeff Thanks for the kind words ! The idea of experiencing it when its alive and back on the road is what keeps me going, still a long road ahead but it will be worth it. Being a restomod I know its not going to be a fav among true concord restorers thou this is for me really . I read both builds love the detail in them and where there going, definitely something to look up too, keep up the great work. P/S : borrowing the bolt in battery tray idea Mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mspecr Posted March 29, 2016 Author Share Posted March 29, 2016 Hope everyone had a Happy Easter ! Regrettably I bit the bullet, and hacked my 2+2. for this pillar and the nose clip. De-tack. the outer skin of the pillar, wire wheeled the underside and etch primed, The remaining section was used to rebuild the lower section, outside where the door closes. Once the lower section was in position it was cleaned up and etch primed. Doing it in two sections allowed me to gain access and treat the new welds from the inside, once the top skin is on your unable to get into here without some creative access holes. top skin installed. Start of cleaning the welds. Worth mentioning, the 77 - later series is made of thicker metal, this top skin was definitely that, so to offset this thickness I move it ever so slightly towards the window, this kept the painted ( exposed edge ) that is visible straight with the existing roof curve, I'm hoping that this small indent made will be absorbed by the window seal. Any suggestions / comments would be greatly appreciated before this is part is finalized. Front Nose cut. I almost shed a tear for doing this, but I done it. The nose off my 2+2 is was nipped off and now tacked on temporarily. Drivers 1/4 window frame. Rough hack to see inside, oddly enough it wasn't as bad. Inside was near perfect with only that lower panel blowing out, easy repair using the remaining gutter section off the front pillar I took off before. " If only rust was valuable to someone.... " Mark. Andrew_L26 and Groundhog 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PB260Z Posted March 29, 2016 Moderators Share Posted March 29, 2016 Hi Mark Looks like a very productive Easter weekend. You are making great progress, keep it up. Cheers PB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted March 29, 2016 Administrators Share Posted March 29, 2016 You must have done this sort of thing before. I can appreciate how much work it is, but it is very rewarding. Your dog matches the white interior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew_L26 Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Far out! I don't know if I've seen a build progress this quickly. You've certainly got some talents about you! Makes me feel better about my Z, knowing that if this is being saved mine surly can be! Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBR Jeff Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 Looking good Mark. Only value in rust is the cost of removing it. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.