Gordo Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 (edited) Hi guys. I bought this car in 2004 for about $2500. I had already built a few zeds but this would be my first full rotisserie build. Wanted to do it with a few ideas I had, not standard but a few mods to make it noticeable from the rest. Just to be clear this car is 95% finished as seen at the 2017 VicZed BBQ . So after finding a rotisserie the strip down could begin. After taking the engine and gearbox out I would lift the car a high as I could with jacks, blocks of timber. I used the engine Crain to lift the front end and mount it onto the rotisserie . Edited December 3, 2017 by Gordo Ponyo240z, my_mad_z, MikeZ and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted November 30, 2017 Administrators Share Posted November 30, 2017 Hey Gordon was it originally brown or is that rust coloured? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted November 30, 2017 Author Share Posted November 30, 2017 Hi Gav. Yes, that's the original color. 1972 mod. Had a lot of rust in it. Was sitting on his mums front lawn for 2 years un touched and had the dreaded sun roof. Lol. gav240z 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted December 1, 2017 Author Share Posted December 1, 2017 (edited) Once the car was striped down and all hinged doors , bonnets and flaps removed it was time to focus on the body work. the floors needed to be replaced. All the lower sections on the doors and front and rear guards needed some attention. The spare wheel carrier was stuffed and the bottom section on the hatch was shoot. So all in all , your standard zed rust.. The first section was the sun roof. It had to go. I managed to get hold of a 2+2 for a spare parts car that would be use so many times I couldn't believe how much I needed all the little things the could not be used on the 240z. I pulled out the sun roof and traced it onto the 2+2. Cut it out and fitted it to the 240. Tacked it, braced it from the inside to keep the shape, then fully welded it being careful not to get to much heat into the metal. I used a 3mm aluminium sheet under the sunroof patch and supported it with timber props them welded it. Edited December 3, 2017 by Gordo Ponyo240z and gav240z 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted December 1, 2017 Administrators Share Posted December 1, 2017 Very innovative approach on the sunroof I'm impressed. I'd be a bit nervous attempting to patch a sunroof hole. Did you use Mig or another form of welding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted December 1, 2017 Author Share Posted December 1, 2017 Yes Gav, I bought a mig welder for this project. Once I got used to it I was able to weld very thin panels of body work. The roof panel has stood the test of time , with no cracking or any signs of movement. To be honest I don't think you would even know it had a sun roof in it. gav240z 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted December 1, 2017 Administrators Share Posted December 1, 2017 To be honest I don't think you would even know it had a sun roof in it. I didn't even notice, so you must have done an excellent job. I am guessing a light skim of body filler was required after? I have a simple Cigweld welder, but I don't trust it for a task like this, I'd probably prefer to use the Henrob/Cobra DHC torch if I was to attempt this. Well done all the same, the car looks very straight from what I've seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted December 2, 2017 Author Share Posted December 2, 2017 After the sun roof it was time to replace the floor panels. Rare Spares had the replacement parts. From memory about $95 each floor. The chassis rail section is then welded over the concave section to form the rail. I also shaped and welded a 3mm thick plate of steel to the lower chassis rail at the front. That's where most of the jacking is done and I wanted to strengthen this part. This section of chassis would get crushed and creased. 260DET and MikeZ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew_L26 Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 I saw the old 2+2 parts car down the back and I was thinking it's better than my car other than the sunroof hole hahah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted December 3, 2017 Author Share Posted December 3, 2017 The rear spare wheel carrier was next. This was taken from the donor car. As was the dog leg and front section of the passengers side. Even though its a 2+2 you can still use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted December 3, 2017 Author Share Posted December 3, 2017 Apologies for the pictures. I found an old tape that I made of this zed rebuild. It goes for about 4hrs. This is where I've found these pis from. But you get the idea. So it took awhile to get the shell rust free. But we got there. gav240z 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share Posted December 4, 2017 (edited) So after dealing with all the rust ,it was time to get the body nice and straight with some body filler. I had decided to run the car without the rear bumper. So I welded a plate of steel over the concave section for the rear bar. I also cut the rear lower section with a slight curve up, like a rear defuser behind the petrol tank. Edited December 4, 2017 by Gordo gav240z 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share Posted December 4, 2017 On the inside all the body deadener was removed. And in the rear luggage floor area I used some body filler to smoothen out the creased body work. I welded steel plate over the top of the rear shocker tower to clean it up. After weeks of filling and sanding the edge primer was sprayed on. Was such a relief to get the body all sealed up and not having to worry about moisture and surface rust a peering . gav240z, Ponyo240z and MikeZ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted December 4, 2017 Administrators Share Posted December 4, 2017 I didn't realise you painted the car yourself... well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share Posted December 4, 2017 Thanks Gav. The car never came out of the shed. This was by far the most extensive car resto I'd ever done. This however was the third car I'd painted over the years. Most of the guys on the forum do as much work as they can on there cars. Other wise the costs get out of control. Finding the time is the hard part. Ponyo240z and KatoKid 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted December 5, 2017 Author Share Posted December 5, 2017 Now that the body was in under coat it was time to focus on all the other panels and doors etc. the doors needed rust removed from the lower edges, so after rubbing back and paint striping it was decided to take all the lose panels to a mate for sand blasting. This way everything would be revealed and no surprises . The front guards needed rust removed from the lower sections. I also filled the forward indicator holes and mirror holes. One of my little modifications was to put the Holden indicator in the front guard . This was a bit of a gamble but I think it works ok. 260DET 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted December 5, 2017 Author Share Posted December 5, 2017 When the bonnet came back I was a little worse than expected. The parts car was looking a bit better and also had the fluted bonnet that would suit my kind of build. The hatch was in good condition and required minor work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted December 5, 2017 Author Share Posted December 5, 2017 Now all the panels and parts where in under coat I wanted to give the body filler some time to cure and shrink if that was possible . So time to move to other jobs. The dash board. This was the typical dash . 4 or 5 cracks. Time for a re skin. I'd prepped a dash before and new the steps. First was the groove out the cracks so the body filler would hold. Fill and sand back to shape. Fiberglass one or two sheets over the top of dash. Then go with a thin coat of filler again and sand to shape. The Fiberglass is the strength and will not crack again. Now it's ready to be re skinned . These days the wraps are good enough to heat stretch to shape. Job done. Ponyo240z, MikeZ and gav240z 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hokin Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 Gordo that is some incredible work mate! Gordo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted December 6, 2017 Author Share Posted December 6, 2017 While waiting for the body to curer or dry in the hot summer weeks I tackled all the other car parts and prepped them for paint ,powder coat or just restore. The two pack undercoat was rubbed back and some parts needed a little more attention . The colour was chosen straight of a Paint chart. I liked the bright sky blue , picked the colour and that was it. The inside was painted first then the out side. After a few days a plastic cover was put over the car and paint began on all the other panels and doors. I went to the trouble of hanging drop sheets from the shed walls and ran water through the shed floor to stop dust getting air Bourne . Ponyo240z 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted December 6, 2017 Author Share Posted December 6, 2017 Some more pics gav240z, HomeBuiltByJeff, Ponyo240z and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riceburner Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Loving this Gordo, keep it coming. It's nice to see the creative solutions to issue you've found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvemfast Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Great work Gordo. But seems weird that we've been seeing this car for years and now we are seeing the build. lol gav240z and OdinZ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howdy Posted December 7, 2017 Share Posted December 7, 2017 Nice work Gordo, love the color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted December 7, 2017 Author Share Posted December 7, 2017 Great work Gordo. But seems weird that we've been seeing this car for years and now we are seeing the build. lol Your right Simon. It's a bit wearied. It was 95% finished at the end of 2007, but never finished and it just sat there in the shed because I didn't really need it. The only reason I'm doing this is to share some of the things I've learned over the journey . And I like doing the thread like this. It won't sit for months with nothing happening. lol. luvemfast and Ponyo240z 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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