HS30-00019

[Cliff]

Really nice car mate.  Well done to the fab team - wish I had those skills (or even 1/50th).  Looking forward to the next lot of updates. 

Cliff

[PB260Z]

Guy please be aware that every job the cost will be totally different.

Over the last few years we have done a few HKTG Monaro's. One was low 30. the other is 90 and still going. We have another in the shop now at early stages and another in soon. They will all be different due to the configurations the owners want, The Modifications they want, The amount of rust and previous bad workmanship and also the level of finish they want. So how is what George has spent on his car relevant to what you will spend on your car. It cant be.

From my business point of view and I tell this to all my customers. I don't care one bit what your car costs, All I care about is giving you the car YOU want. The minute George is standing next to his car the money outlaid will be forgotten. This is always the case. Its always harder for our interstate customers as they cant just drop in and look. Pictures can only do so much.

 

Cheers

Great comment Paul.

Whether George has spent $10K or $100k doesn't matter, as we all have different financial situations.

For some $30k would be way to much to spend on a weekend car, while others happily spend hudreds of thousands.

 

Personally I have plenty of $$ invested in toys, Yes invested - in giving me enjoyment and an escape from the daily grind.

 

Cheers

 

 

PS: the car is looking fantastic can't wait to see progress on the reassembly.

Edited November 16, 2016 by PB260Z

[George]

Paul dropped off a little present this morning.

 

[PB260Z]

Hi George

 

Looks amazing, I can't imagine how good it must feel to see it back in your garage.

 

Cheers

 

PB

Edited November 23, 2016 by PB260Z

[PZG302]

I'd be sending that back. He hasn't finished it.......

[GongZ]

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

 

The garage looks very nice too.

 

I can't help but notice that the Solartint stickers have survived the process thus far - are they early series stickers?

Edited November 23, 2016 by GongZ

[George]

I'd be sending that back. He hasn't finished it.......

 

It'll be fine, Paul said it was just a flat battery.

[jeff43]

I have to concede that you may have nosed ahead in the race to the finish. Looks sensational, but you really must stop sitting in the garage staring at it and get back to helping your family with the day to day grind. Really happy for you. Seirously though, don't rush to put it back together, it's not like it's a race or anything!

 

Cheers Jeff (J2)

[PeterH]

Looks great George...hours of fun ahead....

[gav240z]

The hard part will be putting it all back together without scratching the nice paint!

[wildy55]

As someone nearing the end of a resto (#571), there's much fun and bolt hunting ahead of you. Taking the door shells, bonnet and hatch off and storing in another room will make reassembly so much easier because you'll end up getting in and out of the car about, oooh about a million times from here on in! Make a long list and enjoy the big black lines struck through each item as the car comes together. Will look a million dollars when done...

[Grandad]

Wow!  00019 is a very lucky chassis to have fallen into your hands, it's looking sensational and for what it's worth, I love that colour.

 

You've got a reasonably big and potentially enormously rewarding task ahead of you, when I was at your current stage of resto I just wanted it done and dusted tomorrow but I also wanted it done right so concluded that as it's not a race I would only work on the car when my mood was right and I would only move from one task to another when I was happy that it was done to the highest standard possible.

 

I have a little man in my head telling me that this will be one of the best original spec 240Zs in the world when it's finished.

 

No pressure.

 

Dad

[PB260Z]

I would only work on the car when my mood was right

That is very very good advice.

[George]

These templates are the work of a forum member. They are a work in progess, although very accurate thus far, and it's up to him as to when, if and how they are released.

 

There are tunnel templates as well. I'm almost done with the trial fit and will post up details another day. They look great as well.

 

I'm having some trouble finding a suitable material to use for the firewall. If anyone knows of something ideal that looks like and does the job of the original firewall insulation please let me know. I only need the black boardlike material to which I'll be attaching the jute insulation.

 

[KatoKid]

Hey George.

 

I've got the original board with jute backing that's in pretty decent shape and includes the tunnel. As recognition to the effort and commitment you have put into this they are yours for free if you want to pay freight.

 

David

[George]

That's too kind of you David. Many thanks.

 

You've kind of ruined my little detective adventure... but I'm sure there will be many more part-hunting-adventures to come!

 

I'll send you a pm.

[daretobedifferent]

The car looks incredible George, I've watched the videos of your newly painted shell so many times its ridiculous haha.

 

This will definitely be one of the best Z's out there. 

[George]

Well, the car is ready!!!

 

The roof gave me a bit of trouble

 

But I twisted it on finally and then moved on to the door alignment.

 

Suspension was next. Main tool used here was a hammer.

 

Trial fit with the customer.

 

He was pretty happy but pointed out that I forgot the floor!

 

Customer delivery went well and I can report everyone is happy with the project.

 

Now back to the other car project...

[gav240z]

Looks like the later model with the Rose Cheeks. I think that was introduced in early 2017.

[George]

A very wise man encouraged me to write down my progress and suggested a quarterly digest as an easy way to document my journey. Excuse the ramblings and if you're looking for anyone to blame, Peter is a good place to start.

 

 

Autumn 2017

 

Autumn has been a period of procrastination, contemplation and frustration punctuated by clarity.

 

With any large project your best intentions often get trampled by procrastination. Lazy evenings spent on the couch melt into each other. Almost every opportunity to breath some rust dust in the garage is met by an excuse and of course, each excuse is justified and valid enough to avoid the guilt of procrastination.

 

Excuses. They come so easy, rolling off the tongue naturally, comfortable and safe in thought. Easy. My favourite has been my first-born, Benjamin. I don't want to miss a moment of these precious early days. I get so little time with him as it is, it just seems wrong to leave him for the garage for even just one night. If we're being honest though, he goes to sleep at 7:30 each night and there are 3 hours between then and my bedtime.

 

I've been contemplating my excuses as the cold of winter approaches. Will the cold be another excuse I can add to my arsenal? You see, I've come to realise at the root of all my procrastination lies one excuse that I've been afraid to face. Fear.

 

In my garage sits a bare shell. It is perfect. Smooth as silk. An irresistible bust. Slender with a curvy rear. Shinier than 1970. How do I do it justice? How can I even think of bolting on a part that hasn't been stripped, cleaned, zinc plated, restored, painted, shiny... worthy.

 

Strangely, but not surprisingly, it's not just my expectations I have to meet. It's hard to admit it but I feel the pressure of the community watching over me. They're looking over my shoulder and just like someone standing over you when you type, the pressure of thoose eyes opens teh door to misakes.

 

With that in mind, it's easy to just do nothing and delay the difficult task of meeting high expectations. Towards the end of autumn though, my procrastination manifested itself in to angry frustration. Man up and have a go, pull your socks up I told myself. It's one bolt at a time but the spanner doesn't turn itself.

 

Surely I'll hit rough patches - those curve balls and such - but here we are then, post procrastination, trying to turn bolts one at a time until they're all tight.

Insulation

My first task after receiving the shell - post staring at it - was to make some templates for the firewall insulation. With the help of a very clever gentleman (thanks Pete) who supplied templates I managed to get them spot on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The original firewall insulation is made up of 3 panels and each panel is made of a jute material with a semi-rigid plastic/rubber/vinyl black face. I spent far too many hours looking for a suitable face substitute and came up empty. As luck would have it, a fellow Z enthusiast (Thanks Dave) gave me his insulation as he had no need for it.

 

His insulation is in great condition although the jute is dark and feeling a bit sorry for itself. Seeing as I need jute replaced elsewhere in the interior, I decided to replace the firewall sections as well. Again, after spending many hours looking for a local supplier, I came up empty. I had found a few suppliers in the UK so after a couple of emails one of them put me on to a local supplier! My excitement was short lived though as the local supplier didn't have it in stock but said more was on its way via the slow boat... Should be due in time for my winter update!

 

 

 

 

Heater

The only components rust had overlooked were made of plastic and fabric and even then, it sure tried. It comes as no surprise then that even the heater box, which is hidden in the bowels of the interior, had fallen victim to the insatiable rust.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was told by an older gentleman about a DIY rust removal trick using molasses. Simply mix the molasses in a large container 1:10 with water and let the parts sit completely immersed for a week. The rust is eaten away and paint just washes off. Very easy and non destructive. Surface rust attacks the metal almost immediately but it's nothing in comparison to the aged rust it removes.

 

 

 

It did the trick but it sure stunk up the place! I used the same batch twice and noticed large white caterpillar looking insects growing by the end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Painting the heater box was an experience I'd rather forget. Very difficult to get good coverage inside a box with surfaces that are hard to reach. I have since painted it black and will post an update once it is all assembled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pedal Box

The last thing I worked on in autumn was the pedal box. It received the same molasses treatment and I had the same issues with painting. Despite some of the surfaces being even harder to reach, the little practice I had with the heater meant it was an easier task.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bring on winter, the season of my favourite food, chestnuts.

[PeterAllen]

George. Just a thought, not sure if it would work or not.

 

Could you initially attach one of those extension tubes to the nozzle of a paint spray can to get at those hard-to-get-at spots, though you might be able to rotate the nozzle to obtain different spray patterns

 

And, where are the dozen or so previous chapters?

[CroS13]

Great to see a update George!

As one of the twisted old cocks at work once said to me..

 

"how do you eat a elephant?"......

 

"One bite at a time".

 

I was feeling equally overwhelmed at the prospect of doing my car, to the standard i know i will end up building it to. It does get you down, i know.

 

But its either you try, and fail. Some people might not think it has been built to the utmost standard. But at the end of the day you will have still built a car that you can enjoy, and drive. And because the body work is already done, Anything you do that might not be 100% can be very easily fixed or touched up at a later stage.

Or you can stay paralyzed with fear, and your car will never be complete, and you will never enjoy it. Do you really want a 30-40k paperweight sitting in the garage gathering dust?

 

And its hard... especially now in winter. I struggle to get out of the heated house to go into a freezing cold garage. I have used that excuse too.

 

 

Anyway..... i found some old photo's of you from back in the day, i was here, but hanging around with Loz's other mates, so before we knew each other properly...... these should give you some motivation to get on with it! 

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

 

 

now get on with it!

Rudi.

[KatoKid]

Hey George....you should have hurried up and done yours first so I could just copy and paste into my thread!

 

Keep at it mate.

[gav240z]

Hey George did you paint the heater box and pedal box using spray paint? I feel like KBS rust seal is a good product and you may be able to sponge it on? It dries very hard too, so it's scratch resistant, to be honest though I'd probably take it to a powder coaters and have it done that way myself.

[George]

Thanks all.

 

Rudi, can't believe you still have those photos! Seems like a lifetime ago.

 

And, where are the dozen or so previous chapters?

 

Paul gave me hundreds of photos of twisted metal porn. He's one sick puppy that Paul.

 

One day, or few days, I'll have to go through them and document that side of things.

 

 

Hey George did you paint the heater box and pedal box using spray paint? I feel like KBS rust seal is a good product and you may be able to sponge it on? It dries very hard too, so it's scratch resistant, to be honest though I'd probably take it to a powder coaters and have it done that way myself.

I used epoxy enamel gloss paint and I'll be sticking with the same throughout. I had considered powder coating and although it seems very effective my preference is to stick with paint.

 

I did try a satin paint on the pedal box but it scratched with little effort. The gloss is much tougher, especially given enough time to dry in this cold weather.

 

Just wish I had an oven I can bake some of these parts in! I will try to bake the suspension components that take a battering.

Edited June 23, 2017 by George