My Blue 260Z 2Seater

[260z blues]

Well cleaned up and painted 2 out of 4 of the above wheels but they dont fit over the front hubs.. bugger. 

Googled how to remove front guards to start getting front end cleaned up as planning on a big tidy up of engine bay as first step.

However I didnt see any files on how to remove the "factory welded" front gaurd onto the sill panel lol. 

Looks like previous owner thought cutting the rust out and just leaving a big gaping hole would be fine, just weld the bottom of the gaurd straight to the car... hmmm.

So all in all not as bad as i thought it might be. Now to get gaurd repaired. Are the replacement weld in panels on Ebay any good? Or is there a better place to buy them.?

[260z blues]

Successful removal of drivers side.

Hopefully finish passenger side next weekend. 

Inner engine bay area bolts had these strange washers with one edge cut off. Am assuming these are just another dodgy thing from previous owner ? 

[AndBir]

2 hours ago, 260z blues said:

Inner engine bay area bolts had these strange washers with one edge cut off. Am assuming these are just another dodgy thing from previous owner ?

Nope OEM to fit.

[260z blues]

Thanks for the info, I guess not everything on this car is dodgy then lol.

Any idea if they are still available anywhere?

[AndBir]

15 minutes ago, 260z blues said:

Any idea if they are still available anywhere?

Not that I know of in Australia so the postage costs from OS will be way more than the washers : https://www.zeddsaver.com/products/datsun-240z-front-fender-washers

Maybe new standard type washers and an angle grinder with a cut off wheel?

[260z blues]

Passenger side front gaurd removed and is much better shape than underneath than the drivers side.

Under battery area not so great however and has some wonderful weight reduction going on. Fairly certain it hasn't eaten into the chassis rails though.

Process of removing bits from engine bay is underway with engine and box coming out to have repairs under bonnet done and tidy up.

[260z blues]

[gav240z]

On 10/14/2018 at 6:14 PM, 260z blues said:

Looks like you may need to unplug the drain there, shouldn't hold water like that. I'm guessing it's blocked with debris etc.. inside fender area etc..

[260z blues]

Thanks man will inspect further next time I'm on it.

[260z blues]

So havent pulled one of these apart before and curious if this is factory or if its been a home hack job.

Anyone?

[C.A.R.]

That's factory.

[260z blues]

Slowly getting closer to removing the engine and clearing out the emgine bay ready for repairs and paint.

Needs some holes fixed under batery tray and bottom of radiator support. Not sure if best to have them custom fixed or look for replacement panels.

[260z blues]

3 minutes ago, C.A.F. said:

That's factory.

Awesome.  Thanks man.

[AndBir]

4 minutes ago, C.A.F. said:

That's factory.

Yep.

[260z blues]

Thinking i should probably look into replacing the suspension whilst the front is apart.  Not looking at coilovers but some decent shocks and low springs.

 

[AndBir]

5 minutes ago, 260z blues said:

Not sure if best to have them custom fixed or look for replacement panels

If it is just some limited damage then a custom fix would seem to be the better option.

[260z blues]

40 minutes ago, AndBir said:

If it is just some limited damage then a custom fix would seem to be the better option.

Just the bottom part of the rad support but with significant rust. Same with battery tray area. Will prob see what the panel guys say and what they are willing to do.

[260z blues]

And the engine and slush box are out.

Now to clean up and remove as much from the engine bay as possible and get a refresh on the engine. 

[260z blues]

well dropped the engine off today for a basic rebuild so need to get some panel work happening quick smart.

Where is the best place to buy front gaurd rust repair sections from?

And will be looking to re zinc some of the metal hardware under bonnet. What's the name of the factory finish for that, and anyone have any recommendations?

[240ZBUILTBYME]

Nice project man, defs manual conversion!

How serious of a resto are you going to do? Are you going back to bare metal and full respray? Or are you doing just exterior and engine bay? Have you checked the rest of the problem spots on the car? Doglegs, rear arches, rear slam panel, floor pans etc 

your engine will be done way before the bodywork lol 

You can get front guard repair sections from MSA aka the z store, they are tabco panels from my research, you can get the panels direct from tabco but good luck with that, their customer service is terrible. Can you do your own body work or willing to try? Getting someone to do it properly costs a fortune. 

You can get battery tray replacement panels, the tray itself from MSA if yours is too far gone, and the wheel well section underneath but I forget who sells them and whether it’s for both LHD & RHD. 

You can get outer sill replacement panels from MSA as well (tabco again) or go KFvintagejdm, KF is a newish supplier but I ordered panels from them and they’re very high quality (haven’t fitted mine yet though) 

if your chassis rails are  gone, zedd findings does replacements, MSA also stocks them but add their mark up to it. Apparently these require further modifications and aren’t completely oem. 

What will kill the pocket is the shipping costs. Especially if you order from three different vendors. May be worth just getting majority from MSA.  

Good luck 

Ryan 

 

 

[260z blues]

Thanks Ryan.

At this stage just wanting to get the bay done and looking factory fresh as best I can and then actually enjoy driving the car for some time. There are many other parts of the car that need work but I don't want this sitting in the shed for years and years I want to actually drive it lol. 

Can't do body work so it's a slow process being able to afford paying for it unfortunately but I want it done properly so best I get a pro on it.

Battery tray is fixable but under is toast. Have yet to find any RHD replacement at all.

Kfvintage seem to be producing slightly better quality panels so will probably end up going that way for most parts that I can, unfortunately they don't do gaurd repair sections yet so may put that on the back burner who knows.

Engine should be done by Christmas so yeah time is running out lol

[240ZBUILTBYME]

On 9/17/2020 at 7:37 PM, 260z blues said:

Thanks Ryan.

At this stage just wanting to get the bay done and looking factory fresh as best I can and then actually enjoy driving the car for some time. There are many other parts of the car that need work but I don't want this sitting in the shed for years and years I want to actually drive it lol. 

Can't do body work so it's a slow process being able to afford paying for it unfortunately but I want it done properly so best I get a pro on it.

Battery tray is fixable but under is toast. Have yet to find any RHD replacement at all.

Kfvintage seem to be producing slightly better quality panels so will probably end up going that way for most parts that I can, unfortunately they don't do gaurd repair sections yet so may put that on the back burner who knows.

Engine should be done by Christmas so yeah time is running out lol

Ah ok so staged resto, fair enough mate, at least that way you get to keep enjoying it!  So do your frame rails need change out or they ok? 

If I come across anything I’ll let you know 

[260z blues]

Well change of approach and getting a proper resto with Lachlan at C.A.R 

Fortunately not too many surprises were found lol.

[C.A.R.]

9 hours ago, 260z blues said:

Fortunately not too many surprises were found lol.

Errrrrrrrr....

Needing replacing:

L & R Outer sills.
Underfloor chassis rails.
Doglegs.
Slam Panel.
Radiator cross-member.
Top Rear of Left engine bay frame rail.
Inner skirt under battery tray.
LH firewall where skirt joins it.
HVAC plenum duct is all but gone at it's base.
Pin holes in plenum floor.
Rust holes in plenum top.
RH floor pan requires a couple of patch's (fore & aft).
Tail light panel needs sections replaced.
Rust in the rear of the drip rails.
Lots of pin holes to weld up.

Major Accident damage to both rear quarters which will will require a lot of straightening:

 

And that's not including the guards, doors, bonnet, hatch, scuttle...

On a positive note, the sills, rails & slam panel have arrived from KlassicFab:

Edited December 13, 2022 by C.A.R.

[260z blues]

I said not too many surprises, not.. not too much repairs lol. In actuality I was expecting worse. The only damage I was not aware of was the passenger side rear qtr and one of the previous dodgy repairs to the floor area.  Really happy with how it is all progressing, thanks Lachlan.