240ZBUILTBYME - Project Georgia

[AndBir]

3 hours ago, NickF said:

A lot depends on your aspirations for the finished car.

Yep, and as almost all of this is hidden then as long as it is structurally sound then all is good.

Maybe just cutting out the buckled sections and rewelding in sections is the best option. Likewise panel beating other areas and skimming with some filler will be suitable.

[240ZBUILTBYME]

3 hours ago, NickF said:

Hi Ryan

 That doesn't look too bad If the panel gaps were ok prior to pull apart then the damage might only be cosmetic.

( I'm sure people with more knowledge than me will give better advice)

A lot depends on your aspirations for the finished car.

These restorations are a journey of disappointments  and great satisfaction

Nick

Yes the panel gaps were good but there many dodgy brothers alterations made. Front bumper was not able to be bolted in properly, Holes for sugar scoops slotted, front grille unable to bolted in properly.

It’s certainly not going to be a show car, it is going to be driven and enjoyed. But I don’t think I can live with leaving it as is. Like my mama always used to say “if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.” 

[gilltech]

Quote

I am now contemplating transplanting the front nose of a untainted car onto mine 

Good luck finding one! Better you fix what you've got rather than do a cut'n'shut anyway. And it's not like it's completely rotted out going by the photos.

I suggest you measure it all up and compare to the factory specs to see if it's within tolerances or whether the basic structure has to be pushed/pulled on a chassis aligner to tweak it, before you lock it into your jig and rotisserie structure.

But the way you're going with all this is a credit to you.

[C.A.R.]

[240ZBUILTBYME]

1 hour ago, gilltech said:

Good luck finding one! Better you fix what you've got rather than do a cut'n'shut anyway. And it's not like it's completely rotted out going by the photos.

I suggest you measure it all up and compare to the factory specs to see if it's within tolerances or whether the basic structure has to be pushed/pulled on a chassis aligner to tweak it, before you lock it into your jig and rotisserie structure.

But the way you're going with all this is a credit to you.

I would normally be looking at repairing as I know how hard it is to find a front cut, but I am actually lucky enough have access to the sections I need from the car I got my roof cut from. Which is why a cut and shut is an option. Photos below 

 

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

hahahaha come on @C.A.F. Your 2c would be appreciated here!

[gilltech]

Quote

I am actually lucky enough have access to the sections I need from the car I got my roof cut from

? ? ? (Confused). So you have two shells, is the grey primer one not the better of the two then?

[240ZBUILTBYME]

4 minutes ago, gilltech said:

? ? ? (Confused). So you have two shells, is the grey primer one not the better of the two then?

No, the primered one is being wrecked near me. I haven’t got a price for the cut yet which will be what determines which way I go, I think...

my uncle is a panel beater so he can assist in advising the pulling and repair. He is of the opinion that to repair what I have and to cut and shut are both equally a pain in the ass. either way my radiator support needs to come out. 

[240ZBUILTBYME]

I decided to plough on with the rotisserie build as I won’t be attempting repair on my front end until I have the car blasted and up to replacing frame rails/removing radiator support. 

 Progress is coming along nicely.

I realized that if I flipped my mounts and drilled new holes I wouldn’t have to cut and reweld. So now the mounts clear the nose. I love humanities proneness to be lazy.

notched pipe and mocked up horizontal joiner piece. 

welded up brackets and jam nuts. My welding is slowly getting better, soon I’ll be able boast about stacking dimes 

mocked up front base, notched upright for the pipe to fit into snuggly.

Next on the list:

- tack everything together and add extra supports to the base

-install castors

- do a mock install from jig to rotisserie, My goal is to be able to transfer the shell between jig and rotisserie with minimal fuss and effort 

-all going well, weld up front frame and base and move onto  the rear.

[240ZBUILTBYME]

Nearly knocked off the front section of the rotisserie this week, so close! 

I keep stressing that my progress is too slow. But I try to remind my self it’s one tiny task at a time, every little job complete is one little job less on the list. The old how do you eat an elephant thing....

Base and pivot point welded up and complete, castors installed. 

Next on the list:

-weld in supports on the base and pivot 

- due to the damage to the bumper mount section on my car I have decided to add additional tie in points, I will be using the front tow points, however the bolts had snapped on all the points so I will need to tackle that before hand

- move onto the rear of the rotisserie 

ryan

[240ZBUILTBYME]

Also picked up some shiny new bumpers from bumper automobile out of Vietnam. Much cheaper to buy these than restore mine. Very impressed with the quality.

 

[gilltech]

Good move. The quality of the original chrome wasn't particularly good.

[gav240z]

The test will be the longevity of it... re-chroming ain't cheap. But I was blown away by how good mine came back from AA Vinnies in Dandenong.

https://www.vinneys.com.au/

Hopefully your Vietnamese ones work well.

[240ZBUILTBYME]

40 minutes ago, gav240z said:

The test will be the longevity of it... re-chroming ain't cheap. But I was blown away by how good mine came back from AA Vinnies in Dandenong.

https://www.vinneys.com.au/

Hopefully your Vietnamese ones work well.

From all accounts they wear well, only issue is microscratches during washes etc but I’d say it would be cheaper to have someone buff and restore the shine than to rechrome. Not sure...

my bumpers were rat shit so it would have cost an arm and a leg to get them to this standard! 

[PET240]

Inspiring effort Ryan!

 

Following with interest!

[Mike_F]

On 5/18/2021 at 11:42 AM, 240ZBUILTBYME said:

Also picked up some shiny new bumpers from bumper automobile out of Vietnam. Much cheaper to buy these than restore mine. Very impressed with the quality.

 

I like the look of those bumpers! I have noticed that mine have 2 vertical things on the front of them (are they called "overrides"??). Does anyone know which years had those vs which didn't?

[AndBir]

25 minutes ago, Mike_F said:

Does anyone know which years had those vs which didn't?

AFAIK, they were standard on all years.

[C.A.R.]

4 hours ago, AndBir said:

AFAIK, they were standard on all years.

Correct ^

[gilltech]

Quote

AFAIK, they were standard on all years.

I presume by that you are referring to Australia-new cars.

I've collected quite a lot of 1970's advertising material and magazine road tests of the time which show quite a number of  English and European 240Zs and 260Zs didn't get the over-riders, just rubber plugs in the bolt holes.

I also have an Australian Modern Motor Sept '74 road test of a brand new 260Z 2+2 which has over-riders on the rear bumper only.

So I guess there was a bit of variation across the markets.

Perhaps HS-30H could enlighten us.

[240ZBUILTBYME]

I only got in a half days work on my last RnR, but managed to get some important work done. if you have been following along my front nose was damaged in a past accident and has been some what weakened compared to a stock one. I decided to add an extra bolt in point on my rotisserie mounts to add some strength as I did not trust just bolting to the bumper mounts. This is what I came up with....

first I had to remove the snapped/rusted out bolts from the tow points. This proved difficult, used heat and penetrant along with easy out bits, but to no avail on the LHS, I snapped two easy out bits trying. I ended up just drilling a 10mm hole straight through and will use a M10 nut and bolt, (I’m replacing chassis rails anyway) and I have a conveniently placed rust hole which allows me access to place/tighten the nut.

 I managed to remove the rusted RHS tow point bolt with the easy outs! What a feeling of triumph! 

this additional mount point added a heap of strength to the mounts, vertically and laterally. And it was only tacked together. Once fully welded they will be plenty strong enough to support the car. 

Why did I make it adjustable and not just weld the front mount all together? Good question. I made it adjustable because after I carry out repairs on the front nose the bumper bolt hole locations may alter slightly meaning the rotisserie mounts won’t fit for the underbelly painting. Now they are adjustable, they will fit.

Next up I hope to:

- finish the front mounts

- add supports where needed 

- start on the rear rotisserie mounts

[C.A.R.]

Never use Ezi-Out - they are never easy and they rarely get the stud out.

Only way to successfully remove broke stud is to use heat - either with Oxy or Tig - then quench it with water.

[240ZBUILTBYME]

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

Never use Ezi-Out - they are never easy and they rarely get the stud out.

Only way to successfully remove broke stud is to use heat - either with Oxy or Tig - then quench it with water.

This was my first time trying to get snapped rusted studs out, what do you use to get the stud out after the heat and water? I used a propane torch but don’t think it got hot enough.

[gav240z]

On 6/7/2021 at 7:36 AM, 240ZBUILTBYME said:

This was my first time trying to get snapped rusted studs out, what do you use to get the stud out after the heat and water? I used a propane torch but don’t think it got hot enough.

Video here:

 

Edited June 8, 2021 by gav240z
Embed Video Directly.

[C.A.R.]

On 6/7/2021 at 7:36 AM, 240ZBUILTBYME said:

 I used a propane torch but don’t think it got hot enough.

There's your issue - it needs to be cherry red.

You can either weld a nut to it or build it up with filler wire to latch some vice grips onto.

[240ZBUILTBYME]

So going on uncle lurches advice I contacted Les Collins and ordered a set of his L series extractors. Les is great to deal with and very forthcoming with information.

the extractors look great overall, had them ceramic coated too. However I was a little disappointed with the number of dents and dings and surface imperfections in the coating. I don’t know if I’m expecting too much and maybe this is a standard finish on extractors. Wouldn’t mind someone else’s opinion. I’ve never purchased extractors before. 

 

[gav240z]

Hmm looks like someone was a little rough handed with them, did you ask Les about it? Might be worth a call to see if that's just part of the manufacturing process or if someone was rough at them during the ceramic coating stage?