Panel Beater in Perth - 260z Front Inner Fender-Chassis Alignment

[bebes2k]

Hi there,

 

I just recently purchased a 76 260z which appears to have had some damage to the front right inner fender and upper rad support damage.  The actual fender has some waves in it but the bigger concern is the alignment of the fender with the hood.  From the front of the car it looks like it is visually lower than the other side although there is not any clear lower frame bends - maybe just the inner fender structure...

 

Any recommendations as to a good panel beater or repair shop to have the dimensions properly measured and repaired in Perth?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Cheers, Bill.

[WA240Z]

Hi Bill,

 

Welcome to the forum. You will find the members on here are extemely helpful and supportive. If you get a few minutes introduce yourself to everyone in the intro section.

 

Try The Hot Rod Factory, in Welshpool. They specialise in chassis work, not so much panel work.

 

I have not used them as yet, but will be in the near future. Very nice guy who runs the shop and seems to know his stuff.

 

Also Rob and Martin Falconer, again I have not used, but they spend alot of time with z cars, and are very friendly and helpful. They will be able to point you in the right direction. 0430322294. If you are new to the z scene in Perth these guys will be a great contact for you.

 

Finally, their is a WA 240z-260z register club, if you are not familiar with it PM me and I can give you details of up coming events.

 

Good luck.

 

Cheers,

 

Billy

[gilltech]

Best get it on to a chassis alignment machine so it can be measured three-dimensionally. Visually if it looks wrong then it probably is.

But prior to that you could set the car on stands on the most level floor slab you can find and take a few reference measurements yourself, compare diagonals, chassis rail heights above the floor at equal points both sides, etc etc. Obviously not as accurate as a chassis machine but might help you get your head around where the problem lies before you call in the experts.

The inner guard and radiator support structure on the Z is rather lightweight; plenty of cars around have suffered crash damage there. Strange ripples in the inner guards that are different on both sides, and also in the radiator support panel, can show up to close inspection.

[bebes2k]

Thanks for the advice - the damage is minor (ie not frame) as none of the rails are bent and the car drives straight without any wheel alignment issues but cosmetically the front RH side is lower by ~1in.  After removing the air duct next to the rad support the waves in the inner fender are quite evident and a few hammer marks from when a cover-up was attempted probably about a decade ago.  All the backyard measurements including distance from lower rad support on both sides to the ground are within tolerance. 

 

The good news is that it is fairly minor damage but I would still like to get it pulled out properly and the panels re-aligned.

 

I will contact Rob and Martin and see who they recommend I visit.  The Hot Rod shop in Welshpool also sounds like it is worth a visit.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Cheers, Bill.