A very rusty z.

[C.A.R.]

Meh...

Get the shell blasted. Buy yourself a good Mig welder, a 4" Grinder & get cacking.

 

Remember, the job is only as inordinate as you make it out to be.

Good luck

 

P.S. Chris, you have no right to comment on weather a Zed is salvageable or not - you never even get your hands dirty working on yours!

[Scoota G]

Rust, Pfffft. Check out the Job i did on the Mustang in the below thread.

 

http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,9214.0.html

 

You could drop a bolt on the winscreen cowl at the top and it would hit the concrete. That 240Z is salvagable for sure.

[Zeddophile]

What year is the newspaper in the roof? 

 

Definitely a candidate for blasting, that car.  It will probably come back more holes than car, but at least you can size it all up properly, and set up a plan of attack for how deep you need to go...

 

I'd be guessing its had a hit in the front by that bonnet, that could be fun to repair if you go down that path - lots of curves in that leading edge that aren't readily apparent 

[thriller]

Should ask; is $260 a good price for a bonnet? Seems a little steep considering 240z, 260z and 2+2 all use the same (don't they?) part. One's up on eBay in Adelaide, not sure if forking that out now is better in the long run than filling the dents as best as possible.

[Zedback]

Hey, looks like a cool project for a DIYer, though not if you were paying someone to do it for you!  Early car and looks complete, other than a bit of missing sheet steel 

 

Just go for it, the hardest bit is deciding to just do it.  Do all the right things like labelling and bagging parts as you dismantle it and take heaps of photos so you know how it all goes back together - it could be years before you need to remember how it goes back together!

 

Start with the nightmare unusual rust in the roof because if you can fix that then anything else is easy.  Floors, doors, ppffft ...easy    You can do an amazing amount of reconstruction with some used sheet steel, a drill based nibbler, decent sized vice, multigrips and a selection of your favourite hammers.

 

Good luck with it, can't wait to see the project log.

[Brabham]

Soda blasting will only remove paint I believe and not rust. If you want to remove rust, you will need to have it bead blasted (my preference). However there are advantages and disadvantages of each method of paint stripping/rust removal. The key disadvantage with bead blasting is it heats up large flat panels and can warp the metal - fortunately not a problem with the roof! The blasters need to go carefully on large flat areas and use a media that is not too harsh.

 

I actually prefer to fix some rust before having it blasted, this way it all gets blasted again and painted. Epoxy primer is also better than standard etch primer as it can sit for years without rusting, with etch, you need to be painting within the next month or so. I agree with the comment on the roof given the rust has made its way inside a bit, if you can fix this, you should be able to do the rest. Are you able to put a pic up of the sunroof hole looking down from above?

 

Best of luck and look forward to seeing your progress

[240Z_au]

I'm going to watch this thread in awe. Hope you have lots of time on your hands 

[gav240z]

Your brave, but if you have the time and patience go for it. You'll find lots of help here. Don't expect it to become an investment and just enjoy it for what it is and you'll be happy.

[Veloce]

I agree with using epoxy primer... then hi fill primer, but thats a ways off... bookmark this link, it has a bunch of PPG paint data sheets for the various systems available. http://www.amcap.com.au/default_amcap.aspx?menuid=1035

[zed74]

Dont take the responses the wrong way.

Some of the blokes who will say walk away know full well whats involved in a restoration your going to be looking at, know the pain and $$$$ of such a job.

Others (like me) want you to make sure you decide your path on a full understanding of exactly what your getting yourself into, hence my comment of get the shell blasted.

personally, i would love to see you restore this, you say you have youth on your side? that also means that as you learn the skills to restore this, you'll be able to teach them onto a new generation of people. That in itself is incredibly valuable.

 

Anyways, good luck with it, and dont forget the detailed build thread with lots of pics. 

 

Hi

You are looking at a 400+ man hour job just on rust repairs - as long as you appreciate that & can smile through the process of finding more "rust" it can be enjoyable to rebirth a car!

 

Paid someone to do a 300 hour rust job back in 2007 & very happy with the results - even though (after sandblasting) the car looked more suitable to strain spaghetti in an Italian restaurant!

 

Gook luck

[Wayne G]

Yes it is a rusty Z, makes me realise how little there is to do on mine by comparison.

 

Strip the shell then blast it and make a decision but I suspect it will look much better once blasted and primed!  Don't stress on the hanging panels at the moment, just stop them rusting further and store them.

 

Get a welder and some steel.  And the end you will be able to weld pretty much anything!  Try and log it for us, and yourself, to see the progress.

[Bigfella]

I think I am going to change my signature now. I don't think I can be the owner of rust anymore. 

 

Good luck mate. You can do it.

 

Cheers Matt

 

[thriller]

Okay, I'll rip as much of the hanging panels off as I can today... What's the best coating to use for storage? I've heard great things about lanolene, or should I just go fish-oil as I don't need to worry about it contaminating paint (as it'll all be stripped back to nothing in future?)

[Veloce]

If you don't want to blast it (lets face it, it isn't a cheap process), i have had success with striping a whole car with a Norton rapid-strip disc on an angle grinder (the ones i found were a blue colour and not black as below).

 

I did a whole car in 2 days and it had around 8 layers of paint and primer on it, used about 8 discs from memory, you will make a mess so lay down a big plastic drop sheet and wear a mask.

 

Also, i highly recommend picking up an 80 grit flap disc, these are perfect for grinding down welds flush, about a million times better than anything else, pic also below.

 

Both these are both available at bunnings.

 

If i was to strip the whole car i would treat the bare metal with Dioxodine, rinse with water (follow instructions), dry completely and prime as soon as possible with epoxy primer.

 

That way you can take small sections back to bare metal, do repairs and re-prime with epoxy, this way bare metal isnt exposed any longer than it needs to be.

 

Modern body fillers can also be used on top of epoxy primer (PPG actually recommend this), some people shy away from this techique but it worked well for me.

 

 

 

[C.A.R.]

Sorry, but IMHO flap disc's are a big no no.

As they wear, they become concave & thus they can sand 'waves' in the sheet metal you've just welded.

 

Stick to a standard flat disc & backing pad

[thriller]

Okey dokey, time for more pics and more words.

 

Gav240z, definitely not expecting to come out on top money wise from this one. Maybe in about 40 years when they're all but extinct.

 

Thanks for that link Veloce

 

Zed74, I'm trying to think of it as though my 400 hours is un-doing the damage that Mother Nature has been inflicting for about 350,000 hours...

 

Definitely going to be logging it all Wayne, as I can see that at some point I'll be down on motivation, then I'll at least be able to look back where it started from.

 

Yes blasting doesn't sound cheap at all. Corsa here told me that Soda Blasting will set me back ~$1,100. Soda sounds like the way to go, but I think I'll strip it back to a bare shell and then assess from there. Thanks for the tips too. I assume Dioxodine de-oxygenates the metal or something in order to stop it oxidising underneath the paint later on?

 

Anyway here's a bunch of pics to keep it interesting...

 

Getting through the bonnet stripping, at least most of the paint is off now. Just a fair old bit of surface rust and two small holes:

 

Here's some of the rust... Flap disc seems to be quite ineffective against it, unless I'm using it wrong? What should I be doing here? Any ideas would go a long way.

 

Brabham, I think you asked for this angle?

 

Pulled off the windscreen cowl expecting to find much worse than this

 

One of the fenders off:

 

I don't reckon this looks bad... Thoughts???

 

I couldn't get the passenger side fender off because one of the bolts that holds it to the sill has rusted round, and since the head is recessed beneath the fender I can't get a grip with vice-grips... What should I do? Also I pulled the fender up to have a peek at the rail, it's definitely much worse than the drivers side. Not totally rogered, but will require some sheet welded on.

 

Oh, and there was this little surprise waiting for me underneath:

 

Again, thanks for the encouragement and comments.

[Stivva]

That is a scary looking project! Good luck and kudos for the courage to start with such a swiss cheese chassis!

[FuzzyDropbear]

...I don't think I can be the owner of rust anymore. 

...

 

That's one title that noone minds handing over 

 

Good luck with it mate, the up side is that you can't be afraid of taking the angle grinder to it, it's not like you can damage it any further! 

[C.A.R.]

Doesn't look that bad to me ATM... Keep digging

[Brabham]

Yep not as bad as it could be. Roof looks ok and hasnt eaten into the sunroof hole too much. You may be better off using an orbital sander at a lower speed to take the paint off - this will ensure you dont warp it. Re the bonnet, the flap wheels wont get rid of pitted metal, you have a couple of options for this, either you can cut out rusty sections and weld new ones in, get it acid dipped, or ask a blaster to blast it carefully.

 

With the hanging panels, you wont need to treat these so long as they are under cover as they will need blasting anyway. Try to concentrate on one section at a time, now you have got the bonnet in bare metal, try to finish this off as rust will start attacking it from day one.

 

With the bolt in the fender, you can try screw extractors, these dont always work and sometimes just butcher what is left of the bolt, or you can drill it out and retap it.

 

Good luck with it

[Veloce]

 

Here's some of the rust... Flap disc seems to be quite ineffective against it, unless I'm using it wrong? What should I be doing here? Any ideas would go a long way.

 

 

I wouldn't use an 80 grit flap disc on the panels to remove paint or rust, it would gouge the metal too much, what i see in the pic you posted is beyond surface rust, something like that needs to be cut out, it's too pitted... but bonnets aren't that expensive so i would look for a good second hand one. 

 

 

[thriller]

Alright, I'll make an offer on that eBay bonnet. All the z's use the same bonnet don't they??

 

$260 a bit pricey or is that about what they go for? I swear I saw a fiberglass bonnet for sale here for $100 once...

 

Also RE welders. There's a complete shitstorm regarding gas vs gasless, conflicting opinions everywhere. Know a couple of people whom I trust pretty well who say a small gasless is totally fine if you take it slow, but then on any forums it seems everyone is backing gas.

 

-how much should I spend?

-What amp range should I be looking at? 25-130 ish??

-suggestions on places to buy/brands/welders in particular?

[gav240z]

Alright, I'll make an offer on that eBay bonnet. All the z's use the same bonnet don't they??

 

$260 a bit pricey or is that about what they go for? I swear I saw a fiberglass bonnet for sale here for $100 once...

 

I paid $400 for a 'good straight' 240z bonnet. The bonnets are the same the only difference is the later 260z's had fluted hoods. If this is not a big issue then it doesn't matter, but I personally prefer the look of the non-fluted hood. The flutes are more practical, but I just don't like the late 70's plastic style of them personally. Much prefer a more 60's looking type flute.

 

like this:

http://www.wallpapersofcars.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/58619_JAGUAR_XK8_CONVERTIBLE_4618785947_01fdf62abd.jpg

 

Or this:

http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/4093/PreviewComp/SuperStock_4093-24610.jpg

 

Or you can place the vents in the inspection lids

[thriller]

Alrighty,  got me a bonnet for $230. As long as when I go inspect it, it's not totally pitted out like mine. Ventless too, from a 2+2. Started drilling out that bolt too, will have to finish and post a piccy of underneath the fender once I'm home from some uni enrolment thing for a few hours.

[thriller]

Hmm, I didn't think of how I'm actually going to transport the bonnet haha. Might strap it to roof-racks.

 

Anyway here's some more digging, had to work soon as I got home last night.

 

Some joker has tried to fill in a dent in the rail with bog...

 

Stripping down some more, need to get the interior out next step as well as the grill (all the screws stripped instantly... woo...)

 

Going to have to get creative with some sheet metal in here;

 

Underneath the passenger fender. Other than the bit of thin sheet that bolts the fender to itself, the whole thing looks pretty solid.

 

I'd like to thank Nissan engineers for creating adequate drainage solutions here

 

This is the only rust in the engine bay, obviously underneath the battery. Kind of expected it.

 

And in the A pillar. This is a bit concerning as I've got no idea what lies underneath that a-pillar... I get the impression that I'll have to pull the roof-skin and a-pillar skins off at some point to assess how bad it is under here, correct?

 

 

Anyway, I think that brings me to the point where I know where 95% of the rust is... Once I've stripped the interior, next step is strip out the engine bay, correct?