C.A.R.

With the panel gaps checked & the front clip adjusted slightly, the clip with welded into position. We then stripped the shell of the remaining parts and installed it onto the rotisserie: Blasting is scheduled for the 24th, so stay tuned...

Why are you worried about the primer colour? If you are concerned about paint chips, tint the primer body colour. The underbody was painted in body colour.

It's a W58.

The only rust I found was in the bottom of the LH guard. It's visually an excellent body rust wise.

I was fortunate to obtain a 2+2 front cut from one of my contacts that was straight with only minor rust. They also had some good front guards, headlight buckets / sugar scoops & bonnet hinges. So Michael went and collected them on ANZAC day & brought it back to our shop. That week we removed the skirt & rails from the donor firewall and did the same thing to the Z: The clip was prepped, then clamped into position where all the dimensions were carefully measured and the clip adjusted so that was in correct alignment. Following this the guards & bonnet were bolted onto check gaps:

I'm hotlinking them from Google Photos - if that helps?

I see $ signs, as this sort of poor workmanship keeps us in business!

No, just take photos and do one plug at a time. As it's a '71 it should have the early loom in it, in which case you should re-terminate and re-plug it.

No idea. And I didn't know there were two different types.

The LH dogleg had copped a hit, so I started to remove the paint in anticipation of replacing the panel (as pulling the dent out probably wouldn't work). Only to find this bodge-job: So I set about cutting the dogleg off and found this underneath - the shop who 'restored' the Z in 2018 didn't even bother to repair the rotten sill underneath... I knew the RH side would be the same so rinse and repeat: It was at this stage that I called the owner to discuss options as, this was no longer a straightforward job of straightening the body & giving it a new coat of paint. He agreed that it needed to be restored correctly, so it was now going to get the whole CAR enchilada... ...on a feckin Bus

Possibly. There is evidence of the tyre rubbing on the arch...

First was to pull the front out - the skirt and rail had pushed into the firewall, so we pulled the assembly forward to get the damage out. A bit of pulling, fettling and farnarkling and we got the front pulled square enought to begin the next step. After further inspection and consultation with the owner, it was decided to remove the front end and replace it with a straight one. Repairing the original front clip was going to be costly and I was doubtful we could make it look 100% perfect again... Looking at the other damage, we turned out attention to the LH rear quarter where it had taken a hit, so we attached the Dozer and gave it a pull along the bottom edge: Further investigation revealed previous repairs - and they didn't look good...

So this Michael fella posts up on one of the FB groups last year, asking for parts and panels to repair his bent Z that he's just bought. Like an idiot I pipe up and comment he needs to have it pulled straight by a shop first, before anything can be replaced. Next thing I know, he's PM'd me asking more questions... And this is how I ended up with another job and a it's bloody Bus! Turns out he had bought it off a friend who's SON had driven it into a tree... The Dad apparently didn't want any more to do with it and so he sold it to this bloke Michael. It looked like an OK thing before the accident: But now... oof... It's your typical Z hotrod with flares, big wheels, shitty coilovers & triple carbs. It was apparently been built buy a shop for the farther & son, but as you'll soon see, you wouldn't get them to service your lawnmower... Michael had removed the engine and gearbox before bringing it down to me. In mid April this POS arrives in my shop; it goes straight up on the chassis bench where we give it a good look over and measure. Miraculously the damage hasn't twisted or bent the shell behind the firewall, so we can get away with just front chassis repairs. However in the accident, the LH rear copped a hit along with the LH dogleg - and this is where the project snowballed...