240ZBUILTBYME

Hi robdog Disclaimer that I am no expert or have any experience with panel bond. The question would be how strong is the bond between the metal and the epoxy? As that bond would be what is ultimately holding the skin to the frame. i would think that as the chassis flexes in corners etc that there would be considerable forces going through those joins as they flex. As even the soldering in the roof cracks on most cars after time at the four corners. My question would be How often are you going to take her out in the rain after she’s restored? If not much then just restore as stock and plug weld in place managing the heat with cooling and moving around? Would be interested to know about your a roof and A pillar rust repairs as I have a rusty roof/pillars too, do you have any pictures taken during the unpicking and repair process?

Next Video is live, EPISODE 5! this episode the engine comes out. Pretty proud i did this on my own as I've never pulled an engine out of a car before! Enjoy!

All good mate! It was a bit of a long post so I don’t blame you!

Thanks Peter, yep that’s what’s happening, as per my plan it’s going to the resto shop to be hand stripped on the large surface areas (roof, rear & rear quarters, bonnet, fenders, door skins etc) then media blasted everywhere else

yeah sure is Jeff... I have the perseverance part but not so sure about the patience? I think Ill need to take a long break after I get the car into paint.

lol I think it must have been driven on the beach...

So thats all so far. Oh I also have rusty front fenders in the usual spot at the bottom, nothing crazy. Most of these I knew about already, the ones that I didnt know about till after stripping the car were the Cowl rust, A pillars and Roof support structure. And they just happen to be the scariest parts... Not going to lie its pretty demoralising knowing how bad this car is... But so far my plan goes like this (please let me know your thoughts and any advice you can give me!): Build a Chassis jig, using this is to make sure the car is straight and level before I brace it and also so that when i come to replace floors, chassis rails, frame rails etc the car stays square and the bolt holes line up. using these plans from ConVerTT over on classiczcars https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/61482-240z-gets-jiggy/ Brace chassis while its on the Jig Build rotisserie Off to restoration shop for stripping and epoxy primer. I was considering using something like easyphos instead of epoxy as I dont know how long its going to take me to complete the rust repairs and bodywork and I have read that its not good to have the car sitting in epoxy. Resto shop guy advised easyphos only lasts about 6 months then rust starts up again. He advised car is ok to sit in epoxy as long as it is in an enclosed shed and covered to protect from any moisture in the air. Your Thoughts? Am thinking its best for the Resto shop to complete repairs on roof, pillars and cowl sections due to complexity of the structures. I think i need to do a roof reskin as to properly repair and rustproof the roof substructure the skin has to come off, chances of reusing the same skin? I would think slim to none. So I bought a donor roof with a clean skin, my roof structure will need to be repaired. thoughts anyone? Receive the car back from resto shop with repaired cowl and roof and begin long journey to repair all remaining rust. Which would be: Floors and chassis rails from MSA but considering using the floors from kfvintagejdm as they seem more original and have the front and rear toe boards which i will definitely need. Possibly will need to replace seat mounts, need to see what condition they are in after unpicking them. Frame rails from MSA Outer Sills from MSA but also considering kfvintagejdm Front Sill Reinforcement pieces from kfvintagejdm Inner and outer rear wheel arches from MSA Rear slam panel from MSA Rear Valance Panel from MSA Remove Tool compartment skins, patch rust and reinstall Patch Tyre well Remove battery tray and do custom bolt in solution Remove radiator support with intention to repair and reuse (has anyone successfully done this?), failing that new piece from fourways engineering ($1800 before shipping!!! will be trying to avoid) Complete new LHS door from all muscle parts reskin RHS door after proper rust proofing of the shell patch front fenders with MSA front fender patch

Just when you thought, Surely he hasnt got anymore rust.... This is the scariest bit for me. THE ROOF.... LHS (at least its consistent...) of roof is pretty bad all along rain gutters Unfortunately LHS roof frame has been badly rusted. small amount of rust on LHS of rear roof support coming through Rust forming all along the top windscreen lip, Im unsure as to whether this is surface rust or coming from the inside.... anyone care to comment? top of rear quarter window on LHS is pretty bad A Pillars appear to be rusting from the inside. this is really scary stuff, if anyone has repaired rust in the A pillars please let me know how it went for you?

So if you havent already noticed the LHS of the car is wwwwwwaaaaayyyyyy worse than the right, and the doors are no exception, these photos are only the LHS door as RHS only needs a patch panel at the bottom like most doors. Nice bit of silicone in the corner, courtesy of PO this door will be completely replaced with a new door from all muscle car parts

Radiator Support is actually not too rotten...But will definitely need a fair bit of work... Lower support is actually in decent shape!

Frame Rails on both sides will need replacing, LHS is significantly worse There was already a big rust hole there, I cut the hole bigger to take a peak inside, was surprised to find.... lot of rust inside..... Also take note of the nice rust spot on the shock tower panel! Battery tray area got off scott free, few little spots but nothing scary.

All the joins along the rear valance panel is starting to bubble.... As per usual on z's the rear slam panel has disintegrated... small amount of rust in the tyre well

So round 2 of my rust reality... Floors are really bad, PO just kept adding new layers and filling it with silicone. Tool storage compartments also have rust. Maybe I should have just listed the places that dont have rust? Would have been quicker

Great work Julian btw what’s your paint code/color? Ryan

Next up we have the Dog Legs made of Bog, the outer sills that dont exist and rear arches that have all been very dodgily repaired by PO Dog legs are made of bog on both sides Rear Arches LHS and RHS, Inner and Outer are toast Found this nice little panel at the front end of the LHS rear wheel arches.... removed and found a nice little portal to another dimension, the dimension of rust.... Inside view, looks like lots of bog and dodgy panel work (not really visible in the photo) I will finish off sharing the rust demons tomorrow, I need sleep....

Sooooo thought I would share the demons hiding in my z.... Im hoping I can do an exorcist on them soon. This car is extremely rusty. I feel it is worth trying to save though. Let me know if you disagree. I plan to tackle the majority of the rust repairs on my own, which to be honest is pretty daunting when I look at all the photos I took for this post... Just so you are aware Ive never welded in my life. I am mechanically minded and I have worked in a panel and paint shop before as a shit kicker. "hey Ryan sand this for me." "Hey Ryan block this for me." "Hey Ryan sand this again for me." You get the picture....needless to say I didnt learn much besides that sanding sucks! My Uncle is a panel beater and my dad is a spray painter so between them I should have enough guidance to get me through this. Im going to do each part of the car in seperate posts as there are so many photos and so you guys can quote on each if need be. First cab off the rank is the cowl section. rusted all the way across where the lower cowl panel meets the firewall. Not sure how common it is for these to rust here

Great work Guys! Very satisfying watching rust repairs done well my car is so much rustier than this.... Few questions: -How do you go painting in the open like that? do you get much dust/contaminants landing on your work? Exterior is obviously waiting for a booth - Was there prep work (sanding,prepsol etc) done to the underbody prior to paint going on? Or just straight over the top?

Thanks for thinking of me AndBir! I do indeed need these but ad says local sydney pick up... and also can get them half price from MSA! Im going to be purchasing a heap of panels from MSA/KF very soon, just waiting for that little oz battler to get a bit stronger vs the USD$. I think I'll pull the trigger around 0.75c...

Hi All Do any of the Perth members have any personal recommendations for body restoration shops in Perth? Im going to visit a shop called Farrace Classic Restoration today, anybody had any experience with them? They have the best reviews and photo documentation on their projects seems good and work quality high. Thanks Ryan

Thanks for the feedback Jeff. I have the same spots you had at the rear end of the drip rail too. Yeah I feel like my roof rust is pretty well spread, especially the LHS I showed in the vid. I feel like I need to strip the entire roof to ensure the rust is properly eliminated. Last thing I want is 5 years after shes painted bubbles start appearing.... I do have a clean roof skin donor to transplant if it comes to that. Ryan

If you have a look at episode 4 I go through some of the rust in the roof. Has anyone repaired any rust in the roof like this? Ive seen a couple of roof reskins on this forum but nothing overly in depth on what is repairable and what is not. I also have rust in the A pillars at the end of the drip rail panel (photos below), I'm guessing its worse inside..... Anybody seen rust in this area? I've tried searching but cant find anything on auzcar. Im thinking about having a restoration shop do the repairs on the roof, pillars and cowl sections as they are quite complex and beyond the skill of a novice such as myself. I feel confident enough to do most of the other rust on my own. IMG_3448.HEIC IMG_3451.HEIC IMG_3452.HEIC

EPISODE 4!

EPISODE 3!

EPISODE 2!

Episode 1!