Rat1314

Some more work has been done. Just finishing off some panel work, not quite finished yet but getting there. And also got the old motor out today I already had most of the engine ready to be pulled just had a couple of things left to undo. Well time for an update, pictures do most the talking so here they are. I thought I had some 'before and during' pics but I must have deleted them by accident but you get the point. A bit of rust that was cut out Me welding Welding finished and welds smoothed out Then we stripped all the paint from the engine bay Painted the bay Striped and painted the engine crossmember And the brake booster My fastener supplier is a 15min drive away and I couldn't be bothered going there for four nuts so I ended up cleaning these ones up, all the parts/hardware stores around here didn't have these exact nuts and since it holds in the crossmember I wasn't going to use a weaker nut. (I want to use all new hardware where i can in the engine bay) And this is where I left it tonight, I started feeding all the wiring back through and mounting some of the components in the bay

Well it's been a little while since I updated this. I had to stop work on the car for a little while before easter as I had a few other things take priority before the long weekend, but thats all done now so I've started on the car again. First things first, I finally dropped the fuel tank. The f***ing bolts on the straps were seized, had to get the heat gun onto them to help loosen them up a bit but it's out now. Already been cut out and fitted with new metal Started stripping some more of the body Yep thats me, covered in dust, notice the haze? Thats dust in the air from stripping the old paint and body filler. This is how the rear quater looks at the moment, still have a lot of sanding to go to take a lot of the filler down. And I haven't really started on the lower section yet either. Pulled apart the front bumper to start mocking up the one I'm going to make. Starting to line them up, cut, shame and attach. This is going to take a while More to come soon... Been doing some more work, it's getting there slowly. The whole lower section of the quater had rust, not much but still, so I cut it out New steel welded in And a new outer skin that I fabbed up and welded on, it took a little while to make More rust. And there was a bit of the floor that was rusted in the corner Most of it fixed now And what the car looks like at the moment, I've got the spare guards on the front for lining up the bumper(more on that later) There has been some more work done, just no pictures yet Ok well more work has been done, I'm not liking the cold weather and it getting dark at 5:30. I need to line the inside of the garage at some point. But anyway onto the car... Mike has been working on this side while I was working on the other, his side has a LOT less rust then the side I was working on.... I wasn't too happy about that. And now the rear quaters are primed There is still a lot to go before we think about applying colour but it's geting there slowly ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ok well I've been working on the car again and have some updates. Mike hasn't been helping as he is busy with uni and then he is off on the 28th overseas for a while so it looks like I'm going to be working alone on this car for the next couple of months. Any way, I've been messing around with lining up the front bumper and it's going to be more time consuming then first thought. All of the origional bumper suports we have are too rusty to use so I'm going to have to make up a new one. Lining it up with one of the origional bumper supports that I was trying to repair, I had to line it up so I know where to weld the brackets on. As you can see getting it right involves grabing what ever is lying around to prop it up at the right height and angle. It was at this point I cracked the shits with it and decided I'll make up a new support from scratch. Starting over, I seperated the two halfs of the bumper so it's a bit easier to handle And some 100x50 C chanel that I had lying around that I'll use to make my support. I need to get some more cutting discs for both the grinder and drop saw before I can do any more. Now onto the body, Ive just been working on the rear quaters to try and get them as smooth as I can, it's a bit time consuming. And now with that done I have applied some primer filler that'll needed to be sanded down and to help check how straight it all is. And thats about it at the moment, now it's time for a lot of sanding.

It was around here I moved house and had a garage built as well as a million other things in life happened but their over now so work is happening a lot faster now We picked up 2 bonnets a while ago and decided to use the red one as it seemed to be the cleanest underneath rust wise. I don't know why but there was about 1cm of body filler over the whole bonnet. That made a huge mess while I was stripping it. It's a dirty job but someone's got to do it And now it's all striped, the haze in the photo is body filler dust in the air. The bonnet looks like it was hit with hail but nothing too serious My floor after wards I don't know how to shrink metal yet so I'm just using fillers to fix the dents on the bonnet Put some primer on it so I can start working on it bit by bit Me working away Getting there Still getting there Almost there, the filler that is on there isn't that thick Just put the vents in for the hell of it Gone over it with blade putty to fill the little imperfections Right the cars ready lets go! Bonnet ready for paint Almost finished, these didn't take much work Now their ready Just sitting them on the car to have a look Next we pull it all apart again, doors off this time Doors undergo my usual treatment Now their ready Now we thought of doing something a bit different, well not for me anyway. To make it look a bit smarter we decided on fitting a body kit. Well we weren't going to buy one new so we've started adapting one. Mike found a front spoiler on ebay off a 180sx, damaged for $70. I'll let the pics show you Hmmm close but needs some work And how the car looks at the moment It still needs some work but it's getting there Well I should do a bit of an update, nothing too exiting. Just been stripping and repairing the shell bit by bit. There is some rust that was previously repaired but I decided to cut it out and fix it properly, takes a bit longer but at least I know it's being done right. These are all the pics I have at the moment, I'll have to see if Michael has more and upload them. I've been working on this side, it had more rust on this side then the other. Every where there is filler the metal was cut out and replaced Now it's primed, still needs a bit of work and for the primer filler to be applied We have also got the doors, front guards and bonnet painted. I have some pics somewhere I'll have to find them and put them up as well. Found some more pictures on my phone, I thought I had more. This was about the worst of the rust on the front end, it was the same on both sides All fixed Just a random shot Fun times And this little bit was a very time consuming little (insert inappropriate language here) to make up and I have to do the same on the other side And a couple of the painted panels, not too shabby for my first time using 2pac and the color contains a pearl in it as well. I still want to wet sand, spray another 2 coats of clear, wet sand with much finer paper and then cut and polish. My aim is to have it as smooth as glass. I know it's going to be very tedious and time consuming but that's just me being a stubborn bastard.

This is another 'copy and paste' from another site, this is the car that I am currently working on and the one that is stopping me from working on my Z31. Well as the title suggests this isn't a Z31 but I thought some of you guys would like to see what I get up to in my 'spare' time. I've had a post going on this project for a while on another forum so I'll just copy from that one to start with then update it as I get more work done. There is a lot here so go now and grab a drink go to the toilet come back and enjoy. Well this car belongs to my future brother in-law (my fiance's brother). He never had an interest in cars until he started working for me part time (doing car detailing) A few years ago. When he started working for me he realized that cars are more than a mode of transportation and he started taking more of an interest in them. As he got towards the end of high school he started looking for a car to buy, he has a camry to drive around in that his parents own so getting something that is registered was not a priority. He decided that he wanted something more than your 'common' car, a commodore or falcon would not do, nor would a little buzz box with a overgrown whipper sniper engine. He started looking on the internet at cars that he liked the looks of. The first car to cross his eye was late 80's supra (I don't know what year, It had the first DOHC 3.0 motor in it). After pondering that for a bit and more internet searching he come across the 280zx. With no influence from me with whatsoever he decided that a 280zx was the car that he wanted. I was obviously happy with the choice having owned my Z31 for about 4 years by this time. Then the search began for a 280 within budget (we didn't really have one, just reasonably cheap) and not falling apart. One of the first leads we got was on a white one at a car yard at Stafford. We went around there and had a look. The car wasn't up for sale yet (they had only just received it obviously). After a look at it the car a salesman came over and started asking Michale and Katie (my fiance and her brother) some questions as I was still looking over the car. We had been looking at this car for a while so I had an idea at the condition it was in an had told Michale $2000 would be a good price for it. The sales man was giving them the typical sales pitch... 'it's a classic, can't find them any more, doesn't need anything, I've driven it and it's great' bla bla bla and then insulted the Z31's when Michale told them I had one. I'm still looking at it and wasn't involved in the convocation. Michale asks a price and the sales man told him he had an offer made to him of $10,000 and if he wanted it we had to better it. At that point I popped my head out of the engine bay and said we're leaving. After 12 months of sitting in the lot I think that car sold for $1200. After that experience Michale was a bit upset and was wondering if he would ever get his 280. All of the cars that were advertised were either too expensive, at least $3000 and that **** head at the car yard had his up for $10000. About 2 weeks later one pops up on E-bay, starting bid was $500, un-registered, not running and at Russel Island. After a phone call we jumped on a ferry to go and have a look and it seemed alright for the price. $650 later and Michale is the proud owner of a 280zx. We went to Russel Island with a car trailer and towed it home. The non running issue was apparently a warped intake manifold, that wasn't the case, just a blown gasket. Took me 4 hours to have it running. We started working on the car for a while but work stopped due to various reasons. It was originally in his grand dads front yard (not the best for working on a car) but since I now have a house with a garage and I have finished my car we towed the 280 around here on the weekend and the work has begun again. I'm hoping to have it done within 12 months given my experience with my car. Sorry for the long intro but I thought it was necessary for this car as it has been a mission not only finding it but buying it and also moving it from place to place. well some pictures are in order now When we picked it up The 280 and my 300 in the same garage After about 30 minutes of having it here Well there has been some work done, I hate rust by the way. Rubbish through out the car, the carpets are screwed. Not too much rust in the back Fixing panels, these didn't have too much rust on them and were really straight to begin with One door etch primed, the door jam hasn't been striped yet... Random shot of Michale trying to reach something while he was in the car Now the fun begins And is was here we went 'oh **** this is going to be fun' The only way to get to the rust was to remove the panel under the windscreen. this meant drilling out all the spot welds, took me a few hours to do Michale: So how are we going to fix this? Me: Get the grinder and cut out the rust, cut some new steel and weld in place And after Some more rust that has been cut out and replaced, the lower part of the 'A' frame was rusty as well I have more pictures that need to be uploaded Well some more work has been done. We're getting there slowly Some of the repairs that I had to do to the drivers side door You would not believe how awkward it is to cut rust out of a door jam (on the door itself and not the body), I tried my best to keep clean cuts but given the awkward angels that was not possible with a grinder. Another random shot This area has had about 10 hours put into it, I'm not kidding either there was a lot of work that was done that will never be seen The front passenger side guard ready for paint And the drivers side door is now ready for paint, surprisingly this took many hours to finish (see the first pics in this post) Well since that section is under control we move on... Michael is now dealing with this And I an dealing with this... Yes I know I'm crazy taking on a project like this but whats life without a challenge? Also Michael is learning alot as well so I think it's worth it. More rust repairs, well that's about all that will be happening for a while. Michael finished the top corner of the windscreen surround And some of what I'm dealing with at the moment, I decided not too work tomorrow so I'm hoping to have this section done by the end of the day This is whats left to do And the 'O' that you see I mark that on the new steel after I mark out the shape of the piece I need so I know what way faces 'O'ut. There has been many times I've cut a piece, place it down then pick it up and go 'F**k what way does this go'. It help alot and saves on frustration Things are getting there slowly, Michael started back at uni just a few weeks ago so he hasn't got as much free time now to help so I'm doing more work on my own at the moment. Right onto the pictures... This is what it last looked like when I posted And finished, this took a while Another section in the same area Some new brackets I have to make up to replace the rusty ones, they help hold the lower windscreen cowl to the car This is the color we are painting the car and this is how it looks in a cup before spraying, all of the metallic flakes in the paint kept on swirling around while it was just sitting there... it was kind of weird and hypnotizing And the lower windscreen cowl is now rust free ready to be put back on the car, just need to attach the brackets first All of the areas with filler on them have had rust removed and new metal welded in, I forgot to ge a before pic of this bit Right time to show you guys whats been happening. Well not long after my last post I was at the wreckers and I stumbled across a 280 there that was really clean and really straight, it looked like it was a unfinished project and it was FULL of parts. I asked the owner of the yard about it and it apparently was a abandoned project when a bloke had to move interstate. I asked how much for the whole car just out of curiosity and he replied with 'well I think that one owes me $500 at the moment so I'll take 500 for it'. I immediately called Michale and he came down for a look and then that weekend we picked it up and took it home. So after getting the gray car home we decided that would be the better shell to use so the blue one is now the parts car. All the parts that the gray car is missing the blue car has so it all works out quite well Here's some pics of when we got it back home and all the stuff it came with

This is just a cut and paste from another site that I'm a member on, the car has been 'finished' for about two years but I am itching to start doing more work on it. Well I haven't posted anything about my car for a while, Last time I had just started working on the paint and panel. My plan was to strip it all to metal (excluding the interior and engine bay they will be done at a later date) cut out all rust and weld in new steel, and respray. I think I started working on it in February of 08 and I finished it (finished... Hahaha like its ever going to be 'done') August this year. Things were a bit slow at first because of where I first had it to work on it, It was put in a friends shed on their property that was about a 15 minute drive away and about 30 minutes from any auto shop. It made things a bit hard to spend the time on the car. After about 6 months I moved to a place that has a garage so I moved my car here and then I got stuck into the car. Well I'll start putting up some pictures to show you what I've done. This is what it looked like the last time I posted here Now is when the fun begins.. Pulling it apart Not too much rust on this fender, the drivers side had none All welded up, all the welds got ground down Inside of the panels after I finished, I coated them with a under body, stone guard, rust proofing stuff Rust on the 'A' pillar, the other side was similar With the paint taken off And this shows just how far up the surface rust goes, again it was similar on the other side All major rust cut out and all surface rust removed And new metal welded in I kept most of the 'skin' and just cleaned that up and welded it back on, some of the lower sections had to be replaced. Both the front guards have been striped to metal and any dents or rust have been taken care of It is a big bonnet to take all of the paint off The doors got the same treatment as well, these things are heavy I found the front bumper annoying to strip because it's made of plastic you have to be careful not to damage it but I got it done eventually. I didn't have the proper tools either And it is about here when I got my new place and I moved my car here. Transporting it wasn't an issue, it all went fairly well... I got a car trailer, borrowed a car that was able to tow it and set off. Loaded my car up and on the way back home I saw something fly out of the Z on the trailer. ' Hmmm what could that be... SHIT THATS ONE OF THE T-TOPS!!!' They look good when they hit the road at 80km/h. Got the car here minus one top put it in the garage and started working on it more since it was so close. Yea the interior was getting really dusty After pulling the windscreen I found a nice rust hole and some bad rust around the base of the windscreen The whole lower part of the windscreen was cut out and replaced, this took a while Again all of the welds were ground flat and it was smoothed out with filler and painted Filled in the headlight water squirter's and resprayed them All of the door jams on the car were striped and on the doors Cleaned up the rest of the winscreen surround Around the t-tops, these were hard to get too just because of the shape Some rust that was around one ot the tops Painting some of the parts Some parts with a base coat on them My spray booths that I made up Walking around here at night with the lights off was kind of creepy. It was like something out of the Saw movies My R32 spoiler that I picked up. I thought it was the other spoiler that came with the R32's. Go to http://www.200zr.com to see the one I was thinking of Since I had this one and it only cost $20 I figured I'd make it fit and this one has a brake light in it Test fitting after cutting some of the spoiler Oh and I also striped and repainted the door hinges Lovely rust around the rear lights And a section that I cut out Yep more rust... I'm starting to see a pattern here, rust, rust and... yep rust This part had some bad surface rust on the inside and I thought I might as well cut it out while I as going And as usual everything was replaced with new steel Has just a little but of rust in the rear hatch And it cut out Some in the floor at the rear Filling in the holes from the spioler that I had on there Around the arial was a bit rusty and I wanted to get rid of it anyway so I cut out the rust and filled it in These things are great for stripping paint off metal Filled in the rear vents The rear after I finished Pulled the hatch to get to the rear door jam, this is surprisingly light Working on my spoiler, I had to cut a fair amount of material away to make it fit. That was followed by filling it with a steel plate with bolts welded to, then fiberglassed in place (to hold it to the car) then that was shaped and sanded and filled and sanded and... well it took a bloody long time to make this thing fit lets put it like that. Don't go assuming this is a simple bolt on because it IS NOT!!! Test fitting, now time to strip it and paint it I also picked up some side skirts off a BA Ford falcon. I want to get the ones from the XR Falcons but they are a bit more expensive. So I grabbed these to 'experiment' with and see if they would work before I spent too much money (I have already trimmed them to fit) Thats the difference in length from a stock one to one thats been trimmed to fit, not much since it's going on a 2 door car Some of the trimming I had to do The car base coated Just some more test fitting after the base coat All of the paint to spray my car And this is what 4lt of clear paint looks like After the base coat was sanded, more color was applied, then a clear. All of the paint is acrilic. Next time I will use 2-pac. This was a bit of a trial for me The next day I then had to wet sand the whole car and cut it and then polish it Then started the assembaly. Since I had this tacho sitting around for a while I thought I would put it in, I never realy liked the digital dash Installing some of the stereo gear And there are 2 12inch MTX subs in the boot I also blacked out the crome trim My water squirter's finished I also installed a intercooler The brackets to hold it I got a heap if 2.5 inch mandrel bends cheap so I used these as a mock up for a alloy setup And the alloy set up I thought I would put up some of the before pics first And now since I've finished it There will be more.... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well I am still alive... Life has been interesting lately to say the least. I run my own small business and it has been quite busy as well as some changes to the business that I have been doing, I'm also getting married this month (we got engaged last year) so anyone who is married will know no matter how much time you give your self the last few months are a bit crazy. Well back to the car. So the 300 has been a bit neglected in the way of mods and improvements but I have been driving it a fair bit and I LOVE every minute I'm in it so it's not a total loss. The car is also going to be used in my wedding as well so I'm taking this opportunity to get some other things done as well before the big day. The first things I done was to get rid of all the accessories on the intake manifold and polish the IC pipes that I had installed and I also finally painted the plenum garnish that I have had sitting on my work bench for 2 years. Yep stuff that will really matter at the photo shoot hey when the hood will never be opened. How it looks now And I started working on a better sub box design. The first one failed, but the second design came out quite good. I only finished covering these today, I'll install them in the car tomorrow if I get the chance to. Here's one finished, It goes where the spare tire would And the two together They aren't 'perfect' but I'm very happy with how they turned out so I can't wait to get them in the car and test them out --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well the subs are back in in their new boxes and I am very pleased how they turned out. Much nicer then just the wooden boxes I had in there before.

Just had a quick look through this and there is a lot more then what you posted on auz31club. I'll have to go through it all later when I have the time. It's looking great by the way.

Hey zzzzed, I noticed that you were on here. And yea I don't know whats happened with the site but I think I have given up on it, would have been nice if it continued but the Admins just weren't doing what needed to be done. Mick bailed completely and Ash was only logging on once every few weeks. But oh well I'm here now, I'll have to copy and paste my build threads to this site now.

Hey guys, I started lurking round this site recently and figured I'd join and stick around for a while. Seems like there is a lot of info and some nice cars on here. I own the bastard child of the Z world, a '84 Z31. I was a member of auz31club.com but that site seems to have died for the last time so I started looking round for another Australian site and this one seems like the best one. While I own a Z31 I do love all the classic Z's and I am in the middle of doing a restoration on my brother in-laws S130 2+2. I'll see about coping my build threads onto this site in the next few days.