CroS13

http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/S267 There is a Hare and forbes in North Parramatta, Its like being a kid in a candy store, except the candy you want costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, and you don't have a jar big enough to fit it all in! Thanks for the kind words Pete, its everyone Else's support, and their builds that keep me chugging along with mine. Great to see your Car in person and on the road, it looks a million bucks. The talent you learn as you go mate, I'm no fabricator, the only other time i had done any welding was a 1 week module at tafe in the first year of my apprenticeship over 10 years ago. Couldn't weld for shit before i bought my car, just invest in PROPER tools, a quality welder, some gas, and practice practice practice. Watch some YouTube video's, read some tutorials on how to set up the welder and have a go. I went to the local metal distributors and bought $50 worth off 0.9mm off cuts, Zinalume, cold rolled, a bit of everything, and i practiced and practiced and learned the welder for about 2 hours every day after work for a week, before i even attempted to do something on my car. And when it came around to doing work on the car, i started in a area you wont see, so if i cocked it up, no harm done. As for the patience.... trust me.... this car has tested my patience on more than one occasion, i just close the roller door, and like Locky said, go inside, sit on the computer, crack a beer and unwind. Plenty of tears were had so far, and plenty more im sure. Rudi

at the end of the day for a beginner i feel that Mig welding with GAS with produce the best results, and is the easiest to learn. Now i have pretty much 'permanently borrowed' a workmates welder and gas bottles, so i have no need at this time to buy my own. However, after research, and on the recommendation on here from a few people, it seems a LINCON 180a Mig is the way to go, best bang for buck. They are sold by BOC, and usually retail around the $1300 mark, although a few times a year they will drop on sale to the $900 ish mark. If i was to buy a welder, that is what id get. Now i do know you are a young fella, and money might not be as easily available to you, i was actually talking to a workmate of mine, who highly recommends getting a Inverter Mig Welder. They are small, (suitcase size), light, and are ALOT cheaper than a equivalent transformer Mig welder. And from what ive been told, work really well, and can take a gas bottle. Apparently they can be had for $250-$350 dollars, maybe someone with more welding experience like Locky could chime in and give his opinion, but it seems this might be a decent solution for you. Buy a GOOD welder, wont break your budget, and get some gas. Like i said before, i don't even bother opening the garage door when my bottle runs out. But then again, im no expert, just a backyard fabricator who has learned to weld from scratch on my car, and the results speak for themselves. Just my 2c Rudi.

congrats Pete!!! Must be great to have rego on the old girl! now you can drive it to my house when you want to come have a sticky beak at mine! Rudi.

welcome to the forums mate. Nice Torry you had there, I bet like most you wish you hadn't sold it! I had the opportunity to get a LX 4 door as my first car. My Dads golf buddy had one, owned it since new, and it was as clean as the day it left the showroom. He only wanted $1500 for it then (this is going back maybe 12-14 years ago. I passed on it as i wanted something "cooler" and ended up getting a Silvia for my first car.... wish i chose the Torry! So what type of Z are you looking for? Rudi

looks awesome Andy, they are really moving at a cracking pace! It will be painted in no time. i also cant wait to see this with colour on it! Rudi

UPDATE 20/1/16: ENGINE BAY PROGRESS So i have been slowly chipping away at the engine bay, and was not really looking forward to tackling the battery box area, so i started by removing the mount for the charcoal canister, because that got tossed over the shoulder! Once that was done, it was time to get stuck into the battery box, it looked "reasonable" at first glance, but it kept bugging me. so i broke out the spot weld drill and got to work, which once removed and hit with a wire wheel, showed the extent of the damage, which left me with paper thin pitted metal: So i cut, and cut and cut.... but kept running into rusty, pitted metal..... once it was all removed i was left with quite the sorry sight: And hence why its been a while since my last update, this would be quite a complex panel to make, with multiple curves in many directions, it would be my biggest test yet! So to start, i had to patch the hole in the firewall, where the rust had eaten away at the join: Next was to drop down a plate vertically, as i had removed quite a bit of metal during my exploration with the wire wheel: and now my 300mm sheet metal roller really started paying for itself, glad i bought it after all: a couple of relief cuts later, and we were getting close. I had welded to the firewall from the underside, you can see a little penetration, but overall im happy with the result as its alot neater: And yesterday i managed to finish it off! from the underside: unfortunately....in my haste to GTFO of the garage yesterday, i reefed open the garage roller door while standing at some stupid angle, and i threw my back out.... I am now in quite a fair bit of pain, on pain killers and have been given the rest of the week off work. So ill probably be out of action for a week or two.... happy days...... Rudi.

No one who has done a PROPER restoration on a 2+2 would be crazy enough to let it go for 15k. because it would cost at least double that to do a legit restoration. That car looks pretty, but that paint job, its a 1-2k bog and flog deal. You would need to strip it back to metal to see how bad it really is. And 10k wont get you far in regards to restoring it. You might be up for more than that in rust repairs alone and then paint and body. Personally i wouldn't pay any more than 7k for that car, but id rather save another 10-15k, then spend 25-30k for a good one when it comes up. Rudi.

if you find a 240z that is under 10k, chances are it well on its way to being returned to the earth, double your budget, atleast. Look for a 260z, or better yet, you might be able to find a 2+2 in your budget. Be warned, any 2+2 you find under 10k will not have been restored, if its painted expect a bog and flog job. Even honest and decent 2+2's are creeping up to the 15-20k mark now. I guarantee if a owner spent the coin and time to restore the body of a 2+2, they wouldn't be letting it go for under 10k, clean or properly restored body's are like gold. Rudi

wow really looks great! because it was all updated in a few posts, you get tricked into thinking this was all done in a short amount of time, how long did all that take to repair? And i have major problems with getting dust particles and what not in my finish when i use KBS rust seal. Ive been using it for all my rust repairs Ive been doing, Ive used a proper paint gun style strainer when pouring the paint into a clear jar, brand new paint brushes every time i paint ( 1.50 from bunnings) and yet i still get raised areas and dust particles and particulates settling in my paint as it cures. drives me mad! Rudi.

awesome work mate! You blazed through the rebuild, especially over the last year and a half, its left me gobsmacked at how fast you got it done. Its made me feel lazy and angry with myself, which is great! gives me more motivation to get in the garage and get cracking on mine! More videos please! Rudi.

The cars that are selling for 50-60k, like Adams, and that purple one, are fully restored cars, and being resto-mod at that. They don't need a single dollar put into them as they are done, hence commanding the high prices. Which is fair, because you cant build them for that much. This thing needs a full restoration, so take your 50k, add another 50k to get it to the build quality of above mentioned cars. I think its abit rich for a original, sure, no rust, but that doesn't make it worth 50, honestly i would say 30-35k would be fair.

good work so far buddy, i like how your real young and not afraid to have a go! Just one suggestion, looking at your welds, i was thinking to myself that you aren't using gas. Then you mentioned about adapting Locky's bolt removal technique to use with a gassless mig. In my honest opinion, if you don't have gas, don't bother mig welding. If your welder can take a gas bottle, either rent one from BOC, or now i believe you can actually buy bottles, i think from speed gas. If i recall they were around $400 to buy and then $100 to fill, It was a exchange program much like your LPG BBQ bottles at the servo. Rudi.

temps are gonna drop, bring the chook cooker Gav, no excuses!

is that at Redi-strip at Blacktown? That's the only dippers in Sydney but i could be wrong. Did you have any reservations about getting it dipped? Ive heard mixed things, what did they have to say in regards to explaining the process? And how is the metal protected afterwards? Looking forward to pics too! Rudi

I'm enjoying your build man, mostly because its a near splitting image of my 2+2 build with rust in all the same sections haha! Do you have much rust in the nose where the bonnet hinge is? mine was all rotten there, Mark made me up all those nose bits too. Rudi

^^^ You bringing that blue hand cranked horseless carriage of yours? don't forget to bring enough coal for it

Perhaps you could organize a Bbq or get together at your place, have a few guys over for some beers, shoot the shit and get some work done on the Zed as a group? If i recall were you in Seven Hills? Maybe create an event date in the NSW section for a Saturday or sunday? Id be up for coming and giving you a hand sometime, majority of those issues shouldn't be hard to sort out. How far until you move? and what area are you moving to? Rudi.

Don't worry George Ive lost the wind in my sails over the last month too. Ive had a string of really really bad jobs and rebuilds at work, mainly forklifts from the rubbish tip or chicken processing plants..... I get home and the last thing i want to do is get filthy doing fab and panel work. Come weekends Im like "nope not getting filthy this weekend" Keep it up Pete i want to see this thing on the road!!

wife is working but ill be there in the Sil. Rudi.

^^ Sometimes that can be more expensive, perhaps that's the reason? i had my radiator rebuilt by a old school shop, it cost $500 because they needed to fit a new core to it. I only did it because i was able to write the cost off at work. If i had to pay for it, id probably just have gone an E bay jobbie. looking good Locky. I like the previous owners thinking, if we cant "see" the rust, it isn't there! .........

hey at least he isn't LS swapping it........

and episode two:

No there shouldn't And something else i noticed in that photo, earlier in the thread, someone else mentioned that your rear slam panel looked "mint" and i just thought to myself i was actually thinking the exact opposite. The rear quarter panel folds over into the slam panel about half way down and is spot welded there, so why would someone bog over it and smooth it out /shave it, unless they were hiding something? For example here is mine: and yours has been shaved out and is smooth. Id be grabbing a brumby disk and a grinder and getting into it, and I have a bad feeling you should probably order a replacement slam panel from rare spares. Good luck! Rudi

Hey thanks man, its everyone else that keeps ME motivated to keep at it, everyone's builds that give me inspiration to get off the computer, get out their and get on with it! Not sure if i can picture this acrylic panel roof, Do you still want a sunroof? or is this idea just the "easier way out" of replacing a whole turret, or welding a new sheet into the roof hole, because to me, silicone in the roof just sounds like a recipe for disaster, and a great place to trap water and encourage rust. Before i bought my car, i looked at another zed, it was listed without a sunroof, when i get there, it had been shut, all the wiring and motors removed, they had simply run sikaflex around the gap and filled it in, and bogged over that, then sprayed the roof. It was done ages ago and the whole roof around the edges of the sunroof was rusting and bubbling up. Another idea that Ben from Otomoto did, was he cut out the roof and made a carbon fiber roof skin that he glued in i believe. Looked really good. I think if you are going to the effort of a full rebuild, bite the bullet and do it right the first time, even if you have to pay for it. And don't worry im painting the engine bay body colour, not sure of colour yet, but it wont be blue! Rudi

UPDATE 10.10.15 - Rear quarter done, suspension painted Ive been quiet lately on here, but rest assured progress hasn't halted, quite a bit has been achieved! I started by shaving the antenna hole in the back, and while i was at it, i also filled the holes drilled into the door to mount the original mirrors. They had been filled with expanding foam and bogged over, and had cracked through the paint. next step was to drop all the suspension so i could tackle the rust repair in the rear end. so that was accomplished: Then was the task to tackle the rust in the passenger rear end, it was pretty much the same story as before, id need to fix the bottom edge, the inner skin was rusted and would need to be re made, and the hole for the 5mph impact bar would need to be filled: and once again some post production editing later, it was complete!! once again making the inner skin was a pain i don't want to re experience! note this time round i added some more drainage to the bottom: I really need to invest in a sand blasting cabinet, because this was a long, painful day. To be honest i wish i just paid someone to do it, what a pain cleaning all the components with a wire wheel Took the bits and pieces from the rear end to work and had the painter hit them with some 2k black. Some people might ask why no powder coating? to be honest, Im not a fan of it, we have our BT Forklifts powder coated from factory, sure its a more durable paint process, but once you get a single chip in it, water gets in, surface rusts the metal from under the paint, and the powder coating just peels off with you fingers in big strips. Hell look at what happened to the TVR's after a few years, the space frame chassis in them just rusted from the inside out. There was a great wheeler dealers episode showing it! Also note the Stewart Wilkins front diff mount: more bits and pieces trickling in, it feels great to be buying refurb parts, feels like im making progress! Oh and if you didn't notice already i also got it on the rotisserie! And don't worry Pete, not ignoring the missus, i usually attack it before she gets home from work, or early mornings on a weekend when she is still asleep ha! Rudi