RebekahsZ Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 If you find any old newspapers behind the bondo inside the rockers, look for a date on it and some Beetle Bailey comics! Ownership of any bags of dope you come across transfers with the car. Same with loose change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ls240z Posted January 4, 2015 Author Share Posted January 4, 2015 (edited) And that is why I absolutely hate buying cars. Such a pain in the ass, and so many potential problems. My car has a bit of rust, but no accident history or bondo issues, thank god. Hope it's not too bad underneath the filler. I wish there were chassis up here like that, and if they existed, didn't cost a fortune to buy. You'd be surprised Keith (or maybe not) by some of the crap I found in this car. When I took off the doors I found random washers used as spacers between the hinges and body. They looked like they were attached by bird crap, turns out they were welds... Edited January 23, 2015 by ls240z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ls240z Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 I haven't progressed too much on the underbody aside from scraping off some more undercoating. This seems like the worst of what I've found so far, which doesn't seem too bad. This seems a little troubling... Do all these cars have such a huge gap between some seams? Damn things is like 1/4"... How she looks right now. Once I finish scraping, I'm going to use a scotchbrite pad and a drill to clean everything up. I also just recieved my Bad Dog frame rails and the 240Z subframe connectors, which I'll have to modify from what I've read on here. They are some quality pieces. They are just sitting on my existing rail right now. I am going to try to plug away at johnc's list of chassis reinforcements for a street car. For a street driven S30, here's about as much as you can do to stiffen the chassis:1. Seam Weld (every sheet metal seam overlap.)2. Bad Dog Subframe Connectors3. Weld-In Roll Bar.4. Welded In Rear STB.5. Triangulated Front STB.6. Radiator Core Support Reinforcement.7. Transverse Link Bracing Reinforcement.8. RT Diff Mount.9. Tubular Seat Mounts.10. Box Upper Frame Horns to Firewall/Cowl.11. Reinforce Pedal Box/Brake MC Mount.12. Reinforce Front ARB Mount.13. Reinforce Front Strut Tower to Frame Rail Junction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Yep, big gaps. These cars weren't supposed to last 40 years! Paint thinner and mineral spirits helped me get that last little bit of thin undercoat residue off the car. Congrats on having a nasty job behind you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ls240z Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 Still looking for a shop with a power break to bend the 12ga angle strips I need to mount my Bad Dogs, so in the mean time I've been cutting up 1/8" steel for the mounting plates/boxes for the main hoop. I am copying robbs70z's design, which is this: Here is my pile of puzzle pieces so far I also had my fuel cell container bent up. I picked it up today, they did a good job bending it. I just have to weld the sides, drill the cover holes, and get it powder coated. I'm getting an ATL Saver Cell, so I built the container before I bought it so I can mock up the fuel cell frame in the rear. This also saves me a bunch of money right now, and I don't waste the limited life span (5 year?) FIA certification. I also bought a 4'x8' sheet of 20ga steel, for the hatch floor, battery tray, and firewall holes. Slowly but surely, this build is finally going places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ls240z Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 So I finished up welding the container, it turned out better than I could have hoped. It was my first time welding sheet metal so I was a little nervous. All that I need to do is drill a drain hole, drill the holes for the lid, remake the lid (the old one was an 1/8th of an inch to small), and get it all powdercoated (going to wait on that, might as well do a batch of stuff to save money). Now that I have this made I can put together the supporting cage in the rear. Getting the angle pieces to mount my Bad Dogs made up and I'm picking them up on Tuesday, should hopefully be some decent progress in the next 2-3 weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ls240z Posted April 29, 2015 Author Share Posted April 29, 2015 Well so much for that supposed progress, been traveling and working a lot of OT to pay for car parts. Putting a hold on welding in the fuel cell structure until I get the rear end bits from Will. I went out and pulled this rear diff from an 04 Explorer, twas a bit of a bitch to yank out in 2 hours (closing time). It's a 3.55, not sure if that'll suit my needs, I need to research more on the 8.8" gear choices seeing as I spent most of my time looking at R200 ratios. Working a lot in the next 2 weeks, but I hope to get started on the subframe connectors so I can sandblast the chassis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ls240z Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 Started tackling the floor patches, not the easiest to get a good fit up when you're trying to butt up nicely to all the curved surfaces. Or cutting with dull tin snips... Oh well. I seem to be blowing through every so often, I just hold the trigger a hair too long. After I get it all welded and ground down, I can start flattening the floor to fit closer to my angle pieces fab'd to fit the Bad Dogs to the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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