toolman

It took some time to sand blast the interior side of the door panel. So a 4 1/2 right angle grinder with a cup wire wheel was used for paint removal before sand blasting. The grinder saved about half a day sand blasting. With a bottom edge peeled open, the extensive corrosion can be seen. A 4 1/2" cutoff wheel was used to cut off about 1" below the lower body line. With the cut made. the corrosion can easily seen. After wire brushing the area. the patch can be constructed. About 5/16" additional metal for the lip that folds around the panel lower edge. This is the front side of the patch. The patch was attached to the door skin with sheet metal screws. Then was mig welded and seam sealed. A 1/2" holes were drilled with Blair hole saws in the both lower corners of the doors. They provided access for rustproofing later. A 1/8" drill bit was used to provide a pilot for the hole saws because of the uneven shape of the panel. These holes were plugged using 1/2" rust proofing plastic plugs after rust proofing. These areas are prone to corrosion and must be rust proofed. The fold over edges will be tack weld and seam sealed. All of the welded areas( including molding holes) will cleaned and painted with epoxy primer.

After plugging the 1/8" side molding holes with the mig welder, the welds were grinded with 3" 3M mig weld grinding wheels. These wheels are best at grinding mig welds. Its narrow surface allows of only the beads Then the welds are finished off with 24 Grit grining discs on a right angle die grinder. Overall view of dent repair on the door panel. I made a template for the patch on the door corner. outside view of patch Inside view of patch At this point, I decided to make it into a Reverse Patch which is a patch installed from the inside not from outside. this method allows the patch to be lower than the original panel. Then, only a small amount of body filler is required. Problem of holding the patch inside of door tight space had to overcome. I bent a 3/16" steel rod to hold the patch against edge of hole while tack welding. One end of the rod was inserted into a nearby rust proofing hole and placed against the patch. A downward motion of the vise grip puts pressure against the patch. After tacking. I just move the inner tip for the next area to be tack weld. This method is similar to the procedure used by Paint less Dent repairers. Evercoat epoxy seam sealer was applied to door panel seams. front lower edge Rear lower door edge sealed Unfortunately, we had a Category 5 (winds above 150mph) Hurricane heading straight toward the Hawaiian Islands so I had to prepare for the storm and was unable to finish the door. Fortunately, the Hurricane turned away at the last minute and only gave us heavy rainfall.

I made a small tent out of blue tarp outside my rollup garage door. It will serve as a temporary sand blasting booth for the doors. With the garage door closed, the booth will keep the blasting media outside the garage. With the door on a work table and a 1000 Lumen work light provides a decent working area. Snadblasting was used those hard to get areas( everything but the flat exterior portion). This pic shows the right rear bottom door edge. This view show the front bottom edge of the door. Note-this patch was put in about 43 years ago. I bent the lower edge of the patch and flatted the edge and tacked both edges with brass rod using a torch. I drilled additional 1/4" drain holes to provide more drainage. Only corrosion found was located above the rear portion of the old patch. This area was cut out and new patch will be made. The exterior paint on the door was removed by scrapping using a razor blade. This method usually doesn't work on the factory paint and primer only overcoats. My car was painted three times over the factory paint ( original Orange). The interior portion of the door was sand blasted because of its uneven surfaces. Paint remover was not used because of the mess it creates. A felt pen was used to make the dents on the exterior of the door panel. A H & S stud gun was utilized to weld the pulling studs to the panel. Then a small sliding hammer pulls up the dents up. Body filler finishes the process.

I am adding the seam sealer samples painted with Black paint so the contrast will show better.

ZHoob2004, To create a textured pattern on your seam sealer, you must be creative. First , you must use a plastic bondo spreader to spread the seam sealer into a wide flat area. using an acid brush, you poke the sealer to achieve the texture that you want. Second method is to use a blow gun and just blow the sealer from various distances and different patterns( zigjag, circles,etc) You can also change the texture by thinner to the sealer(changing its thickness).. You can use combs, small dust brooms, almost anything to create different textures. It is better if you apply the sealer in the normal manner and let the sealer dry overnight before performing texture techniques over it. Sealing the seam is the more important function than cosmetic.

Did some body work on the rear panel. Small dents on roof were found. Left rear dog leg body worked. Right rear dogleg bodtworked. Tools used for seam sealing Cowl Area: round mirror, acid brush attached to a screwdriver and a acid brush with the bristles cut in half to make it stiffer. Lacquer thinner can to used to thin the seam sealer to make it easier to apply. The cowl area was seam sealed with the Fusor sealer. The exterior of the duct was seam sealed. Even the interior of the duct was seam sealed( the top cover must be drilled out and removed to access inside). Left rear dog after body work-painted with poly primer. Right rear dogleg also poly primed after body work The fuel filler section was attached to the quarter panel using Evercoat # 100823 seam sealer which is a two part epoxy seam sealer. Outside view of fuel filler section. inside view of filler section. The Evercoat # 100823 sealer was used because it has epoxy properties that resist damage from gasoline spillage when fueling. The doors will probably be the next thing to be worked on. Once I strip down the doors, I know how much work that has to be done on them.

ZHoob2004, Can I ask you why you need to use sprayable seam sealer? If you are just trying to duplicate the spray texture of the seam sealer, there are several methods to create that spray on texture. I can post text and pics to show you how to do it. Toolman

The rear interior area proved to be difficult to seam seal and paint as the bottom side. The tools utilized to do this job were: a flat scraper, flat screwdriver, chalking with Fusor DTM seam sealer, a small round mirror. areosol upside down spray can, acid brush taped to a long screwdriver and a 1000 degree heat gun. First, Heat the old seam sealer with the Heat gun. then scape it off with the flat screwdriver. The top of the strut pocket area is another difficult area to remove and apply new seam sealer. The mirror is used to see all those hidden areas. Another difficult area is the right rear quarter panel pocket. At the end , the pocket turns suddenly to the right. To paint after the rignt hand turn, you must spray paint through the rear marker light hole. To paint this tight area, spray at an angle through the marker hole. Remove old seam sealer or reseal. Difficult areas can usually reached with an acid brush taped to a log screwdriver. To paint tight areas, the modified aerosol spray can is used. The underside of the hatch rear panel was seam sealed. Then painted . Hatch interior area also primed with second coat of Poly Primer. Left side of interior-Note the SEM Sprayable SEAM SEALER is barely noticeable after being painted. View of interior primed View of rear hatch area Rear panel primed. Next is body work on rear dog legs and few other places. After that, start on doors and fenders.

Posting additional pics from the pic two of bolts attach to another additional crossmember( guessing about 3" x1" steel tubing bolted to the floor} The mounts looks like about 3/8" or 1/2" steel plate. Bolts must be about 3/8" or bigger.

Zhoob2004, I had to order the SEM sprayable seam seal from Amazon. It sells for about $20 per tube. I used three tubes for my job. The sealer has about a year shelve life so that probably explains why auto paint supply place ha not have it. Always check the date on the sealer tubes. I bought the sealer gun mainly for this job. You can probably get a friend in the auto body business to loan you a gun. Just make sure you clean it well and fast as the sealer sets up quickly. The SEM sprayable sealer is also an OEM approved undercoating if that is what you are looking for.

I always been a Chevy man and installed a Chevy 327 into my 240z over 40 years ago. Now I am planning to install a LS3 crate motor in after I restore the rest of the car. While surfing the Net, I came across a post on a Australian 240z forum-Auscar. PeterAllen discussed putting a Holen differential into a 240Z. His donor car was a 2005VZ SS Ute which an Australian version of Chevrolet Camaro. Here are some of the pictures of the conversion: Holden conversion rear mounting bar differential mounting bracket CV 930 axles front differential mount tied to rear crossmember There are more detailed information on this post. The author offers the detailed plans to interested parties too. The thing that I like is that Chevy Performance parts are the cheapest and widely available( even in the junk yards). Also, Chevy is coming out with a 9" Holden differential in the Camaro, adjustable rear lower control arm and disc brake bracket

Jpndave,, The level of paint in the spray can didn't effect the spray much. I also use acid brushes to apply seam sealer in confined areas. Then wipe the excess off with a lacquer wet rag. And, of coarse, there is the old reliable paint brush.

The cowl was difficult to paint because of its tightness. Regular spray guns were not designed to operate in such confined areas. So that left: spray painting with aerosol spray cans. But even that could not paint the underside of the cowl. So I fabricate an attachment to the spray can that would allow painting in tight areas. Using duct tape and a piece of plastic strapping then filing the spray nozzle flat was all it took. Pulling on strap causes down force on the nozzle. I also used a hand mirror to see where I was spraying. With a little practice, anyone could do a decent painting of those tight to get to areas. Finished product Next step was to use sprayable seam sealer on high drainage areas of the vehicle. SEM PROUCTS sprayable seam sealer and their seam sealer spray gun were utilized to do the job. Picture of the front core support sprayed with seam sealer. Firewall and rear front frame rail section View of rear wheel housing Interior view of firewall and floor area Rear interior compartment This seam sealer was used to seal all major welded and patched areas. This coating also provides sounding deadening and heat insulation too. Probably use it on the underside of transmission tunnel. The sealer will be painted when the final paint is applied.

Thanks Jim, I tried to find a more suitable 240z to build and use mine for a parts car. But all of the others cars that I looked at were found to be worse than mine. After reviewing your posts, I see that you also been on this long road of restoration. We must be "crazy"!!!!!!

Front view of the Z on the rotisserie. Work on the bottom of the car would be impossible without a rotisserie( tilt or full one). View of rear bottom of car(seam sealed)- painted poly primer over the epoxy primer. Note- these cramped areas were difficult to paint. View of bottom of passenger compartment. View of front bottom section Note-front crossmember and rear differential mount were removed to paint under them. Interior picture-note reinforcement plates(16 gauge) added to floor board near trans hump and firewall. Top view of interior This is only the second primer coat. But Heavy build primer is necessary only exterior body parts( fenders, roof,hood,etc). A few more areas in the engine bay will be smoothed out and primed. Next the inner cowl area must poly primed but it will difficult to paint because of its tight space.

Before View of the Left front compression rod frame mount. Two coats of body filler were applied to welded areas. After painted with Sherwin Williams 2K poly white primer. Right inner engine compartment being smooth out with body filler. Upside up view is caused being on rotisserie. View After being painted with 2K Poly primer. Note -Just body worked area was primed to prevent corrosion on bare metal areas due to sanding. View of the transmission tunnel where patches were done and primed with 2K Poly primer. Left exterior rear wheel housing Left exterior wheel housing view I got to use my new 3M spray gun system #16580. This system allows the painter to interchange tips from 1.3 to 1.8 while keeping the same gun. Also, the inner cup liner allows the gun operation to be upside down and functioning. Gun cleanup is fast and easy too. Next step will be to finish priming the under carriage of the Z.

In preparation for seam sealing the under carriage, I masked around all of the metal patches and structural joints. View of masking around the engine compartment area. Evercoat Maxim #100823 seam sealer was used with a conventional chalking gun. It total seals any moisture from entering welded areas. But, it sells for $47 on Amazon. It performs like a flexible epoxy sealer and is really strong. Close up view of the seam sealed metal patches and joints. Note-using the masking tape keeps the seams neater. The working time for this sealer is only 15 minutes so one must work fast. A more rear view of the seam sealing work. The other seams and joints were sealed with Fusor 800DTM seam sealer. It costs about $15/tube and bought four tubes of sealer. It is OEM approved sealer for late model vehicles. Overall view of the sealing job. I ordered couple of tubes of SEM PRODUCTS sprayable seam sealer to do hard to apply areas( like cowl and other real tight areas).

Ironhead, This is picture of the blast media that came out of just the passenger side of my car so far. Unbelievable!!

Richard is absolutely correct you must prime the car quick as possible to prevent flash rust. I purchased 5 gallons of Hold Tight for $200 to provide a 72 hours window before epoxy priming. This solution can be mixed with media in wet media blasting or used with a 2000PSI pressure washer after dry media blasting. It removes the salt and other contaminants off the metal into the air. Bridges and metal building even use Hold Tight prior to painting. Also, prior to epoxy priming, I spray Ospho-rust inhibitor around overlapping metal patches. This is slow down any corrosion caused by the welding process. The vehicle was given another check for any rust that might have been missed. If rust was found. the area was spot blasted A 1000 lumen LED portable light was utilized to find any missed areas( like cowl and other boxed sections) Epoxy priming was very difficult because of the enclosed and tight body sections( especially by the spare tire well). Bottom view Front bottom view Front top view View of the interior I sprayed a gallon of white epoxy primer( costs about $200 with activator). Still have to touch up several areas for complete coverage.

Rented a Ford F350 with 14 foot flat bed for $120/a day. The sand blasting shop was on the other side of the island about an hour drive away. At the sand blaster Forklifted into the blasting room View of blasting( lots of noise from the air compressor and very difficult to see anything) Almost finished blasting The 240z finally back at home. Probably take a week to get most of the blasting media out of all those box sections. Next step is seam sealing the car. This is another labor intense job that may take a couple of weeks.

SleeperZ, Previously I had a Chevy 355 with a T5 trans in my 240Z. This time I am putting in a crate LS3 motor with a T56 trans. Thinking about putting a R200 differential with 3.70 gears. Down the road, I might do a Ford 8.8 or Camaro IRS rear swap. I will have plenty of time when I retire.

I made an appointment to media blast my z this Saturday. Rented a Ford F350 with 15 foot flatbed and lift gate for $130 per day. Unbolted the four 3" casters on the rotisserie and tack welded them to the frame rails. Side view of casters The casters were transferred to allow easy movement of car to the rented flatbed truck. With help from my neighbor and the liftgate, the move should be relatively easy. Hard to believe, it took 15 months to get it this far!!

This is the bottom view of the replacement hatch panel. It was mocked on and the outer edge was traced with a black marker pen. The area below the line will grind with a 50 grit sander. Existing rear panel matching area was sanded. Adhesive must thoroughly cover all grinded areas. The Lord Fusor metal to metal structural adhesive was used to bond the replacement top panel to the existing rear panel. The panel is installed and bonded. A dozen vise grips are utilized to hold the panels together until curing is done(in this case about 8 hours). Note-the vise grips are all numbered with corresponding numbers on tape located on the panel. These adhesives usually have a fast setup time so preadjusting the vise grips was done. The next day the vise grips and excess adhesive was removed from the edges. All the seams will be sealed after epoxy priming. The Lord Fusor structural adhesive costs about $50 and special applicator gun runs about $50 too. This adhesive is OEM approved products and even crash tested. This post was rather long so let me know and I try to keep posts shorter.

I had planned to wet media blast the car this weekend. Unfortunately my 3000PSI gas powered pressure washer didn't cooperate. Took a day to get it running which screwed up my time frame. This is because after wet media blasting, there is a 72 hour time limit to epoxy paint the car before corrosion sets in. With a 24 hour drying time, there is not too much time for error. Also, the weather also has to cooperate too. So I decided to put blasting on hold until the next weather window opens up. Instead did some welding inside of rear hatch panel. Right rear hatch panel-inside view Center of Rear Hatch Panel-inside view Left Rear Hatch Panel- view from inside Overall Top view of Hatch Panel. I decided to use a different method of attaching the top replacement hatch panel. The new replacement panel is even constructed of 20 gauge metal. I have not seen a 240Z that didn't have some corrosion under this panel. So I decided to use a metal to metal automotive epoxy to hold this panel on. The epoxy will also seal the panel from water getting under it and rusting.