[blasting in so cal? (LONG)]

Hello everyone, been lurking around here for quite a while, while i started the teardown of my '73. Anyway, during the disassembly of my new money-pit, i found a few surprises (like any car that's had x-number of owners and is 30+ years old doesn't have stuff to hide). First, I found rusted floor pans, which should be an easy fix, and i found a pin-hole rust hole on the a-pillar (leaking windshield seal), which will probably became a major pain in the butt. Then, i found a half inch, that's right i said a HALF INCH!!!!, of bondo on the drivers door where it had been caved in the middle. The guy who did this must have had a long history of hack jobs because this was not evident to the naked eye, the paint wasn't even cracking. Talk about a bondo artist, jeez... But I digress, my question is does anyone know of a good shop in southern california to blast my Z body. I'd prefer a shop that uses, or can use, walnut shells because i've heard that won't warp the panels. I figure the only way to find out the whole truth and nothing but the truth about the condition of the body is to have it blasted. Sooooooo, anyone have some recomendations???

[got to thinking......(uh oh)]

wow. holy crap. jnjdragracing, i've got to hand it to you, that is an awesome car. i for one didn't think the independent rear would stand up to that kind of abuse. thank you gentlemen, my doubts have been largely erased, and this will save me a LARGE amount of work solidifying the rear when it apparently doesn't need it. looks like a cv-jointed r-200 is the plan!!!

[got to thinking......(uh oh)]

nazar- ya, i considered the r230, but the weakness inherent in an independent rear end (read-CV joints) kinda scares me still. it's not the differential itself i'm worried about. also, there's the fact that an independent rear end won't ever plant the rear tires like a 4-linked solid rear end can, it's just in the geometry.

 

pop n wood- i realize that 500 hp has been pumped through an r200 before, but i want to take my car to the strip when i'm done, and if i somehow do manage to get some traction (drag radials?), won't it immediately exploit the weakness of the cv joints? like i noted above, it's not the differential i'm worried about.

 

getz- hmmmmmm, didn't think about that. you mean weld a beam between the rear frame rails, and underneath the floor? that would definitely hide the presence of a solid rear, at least until it's too late . that would enable one to get rid of the original strut mounts, which means fat tires, like pop n wood said. you would still need to build a crossmember in front of it to put a four-link though.....

 

 

alright guys, keep it coming! the gears are really turning now. and by the way, i did search, and was able to find nothing matching what i was asking about, but thank you for the tip DP351zcar

[got to thinking......(uh oh)]

i posted this in the wrong forum, didn't i? lemme guess, suspension tech? sorry about that. if any offended parties could move it, it would be much appreciated...

[got to thinking......(uh oh)]

hey guys, relative newbie here, at least to the z and hybrid z thing. i'm just barely starting to get into my small block swap on my '73 (seriously, all i've done is pull off the carbs while getting ready to pull the L24). but anyways, when i start a project, especially one of this size, i like to brainstorm a lot. i was thinking that with my planned-for combo (500-ish hp, six speed), an R-200, specifically the joints and half-shafts, wouldn't be too happy. however, i don't wanna back-half the car to put a solid rear end behind it. sooooo, i was trying to think of a way to use the original upper strut mounts to hang a solid rear end from on a set of custom coil-overs, and maybe build a crossmember at the back of the floorboards behind the seats and build a four-link set-up. any ideas? thoughts? criticism? anything would be great.

 

 

P.S. sorry for the long post. like i said, when i start thinking......