LLave

Oh No! Sorry to hear about your wreck. I guess that is pat of the game.

Good luck with that. I would absolutely not do that. If my floors were thinned to the point I couldn't weld to them, I would have to replace the floor pans or get a new chassis all together. Screwing bad dogs to rusty pans, probably wont hurt anything, but it wont help either. Basically they would just be down there hanging on for the ride. Its a unibody, all the panels contribute to strength, if the floor is compromised the chassis is compromised. Sorry to be the bad guy and a big jerk, but that is just bad advice.

Just finished mine up, I would have to get paid quite a bit to do it all over again start to finish. I think a lot of people grossly underestimate just how much work it is.

Here ya go, great resource for abrasives, they have flap wheels in a few sizes http://www.lehighvalleyabrasives.com/servlet/the-Flap-Wheels/Categories

I wouldnt bother scraping that... The whole floor needs to be cut out anyway. I am just wrapping up patching up my floors (which were not NEARLY that bad) and I regret doing it. It would have not been too much more work to replace the entire floor board, with better results. Cut em out and put new ones it. I also recall your rockers were pretty rusted, take a GOOD look at them, realize they are essentially the frame rails of the chassis.

I have seen some nice little Lincolns on craigslist cheap lately... Take a look.

Looks awesome! I am a huge fan of your ride, and a fan of LS based turbo motors. Great work.

That is crazy. Though my coworkers Toyota got me the other day. Power steering pump has clear ATF in it. I would have swore it was powersteering fluid.

If you truly can not find swap kits or information, just stop there, this is not the project for you. There is no way you will be able to figure out how to complete it, let alone drive it. How will you find out which pedal does what?!? http://lmgtfy.com/?q=datsun+z+car+v8+swap

I have heard a lot of bad things about "dipped" cars locally. Chalking and fading from UV then when people go to remove it they realize it does NOT peel right off. You might want to consider doing a small test part and then trying to peel it off a week or two later. I have no direct experience with the stuff but it does sound cool.

That is insane. A guy who has his own equipment and claims to be certified should know better. I do believe you are a victim here. Some lessons hurt a little more than others. Maybe others can learn from you experience too, dont trust just any "fabricator". I wouldn't worry about your laser lines too much, it looks to be that your line is way off because the laser is not sitting flat. But it is a bit of a moot point. The plates need to be cut out and redone regardless. You are going to have to fab new "tops" to the strut tower. I think it i were doing it, I would form a piece of flat bar around the tower, then cut them both down to a know and equal dimension. Like cut a full inch off. Then weld on the strip. I dunno... Or I would haul the car over to someone like JohnC who have the knowledge and intact cars to reference. Tough deal man.

Feels good, don't it?

Did he hack up your fender too? I am sorry man... but honestly that is just terrible. I suggest you listen to the folks here. If I were you I would get a grinder and learn how to use it. Seriously though, getting that fixed properly is going to be much more difficult that doing it right in the first time. You should get your money back if possible. Too bad you aren't a little closer.

So the tube that is welded on is threaded on the inside? so you are able to adjust the height interdependently?

I have a set of Evo 8 Brembos that I have been hanging onto for a while. I am very interested to see what you come up with for fitment on the front. Looks awfully big on a S30 strut, possible too big. What modifications had to be made to the hub?

I do all my work at home with a little Lincoln 100amp machine that I did a DIY mig conversion on. I am very pleased with the performance of this thing. I am not sure I would weld up a cage with it... but maybe.

I installed a defroster for a little bit and put a few pieces of gorilla tape over the missing body plugs. More more enjoyable in the winter.

Oh come on... that just makes too much sense.

Looking back at this thread and seeing that the OP took his pictures down, it may seem a bit harsh to some people. But I do not think it can be stressed enough, a poorly done roll bar or cage is way more of a liability than an asset in a collision. The "it'll be fine...the car is never going to be on the track. " is a really bad outlook. Sure top speed may be lower, but the road doesnt have run off areas and is full of big trucks and stupid drivers. There are plenty of race cars that would be awfully dangerous on the street. That being said I more than respect his go get it attitude. If you are new to the hobby PLEASE do you research.

What has happened to hybrid z?

You would probably be safer with one made out of PVC, at least then you wont have to get hit in the head with broken pieces of steel pipe. Don't believe me? Check just about any sanctioning body's rule book and see if that would pass. They write those things for a good reason. JohnC knows what he is doing, I suggest you read his post and take it very seriously.

I would bet you that if you spent your budget on modifying a Z by conventional means you would have a car that performed just as well. I am not saying dont do it, its an awesome idea that has been brought up many times. There is a pretty constant stream of these unrealistic, low budget, ultra high performance dream projects with space shuttle tile underbodies and indy car motors, so dont be surprised at the skepticism. Especially if this is your first build and an inexperienced fabricator.

The downfall of us all.

Matt, Great work! It looks like MTI is headed amazing places. Thanks for the updates and detailed responses. Next time I have 25k burning a hole in my pocket and I am thinking about gear boxes, I know who to call.

Thanks Matt, Aww man! It is too bad I am so far away, riding in that car would absolutely be a dream come true for me. -Mike