rturbo 930

Both of them did it long time ago, and I wasn't sure if all the pics, etc. were still up. So I took a look, and found it. Might've been hard to find otherwise. http://www.vikingds.com/zcarguy/rebuild-status.html http://www.vikingds.com/zcarguy/rebuild-status.pdf Same content, different formats... I have no idea if 240hoke's build is still up. But you could probably PM him and see what he has to say. I know there's others who have done it, just can't remember who...

What does the rest of the car look like? I know you said you don't want to scrap it, but I'm just looking at the holes in your strut towers, inner fenders, and your frame rails, and wondering just how much of this car is left. If you do decide to fix it, square tubing is what I would use. It's been done a few times on here. 240hoke has done it, and so has wheelman, and a handful of other people that I can't remember.

When you cut your fenders, you can just get rid of the lip. Could even add a little metal for the flare to mount to if you wanted.

Now that my car actually has a working radio, I do use it. But this is a 1986 VW with a stock exhaust, so it's fairly quiet, and you need something to listen to while you wait for it to get to the speed limit, or it gets a bit boring. In a car with a louder exhaust (I don't know how loud that car is, but I doubt it's quiet - straight pipe with a single muffler) I really can't see the point of the radio. You won't be able to hear it unless you crank it up, and then it's just too loud. My BMW hasn't had a working radio as long as I've had it. Doesn't really bother me, but I do plan on fixing it. I don't plan on putting a radio in my Z at all. No point since I won't be able to hear it.

I was under the impression the shell was cut up years ago when it was parted out. Nice to see that it's still around, and that it found a good home.

Looks - Yellow Function - Clear

Yes, but the 930 turbo market is on fire right now. You can still get lesser Porsches for $50k, so yes, $55k is Porsche territory - just not a 930 turbo, or a longhood.

The rear of your flare looks like it needs to be pulled forward more. The way it is now makes the big gap that S30s have behind the rear even more noticeable.

I had the same thought! Looks good though. Shouldn't look out of place at all once it's in the engine bay.

Yup, no doubt it would cost $55k or more to buy a project car and have a shop restore it to this condition, but you won't get back what you spent more often than not. I think I could see it maybe going for something in the 30k range to the right buyer, but not $55k. As you said, that's Porsche territory (at the moment). And I gotta say, given how nice the rest of the car looks, I'm surprised by how crappy the door panels look. Pretty much everything else looks immaculate.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Datsun-Z-Series-/301664854093?forcerrptr=true&hash=item463ca0604d&item=301664854093 I don't think I've seen one like this priced this high. What do you guys think? Wishful thinking, or will it actually go for that? It does look like a nice car, but I'm not sure if collectors will be interested since the original motor is gone. If someone does buy it for that price, I'm guessing it'll be an overseas buyer.

I think he's asking about the subframe piece. It doesn't look like it's that rusty, but if it isn't reusable, maybe try taking it to a fab shop and have them make you a new piece.

Austin Hoke's 240z has shaved gutters if you want to see what it looks like. I think I remember reading that he wouldn't do it again though for the same reasons already mentioned - can't open the windows when raining, etc.

I think he's talking about old cars with corner windows that you could open. I've thought about trying to retrofit one into the Z, but I think it would be more effort than it's worth. Seems like they more or less died out by 1970.

I think a more anything more aggressive than what he did would just look ridiculous, and totally out of proportion. Sometimes it's better to do less.

Well, what you can do is just punch out the holes and weld them with a MIG welder. You don't necessarily need a spot welder. What does your rocker look like right now? If it's completely removed, you probably shouldn't be driving it. Like I said, you should add some bracing in - probably just an 'x' in the door frame out of some small tubing - to keep the chassis square. As I recall, the rockers are the strongest/stiffest part of the car.

Your dad too? lol. I know the feeling. I can't really say for sure, but if you think about it, I think it's obvious which weld is stronger. A spot weld is in the middle of the flange (meaning load is spread more evenly), and there's also 360 degrees of metal surrounding it, whereas a butt weld like that is only on the very edge of the flange, and, at most, 180 degrees of metal around it. My gut feeling is that the spot weld is stronger. The factory used spot welds, and I imagine there's a good reason for it. And if that doesn't work, tell your dad you're doing it this way, and that's that... which is what I do haha.

Put it on the same way the factory did - with spot welds. The rockers are a major structural point of the chassis too, so make sure you put some bracing in to keep everything square. And make sure to mock everything up with the fender on to be sure the mounting points are in the right place.

I think Joe has the right idea. First I'd try opening the driver's front, and take out the pass quarter window, and see what kind of flow you get. Then try putting the quarter window back in, and opening the hatch a bit - maybe 4-6 inches, I think. Basically, you need a crossflow (thanks for that tip, dad). The deflector is a good idea too - hadn't thought of that.

Yup, the rain gutter is two pieces spot welded together. I think deleting the drip rail is sort of similar to cutting for flares. You cut off the spot welded lip holding the two together, and then you weld the two pieces back together. I think it was blueovalz that had a thread that detailed the process. Personally, I think I would look at simpler solutions for getting more air in the cabin before cutting off the drip rails. Especially since you're in the PNW. BTW, are you having trouble getting air in with both windows open or just one? In my Jetta, I get a lot more airflow if I open the driver's front and the pass. rear, than if I open, say, both driver's side windows, or just the driver's side front.

Well, looks are of course subjective... with that said: 1) The headlight buckets. Sorry to say, but I don't think you did a good job with those. Simply adding in metal to make the fenders wider makes the buckets look smaller, and the car, fatter. I'm not sure what I would have done to fix this, but I don't think it looks right as is. Maybe it would've been better to make a wider hood? I don't know. 2) I never would have guessed that it was longer - I think your wheel choice might not be helping this, but between the additional width, and the lower rockers and rear quarters (if they aren't lower, they at least look lower), the car looks more short and squat to me. 3) I think an airdam that stuck out more (forward) would help. The way it is (going more inward), it makes the car look shorter. Wheels with some dish I think would help too. My 2 cents. I appreciate that you're trying something different than what most people do and I think you have some good ideas, but to my eye, it needs a little tweaking. +1 on what NewZed said... half the pics I can't see.

Looks mean! And I really love that color. Great choice.

It's different, but I think he kinda messed up the proportions

Floors and subframe rails under the floor, sure, but dude, your engine bay rails are shot! Not exactly 'fine' lol. I guess it shouldn't be too hard if you know what you're doing, I'm guessing you do since you don't seem worried about it. What do you have in mind?

Looks like you've got some serious rust to fix. Any pics of the whole car?