rturbo 930

Well, actually I don't have the money to waste, but what little I get can be wasted on cars. I'm also going to do the repairs myself, since I have most of the tools, and the time, but not the money. That should help cut down on costs a LOT. We'll see how that goes, and I haven't completely ruled out getting a new chassis. I wouldn't think of paying a shop to repair my car unless I was loaded. I'm also young enough that I don't have to worry too much about being really fincially responsible. *shrug* Different strokes for different folks. I would sure as hell get a California car if I were in my dad's position. He doesn't have enough time to finish up a simple throttle linkage on his Charger, much less repair rust and body work. I think it's been 2 years now since it last ran...

Have you considered that some of us don't mind? And I doubt my rust repair will be $5000. That's not to say that if I get another Z car I won't go find one in California, but I don't mind spending the money on my rusty chassis. If I wanted an investment, it sure as hell wouldn't have been a car of any kind. It's a toy. Besides, it gives me an opportunity to learn a few things. I understand the point you're trying to make, and I am aware that buying a rust free shell is much easier. If you don't have the time, and don't want whatever skills or knowledge that can be obtained from taking on a rust repair project (or already have done so), then I would have to agree with you. Sounds like that's your case. Also helps that you live in the land of rust free Datsuns.

Agreed. Some of us see our cars as far more than just a heap of metal.

What differential and axles are you planning on going with?

I can see the possibility of a lot of hate coming your way from the Mustang fanboys. Love it.

Well, as far as I know, some Zs, like the Fairlady Zs, didn't have a build date stamped anywhere on the car. I don't know if that's also true with european models as well. If there's no plate on the door jamb with a build date, it probably isn't on there. You might try checking your seatbelts if they're original. They should have a date on them somewhere. I know there's other markings that could tell you, but I think the seatbelts might be the easiest. However, the date on the seatbelt is not necessarily the build date of your car, but it should be close, if not the same.

If you imported a Z from the US, you can just check the plate in the door jamb.

Yeah, I'm not really sure what your goal is here. Why not just buy the part?

My doors have this problem (sticks out about 3/8" at the bottom)and have noticeable cracks/rust on the top of the door, about where the front of the windsheild frame meets the door. Do you know if there's a way to fix this, or is it best to get new doors?

Sounds like the coupe is your best bet. It's likely the most practical, with still impressive performance, it has a real trunk, and at only 1/~6500 in the world, it's definitely not something you see every day. I'd love to have one as well.

Unfortunately not everyone knows what they have.

tvgz28, do you have a 240Z or 280Z? IIRC the 280Z struts are just a hair larger, but I don't know if it's the ID, OD, or both.

Love the first shot.

I was home today so I took a few pics to show you guys what I'm dealing with. Pass. rocker, A pillar, and dogleg: Driver's side rocker, A pillar, and dogleg: Here's a couple of the firewall: Pass. side roof where the quarter window is: And last, the rust in the wheel well seam I was talking about. This is on the driver's side only. It was a bit hard to photograph, but I hope they show it well enough:

Absolutely stunning.

Put a space before the link or it won't show up as a hyperlink. http://s1096.photobucket.com/home/ozzzzz1/index

Rear end for sure, but I don't think the tranny mount does. At least I hope not, because I've seen what I consider to be some pretty damn pathetic tranny mounts installed in these cars. Also, as far as I know (which may be wrong), the engine does put a twisting force on those mounts. I don't recall which it is, but it pushes up on one mount and down on the other, which could end up twisting the frame rails, which is why it's common to see a cross member like John C sells. Or at least that's what I've gathered, someone else can confirm/deny that.

Couldn't agree more.

Cool, that's how I'd like to try to do mine. I never thought just slapping a flat plate over the hole was a good way of fixing rust, though sometimes I will admit it's sufficient as in the case of my floors. I really prefer the OEM look. And yes, while I agree my rust is more extensive, I don't believe it will be too much more difficult. For example, I don't believe my crossmember mounting points are rusted out, and the frame rail reinforcement behind it is mostly flat. What I am most concerned about is how to fix it. I don't know much about welding, etc., but I suspect that simply welding in a new piece by butt welding it may not be as strong as original, and may be prone to cracking due to the heat that went into the metal. I could certainly be wrong. Also, The edge of the metal often seems, to me, to be the weakest point to weld to, whereas with spot welds, there is metal all around the welding point, if that makes sense. What I am considering doing for the frame rail reinforcements is getting a strip of metal to spot weld behind the hole to serve as a reinforcement, and also something to spot weld the replacement piece to. That seems like it would be the best way to do it, but I really don't know. I'm even more concerned about fixing my C pillars since that is an integral structural part of the car. I don't want to make it too weak, or so strong that it doesn't flex, and ends up cracking. Anyways, it seems I've gone off on a tangent... Most of my rust is in a mostly flat, unseen place, except the roll pan and hatch sill. There's also a dent I need to take care of, and the dog legs, and the top side of the C pillars I think is all that is actually body work. Yeah, I agree I should at least attempt to stop it from progressing further. It's a bit cold for paint, and I don't have a lot of time or money at the moment, but I think that'll be a project for when school gets out in May. I have already removed the driver's fender, and the cowl to remove pine needles and other debris since the car say outside for a while. Some of the fender mounting points were totally rotten, but aside from the firewall connection to the cowl, it doesn't seem to have done anything else. I've also wire brushed other parts of the car. I am aware of the patch panels from Tabco and MSA. I have doglegs from Tabco that were intended for my 280Z, as well as a rocker, but the two other pieces I got, the rear lower quarters I was pretty disappointed with. I know MSA sells the roll pan I need, but it's 16 gauge, and the other panels are 18. I think I'm being too picky, but I'd prefer pieces made from 20 gauge, but I'll probably end up buying them anyhow. I would just prefer 20 gauge since in thicker steel, the edges won't be as sharp. I also have a Lincoln MIG welder, and many tools my father, grandfather, etc. have collected over the years, so I'm pretty well covered there. It's the skills I don't have (yet). Thanks a lot for the input guys. It's appreciated. Sorry if I rambled, haha.

My car also has minor front end damage. I'm planning on a making a new radiator support that's a little improved over the original. Honestly, I think you had a much better car to start with. Here's what's rusted to some degree that I know about: TC rod reinforcements on frame rail - both sides. Floors Top of rockers, and a small spot inside the pass. rocker where there was a mouse nest. Bottom of A pillars C pillars Rear hatch sill (severe) Rear roll pan Dog legs On the driver's side, the seam that the inner fender supports (I forget what they're actually called - splash guards?) is rusted. It's not bad, but it's rusted. Don't know about the pass. side. Firewall where it meets the cowl. A seam on the underside of the car, passenger side. Roughly 8" of the seam is rusted. Driver's side interior wheel well seam, as mentioned. Spare tire well. And there's a little bubbling around the car that can be dealt with using body filler, and also the rear fender lips were replaced, so there's that to deal with, but I'm going to go with ZG flares. A lot of what I mentioned is NOT severe. I don't think anything on the car is completely and totally rusted out. The inside of the pass. rocker could probably just be POR15'd. The driver's rocker has a few small holes from me testing the metal. The rest is just pitted. It looks bad (IMO) but it's really not. Regarding the A pillar rust, I'm not positive it's even a threat. It doesn't LOOK like the rust has even made it to a single spot weld, it's just rusted the edge of the metal. The pass floor has a hole (and patch) under the seat, which could just be finished off, and one on the front right corner. Driver's side has a small hole near the front seat support, and needs a somewhat sizable patch at the front left corner. Doglegs are just standard rusted out doglegs as far as I can tell. Same with the TC rod reinforcements, I don't think they're too far gone. Hell, the subframe under the floors that is almost always rusted out is rock solid. The hatch sill is gone though, and the C pillars will need some significant work. The spare tire well I don't really care about. The firewall needs some work though, I think the car sat outside for a bit too long on the coast of CT. Hopefully that gives some insight as to what I'm dealing with. I can't get any pictures right now to show you better. As far as I can tell, the structure isn't really compromised, and it could all be fixed with a lot of work... it's just a pain in the ass, and I'd like to have a Z to drive sooner than later. I'm planning on getting a second opinion on fixing my rust at some point since I might be making it out to be more than it actually is. I will say though, I too have seen worse fixed. The other day I was looking at a thread about a '70 on CZC that was repaired that I think was definitely worse off than mine. I think just about everything that was prone to rust on that car was rusted out...

Although I'm sure I'll change my mind several more times, that's the conclusion I've come to. I WANT to fix it, but it's a matter of my abilities, and I don't think many people will want to take on the project, so selling it is out. Also, at this point I think I know this car pretty well, and what it needs, although there's just a few areas I've yet to uncover. Personally, I like the car because I can do whatever I want to it without feeling bad, and I like that it's a series 1 since it's the ORIGINAL Z design. IMO, they got worse as the years went by. Not to mention, finding another (from the west coast) shipping it, etc, etc, will be a huge hassle. Although, I'm somewhat of a perfectionist, and I highly doubt I can make this shell perfect, but I think I'll be okay there... It has some rust though that's going to be a royal pain to fix. A few weeks ago I decided to take the vinyl off the rear strut towers, and found exactly what I was hoping not to. There's a small amount of surface rust in the seam between the inner wheel well and the outer wheel well. It seems mostly superficial for the most part, but it's just another thing to fix, and if any actual surgery were required, it would be a MAJOR pain in the ass. There's a few other areas like that on the car, but not quite as bad as that. For the record though, the pics you see here are pretty flattering.

If your engine mounts give up, you're going to regret it. Do it right or don't do it at all.

Am I the only one that thinks those engine mounts look dangerous? Even if you did box them in, I don't think I would trust them.

What is the SEM rebuild treatment?

Scott, do you have any detail pictures of how the roof goes together at the B pillar? Mine is rusted, and I'm trying to get a good idea of what will need to be done.