ls240z

Between paying off debts and working shift work, I haven't spent much time on the Z. What I have been doing is building this rotisserie; it has been my first welding project! I bought the engineered pans off ebay, and they were a great help, especially at $14. There were a few things I disliked about them, the main thing being that the leg pieces use a very hard to source size of tubing anywhere outside of California (2.5"x1.5"x0.188" rect. tubing). I gave up trying to use that size and just changed the leg to all 3" square pieces. I will say metal fabricating is ******* hard/time consuming/annoying when you don't have proper tools... My 24' lengths of steel all chopped courtesy of my friend's bandsaw at his work, thank god (it took a long time for all those cuts). Taking shape... Close up of some of my welds. Some paint. All done! I wanted some sturdy front mounts that were bolted not welded, so I utilized the bolt holes from the factory tow hooks. I think they turned out great, albeit maybe a bit overkill... I have no pictures of the rear mounts, but they are pretty standard: 3" square tubing welded to an angled piece of flat steel drilled for bolting into the factory bumper mounts. Mounted and in the garage! Ignore the tow strap spreader bar, I have to go and buy a 14' length of 2" square tubing. They were all out when I went last time. She's sideways! I was really nervous at this point, I really didn't want her to come crashing to the floor... I haven't flipped her completely because there's a bunch of loose hardware inside rolling around haha. First thing I'm going to do is remove all the left over body panels, then I'm not sure if I should remove the glass yet or not, and then scrape off the undercoating to see what I'm dealing with in terms of floor pans. I know I'll be chopping the factory rails and installing the Bad Dog's over top. I'll probably do what rturbo 930 suggested and leave the existing rail as a flange and mount to that. As for the floors, it would be nice just to have to patch holes...we will see. I want to plan out all the chassis welding I want to do so I can finish the floors and not have to tear up the paint/Lizard skin by adding something later. I am thinking of welding in my flat plate roll bar mounts (on the rocker and on the rear strut tower top) because they can be MIG'd fairly easily. I won't be welding my roll bar until I know my welding is up to snuff . Lastly, in designing my fuel cell cage, I was going to build it all with 1" square tubing, but I have noticed quite a few are built with angle iron. I'm assuming there isn't much of a difference, unless someone wants to correct me there. Are there any things people wish they added in their design? Right now mine incorporates a flat floor in the interior and captive nuts underneath for ease of removal under the car.

I flew to LA from the middle of Canada to drive back a car without rust. It has a little rust, but significantly less than what I'd find up here, and considerably cheaper than what they sell for here as well.

That looks fantastic! I look forward to seeing them in the engine bay.

Ain't that the truth haha Was that with your original pans? Mine need replacing so I'm going with the zedd findings pans. From what I've read, they need some "persuasion" to fit properly. Cutting out the original rails and using only the bad dog rails, would that be enough strength/rigidity for a 500+hp V8? I was originally going to build a rotisserie out of 2 cheapo engine stands, but now I'm scrapping that idea. I'm building an engineered rotisserie that I know won't collapse under itself. I figured, "if I end up wanting to sell this, who is going to want some hacked up engine stands? If I end up keeping it (which I likely will), why not build it properly since it will be used again?" Plus these's also the added insurance of better materials being used. Here is the version I'm building, albeit with offset legs/castors: http://forums.vintage-mustang.com/vintage-mustang-forum/587251-my-finished-rotisserie.html

As the rails are covered in undercoating, I haven't had at good look at them. I appreciate the suggestion. That's what I love about these forums, everyone is willing to help and chime in with useful info. Once I get the car on its side and strip it I'll have a better idea of what I'm dealing with. If they are rusty, or the bad dog rails fit poorly over top, then they will be removed.

Picked up this little beauty the other day for a great price. I can't wait to start playing around with it, I just need a gas bottle now.

Will this IRS setup work in conjunction with the Hub/5 Lug/Brake kit (http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/118829-aluminum-hubs-5-lug-big-brakes-new-setup/) that you're also working on?

Thanks for the clarification, I had to spend quite a bit of time looking at each photo and design to realize what everyone was speculating on in this thread. I am very new to suspension tuning, so thanks again.

So what everyone is saying is that the main 2 (AZC and T3) choices are not optimally designed? Are there any off-the-shelf options that are better than stock and those 2 aftermarket choices? Keith, you say the stock LCA's are good, so are the AZC ones a suitable upgrade for a weekend track day cruiser?

So today I tackled the rest of the underside of the car. Wheels, suspension, brakes, fuel lines, everything in the rear/middle was removed. While I was under there I noticed a couple spots where the factory frame rails were squished in. I'll end up cutting out those sections and covering the rest when I install the Bad Dog rails. Tomorrow I'll drop the front crossmember, steering rack, and sway bar and removed the steering column. That will conclude all I can do until I take the chassis to get checked for straightness and throw it on a rotisserie. I guess I'll have to pull the glass, hatch, and hood, but I'll wait until I have somewhere safe I can put them. This is where she sits now. Since I've started removing pieces from the Z I've been weighing almost everything. I have quite a list that I'll post on here when I pull the last few pieces to get the chassis checked. I'll keep you all posted. Side note: Here is a picture of my younger brother's new ride: 2012 STi. It's quite nice, I makes feel sad since it'll be ages until I can drive mine...

You could get a separate mic and recorder and sync the video and audio together after, but that might be a bit too much editing for some people.

That's good to hear, I thought there was more damage than I originally anticipated. You can see here the rear floor support was bent in, this was when I was cutting out the spare tire well. I haven't seen on the site anywhere yet, but has anyone cut out the entire roll pan/taillight/rear hatch deck area and replaced it? Mine is really rough, I'm trying to figure out if I should fix it so it's in good shape or just try to live with it.

I know the car was rear ended from the hack job of the repair to the rear panel/roll pan. It looks like there is some rippling of the sheet metal on the floor, that's why I want to get it checked. Wow, an inch?! That's a huge difference. At least everything that matters is in order. I had my Subaru thrown on the rack a while back to get one of the frame rails tweaked back to spec, I'm pretty sure it cost under $200.

Haha, that could be true, I had a lot of hidden garbage in there. I bought them at our Canadian equivalent of Harbor Freight (Princess Auto). They cost me $10 for 2. If you plan on using them a lot, get a good quality set. Mine dulled quickly because they are crap, but they did the job and I won't need them again. Here's a link to what I used: http://www.princessauto.com/pal/en/Drill-Bits/2-pc-Spot-Weld-Cutters/3410034.p

I won't be fixing this dash, it's too far gone upon closer inspection. I will look for one that is in better condition, but finding one in/near Canada for a fair price might be close to impossible. I want to install a 240 dash/console, I think it looks much better. It's definitely not priority though, like you said, I'm looking to get it running first. Yesterday I finished removing the toolboxes behind the seats, I made a separate thread on that if you want to know more. I also removed the last of the sound deadening and firewall insulation, for an overall total of 15lbs. There might be another pound or two in the middle of the floor pans, but as i'm cutting them out there was no point removing it. Interior is completely gutted except for the steering column and the clutch and brake assembly. I'm running out of things to do before I require a MIG welder. (Ignore the mess in the picture, it has since been stripped and cleaned.) Plan is to get the chassis checked for straightness at a body shop, build my rotisserie, install frame rails and floors, and work on patching rust. It's going to be a little slow until I get a job. Does anyone think that's a good idea to get the chassis checked before I start building a roll bar and stitch welding?

So I got it all out and quickly gave the excess metal a little grind. Overall weight removed was 9.2lbs, so RebekahsZ, you were close. I'm sure if there were actual lids over the toolboxes it would be close to your 12 pound guess. Weight loss aside, I'm glad for the extra room.

So I got started today, but the welds along the fender wells were proving to be a bitch. I'll have to cut some metal away with a reciprocating saw so I can get the drill in there. I'm heading to the lake for the long weekend so I'll finish up and update this thread on Tuesday or Wednesday.

I'll keep it updated and get a final weight.

Great info guys, thanks. I'm going to go ahead and cut them. I'm sure I'll be fine for chassis stiffness with a full roll bar tied to a knee bar along the door sills. Bad dog frame rails will help too.

I count any time in and around the Datsun time we'll spent!

You know what Tony, it very well could be a 2+2, as I've never seen one stripped down before. Any thoughts on the removal though?

I have seen a photo of a S30 with the tool storage boxes removed. I like the idea of more room behind the seats. I'm wondering if there are any cons to removing the sheet metal if I install a roll bar? Here is said photo:

All my previous pictures were taken with my phone, but I'm going to use my DSLR from now on. Much better quality photos. Plus I don't care anymore if I get it dirty haha. A forklift would work amazing, the tractor was a bit twitchy trying to make such precise maneuvers. Plus it has a much sharper turning radius.

Well it's been a year since I've seen my car, I've been travelling the world since last July. I've been all over Europe, including the Nurburgring, where I drove a lap in a supercharged Lotus Exige. Next was Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil. I've had a lot of free time to think about what I'm going to do with this build and I'm excited to get started. Now it comes down to money, as you use a lot when you travel for a year. I'll be able to do a little here and there, but first things first I'll be ordering and installing new floor panels and frame rails and doing rust repair. I hope to keep this thread updated constantly, that means I'll be working on the car constantly!

Great video. Anyone know which rear flares those are? Fronts look like typical ZG style flares.