V8_DatZun

That area is where i began learning to patch weld also.. It gets ALOT easier with practice. I agree it looks like it was a little cold and just puddled up ontop of the metal instead of penetrating. When you see the pool glowing bright orange it's hot enough...

I woke up this morning all better.. and i only had to live with it for a day. Hah.. Agreed.. Mental note of goggles.. Thanks for the tip on the fan also.

I was sanding my body filler yesterday and i believe i got some of the dust in my eyes.. i get a cloudy film type thing (not an actual film.. just my vision is blurry until i blink hard) over my eyes and have to blink hard a few times to get it to clear up. Anyone else ever had this issue? And what is something good to help? I've tried rinsing my eyes out a little... didn't help much

Ah man that sucks. I had a can of paint do that in my ZX. Luckily it didnt get any windows, BUT it sprayed black paint all over the place. Also luckily for me I'm redoing all of the interior also... I'd check their website or the can for suggestions on removing from fabrics....

I was thinking of two tone black top blue bottom as well (only I think im going with darker blue) for my zx.. Glad to see yours turned out looking so GREAT. I know you're stoked!

Ok here are a few pics. I'm not done with the body filler yet, as you can see the passanger side quarter panel is still a little wavy. I had to pick up some supplies, and didn't get as much done as i thought i would today. Hopefully tomorrow i can finish it all up roughly (i don't have any light weight finishing filler). I think it's going to look sexy when i'm done though! **Edit** The last pic rear shot, I have to straighten the valance up and cut the exhaust hole on passanger side. OR should i try and make that challanger valance work?

Finally a day with no rain. Working on it now. Ill post pics at the end of the day. I have a patch i found i have to cut out and fab a new patch piece, but hopefully i can get most of everything done. **BTW** Hah i kicked my EX to the curb... She said i was spending too much money on the Z.. SORRY but a GIRLFRIEND of only 8 months isn't gonna come between me and a 3 year old Z project. She just didn't understand *sigh* So goes the life of a Z owner...

A few pics of what i got before i ran out of body filler... The quarter panel is still wavy, and i didnt get much of the back done... BUT it's coming along slowly, and my buddy said he can have my body filler Tuesday, so more to come. I probably wont post more pics until it is complete, but i'll answer any questions or comments anyone has **Edit** Also before i get asked, no im not putting body filler over that surface rust. I'm wire brushing it off before i bondo.

Well finally stopped raining. I got out today and started doing a little bondo on the back driver side. I almost got it smoothed out, but ran out of bondo (blah) I have a buddy that works at a body shop see how much he can get me a gallon for, and in what kind of time frame. If its going to take a while I'm just going to go buy a gallon myself and pay a little more. More bad news. On the OTHER side of the tail light panel (driver side) I found where it was rusted through in spots... The previous owner covered it up with bondo. So, I've got another patch to make. LoL I'm about tired of welding for a little while. This has been a LOT of welding to shave the back of this ZX. I guess im going to start on that tomorrow while im waiting on bondo. Just wanted to update everyone and let you know I didn't give up. Just has been raining or threatening rain EVERY day for the past week/week and a half.

Check out the new challenger rear exhaust trim/valace... Can be had new for about 50-60 bucks... Im going to try one of these on my ZX i believe

Yes, I've got room for the steering wheel. It's a kind of close fit, but not so close that it will bother me. Also i'm thinking of moving the ignition switch down to the bottom side of the center console. LoL and if you havent noticed steeltoad, you and i have alot of the same ideas when it comes to our cars. I think i'm going with ZG flares though. What engine are you going to use? I've already got SBC 383 stroker with 700r4 in my car. Behing steering wheel where speedometer ususally is will be my GPS (with speedo to cheat from having to make a cable work). Also I'm going to try and wire up green led's for turn signals (on each side of GPS), fuel gauge, and still have to decide if i'm going to run an A/C or not so i know if i need to mold in vents.

and "icapture" i have a few sketches of how i want it to look, but no way to scan it. I'll be working on this more as soon as i finish up the rear (possibly this weekend)

Good eye S130z. Here is the link to it. It's on hold for the moment until i can get some of the other stuff finished up. I have to get a GPS so i can fab the mounts and mold it in all at once (using GPS for speedo behind steering wheel). After that i can pretty much stretch my fabric and glass away. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=150065

Nope none as of yet. I've been shaving the rear and havent had time to work on the dash right now. Still have to get a GPS so i can make the mount for it (will be used as my speedo) and then i can pretty much finish it up. I'll post pics... It DEFINITELY hasn't died though.. just on the back burner for now.

Hmm not a bad idea STeelToad... I think the bottom needs some kind of trim look to it.. If i can't reshape what is there to look right im going to cut the very bottom off (where the slots, and exhaust cutout is), and try and make the challenger trim fit. I know i'll have to do some modification but i think it'll look good... Especially since i want dual exhaust anyway

Is it just me or.... Does my rear now resemble the new Challengers? Also got me thinking I may try and steal the rear valance from a challenger and see if it will work on my car. some fabrication will of course be needed but its worth a shot at only $59 dollars new...

I was looking for something to kind of trim mine up a little too... Doesnt look too bad. Wonder what the fit would be like though

Here is a pic of it from the rear ALMOST all the way welded up... And a side angle view And a front view w/o the fenders... just because i can lol... Ignore the hoodscoop...I'm not done with it yet

BTW Beau your car is going to look SWEET when it's done. Love the DATSUN rear... I'll finish the welding tomorrow and take pics. Hopefully by friday I'll be through with the bondo (i only have a few hours each day before work) I'm still pretty sick and didn't feel like working on the car today. I slept most of the day. Now that I'm up and moving around I'm really aggravated i didnt work on the car much today.. I'll update the thread as the progress comes along. All of the cutting/bending and fabricating is done. All i have to do is finish the seam welding and grind the welds down.

I use to look at peoples work and say the SAME thing. Before this project the only piece i EVER WELDED IN MY LIFE was a patch to cover my shifter hole and mount my automatic shifter, and a patch for the taillight panel where it was rusted out. My advice to anyone is jump into something simple, and just TRY. You never know how good you will be until you try. And NO i do not have $1000 dollar equipment to work with. I cut all of my metal with a jigsaw with a metal blade, and an angle grinder with a cutting wheel. My welder was bought used and is a cheaper name brand (Clarke) but i only paid 200 dollars for it, and it is a 600-800 dollar welder. Just try... you never get the practice or experience if you do not jump in and give it a shot. Im not saying cut up your quarter panels as i did... lol but start with rusted floor pans if you arent sure about your metal or welding skills... before long you'll be better than you realize.

I'll probably come down on each side of the vents that are in the center so the bottom is completely even. I just wanted to get that hard angle out the way first. And i just have it tacked in at the moment to make sure its what i want. If i need to change it i can grind the tacks and change whats needed. Thanks for the comments guys.

I got one corner shaped and tacked. It is a PAIN to shape the corners. I had to trim and grind for around an hour to get it all to fit like it should, and shape the part. Anyway... Tomorrow the other corner will get welded, and i'll weld it all round, grind it down and possibly start bondo. Here are the latest pics... **EDIT** **NOTE** The body line looks like it curves bad because the weld line does... The actualy body line is pretty straight, as i bent the edge of the side piece, and cut the rear piece to mate up to it. The actual corner body line is bent/rolled, not welded. *ALSO* 240-280Z owners be glad you have it so simple to shave the rear of your cars! Back Angle. Corner Angle Side Angle

I'm using a Clarke 135 amp i believe.... It works good on low setting for body work.. gets good penetration. What welder do i want? For now I'm happy with this.. I like the spool is on the gun. I can crawl around under the car and weld while still adjusting wire speed, etc...

luvemfast, Thanks for the suggestions and pics. Pretty much exactly what I had in mind. Did you weld any tubing behind it to help spread impact in case of a rear end collision? I am going to add this before I'm done. Here are some pics from today. I'm not finished with it yet, and i just have the pieces tack welded in. I completely got rid of the raised portion behind the wheel arch. All i did was make a cut (cut too much and had to weld a patch in). Still have to do this to the drivers side... Here is the pic of that.. Passanger side patch tack welded in place... Starting the rear... And a side shot of the car to get an idea how it will look when completed... More work to come this afternoon... I'll post the pics then. I'm going to try and get all the pieces tacked in place. Hopefully I'll have time before my girl gets off work. She likes to help me with the car and all, but sometimes she gets impatient with me spending time on the car and not her. So goes the life of a Hybrid Z'er....

Thanks i picked one up but my drill seems to not have enough speed... I'll have to pick up a corded drill to get the speed to grind it down. Also i posted in the Paint/Body section where i'm trying to shave the rear of my ZX. ALOT harder process than shaving a Z. Check it out if you guys have time. I'm sick right now so haven't got to work on it the past two days...