V-Fib

Here it is in all of it's glory the repaired wiper cowl and the front right firewall/fender. Before: After: Before: After:

Been away for some time, poor health prevented me from working on the car at all. At this time the firewall, the right fender and wiper cowl have had rust repairs completed with fresh metal welded in. The dog-legs are partially done with only the rear valence left to replace. Photos to come tomorrow.

Love how it hugs the road in the corners - very nice to watch.

There are plenty of 280z's in decent condition for half that price. I would watch and wait. They aren't going anywhere. Plus people tend to sell at lower prices around and after the holidays.

Good to know, I think that would be a more cost effective solution as well because a set of forged JE pistons for the VG30DETT is in the realm of $1000 which is going to be less expensive then having them cut a piston to custom specifications.

No photographs showing up for me...

All things considered it's a fairly solid shell for a 240z. How about something original like a 4B11T with a custom tubular front subframe to retain all the AWD wizardry. That'll be extravagant.

Mad props to Seattlejester who came down to my neck of the woods and gave me hands-on welding advice and my welder friend Shan who helped patch up my rusty frame rail. Since then I've been spending a lot of time behind the mask welding in patch panels, the pictures speak for themselves. Had the frame rail patched by a welder due to me not trusting myself with that crucial of a piece yet. The rest is my handy-work... In other news the Skyline R32 GT-R front and R33 rear calipers have been disassembled and sent off to the blasting and powder coating shop. The hardware is being mailed off to a plating shop. The Techno Toy Tuning suspension components arrived in the mail the other day... no photos here haven't bothered to unbox them. Ziploc baggies galore... Roll bar is in the mail, as well pictures once it's welded up.

Donor car. Post a wanted ad in the classifieds or browse craigslist.

rturbo covered most of it - I'll chime in and give you my opinion. You're never going to get 100% of the rust. Splitting the seams and lap welds to eliminate the rust is excessive. Wire wheel the surface scale if the portion has no pinholes or frank rust-out treat it with a product of choice (I use phosphoric acid) then epoxy prime it and seam seal it so it cannot get any moisture or air trapped in it and continue the chemical reaction. The inside of panels that have mild surface rust that you will not reach I would spray with cavity wax which is a petroleum based product, it will saturate/penetrate the metal and repel moisture vital for the oxidation. Only spray this after you have finished welding near the area - otherwise you will have weld contamination. If you Google it 3M makes a nice products called Rust Fighter. Eastwood also makes a rust encapsulator product for spraying inside cavities and frame rails. The patches you weld in will also flash rust from the inside unless coated it. I use a weldable zinc or copper rich weld through primer. Regular paint will burn and smoulder contaminating your welds. My tirade.

Most impressive metalwork, don't know if you have prior experience or not but impressive nonetheless.

Very impressive build, not sure how I missed it. Sad to see the L series is being retired. I have to know what wing you're using on this?

Could you share the contact information for the blaster? That would be cool. Also as always your build is an inspiration to keep going - although I'm nowhere near done. lol

Thank you! Me personally I don't see what the big aversion towards the sunroof is. I don't mind the way it looks and I'm not planning on running an AC unit so it'll provide some circulation in the summer heat. From what I understand patching the hole will cause your roof to warp, so if you decide to do away with it finding a donor roof skin with no sunroof is probably the best way to go. A seam splitter tool and a rotary tool make quick work of the spot welds.

Hey just realized that you're from Seattle! Welcome aboard. Very slick build - looks like you're clipping along at a pretty steady pace. Tuned in for the progress.