Jeff
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Posts posted by Jeff
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Sorry to get in late on this thread, but I thought I would throw in my .02 worth. Due to the complex shape of the dash you will not be able to use a fiberglass mold. For example all of the different angles and recesses would simply lock the new part in the mold permanently.
What we do in these situations is use a soft mold made of urethane or silicone. Once you have the original dash perfectly repaired, this is your plug, you then apply the mold release, paint on a thick layer of your soft material and back that up with a fiberglass "mother mold". The trick to the mother mold is that it will have to be layed up in sections with built in flanges. When you go to demold your part you will remove the mother mold in sections and then peel away your silicone or urethane.
I'm not sure if I've explained this process very well, so feel free to ask questions. The one draw back to this is how expensive the materials are.
Good luck with your project. -
Thanks Denny and Dave. I'm just about finished fabricating my rotisserie and plan to strip all the undercoating first thing. I'll look locally for the head piece, if not I'll get the one from Harbor Freight.
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Is the head unit for your air hammer called a needle scaler as well? I'm very interested in this as I will be tackling the bottom side of the car very soon. Thanks in advance, I've tested a couple of different methods and there seems to be no easy solution.
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Mike,
That's awesome, I didn't realize you were that far along. Bring that sucker out to the track on the 30th, even if it's just to show it off. See you there.
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Mine fell short of the damage at the firewall and I had to fabricate another piece of sheet metal to go there. I put the pan in first, fabricated the new piece, held in place with magnet, spot welded and then fully welded. Was not a fun process due to the shape of the area.
Shortly after that I gave up on the car, rust everywhere, and bought a virtually rust free 260. Hope yours turn out better.
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Once you have your original part shaped to your satisfaction, then your ready to pull a mold. The mold material depends on how complex the original part is. The prefered material is a gel coated fiberglass mold, this will allow you to pull many parts before refurbishing the mold. If the original part has any areas of "negative draft", in other words any areas that return greater than 90 degrees, then you will need to use a silicone mold with a fiberglass "mother mold". The mother mold allows the part to hold its shape and the silicone liner allows you to demold parts with negative draft.
This is all in very broad terms and would definetly recommend you read up on the subject. Good luck with your project.
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Jeromio's site is http://240z.jeromio.com/
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Scottie,
Sunday sounds fun. I noticed that the gates open at 9:00 AM, what time are you going to make it there? I just read another post and it sounds like mattback may be there with his 300ZX. Sounds like the start of a gathering.
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That looks sweet Scottie. Can't believe all the work you've done and I've managed to do next to nothing, life's been complicated. Any chance of a run to the track next Wednesday night?
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Douglas,
The two part urethane foam as Pete described is best for your application. It sculpts and sands well and you can fiberglass right over it. There are lots of companies that sell kits, the two liquid components that Pete spoke about.
You would need to build a wooden box to the size of foam block that you need then pour in the two parts and it will expand to the size of the box. I would use either a 2# or 4# per cubic foot density. These measures will be metric in New Zealand and I'm not that good with my coversions.
I did a quick search under "urethane foam" and came up with the following company that sells kits http://www.uscomposites.com/foam.html If you are interested in molding products you might check out http://www.smooth-on.com/
Good luck, it sounds like quite a project. Would love to see some pics when you get done.
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Don't know how to post a pic obviously. Try this. http://profiles.yahoo.com/jeff9962
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Great idea Scottie. Thought since I was mentioned by name I should reply. I could only find one picture here at work, a recent vacation shot. Pictures of myself remind me that it's time to get some exercise and eat right.
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Very nice job on fabricating the floor pans!! Keep up the good work.
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The most common materials to make the original part, the plug, out of are foam, clay & wood. We have also used combinations of these materials. Wood backing for stability with foam applied sculpted to shape and clay for the fine detail. Check out www.smoothon.com for your supplies.
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MSA lists them as part #23-4240 @ $22.21 ea. Their phone number is 800-633-6331. They also list the various bushings, nuts & washers separately. There URL is www.zparts.com
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Too Cool!! Looks like you've got it figured out. Not that my limited skills are that great, but if you need any help I'm avaiable.
What gear ratio is in it now? -
Por 15 sells a floor pan restoration kit that does what your describing. Check it out at http://www.por15.com/restorationkits.html Looks like a good alternative for pans that have small rust through areas.
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I've been drilling spot welds while doing my rust repairs and wow what a PIA. I'm intrigued by Mike & Rob's method and want to know how long you guys heat up a spot or if you just get it cherry red and then smack it with the thin chisel? This is why I love this forum, the wealth of information is great.
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Ashe, Not sure if your ready to buy or not, but I spoke with a guy in Lady Lake on Sunday whos got a 71 240 for sale. Claims it's a very clean car with no rust on the floors, frames, rockers or quarters. He indicated the hatch & doors were beginning to bubble. He also has a boatload of parts from a 72 that go with the deal. He's asking $1,500. The 71 has the motor and tranny out of it, he was going to do a V8 swap!! Let me know if your interested and I can email you his contact information. I want the car but can't swing the money at the moment.
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Hey mtj71Z,
What part of Florida are you from? Anywhere near Orlando?
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I just finished putting in the Zedd Findings floor pans. This was my first attempt at a major metal work project and I'm pleased with the results. The quality of the pans was very good, but they required a bit of massaging to line up to the tunnel contours. If I had it to do over again I would not have gone up on the tunnel as far as I did. I would have cut the new pans instead of cutting the tunnel to match the pans.
I am currently fabricating my own frame rails, aka Pete Paraska's method using 2.5" tube. Good luck with it, just budget yourself plenty of time and patience.
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Motorsport sells them as "European Chrome Bumpers". They are listed under the body styling parts & accessories area. My catalog shows a total price for front & rear at $657.86, Ouch!!
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Not sure how much a body shop would charge, but I am in the process of doing mine myself. I have the new floor pans in and started removing the frame rails last weekend.
This is a major job, but it has been a good learning experience so far. If this is your daily driver I would consider paying someone just because of the time consideration. My problem is just finding the time to work on the car.
I used the Zedd Findings floor pans and with a little massaging they fit well. I am building my own frame rails using 2.5" tube for added strength. Check out Pete Paraska's web site for great info on this and sub frame connector's.
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That looks great especially for your first attempt. The possibilites using this technique are endless. The company I work for uses this process to create all types of items for the theme parks. Anything from characters to rocks, we've even built a 32' tall Ragedy Ann from sculpted foam & fiberglass. Keep it up and keep posting pics.
Good luck with your project.
Floor pan replacement question
in Brakes, Wheels, Suspension and Chassis
Posted
Wick Humble's book "How to Restore Your Datsun Z-Car" has a brief section on this. He did a much better write up in Zcar Magazine, Issue 16, but since thay are no more it will be tough to find. I do have a copy of the article that I could mail you though. Email me if your interested. Wick's book should be available at Amazon.com and is a great resource.