2 4 0 Z L S 1

[1969honda]

Farrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk ME !

 

Strong enough ?

 

Help Strengthen !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Are you kidding ????????????????

 

And makes mine look like Schiest !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Why dont you put these into production along with the rest of the bling you are making ? I doubt you would keep up with the demand !

 

As always "I hate your splendiferous work"

I agree! That looks amazing, you should consider making a pattern and producing them.

[disepyon]

Haha, thanks guys.  I might consider making the floor frames in the future if there is any interest since they are relatively easy to make.  Though the ones I made for my car wouldnt work for stock because my front frame rails are "wider/taller" than the stock front frame rails, so the dimensions of these floor rails wouldnt work for the stock front rails.  My floor rails would be able to fit over the stock rails since mine are 3 quarters of an inch tall and 2 and half inches wide, except the area where it fits over the front frame rail (close to stock dimensions). So those who are lazy to remove the original jacked up floor rails would be able to slip these on.

 

Id have to disagree with you Sirpent, I still think your support brackets are much cooler looking than how I tied mine in with the floor rails. 

 

The driver side floor rail made. This side went a heck of a lot smoother since I knew what to do.  

 

Guess ill be putting these for sell on craigslist as well the floor pans, since ill be making my own.  If there is one thing I regret buying for my project right now, it would be these items.  

 

Still need to make the rear sections of the floor rails...

Edited May 31, 2016 by disepyon

[Ryan Merrill]

Patiently awaiting this to be completed so I can buy the body. Man that is some nice work.

[disepyon]

Thanks for the kind words Ryan Merrill. Dont think ill be selling this car, at least for awhile anyways, hehe

 

So making the rear part of the floor frame to tie in with the rear frame, for some reason gave me a hard time.  Just about gave up for tonight until i went back to some basic techniques, using string/tape to get the basic shape/outline, man did that help!!

 

Previous failures...You would think 3rd time is the charm but not for me, haha

 

Fourth try, Finally got it they way I wanted. The rear frame in this area is deceiving and if your not paying close enough attention like me, then it wont come out right.  The outside (outer driver side) face of the rear floor frame has to be lowered about half an inch or so in order for everything to align right after bending and to keep it leveled looking parallel with the ground (if you want to think of it that way). Reason is that the inside (trans tunnel side) face of the rear floor frame has a longer length due to how the rear frame in this area is shaped. Just glad its over with. Was gonna have it wrap completely all around the rear frame but decided to dumb it down and keep it simple.

 

Now I need to make the actual part with all the lips/tabs, the template is made from 20-21g CRS.  Will do this tomorrow.

 

Edit: Figure id post this link up, Old thread of a guy remaking the frames of the Datsun Z exactly like stock.  I used it a lot for referencing things.  

http://www.viczcar.com/forum/topic/9634-240z-260z-replacement-engine-bay-floor-rails-now-available-sa/

Edited June 4, 2016 by disepyon

[Sirpent]

Bhagwan Kardish Disepyon

 

May I ask a question, a stupid one of you ?

 

Unless you are going to use a reversed sway bar as seen on the Arizona set ups..................

 

WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GOING TO MOUNT THE ORIGINAL ?

 

Because as the great F1 Murray Walker used to say "Unless I am very much mistaken"

 

You seem to have blocked off the pathway at each rail end to be able to fit it back !

Edited June 4, 2016 by Sirpent

[disepyon]

Good question. My Z never came with a factory rear sway bar, so the mounting points that would be behind the seats underneath the car or so were never there. You are correct that I would have to use the AZC type sway bar mounting, in which I already aquired the parts for.

[Sirpent]

Hi Buddy

 

First, sorry if my last post offended in any way, it was meant to be humorous, not sarcastic.

 

Second, my bad as I didn't realize that 240Z;s exported to the States didn't have a sway bar fitted on the rear until I did some research before writing this post.

 

Was just trying to watch out for you, if it did indeed have one and it had slipped your mind while fabricating.

 

John

[disepyon]

Nah not at all John, your ok. No offense taken. I know you were being humorous. I actually had no idea about a sway bar that was located in the position you mentioned on stock 240z's. Because of that I hit the search engines like crazy, and actually learned. Yeah it seems like the U.S.A gets all the uncool versions of imported cars hehe.

 

Keep letting me know if you see something i should be doing differently, im all for opinions and criticism and ideas. After all thats how people learn and better themselves.

 

-Brent

[RebekahsZ]

We kinda don't need rear sway are on these cars anyway. If you build the car with any real power, you will need all the rear traction you can get, and a sway bar steals traction from the inside wheel. Eliminate body roll with heavier spring rate and you won't miss a rear bar one bit. Plus, if you go to CV rear axles, it is hard to get the sway bar links to not rub the CVs. It gets cramped back there really quick. I just bought a Z that has bent up front frame rails. Your fab is sick! How will you coat the inside of the front frame rails to prevent surface rust (or will you just have to accept some rust)? These blind panels like our rocker panels seem to re-rust and bubble paint a few years after welded repairs. I'm really discouraged and am contemplating junking this rust-free body I just got that has bent to fuc.. front rails instead of trying to repair it. I'm pretty discouraged. Any words of hope?

[disepyon]

RebekahsZ:  Thanks for sharing your input on the rear sway bar.  I know you have quite the track time with your Z based on all threads Ive read with you appearing in them, so that means a lot to me when you give advice like that.  I'll probably end up driving my Z with it on and off to experience for myself, but that is so far from now.  

 

As far as getting the inside of all these parts coated and protected, I will use POR15 to coat the areas that will not be near any welding zones and for the areas that get welded, I will use Bloxide Aluminized Rust Preventive Coating/Weldable Primer, I Chose that specific weld primer cause ive heard good things about it.  Can be purchased from EastWood.  So far I havent had any issues yet with that primer, seems to be pretty durable.  In fact when I was preping my driver side rocker panels, there was some of that primer left on the panels in a few areas when I prepped those panels with POR15 etching solution.  The primer didnt even budge, still holding up in those areas today and hasnt shown any rust. I think the only real way to coat everything after being welded that would get in between every nook and cranny would be like how some car manufactures do it (that ive seen), literally dip the chassis in a primer paint bath. My only concern is after the panels have been welded together, will he welds themselves start to rust over time in the in between areas you are not able to re-coat...

 

I saw your thread about that Z you purchased and that sucks to hear that.  As far as words of wisdom or things to say that would motivate you to get back on track on why you purchased the car in the first place and what your plans were with it, I couldnt say it any better than these:

Though this is geared towards bodybuilding/working out, CT Fletcher says some extremely motivating things not related to working out. When I listened to this, I viewed as everything you do in life.

"If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them" - Bruce Lee

"When a Man starts to question the limits of his endurance, defeat prepares to pounce!" - Heat Guy J

" A man shouldn't back away from the fear that lies in front of him." - Heat Guy J

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." - Walt Disney

"I'd rather attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed." - Robert H. Schuller (I think of this as, the man who faces the challenge and puts in the hard work even if the outcome isnt that great gets respect than the man who takes the easy way out)

"The harder you work the harder it is to surrender." - Vince Lombardi (I think of this as, the more you get involved, the more progress you make, the more work you put in, the more you learn on your path, the harder it is to just give up and stop, because of this, I am actually extremely motivated to keep at it with my Z)

 

I can go on and on with these quotes. In all honesty, I myself have tremendous respect for those who do the work themselves and if you run into an unexpected challenge, facing your challenge no matter the out come, succeed or fail, will always be given the respect in my book, regardless if failing, just knowing the effort in trying is great because a lot is to be learned from it, so either way you still get something out of it.

 

If I were in your situation and money wasnt an object, my biggest hurdle would be where to start and how to go about it.  Unfortunately because I had never experienced fixing a bent/warped frame, and going about how to replace it, I cant help you there, wish I could.  I would maybe start with getting the car up on a straight dolly/frame, then remove the messed up framing and start measuring the body against the factory specs (if there are any) to see if the body itself isnt warped due to the frame being warped. If the body is straight, I would go about remaking the framing or buy the frame rails and put them in. If the body isnt straight, then I would research like crazy on how to go about fixing the body, If the methods are out of your reach, then I would just ditch the body... But because you put in some effort on going about fixing it, your still successful because now you know that car is unfixable, not only that but im sure you would had learned a lot that may help you in the future.

 

This is my inspiration, one day I want to be good enough to make stuff like these:

 

Those cars were hand made back in the day, no pressed molds to make the body. If someone else can do it, so can I, well to a certain extent, hehe.  

 

As far as my update, completed the rear section on the floor frames, no pics of it installed though.

 

This is pretty much it for me, as far as replacing the framing of this car, minus the rear which I dont need to since its in good shape. Now begins the prep work in getting these permanently welded in.

 

Edit: Cant seem to figure out how to embed a YouTube video without having to go to the Youtube Site.

Edit 2: sweet figured it out.

Edited June 6, 2016 by disepyon

[RebekahsZ]

Regular body primer isn't water proof and if not top-coated, will rust, just a little slower than if not primered. Are you suggesting that the weld thru primer doesn't get painted, but you just leave it at that? I ask only to learn.

[disepyon]

Well the Weld Thru Primer is only applied to the surfaces that are pinched. Only used on the inside surface of the tabs/lips of a panel that lap another panel.  I dont spray the whole inside of a panel with it, just on the inside edges where you would be spot welding/plug welding.  Now as far as going back and protecting the surface of metal in between right at the joints after being sprayed with weldable primer and welded together, you can buy products like sprayable wax based film such as international epoxies and sealers sell called Inter-guard honey coating that will seep in the cracks and seams.  

http://www.internationalepoxies.com/viewCategory.php?c=314

 

Then go back over the seams with a seam sealer like the factory cars have to cover the seams so water wont get in between the joins of the sheet metal.  

 

This is something I myself is still learning as far as whats the best product to buy that can be sprayed in between the joints that will permanently coat the inside surface tabs/lips of the sheet metal.  

 

As far as coating the inside of a panel or frame that is already assembled, I dont know what product to use to clean the inside and get it prepped to be coated with a 360 degree type spray tube nozzle. That is the difficult part I think is getting the inside surface prepped to be coated when everything is assembled. Coating the inside would be the easy part.

 

JalopyJournal.com is a great forum with tremendous amount of talent and knowledge of professionals who restore cars. That might be a good forum to look at and I believe they have a thread on this very subject.

[Sirpent]

Too long between updates !

 

Whats happening Buddy ?

 

Don't hold out on us !

[disepyon]

hehe, been working on it off and on lately, kind of got distracted and busy with work and other things. Sorry if I been neglecting my thread.

 

I will post an update either this weekend or next, most likely next.

 

Stay Tuned till then!

[disepyon]

As promised, have some updates. Picture heavy!

 

Just been side tracked lately, but now I'll have more time for awhile working on this car.  Just gets so damn hot and humid here in Oklahoma, been working on the car lately later in the day during sun set.

 

 

Since this update has so many pictures, ill just describe what all was done first.  

 

Floor rails and front frame rails, coated with POR15 and coated with rust preventive Weldable primer in areas of welding zones.  Stripped paint and rubberized coating underneath the wells and coated the engine bay with that rust preventive weldable primer to keep things from rusting until the painters work on it.  worked on the batter tray, just welded areas that needed metal and coated the rest with silver POR15 that contains metal filler, stuff is awesome, will go back and sand it smooth later.  Also made sure to get this POR15 in between panels at the lips. Fixed the lower part of the driver side shock tower, cut out the rusted metal and welded replacement plates.  welded any holes in the engine bay and smooth out any dents/dings.  So the lower radiator support I had made, I decided to scrap it and remake it. Didnt like the way it turned out, was warped and did not fit flush against the frame rails.  A lot happier with the second lower radiator support I made.  Yesterday, got everything welded in place, Just need to go back and work on finishing up some things, like weld the Cleco holes shut, get the cross member aligned and fitted. I had to weld the pre drilled holes shut on the frame rails for the cross member bolts, did not align up. Incase your wondering, the Z is not straight/perfectly level with the Dolly frame I made.  I was getting extremely pissed because the lower radiator support looked crooked.  Finally figured out that the driver side is forward about 1/4" or so and passenger side is about 1/4" lower.  Spent a lot of time wondering what the hell was going on.  Lesson learned, next time make damn sure the car is straight on the dolly.  The lower radiator support is actually a little higher on the driver side even with the car level, not by much though.  The cross member is leveled with the car and straight when up against the frame rails, so no problems with suspension.

 

Just glad this part of the project is over with, So much involved, for a moment felt like I was overwhelming myself.

 

Enjoy the pictures!!

[Boben]

You sure know your way around. My hat goes off to you.

[Sirpent]

I'm sending mine to the steel recycling yard after being totally demoralized by the craftsmanship of this last post..................Incredible work !

[disepyon]

Thanks guys,

 

Hehe Ehh, I wouldnt quite go there with my work as you said Sirpent. I am actually disappointed with the plug welds/spot welds.  Didnt want to use Tig welding, Im too impatient for that.  Most of them look like turd. Tried my best to get them all flat and consistent as possible, didnt want to weld too hot cause then I would just be burning holes through all day.  Guess just takes practice. Was getting better at it the last third of the way.  Surprisingly for the plug welds underneath, wasnt too bad welding upside down. Its times like this you wish you had a spot welder...

 

Just glad that the worst of the rust on this Z is over with. Next up will be to tackle on the passenger side rocker then to get some floor pans made.

[disepyon]

Subframe aligned and bolted on. Finally got to cut the subframe jig I had, was really annoying.

 

Passenger side inner and outer rocker panels removed.  Decided to take a shortcut and just drilled out the spot welds attached to the front and rear tie in plates and hammered the damn thing off.  Actually put up a good fight, but the one holding the hammer won!

 

My scrap/junk pile is starting to get on my nerves, need to haul all this to the scrap yard.

 

Just need to make all these things like I did for the driver side.  Should be Fun....!

Edited August 13, 2016 by disepyon

[Sirpent]

As always, Sensational work even if you did rip off one of my idea's LOL