bestlowrida Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 (edited) I just bought this car and at a quick glance I came up with these few rust spots. I never welded before, so I am going to buy and electric flux/mig welder and some sheet metal, and a cutter/grinder and go to town on the rust. The car came with the replacement panel for the right rear wheel arch. My buddy that has some welding experience is going to help. I really want to sandblast the whole car too but I don't have any space right now. I checked out the floor pans, the battery tray area and the undercarriage and it looked pretty decent. Just wanted to know if you guys have any guidelines, advice or input for this job? Edited September 25, 2012 by bestlowrida Please Resize Images to: 1024 x 768 pixels or close, before placing on HZ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FJ 280z Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 wow. to be honest you might be better off finding a new car unless you have countless hours and endless money you can throw at this thing. i'd pull the carpet out and look at the floor pan, look under the car at the rails, under the battery, etc. if there is that much rust on the thing, there is probably more hiding, and if there is more hiding, you might want to find a new car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motomanmike Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Coming from a guy in phoenix I get your point, however us here in MD are hard pressed to find a rust free car but this one is pretty bad. I agree with everything you say. There is more hiding. Especially front supports and floor into the firewall area too i'm sure the spare tire well is probably bad also. Bestlo Depends on what you want. Do you want a show car, or do you want a beater to drive? I have 2 Z's and my 1 Z isn't quite as bad as yours in those areas but in some others its pretty similar. I've driven 20k miles in it since I got it running and love it. I made it safe first off, new brakes, lines, tank etc etc. Welded a patch panel on the side. Didn't really do any body work and its my favorite Z. It just rides so nice, doesn't look fantastic but it wasn't what I was going for. Up to you but if you don't have body work skills, you are setting yourself up for defeat IMHO because it is an ART. Cool to see another guy out of MD though. Good luck Send some more pics i'd like to see the whole car. I thought I was the only guy in MD with an orange Z hahahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PR280z Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 SILVER SPRING, MD. I have a brother that lives there, very near to RITAS. I`ll cut those wheel arches and install some FENDER FLAIRS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Call it "patina" and keep driving it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSM Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Call it "patina" and keep driving it. LOL! bestlowrida, a "few" rusts spots? That is a lot of rust. Just make it safe, put fiberglass flares on it, get the Z store full body kit http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/7AP/50-1504A to hide it all and enjoy it. Faster, easier and cheaper. Otherwise, you have a massive undertaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 The inside of those rocker panels are wasted. Use this car to learn how to do rust repair and weld but assume you're going to part it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bestlowrida Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 (edited) Back with more pics! Speaking of the devil, look what I dug up. The front left behind the wheel. Under the drivers floorpan. Under the passenger floorpan. The front right behind the wheel. More of the drivers panel. And last but not least (so far) the dreaded battery panel from the bottom. I drove this car 3 hours down from New Jersey a couple weeks ago. Looks like I have a lot of work to do lol. I do plan of using this car to learn how to weld and do metal/bodywork. Its definitely not going to be a show car I just want to get it safe, paint it and give it some nice wheels/flares. The engine and interior are in good condition. It will be a very slow work in progress mainly because I need space to do so. Edited September 25, 2012 by bestlowrida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bestlowrida Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 (edited) Sorry about the confusing edited post. Edited September 25, 2012 by bestlowrida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGREEZY Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 I JUST SEEN THIS CAR ON CRAIGSLIST NOT TOO LONG AGO CONGRATS. I TOO JUST BOUGHT A RUSTY DUSTY Z SO DONT FEEL BAD YOU AIN'T THE ONLY ONE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bestlowrida Posted September 26, 2012 Author Share Posted September 26, 2012 Yeah rusty dusty is right. I'm actually pretty excited about learning how to weld and do the body work because it drives really nice. I have 3 other cars so there is definitely no rush. Ill post pictures up once progress is made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dershum Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 I'm not so sure I'd use that body to learn how to repair rust. I'm sort of in the same boat; still improving my welding skills, and learning how to do rust repair. But looking at that it looks like more rust than metal. I'd look for something that has distinctly "fixable" areas. Stuff that I can look at and go "ok, I can trim this part of the panel out, make a repair panel, and weld it in". Looking at that body, I wouldn't even know where to start on some of those areas. If you're really gung-ho about going forward with it though, good luck with it! And make sure to post lots of pics, so I can see how you're attacking some of those spots and steal your ideas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest Harmon Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 You don't want to use flux core wire to do body panels with it is too hot.You need to use a gas mix and a good .023 or .024 solid wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bestlowrida Posted September 26, 2012 Author Share Posted September 26, 2012 Thanks guys will do! When I grind the rotten paint/rust down that will really tell how far I will go with this car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280z4me2 Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 My car was worse then that and I had never done body work before. I say go for it! Will be a great learning experience and you'll appreciate the end result that much better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
az240z Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 also remember to check out the parts for sale section for cars being parted.as some will cut, for body part replacement. Can save you a lot of time and money in fabrication. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bestlowrida Posted September 29, 2012 Author Share Posted September 29, 2012 Thanks guys will do! I wish I had some friends around here that can help out! Ill post pics when I start soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkumaNoZeta Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 The area above the TC bucket on your right side looks a lot like how mine was back when I was driving my car (except mine wasn't bent back like that). Back then the Z was my only car and one day when I hit the brakes that whole section of the car separated from the rest of the unibody. I had to do a quick fix just so I could keep driving it and back then all I had was a flux welder. My car looked better because of all the dura-glass and bondo the previous owner used but after looking around I found the rockers were completely gone and the floors were just 22g sheet metal screwed down. My front subframe was busted were the sway bar mounts with smaller rust holes above the crossmember. Surprisingly there's only tiny rust holes above my rear wheel arches and a couple in the doors. Roll pan has been hammered in an accident (with 2.5" of dura-glass filling it up). A lot of people didn't think it could be saved but it's on it's way. My outer rockers are cut out completely allowing me to weld a 2X4 0.120" tubing to whats left of the inner rocker and adjoining areas. Then I have 2X2 0.083" as my subframe connector from directly off the TC bucket to the rear crossmember with 1.5" round tubing connecting it to the 2X4 in my rocker with 16g sheet metal used as a floor. I have the passenger side done and still working on the driver's side, but when it's done the engine is coming out and the front sub-frame is going to be replaced by 2X3 0.083". It should go without saying that I gave my flux core welder away to a friend and bought myself a nice MIG. When you start working on it, just remember to not rush yourself. That's the biggest mistake I see people do, the more time you take the better your results will be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280z4me2 Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 On a car like this , POR15 and Zero Rust will be your best friend. Preferably por15 as I have used both. I patch welded my inner fenders and engine bay and por 15, then used there tie-coat primer, then a flat black paint. Almost 6 years later and not a single sign of rust or paint failure. I recommend using it on all of the hard to reach areas and inner panels. Especially if you aren't blasting the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bestlowrida Posted September 29, 2012 Author Share Posted September 29, 2012 I love the advice, I have plenty of time to start absolutely no rush and each spot will get an equal amount of attention as needed, I love how people take these old cars and save them from being another junkyard scrap metal. Do the areas behind the front wheels look like I need a new sheet metal or can they be patched up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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