socorob Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Looking at the bottom those welds look really cold. If there's an area near you that has a lot of chemical plants look for a welder around there. The plants here have tons of welders that work in them, and the retired ones still live nearby. Usually it's not too hard to find someone who does it on the side. Those guys are excellent welders too, as the stuff they weld will go boom if they do it wrong. A lot of them are used to having their welds x-rayed, and if they have a certain amount of failed ones they're outta there, so they know what they're doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tecreatta Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 To bad you can't Better Business Bureau craigslist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 The most important aspects of the repair are: 1. Cutting out the screwed up plates removing as little stock sheet metal as possible. 2. Cutting and squaring the front strut towers so they match (angeles within a 10th and height withiin 1/32) and doing the same for the rears. The above is critical. You will probably lose 1/2" in height getting #2 right but that can be handled with a welded in strip/patch bent to shape that surrounds the top of the strut tower. You can even use the strip to get the angles and height correct if you don't mind the look. A strip of 1" x .083" cold rolled steel will work if carefully shaped to match the curvature of the strut tower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 There is already a strip of metal under the strut tower from the factory. I'd look to see if you can grind all that shit off the top and get to the top of the strip underneath and see if it's clean. If it got damaged, then you're pretty well screwed. FWIW, I don't think I'd worry about getting the heights to the nearest 32nd of an inch. I'd be surprised if they were that accurate out of the box (my steering rack was about 1/4" different left to right as an example, and the way these cars flex I'd be really surprised if many were within that spec after 40 years of driving) and you could have the welding done right and have the chassis fixed at a frame shop and I'd bet that would be cheaper than setting it up to the 32nd of an inch by the welder. Really not seeing why the angle of the strut tower matters that much either. You're going to use a camber plate, so the angle of the strut tower doesn't really matter, so long as the monoball will move without binding. Maybe I'm missing something. ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sideways Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Uhm. Might be a silly idea. But why not cut/paste from a donor car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComicArtist Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 I couldn't quite tell from the photos, but it looks to me as if there's enough metal left on the original strut tower to be able to reuse the original plates. Just very carefully cut through the welds to get the plate out without removing as much as possible of the strut tower and the camber plate. It looks like someone who really knows what they're doing could clean the area up and still salvage what's left of the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLave Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Here are the underside pics from the front of the car. He didn't leave a lip to put the camber plates on. He cut too much out on all 4 corners. The guy had all the equipment and was certified. REALLY upset now. Sure it can be costly but I don't even know how to load this thing on a trailer anyways. So how much does a regular shop charge to put the plates in? I see they cost a lot but, how much are we talking here? I put the link to the arizona Z site and I added a youtube video of someone doing the plate install on a S30. He said he looked it over and knew what to do That is insane. A guy who has his own equipment and claims to be certified should know better. I do believe you are a victim here. Some lessons hurt a little more than others. Maybe others can learn from you experience too, dont trust just any "fabricator". I wouldn't worry about your laser lines too much, it looks to be that your line is way off because the laser is not sitting flat. But it is a bit of a moot point. The plates need to be cut out and redone regardless. You are going to have to fab new "tops" to the strut tower. I think it i were doing it, I would form a piece of flat bar around the tower, then cut them both down to a know and equal dimension. Like cut a full inch off. Then weld on the strip. I dunno... Or I would haul the car over to someone like JohnC who have the knowledge and intact cars to reference. Tough deal man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpuma8 Posted September 6, 2013 Author Share Posted September 6, 2013 I have a coworker whose husband restores cars for a living. He is going to help me out on this. Does anyone know the angle of the strut towers? What is the lean angle? He knows of a local shop that can copy the outline of my camber plates and make bigger ones that will weld onto the top of the old holes. Will this work? He also mentioned going to pick n pull and sawzalling out the front strut towers and then welding them in. He says the job isn't necessarily hard but time consuming. What do you guys think is the best way to go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 Stop looking for deals and trying to find some to help you out in their spare time. That's what got you here in the first place. Take your car to a professional shop and spend the money. FYI... There's no such thing as a certified automotive welder. You do have certifications for race sanctioning bodies (FIA, NHRA, NASCAR) only in the context of roll cages and tubular chassis structures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpuma8 Posted September 6, 2013 Author Share Posted September 6, 2013 Does anyone have a chassis drawing I can give to a shop? I found the thread in Hybridz but the links are dead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 Some people just don't have that kind of money. I know I don't. Or they need something to get them by until they get the extra funds. If I was trying to fix a mess like that, in the garage on the weekends, I might consider using a good strut brace to locate the tops of the struts with the new fabricated pieces underneath. You still need to do some other locating work but it might work as a good jig to hold things together. The chassis dimensions are in the Body chapter of the FSM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUNNY Z Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 Ouch. Looks like a flux core weld also. What a mess. I feel for you man..... Just another great reason why I don't like to let other people work on my stuff. I used a string to align them when I put mine in, and they turned out OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted September 6, 2013 Share Posted September 6, 2013 As usual, johnc is correct. I'm just imagining what a huge pita it will be to have to reassemble the suspension to just get the car moved from its current location to a reputable shop. I think I would seek some compromise. The $800 he quoted is more than fair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyson Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 I didn't read the last few posts, but since the "fabricator" cut too much from the strut towers would it not be benefitial and more cost efficient to have larger camber plates made to fit the holes? Cut the plates out, weld them smooth. Measure the hole they have to go in and bring it to a fab shop for it to be scanned, increased in size where need be and then new ones CNCed? OP, Even if it takes a lot longer and a lot of time, get these fixed. If it holds and doesn't kill you...cool I guess. But if I were car shopping I'd walk away the moment I saw them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motomanmike Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 (edited) I feel terrible for you on this. That was a flux core, probably 110. I'm in the process of doing my plates not and stumbled across this thread. Any progress on it? Edited January 12, 2014 by motomanmike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slowpoke Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 (edited) For $800 i would just buy a decent welder and learn to do it my self. I've learned the hard way that I can usually do a better job than i can afford to pay someone to do for me. I bet you can a better job than this guy did if try and do it yourself. Edited January 12, 2014 by Slowpoke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpuma8 Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 I was going to start over almost ans buy a new shell but I can't find anything without a ton of rust. So I have two solutions and I am not completely sold on what path to go. There is a shop that looked at the pictures and said they can rebuild the towers for $400 and reweld the plates in correctly. Problem is moving the car out there and I am nervous the angles will not be totally correct. Not a whole lot of confidence in shops lately due to my past experiences and what we are going through with my wife's 300ZX TT. The other option is someone offered to cut out all four strut towers and sell them to me for $100. Then we would weld them in. To me this seems like the best option but I am no expert on this. So what do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Cutting out the towers only makes your problems worse. Seriously, you need a course on making friends. Start with a case of beer, or maybe two cases of beer. Find a fabricator (old pipe fitter) who has a welding machine mounted on his truck. And ask him to come help you. Find an old-timer in the local hot rod club and help him with his car in exchange for him helping you. Or, go buy a flux welder at lowes for $100-ish and bribe somebody to come to your house and help you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 New idea: Try contacting forum member wfritts911. Buy him a round trip plane ticket, treat him like a king and feed him a couple of steaks. That kid could have you back together in a couple of hours-he can weld and fab, and he's fast. He's in college studying engineering, but he really wants to have a 4x4 shop. He did his LS swap under a tree in his yard in just a couple of weeks. He's your man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpuma8 Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 Update! Found a 280Z with no rust, brakes redone, tank cleaned, new injectors, and cylinder head redone for $1,100. Drives great with great oil pressure. Taking it to a shop now to get the camber plates and coilovers put in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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