dmwstuff Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 I started adding my recent progress onto an old posting over in New Members and I realized since I am posting my Z project progress, I should be posting here instead. Here is the link to the progress I've posted so far. http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/89572-260z-in-erie-pennnsylvania/ Little history: I bought my Z in November of 2009. Build date is 12/73. The original color was 307 metalic blue. Someday I want to change the color. Not sure what color yet. Don't let the reasonably clean outer appearance fool you, because it did fool me. It has its fair share of rust and I'm now starting to work on it. My other post shows my start to fix rust on the passenger fender. Here are a few pic of the door progress so far. I did finally weld on the patch panel I made for the bottom of the door. I have much more rust to fix. Thanks Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwstuff Posted October 1, 2013 Author Share Posted October 1, 2013 Its time to start working on the rust in the passenger side wheel well. Here is what it looks like with the fender off. More unanticipated rust. Looks like the prev. owner made a rust cover up for the top of the frame horn. Lucky me, more rust to fix. I now get to have fun scraping off all the undercoating. - Dave - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwstuff Posted October 2, 2013 Author Share Posted October 2, 2013 Here is what it looks like with all the old undercoating removed. This was a pain to do. Just takes a lot of time and patience. I was able to scrap most of it off with a heat gun. To get all residue off, I needed to use a chemical stripper. All the rust is now revealed. The rust is primarily along the lower frame leading up to the front of the car. The rust is also at the front cross member support. I decided it was bad enought that I had to cut it out and fix it. There is some surface rust inside the frame and I decided to brush on the rust reformer which changes rust into black oxide. Guess we will see how well that works. The front cross member reinforcement brace that is rusted out, Since it has a unique shape I might not be able to copy, I am going to repair it by sand blasting it and then welding up all the rust holes. More pictures soon. -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwstuff Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 Anyone ever do rust repair here at the front crossmember? Just curious. I've searched the forum and seen lots of rust repair to many different body areas just not here. Anyway, here is what my replacement panels look like. These pieces are not welded in yet, I'm just fitting them in place to make sure they fit good. I'm planning on welding them in place this weekend. After they are welded in I will update with more pictures. -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwstuff Posted October 7, 2013 Author Share Posted October 7, 2013 I spent the weekend installing the rust replacement panels I made. In this picture this panel is just tack welded in. I did get the panel completely welded in, it just took time to do it right. Now I just have to grind smooth the welds, clean up the wheel wheel and get the area primed and painted. As soon as I get the area cleaned up and painted, I will post some more pics. -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamo3 Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Well done and nice job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwstuff Posted October 7, 2013 Author Share Posted October 7, 2013 Thanks. Its a lot of work but the payoff is what I enjoy. I really like the idea of keeping a car on the road that might normally be scraped. I have to say this part of the project is taking me longer than I expected. Once I complete the passenger side. I am going to get into the driver side. I can suspect it needs similar attention. So start with removing the undercoating and see what is revealed. -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwstuff Posted October 14, 2013 Author Share Posted October 14, 2013 This weekend I got a coat of primer and paint on the wheel well. The first pics are the primer in white and the last 3 pics are the gray paint. -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwstuff Posted October 14, 2013 Author Share Posted October 14, 2013 Now its time to start working on the strut and wheel assembly. This is the ball joint with the steering knuckle. Looks like the rubber boot has a tear in it. I couldnt seem to separate the ball joint from the knuckle. I tried using a wheel puller but the clamping surfaces were uneven and it wouldnt hold. I drilled a divot in the end of the bolt so a punch would stay on it and not damage it. Then I could punch it out. Success!! Now that its apart, I have to see about getting a replacement rubber boot. Also, I need to get it cleaned and painted. -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwstuff Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 Time to clean up the strut. I started by wanting to make my own spring compressor. I just bought 1/2-13 all thread and some nuts and S hooks plus these sleeves at Lowes. All the pieces only cost me about $12. I welded the S hooks onto the sleeves. Now that I have the strut apart, I am going to sandblast everything. -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamo3 Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 That's creative! I don't want to discourage you, but you can buy spring compressor almost same cost from HFT... You can save your time http://www.harborfreight.com/macpherson-strut-spring-compressor-set-61654.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Domzs Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Good job on rust repair . Fun fun fun . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwstuff Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 Yeah, I didnt realize how cheap they were at HFT. Oh well they are made now. Rust repair is fun right?? hmm??? Nope! But I do feel a sense of accomplishemet when I fix rust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwstuff Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share Posted October 18, 2013 Got the strut components sandblasted and im just starting to primer them. I got the new ball joint boot. This is steering knuckle and ball joint. I am hoping by the end of the weekend I can start putting the strut assemly back on the car. -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmwstuff Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 Its been a little while since I was able to do any work. Here are the latest pics of the front suspension put back together. This weekend I am going to run a new brake line out to the wheel. -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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