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HybridZ

My Datsun 240z Restoration


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hello hybridz!

 

I've finally found my project z! I have some ideas in the direction I want to go but I'm not 100% set on every detail. i still have a lot of work to do before i can ever start making it a drivable car again. i bought it from a guy in chino ca that sells old cars. he had another one for sale but it seemed like even more work then this one. there is rust in the floor pans. it looks like it got repainted and has some serious surface rust but the frame rails looks solid, the battery tray looks good and the wheel arches are still in one piece. i know this will probably take me years because i want to do most of the work my self to learn and to save money. i work at a car fab shop so i have experience building cars and making things work that shouldn't but when it comes to the power train i will have to recruit my friends and local shops. i am really excited to get into my z and make this race car fun again. i know i don't know a lot about zs so if you guys see anything obvious or something that stands out please let me know! i am very open to opinion and critic. i appreciate all the knowledge here and can't wait to build this car with you all!!

 

http://s38.photobucket.com/user/Datsun-240z/library/six%20post

there are more pictures at the link 

 

in the photos is the door vin plate. i have one question, with the production date being 4/71 is it a 71 or 72?

over all shot of the rust bucket as i bought it. 

third photo is the passenger side wheel well as seen from the interior, does any one have any idea as to what this could be?

and last pic is just a shot of the frame rails.

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What RB26 said, your car being built in April 71 would be registered as a 71. You have one of the early steering wheels which is worth a bit more than the later ones, your floor pans are shot and will need replacing so you might as well replace the rails while you are at it. Zedd Findings is the best place to buy your pans and rails as he is the guy that makes them. Check the dog leg area just behind the doors, with rust that bad in the rear floor pans you probably have some rust in the dogleg area as well.

It's all repairable but to do the pans you will have to strip the car down. Lots of great threads in the archives about floor pan replacement.

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I uploaded some more photos. Some of the spare tire compartment, the dash with no dash, inner a pillar has some suspicious looking metal, as well as the c? Pillar on the outside almost looks like it could have been welded under the paint.

So if you guys see anything bad or worry some or even want to give me pointers as to where to start first I'm all ears! Thank you guys again!

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That area on your C pillar is a lead filled joint. I've never seen one that looked like that, but I'm guessing that's what that is. Maybe it's from the heat. Was it stored in the desert or an otherwise really hot climate?

 

That bit by your A pillar looks suspect. I'm guessing there's some rust there underneath.

 

Your car hasn't been hit in the rear has it? Looks like the trunk floor is wrinkled, but I'm guessing that's just the tar sound deadening that's wavy. Again, I'm guessing from heat.

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I'm with rturbo930, it looks like the car was rear ended and has been straightened, that is when the joints on the C pillars/roof would have flexed and cracked the paint. You will have to dig into the P/S dog leg and probably the D/S too to cut the rust out, sorry for dumping the bad news on you but it's much better to know what you are getting into before the strip down. Nothing can suck the enthusiasm out of you faster than striping off paint to find major rust. It's a project but it is all do able, one of the best ways to keep the project rolling is to update this thread often, everyone here loves a good project.

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Actually, I think it looks like mostly surface rust there. Of course, when you strip it to the metal, you end up finding things you didn't expect, but I'm guessing it doesn't have a lot of rust. On a second look, I see signs of body filler. I wouldn't expect much behind that one, but you never know.

 

I considered that it may have been hit from the rear, and that caused the C pillar to flex, but I don't think that's it. If it was in the desert, maybe a lot of extreme temps caused a lot of expanding and contracting, and that caused the paint issues there. I don't know. If you look at the trunk floor by the tool boxes, it's warped there too, so I don't think it's accident damage. Those dents in the wheel well are a mystery though. I'd like to see the inside of that wheel well to see if there's any suggestion of what happened. Tire blow out? I really don't know.

 

Ultimately I think you need to strip it bare to see what you have.

Edited by rturbo 930
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Thank you guys for the responses! I was in the garage for a few hours earlier today so that I will be posting some more pictures. But I bought it about two weeks ago and I live in socal so that's a yes to the heat. I believe there might have been a hit from the back side the area where the exhaust tip comes out is damaged, and I can see what looks like bondo on the other side, I will post a picture of that shortly! And I appreciate you all pointing out these things that is why I brought my problem or project here! And the area by the tool storage I thought was interesting too, it's like a wave of wrinkles. But thank you guys for your input much appreciated!!!

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I've uploaded couple pictures of the rear end where it look rock have been hit. The inner of the passenger side wheel well. Then the pass c pillar I took some 100 grit to it to a re who whens under he cracked paint and I think what's there's is not good. It looks to have the similarities on the driver side just not as bad. But it looks like the might have replace do the entire rear section? Isn't that thing!? Should I keep going with this rust bucket!!???

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Might've had a little tap in the rear by the exhaust, but not a huge hit. BTW, it's common for some of the trunk floor and trans tunnel sheet metal to be wavy from when it was stamped. Freaked me out the first time I saw it, but it's common. Get some dry ice, and take out the tar to see what's underneath.

 

I still don't know about the dents in your wheel well. Maybe something got wrapped around the tire? I think that's going to remain a mystery.

 

What I find odd is that you've sanded down the C pillar joint on the driver's, and it still appears to show paint cracking, but it looks like it's in the lead. Weird, but lead is soft, and has no give. I still think that's from extreme temp changes, but that's only a guess.

 

What I'm not seeing though is major rust. I'd keep going with it. You may still find out you've got a junker, but I don't think so at this point, oddities aside. Go ahead and strip it. See what you're working with underneath the paint.

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From my experience, no, not normal, and I can't imagine how they got there. The first one could've happened from something hitting it, or maybe it was formed poorly, I don't know. I simply don't know how the second one occurred. I personally wouldn't worry about it. Pretty strange though. I don't know what the hell this car went through in its lifetime.

 

I don't know if I'd use it for a flawless factory restoration, but it would make a fine hot rod.

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From my experience, no, not normal, and I can't imagine how they got there. The first one could've happened from something hitting it, or maybe it was formed poorly, I don't know. I simply don't know how the second one occurred. I personally wouldn't worry about it. Pretty strange though. I don't know what the hell this car went through in its lifetime.

 

I don't know if I'd use it for a flawless factory restoration, but it would make a fine hot rod.

is there any way to look into these cars history? i am curious if the original color was red or the blue that is on the outside. it came with original 1970s blue and yellow plates and i know they dont have modern 17 digit vin but can i use that to find any info?

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Your original color is red. Generally the interior panels - the doors underneath the door cards, behind the dash, inner quarters, etc. where the car wouldn't have been repainted will tell you what color it was. Yours is red in all those areas.

 

The VIN won't tell you much. S30 is the chassis, L is for left hand drive, I forget what the H is for, and everything else is just the serial number they gave it.

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Ok I also saw this while i was looking at the wheel well. Are these pinches in the rails normal??

Those 2 pics in post #14 are just more evidence of a rear ender,  easy enough to figure out, when you get the car torn down measure the dimensional reference points and compare them to the diagrams in the factory service manual in the body section.  Even if it is off a bit probably won't affect the handling of the car too much. It is always fun to try and figure out the history of your car by reading and interpreting the scars that it has picked up along way.

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mine looks the same, with 5mph bumpers you see virtually nothing else than those folds. Only one Bumper shock lost part of the connection to the frame and one inside weld on my bumper itself is broken loose. Must happen at quite low speeds since they didn´t even bend the bumper.... but then again what is capable of bending a 76 rear bumper..

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  • 8 months later...

So I decided to stop being lazy and get in the garage and removed the gas tank and the motor. once I dropped the tank I crawled underneath and took some photos and hopefully you guys could help me decipher what I see! It looks like there is some welding on the frame rail to the rear bumper/tow hook mount in the first two photos. The next three photos show the rear rails looking almost buckled? is this normal or do you think it could have been hit from the back? not pictured but I saw after my phone died the rear pass rail is separating from the body. so my main question is if I am going to replace the frame rails how do I support the car? The rotisserie would be mounted to the thing i need to replace, jack stand or cart also going to be resting on metal that would need to be replaced? And the last photo almost looks like there could have been a fire? 

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