toolman Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 (edited) After waiting for my replacement dog leg panel for a month, I canceled my order with them. I then ordered the panel from Z Depot instead. It came in one week. Now I can finished up the corrosion repair. I welded in the inner reinforcement panel and painted with welding primer. Now to fabricating the upper portion of the dog leg. First , a template must be made . Using a metal shrinker , the upper dog leg portion is created. With the upper portion mocked in, the next lower stepped area can made. The picture below shows the dog leg and this stepped area together. Next, the gap between the rocker panel and the dog leg must be filled. Another template for this gap is made. There is six separate bends that required. Even with a template, mistakes can happen. Just straighten it out and rebend it. Sometimes even with metal brake, you have to use "red neck" technology to get the job done. Almost finished, the patch and dog leg ready to be welded. The wheel opening end won't be welded yet as the new flare size has yet to be determined. Edited April 10, 2018 by toolman add pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolman Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 (edited) I almost made a mistake. When I was watching a video of 240z replacement of its rocker panel, I realized that my rocker panel had to be longer. So I constructed a new longer rocker panel section. This is a photo of what I can up with. Basically it is just longer than the old one. But the new rocker also had to be "capped" at the rear. Interior view of the new rocker panel. This pics shows the rocker panel welded in place. Now, templates were made to construct front upper and side step for the dog leg. This required three separate metal pieces to make this complex shape. Used a oxygen/acetylene torch with 1/16" steel rod as the metal was so thin. The finished front upper section of the door leg( three separate pieces of sheet metal welded together). The welded section was then welded to original dog leg and then painted with welding primer. Edited April 17, 2018 by toolman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolman Posted April 19, 2018 Author Share Posted April 19, 2018 Managed to get in three hours to work on the Z. I installed the dog leg panel from ZDepot. Photo of underside of the dog leg panel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolman Posted April 23, 2018 Author Share Posted April 23, 2018 This weekend. I started on the corrosion on the upper section of the right quarter panel. This area was little heavier gauge(about 20 gauge) but had to be removed. The removed area, in this case, was about 5". Just the left of the front cut is the connecting area of the quarter panel and the roof. This joint was welded then lead soldered at the factory.All of the lead solder must be removed before work can be done. When this car was manufactured, using lead for the roof joints was common practice( even on US made cars). A template was made to provide reference points when reconstructing this area. In this case, the template was copied from the opposite (right side) and image reversed. The drip rail patch was constructed using several paper templates. Note: both front and rear ends of the patch have extra material to allow welding to original metal. If you notice that I marked directions on my work, it is because it is easy to get confused and place the patch the wrong way. The lower portion of the patch welded the body. Note: The drip rail is made taller and will be grinded down after everything is completed. The seams in the interior of the patched area were tack welded to increase strength. Then painted with welding primer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Oben Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 Man what a lot of work, the work is well done too! My only question is was a good shell not available? Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperZ Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 Nice work! I've been watching a lot of Youtube videos of rust restoration on Zs and other classic vehicles. I've nothing but respect for the patience and attention to detail this takes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolman Posted April 24, 2018 Author Share Posted April 24, 2018 (edited) Today was the first day that my Z was turned around in the garage. It has been over 1 year since the restoration started. During that time, I was looking for another 240z or even a parts car. Because of our high humidity and being surrounded by saltwater, the 240Zs that I looked at were real "rust buckets". Only consolation that I have is that nobody here (that I know of) has went through such a complete restoration. The Z finally turned around in my garage. Only the right side of roof, rear panel and right quarter left to strip the paint off. Managed to finished the upper left quarter panel patch. The dip rail was made of 20 gauge metal. urethane seam seal will seal the drip rail after epoxy priming the whole car.Bottom view of patch Interior view of patch For extra protection, I used a 1/2" Blair hole saw to drill rust proofing access holes. A bendable magnet is used to recover the drilled out piece. The 1/2" plastic plug will seal the hole after rust proofing treatment is done. The rustproofing hole is just forwarded of the repaired area. Also, it will allow rust proofing of the hatch hinge area(another corrosion point). More access holes will drilled in potential corrosion areas through out the car. Rust proofing will performed only after final color painting . Thanks again for your praise. Most people do not realize how much work there is for 47 year old vehicle restoration. Edited April 24, 2018 by toolman corrections Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolman Posted April 26, 2018 Author Share Posted April 26, 2018 The next corrosion target was the rear hatch upper panel. Not a pretty sight. This is a common corrosion area for the 240Z. Left side view Right side view overall view of rear hatch upper panel Looks like I will be very busy this weekend!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhm Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 I must say it really is impressive to see your level of commitment, patience and attention to detail on this restoration -- very impressed with your metal work and fab skills. Kudos for bringing this old girl back to life!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Oben Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 What he said Double. Nice work and WHOLE LOT of it. Richard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolman Posted April 30, 2018 Author Share Posted April 30, 2018 (edited) This is a photo of the left side of the rear hatch panel after media blasting. Made template for patch for left side. Right side template Had to even to use a Dremel to hard to cut tight areas. Right side dog leg section finished. I utilized a gas torch and butt welded the joints to provide a smoother finish. Left lower section finished. Still working on the horizontal panel between both quarter panels. \ Also, repaired this hole by butt welding with gas torch with 1/16 steel rod. Butt welding provides a finished surface requiring very little body filler. With a Tig welder, you can get away sometimes with no filler at all. But the patch must close fitting thus time consuming. Edited May 1, 2018 by toolman add pic and corrections Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolman Posted May 8, 2018 Author Share Posted May 8, 2018 (edited) I found similar corrosion on the right side door dogleg. Had remove more of this side rocker panel due to rust. The wheel housing also had to patched. In my opinion, this type of wax type of rustproofing was not thin enough to get in those tight cervices and pockets. Also, the use of weldable primer will help to prevent corrosion from the mig welding process. The pictures show the sections of patches for this repair. Only the upper left section is left over from the original rocker panel. The other three parts will be fitted together like a puzzle. A different view of the patch sections to give a better idea of the different sections. Utilized 20 gauge metal for the wheel housing patch to resist corrosion. Marking a template for the curved section of dogleg. This is the second patch for this section because I had cut the upper potion of the original curved section to allow welding of the rocker panel. Also, still have do more welding of patches. Waiting for the replacement corner section of the dog leg from Z Depot which cost almost $100 because of freight. We call it the "Paradise Tax". Edited May 8, 2018 by toolman correction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolman Posted May 14, 2018 Author Share Posted May 14, 2018 While waiting for the replacement dog leg panel to arrive, I decided to add an additional drain hole in rear area of the inner rocker panel. A corresponding hole will added to the replacement panel which goes over the rocker panel. Also, as the wheel housing side will be open till flaring I will spray seam sealer to protect this area from corrosion. Replacement panel ready to be welded on. I found additional corrosion on the bottom front edge of the fuel filler door area. Additional corrosion was discovered on the innerbox section too. A template was made to create a sheet metal patch. This photo shows the inner fuel filler box corrosion. The replacement section had to hammer formed to match the original. The exterior replacement panel being mocked up before shaping work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolman Posted May 20, 2018 Author Share Posted May 20, 2018 (edited) The contour of the inner edge was time consuming. Utilizing a large c-clamp and pieces of 1/4" steel plate to make a temporary screw press. As you can see, the method is very effective and very low cost. Guide lines and position marks are very important for correct alignment. The patch was ducted taped to the quarter panel and fuel filler was test fitted before welded on. The patch was welded on and painted with welding primer. The fuel filler door was doubled checked on the exterior patch. The exterior patch was also tack welded from the inside. It will be seam sealed after media blasting to prevent corrosion. Edited May 20, 2018 by toolman additional infor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolman Posted May 23, 2018 Author Share Posted May 23, 2018 (edited) While working on this Z, one problem that coming up was the presence of wax type of rustproofing. Even when I tried to clear the rustproofing around the area of repair, it sometimes would melt and spoil my weld. I tried scrapping and using lacquer thinner but it still was not effective. One of body shop guys told to try Barbeque Lighter Fluid. So I bought some from Walmart. It was only $3 a quart. Well. it works good as it does not evaporate as fast as lacquer thinner and allows time to soften the rustproofing. A stiff parts brush also helps also. The fluid doesn't seem to leave a residue too. For areas with thick rustproofing, use a plastic scraper to remove the heavier deposits first then use the fluid. Pic of rustproofing on the inside of left quarter panel Lighter Fluid After cleaning with lighter fluid, the seams were scrapped out with thin scraper. A 1000 degree heat gun was also used to soften the seam sealer. Left rear quarter panel pocket Right side pocket after cleaning. Brushed on OSHO in the seams then neutralized it after 24 hours. Lighter fluid seems it work well and allow me to remove the factory seam sealer in the panel. Have not decided on what type of rustproofing to use after painting though. Edited May 24, 2018 by toolman corrections Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolman Posted May 27, 2018 Author Share Posted May 27, 2018 While cleaning up the blast media in the car, I found a lot of rubbish and media stuck in the boxed sections of the Z. This rubbish was in the upper frame tube alone. So I decided to drill 1/2" holes in those hard as access areas for two purposes: allow blast media to be removed after blasting. Second: to allow rustproofing in those areas. Rear quarter panel dog leg/ wheel housing area is not accessible without this hole here. Front door post / upper frame tube area-eight access holes were drilled. Upper frame area Rocker panel area About 14- 1/2" access holes were drilled on each side of the car. These holes will be capped with rust proofing plugs after wet media blasting and epoxy priming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolman Posted May 29, 2018 Author Share Posted May 29, 2018 Spent most of the Holiday weekend, rewelding welds and patching small corrosion holes. But managed to finish the inside fuel filler box and mount it. I used four 5/32" machine bolts to mount it to the quarter panel. Their heads had to be grinded down to clear the filler door movement. Also, have to fab two small rubber snubbers to prevent contact when closing door. Most of the Z has almost all of factory paint, primer and undercoating completely removed down to the bare metal. Spray can primer was applied to prevent rust. The whole car will wet media blasted then painted with epoxy primer, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolman Posted May 30, 2018 Author Share Posted May 30, 2018 (edited) While cleaning the cowl area, I discovered another rust spot[hopefully the last one) in the extreme left side of the cowl. Anyone who has the cowl panel off the car should check these area carefully for signs of corrosion. Most people do not realize that majority of the rain water coming off the front of the roof enters the cowl area then drains down the door post pass the front fender. Combined with dirt, leaves and other debris, corrosion begins. The rust is difficult to see (above half way down from top) on the upper edge of reinforcement plate. Pic of corrosion cut out-view from the interior side of cowl Osho was shot under the reinforcing plate to prevent further rust. One edge of the patch was pushed under this plate then the patch was welded in from the cowl side. But because the cowl support rib was blocking any work, the spot welds of the rib had to be drilled out. It was still difficult to use the mig because of the confined space. Of coarse, after epoxy priming, all seams and air ducts will sealed with urethane seam sealer. Hidden corrosion repaired Edited May 31, 2018 by toolman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolman Posted June 4, 2018 Author Share Posted June 4, 2018 I had planned to wet media blast the car this weekend. Unfortunately my 3000PSI gas powered pressure washer didn't cooperate. Took a day to get it running which screwed up my time frame. This is because after wet media blasting, there is a 72 hour time limit to epoxy paint the car before corrosion sets in. With a 24 hour drying time, there is not too much time for error. Also, the weather also has to cooperate too. So I decided to put blasting on hold until the next weather window opens up. Instead did some welding inside of rear hatch panel. Right rear hatch panel-inside view Center of Rear Hatch Panel-inside view Left Rear Hatch Panel- view from inside Overall Top view of Hatch Panel. I decided to use a different method of attaching the top replacement hatch panel. The new replacement panel is even constructed of 20 gauge metal. I have not seen a 240Z that didn't have some corrosion under this panel. So I decided to use a metal to metal automotive epoxy to hold this panel on. The epoxy will also seal the panel from water getting under it and rusting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolman Posted June 10, 2018 Author Share Posted June 10, 2018 This is the bottom view of the replacement hatch panel. It was mocked on and the outer edge was traced with a black marker pen. The area below the line will grind with a 50 grit sander. Existing rear panel matching area was sanded. Adhesive must thoroughly cover all grinded areas. The Lord Fusor metal to metal structural adhesive was used to bond the replacement top panel to the existing rear panel. The panel is installed and bonded. A dozen vise grips are utilized to hold the panels together until curing is done(in this case about 8 hours). Note-the vise grips are all numbered with corresponding numbers on tape located on the panel. These adhesives usually have a fast setup time so preadjusting the vise grips was done. The next day the vise grips and excess adhesive was removed from the edges. All the seams will be sealed after epoxy priming. The Lord Fusor structural adhesive costs about $50 and special applicator gun runs about $50 too. This adhesive is OEM approved products and even crash tested. This post was rather long so let me know and I try to keep posts shorter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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