Frame rails too far gone to repair?

[ZigzagZ]

I'm looking at buying this '75 280z. The biggest downside is one of the frame rails has abut an 18" stretch of chewed out metal. Here's what it looks like https://imgur.com/a/TkbKOEo.

Are the rails too banged up and rusted to be repaired? And would repairing them bee too costly? Currently the owner is asking 8500 for the car. The only other rust is a little bit in the upper part of the passenger footwell/firewall

 

[jhm]

You can purchase ready-made frame rails and floor pans from vendors like Zedd Findings and Bad Dog Parts.  If you don't mind fabricating your own pieces, and you have access to the right equipment, you can make those pieces for the cost of the raw material.  

 

Too costly?  Only you can make that decision for yourself.  The only thing I can say with 99% certainty is that you will discover many more "issues" the deeper you dig into these 40 year old cars.  FOL.  If you're unfamiliar with the S30, I'd suggest doing a lot more research on them before dropping a bunch of cash to buy one.  However, I can say that $8500 will get you a pretty nice 280, especially if you expand your search to include the west coast, the southwest, or any other 'dry' climate areas....that's usually where you find the best buys for rust-free cars.

 

Not trying to be a big downer, but far too many people buy a Z for all the wrong reasons, and without a full understanding of what kind of project they're getting themselves into.

[ZigzagZ]

5 minutes ago, jhm said:

You can purchase ready-made frame rails and floor pans from vendors like Zedd Findings and Bad Dog Parts.  If you don't mind fabricating your own pieces, and you have access to the right equipment, you can make those pieces for the cost of the raw material.  

 

Too costly?  Only you can make that decision for yourself.  The only thing I can say with 99% certainty is that you will discover many more "issues" the deeper you dig into these 40 year old cars.  FOL.  If you're unfamiliar with the S30, I'd suggest doing a lot more research on them before dropping a bunch of cash to buy one.  However, I can say that $8500 will get you a pretty nice 280, especially if you expand your search to include the west coast, the southwest, or any other 'dry' climate areas....that's usually where you find the best buys for rust-free cars.

 

Not trying to be a big downer, but far too many people buy a Z for all the wrong reasons, and without a full understanding of what kind of project they're getting themselves into.

 

I totally understand. I've been doing a bit of research on and off for the past 4 years or so. I'm ready to do some work but nothing as serious as having to cut and weld new frame rails as well as god knows what else goes bad. I'm out in CA so I've been keeping my eyes out for low rust examples but most at least have some.  I expect to drop 8-10k on one and spend at least another 10k over time getting it into the condition I'm satisfied with