Joe's 1972 240Z adventure. // 16 JUN 21 - 13 Jul 24 // 3 years 27 days build

[A to Z]

12/21/2021Update: I have most of the tail back together....still some more polishing to do and I need to paint the spoiler semi gloss black. The sides of the back bumper were HELL. The bolts on both sides were broken off from when I took it off, and the brackets were bent.....so I had to get inventive to get it mounted back on. The passenger side is the worst...again, because the gas tank is right in the way. Anyhow, still more to do on it, but so far doesn't look too bad.

[A to Z]

The streaks under the bumper are from me spraying the dusty bumper to wipe it off! Like I said, still needs more detailing and work. 

 

Thanks guys. Its a lot of work.....things are rusted on, don't want to come off, and so sometimes you have to bend, cut, etc to get it off, clean it up and then get it back on.....and thigns no longer line up.....for the pics it LOOKS like easy peasy 1-2 hours, but it was NOT.  On a 49 year old car.....every time you work on a new area, you find old stuff that has to be replaced/fixed, even when it isn't a high mileage car.

 

Now I will restore my factory asscessory louvers and re-insall. They will be semi-gloss black, just like the spoiler......these black pieces will match my rally stripe down the sides! 

[57GMC]

Very nice, The semi-gloss black will really set it off nicely..

 

[YoBrother]

Thumbs up!

Edited December 22, 2021 by YoBrother

[A to Z]

Thanks.

 

[A to Z]

12-25-2021 UPDATE: Merry Christmas to all, and May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you all. I had a couple hours today, so I went to the garage, and prepped my rear spoiler, and then Wiped it down with Denatured Alcohol and sprayed it satin black. My masking worked real well....any overspray spots will come right off, as the clear is still to be sanded with 2000 grit paper and buffed. I painted the "Datsun" and "240Z" emblems, but the paint didn't adhere properly, so I will have to re-prep them once again, and give it another go! The pillar emblems just need the "z"' areas to be painted white (testers model paint??) I then took my louvers, which when I bought them had a crack...the seller DID tell me....I went ahead and lined up the crack, used the dremel to rough up both sides of the crack, and then cut 2 sheet metal pieces, dremeled them up nicely, and bonded the sheet metal pices to both sides of the crack with JB Weld, and used some vise grips to hold it together. I wiped the JB weld that came out so it will be easier to finish up later when I prep the louvers and paint them Semi Gloss black to match the rear spoiler. At any rate, here are some pics.

Edited December 26, 2021 by A to Z

[57GMC]

The satin black is perfect.  Lots of taping off..  I like J_B weld, that should work great.  Thanks for the photos, Merry Christmas..

[A to Z]

Thanks a lot, Ken.

[A to Z]

12-26-2021 UPDATE: Ok, so following advice I got, I went ahead and used a steam iron and a wet towel over the rear deck carpet and dash carpet cover. I had to keep getting the towel wet for maximum steam effect. The wrinkles came out! I also went ahead and took the vise grips off the repaired area on the louvers...it worked! Thanks for the help guys. Here are some pics:

[A to Z]

1-4-2022 UPDATE. First update of the new year. I had a few hours and it wasn't TOO cold, so I went out and tackled the driver's door latch. For me at least, there was no way to get it out without removing the door frame, so out it went! At that point I was able to see it, but the guy that said there is plenty of room, must have hands the size of an 8 year old girl, or was kidding, because it is a tight working space! I had to grab each rod (3 in total) with needle nose pliers and push HARD to get them to come off the latch! I put a piece of cardboard behind so as to not slip and dent the door from the inside. After I got them off, I found that the latch I have is not at all like the ones I bought.......it seems the ones on my car were either the older version or the newer.....at any rate, the one I bought went on. I was unable to get the factory plastic pieces to work, and so I resorted to using 2 layers of duct tape to keep the rods from coming out ot the holes. I thought the door handle one wouldn't need it, but yes it came out, so that will be a quick fix and I will duct tape it in place. Then I put the door frame back in. NOT EASY. But I got it all back together. Weird the window is now hard to roll down, but goes up easy and fine. The latch will be lubricated up before I put the inner panel back on, as well as the window rollers....maybe that is why they roll down hard. Any ideas? I then still had some time, so I went over them with the die grainder and decided to see how the JB Weld SteelStick worked in the small holes at the bottom of the right side (passenger) door bottom. Resuls are hit or miss, I also hit the area with some little bumps and I found holes! In the quarter right in front of the rear wheels! Look at the pics and you will see what I mean. Well, back to All-Metal filler. I also went ahead and ground the one big door ding on that door down to bare metal and covered it with glaze. Next time I come out, it will be cured and I can block it smooth. Lastly, I found when doing the door frames, a spot that was RUSTY....when I lifted the rubber flap over the door frames at the front, BINGO rust! Driver's (left) side was worse than the right hand side. I took both down to bare metal and sprayed both with rust converter. Later I will address these areas further. So, the louvers....ok, so I cleaned up the patch I made and the rubber trim fits right over.....so it is ready for sanding and paint. Thing about winter is it's not just the cold, but the days are shorter, so you can't get as much done....but every step froward is progress I suppose. Here are some pics.

Edited January 5, 2022 by A to Z

[57GMC]

Thanks for the update, That dang rust keeps showing its ugly head..  Keep it up Joe..

 

[A to Z]

Thanks.  I am trying.

 

I picked these stickers up on eBay:

[A to Z]

1-17-2022 UPDATE. I finished the pillar emblem repainting and installed them. I then got my driver's door back together, lubricated both doors, and then put the driver's interior panel and associated bits back on.  Next for them with be repainting the chrome strips with a Chrome paint pen.  I then walked over to the right side and block sanded out the one dent in the right (passenger) door, and then went about the process of bolting the lower right fender down. The 2 broke off bolts were NOT going to be removed, and it was at that time I realized I can drill a hole next to each one and fasten the fender back down, so I went with that, but I found a previously unseen small rust hole behind the fender in the shell.  So, after drilling the 2 holes to fasten the fender down, I used the Dremel to open up the rust hole to good metal, and will now have to patch it up before putting the lower fender back where it belongs. Lastly, I started the process of Dremel-ing out the small rust holes on the lower front dog leg on the right side. In doing so, it became obvious, I needed to cut a window to get in there and clean it all out. After cutting the window, I found MORE mice stuffing from yet another home! (unbelievable!!) I was able to reach in and pull most of it out, and then got it all with a long screwdriver. The use of the screwdriver opened up a few rust holes at the very bottom edge. I then was able to use the screwdriver and the newly discovered holes to get all of the built-up rust etc. in that area out (see video at the end). Using my die grinder and Dremel even more, I opened up the remaining holes to good metal, and was able to open up 2-3 holes at the very bottom that were inside the outer dogleg Sheetmetal , in the inner rocker structure. After a long time to going back and forth with screwdrivers, I was able to clean that out. After everything was all cleaned out, I was able to spray inside the whole cavity with some of my Loctite Rust Neutralizer. Next will be patching things back up. The same issue is also awaiting me on the other side. So, time for a few pics. That was a Monday! Cheers!

Edited January 18, 2022 by A to Z

[A to Z]

The video I mentioned above.  Just click on "Video 1.MOV" :

 

Video 1.MOV

Edited January 18, 2022 by A to Z

[YoBrother]

If its not one thing then its another, LOL.  Eventually you will have the big kinks sorted out.  Keep your chin up its going to be great to drive it around this spring and hit some Nisan group events.

[A to Z]

Thanks.  I hope so.  The "end" is in sight.

 

[Ironhead]

Great work!

 

Just think how much more fun/simple/satisfying old cars would be to tinker with if it wasn't for rust:  Either having to detect/access/repair rust or do things to prevent it.

[A to Z]

Yeah.....I love the Z cars, but Rust and Datsuns go together like wine and cheese!  Thanks for the kind words.

[A to Z]

11-27-2022 UPDATE: So, I decided to deal with the winter weather and 25 degrees and went out to my unheated garage to work on my doglegs. The passenger side has been patched, and I put a coat of all metal filler over it, with the duct tape to hold it in place until dry. I found out on my own that the duct tape works great, in areas where gravity comes into play. I then went over and started on the Driver's (left) side. After cutting out a portion of the dog leg, I was able to use my Dremel, Craftsman 4.5" die grinder and brass wire attachment in my electric drill to get it started. I made a few video's and took some pics. Once the tape comes off and I sand it down, you will what I am talking about with the All Metal Filler on the right side. Now, I need to order a dogleg! Cheers!

 

Click on the ones that say video to see it all!

2. Video #1.MOV3. video #2.MOV

5. video right.MOV

8. Video 2.MOV9. Video 3.MOV

12. Video 6.MOV

15. Video 8.MOV

Edited January 28, 2022 by A to Z

[YoBrother]

Love your videos.  Thank you communists in China!  Ha ha (9. Video 3.MOV)