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

[A to Z]

I did a writeup on Automatic Transmission performance for Z cars.  Feel free to check it out.  Here is a link:

 

 

[A to Z]

6-21-2022 UDATE.  Further progress on getting the paint ready for final buffing, passenger side ready, driver's side 99% ready, hood ready, cowl painted, will be ready in a week, give the paint time to harden.  The dented access door is already addressed, it's repalcement is awaiting a quick color sand and buff as is the gas door. Making progress.  Here are some more "in progress" pics.

[A to Z]

6-24-2022 UPDATE:  I got the tires mounted on the new Mesh wheels.  put 2 wheels on to mock it up real quick......obviously need to take all the stickers and stuff off the sidewalls.  These tires are directional....and becasue I am running a Staggered tire setup, there is no tire rotation!  Here are a few pics.

[A to Z]

I put looks over functionality this time. 15X8 -25 front, 15X9 -38 rear, (wheels at are 0...final negative is with with spacers) to restore my backspacing for my stock spring perches AND get the "poke out" I wanted. I will be adding my flares later on....ZG type, but flexible, ao I can make them contour to the original wheel well edge. Then I can back off the screws enough to mask off around them, and mask the bolts, paint them, and put my fender welting in, then tighten screws down once dry. Welting is old VW bettle welting on a roll. Flares will be matching white. Tires, 225/45ZR15 front, rear 245/40ZR15 Hankook Ventus R-S4 dry weather tires. It's a weekend cruiser/toy. Once car is back up, it will go in for alignment. Ever since I was young, I always dreamed of having a Z that was flared with spoilers.....so I decided that life is short enough, I should do it the way I want, without later regret.  here is a pic to show my desired look:

Edited June 24, 2022 by A to Z

[A to Z]

6-25-2022 UPDATE. Well........OK. Started buffing. As I go, when I have a spot that isn't quite shiny, I grab a piece of 2000 grit wet it, and sand it, then polish, repeat until shiny, then keep on going. I got the rear hatch good, most of the roof, and most of the hood. Once I am done, I will go over the areas again with the fine foam pad and McQuire's. Right now I am using the middle pad with The Turtle Wax compound. I have tried the hardest pad on a couple of rough spots and now have a feel for when it can be used in tough spots as well. Couple spots I had to paint when the color sanding went through. Here are pics so far.

[YoBrother]

Looking great!

[57GMC]

Very nice Joe, Thanks for all the great photos.. looking forward to more..

[A to Z]

 

6-26-2022 UPDATE. Buff.....Buff....Buff! The right hand side or passenger side got the attention today, to include the upper sail panel behind the quarter window. Buffing, then stopping and wet sanding, and some dry sanding, then back to the buffer...back and forth, and using a lot of compound. Still using the Turtle Wax stuff...I took a pic so you can see what I'm using so far. As I mentioned earlier, I will use the McGuires after this on final buffing with the red foam pad, which is for final buffing. The purple is the stiffest foam pad, and it is for REALLY cutting, and it WILL....you have to be careful! The orange pad is a middle of the road one, for "mild cutting"....it does the job ok. All of these are on an attachment that is used in my electric drill, and it causes enough drag, that I have to stop from time to time to let the drill cool down. Teaching yourself to do this, means learning, and that means going back and fixing areas, where you learn how to not push TOO hard, how to hold it against the panel.....how much throttle to use, to control the RPM's. etc. That said, I AM making progress. Still 2 steps forward, 1 step back, and yes, body and paint work is getting old now.... ready to get this done and move on to other things. Takes a long time when you are teaching yourself. And that brings to mind my beef with these shows and videos that show how to do this stuff. They give you the false sense of believing it is all easy and straight forward. It is not. It takes a "feel"...and that can't be gained by watching a video, it takes experience. That goes from beginning bodywork, all the way to buffing. Off the soapbox. Whew! And yes, you are seeing the end results of doing a rattle can paint job with enamel paint. (Rustoleum Enamel~ if it doesn't say "ENAMEL" then it isn't. It's lacquer. Do NOT use that stuff! At any rate, here are some pics and a video at the end to go with coffee. Take care.

 

Click under here for video.  It won't let me load it on here, so this link takes you to facebook.  Click on the pictures in the writeup....the last one is the video.  I think the video is too long for here, I tried 3-4 times and gave up.  

 

(15) Facebook

 

 

 

Edited June 27, 2022 by A to Z

[A to Z]

Thanks Ken and Chuck.  It's been a busy year on her!  This will be the last one.  No more car or bike builds.  She is the keeper.  I will continue to work and fiddle with her forever, so it never ends I suppose.

 

[Dat73z]

Looks good keep it up 👍

 

Some tips on the buffing: the tools and compounds you use makes a huge difference. I think 10 or 15 yrs ago I tried wetsanding and buffing a car at home with turtle wax and a drill like you're using. It was extremely difficult and I got poor results, burnthrough in areas as well. At the shop we used a rotary, wool pad, and 3m compound for freshly painted cars. 

 

Ended up buying a cheap porter cable DA and a bottles of meguiars m105/m205 for home use. I got pro level results and was able to do an entire car in a day. It was worth the cost and I still use the porter cable today. you probably know this since you're doing it but you don't want to go excessive on the compound as you want it to break down. You can spray the pad or panel with water if you need more cutting action or longer spot work times

[57GMC]

On 6/27/2022 at 12:40 AM, A to Z said:

Thanks Ken and Chuck.  It's been a busy year on her!  This will be the last one.  No more car or bike builds.  She is the keeper.  I will continue to work and fiddle with her forever, so it never ends I suppose.

 

Nice, It looks like a keeper and as stated. You can keep fixing and up grading stuff for many years...  Thanks for all the updates...

[A to Z]

On 6/27/2022 at 7:34 AM, Dat73z said:

Looks good keep it up 👍

 

Some tips on the buffing: the tools and compounds you use makes a huge difference. I think 10 or 15 yrs ago I tried wetsanding and buffing a car at home with turtle wax and a drill like you're using. It was extremely difficult and I got poor results, burnthrough in areas as well. At the shop we used a rotary, wool pad, and 3m compound for freshly painted cars. 

 

Ended up buying a cheap porter cable DA and a bottles of meguiars m105/m205 for home use. I got pro level results and was able to do an entire car in a day. It was worth the cost and I still use the porter cable today. you probably know this since you're doing it but you don't want to go excessive on the compound as you want it to break down. You can spray the pad or panel with water if you need more cutting action or longer spot work times

Thanks for the tips.

 

No....I didn't know about not using excessive compound, nor about mater making it cut harder....I do now! 

 

 

[Dat73z]

The idea is to use the lease aggressive cutting method to achieve the result. I've found on really hard paint I might use a hard pad but fine compound. Or on really soft paint, a soft pad and soft compound. Some cars I've found there's really no need to go in a lot of stages, one or two could do it with a great result. On the edges you could also lay down a tape line just to be safe for burnthrough. 

 

Lots of great videos out there now, here's one on water spritzing. 

 

 

Once you've found the right combo it should go pretty quick and you'll get a great result. 

 

Good luck and keep at it!

[A to Z]

Thanks.  I will, very happy so far, I am terrible at body and paint, but I am almost to a point that I can live with.

 

If I could do it over again, I would have disassembled the car to a point, and taken it to a shop for a paintjob, even MAACO, just someone to do it for me.  I do not like doing it.  A local paint supply store here in town has a list of names of guys they will refer people to, to get it done by someone who "does it on the side".  Lesson learned.  At any rate, I HAVE leanrned, which was one thing I knew I would gain.

 

Also, not sure if I will paint my flares.  I may keep them black with black welting, at least mount them up and see before I paint the flares body color with the black welting to separate them and set it off.

 

 

Edited July 4, 2022 by A to Z

[A to Z]

7-3-2022 UPDATE.  SO, I went out to the garage today with the intent to finish the buffing.  I believe I have succeeded.  Any parts left can be done by hand, and will be, as I  go panel to panel, doing that and then waxing it.  Again, using the Meguire's Gold Paste Wax, which is pure caranauba.  When I did my Msutang with it, it is smooth as butter.  I took some pics and 2 video's.  I will try to get the videos to load, if they don't I will provide a link where the video's CAN be seen.  Cheers!    P.S.  I do NOT like doing body and paint!  I think I have said that before already.

 

Video #1       (12) Facebook

 

Video #2       (13) Facebook

 

 

Edited July 4, 2022 by A to Z

[A to Z]

7-4-2022 UPDATE: I started the day by washing the Z and the floor, and then the garage door, as it gets dirt and dust etc. from sanding on it. I then Started the process of hand rubbing the paint, doing any minor paint corrections and then applying a coat of wax. McGuires compound works really well, and I was able to ensure the surface was clean and smooth before breaking out the McGuires gold paste wax. When you touch it now it is soft and smooth like butter. I was able to get both front fenders done, as well as both headlight buckets and the hood. The pics I am attaching are high in count, this is because I save all of this for future records. So, if it seems a tad redundant, sorry. Any imprefections you see can and will be addressed at a later date. I ended the day by shaking out some blankets to cover what has been done. My intention is to go to Walmart and get 2 king size sheets which I will use as a cover for it. I am not a fan of the elastic band in the bottom of car covers. The body and paint portion of this build has taken too long, and I am now pushing it forward. I am completely exhausted with body and paint work. After all the pics, there is a short video if you wish to watch as well. Take care and God bless. Jesus saves.

 

 

link to video:

(6) Facebook

 

[57GMC]

Nice....

[A to Z]

Thanks, Ken. 

[A to Z]

7-10-2022 UPDATE:  A lot of pics of the final product.  These pics are of more panels being final hand rubbed out and then waxed with the Pure Cranauba Wax (Mcguires Gold Paste Wax).  Picture heavy, but kinda cool to look at.  Almost done.

Edited July 11, 2022 by A to Z

[YoBrother]

Shiny!