ZROSSA Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Howdy all, I finally have the z on jack stands and in the enclosed part of my shed. I have been fixing up the odd rust spot and thought that "while I am at it" I would weld up some bracing plates as well. In one of the how to race your datsun books I used to have, they had photos that showed where to put the additional bracing. I gave this book away years ago and dont seem to be able to find one locally. I am not talking about roll cages or new chassis rails. Does any one out there have some photo's, links or sugestions on where addition bracing is required. This is a road car so I really dont want things intruding into the cotpit that I cant cover with carpet. I am also still considering in strenthening the trans tunnel so it works like a back bone. So, Any ideas? Cheers Douglas P.S. Dont know why I put this here. I thought I was in the chassis section. Can a mod move It, please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZROSSA Posted October 31, 2003 Author Share Posted October 31, 2003 Thanks for moving the post. Must have been asleep when I posted it. So, anyone have any ideas. Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rc's240z Posted November 1, 2003 Share Posted November 1, 2003 There are a few ideas that come to mind. You can stitch weld the entire chassis, I would look at the area behind the front fenders there is a triangular section that can be re-enforced by stitch welding. I also suggest that you strengthen the area where your front swaybar mounts to the frame rails if you run a larger than stock swaybar. The rear wheel wells can be stitch welded behind the factory panels too. All of this will help strengthen the Chassis of you Z. Hope this helps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZROSSA Posted November 3, 2003 Author Share Posted November 3, 2003 RC, Not really planing to seam weld anything. I really dont want to take this car that far apart. The interior is mostly out and I will pull the engine out soon as well to tidy up the engine bay. I was really thinking about things like welding plates where there is known movement. Discreate kind of things that wont actract the attension of the M.O.T. Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rc's240z Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 okay, I would look to strengthening the front swaybar mount on the frame rails. There are a couple of ways of doing so. PDK Fab can supply you with their front swaybar frame supports that require no welding that will add strength to that area. Our strut brace is a bolt in part, but it is not descreet...but is modular. So parts could be removed or omited depending on how descreet an installation you are looking for. Unfortunately most modifications for chassis strength require some support added to the car and most frequently that means welding... I would not suggest seam welding, stitch welding will add lots of strength without compromising your chassis, which seam welding could do. Good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZROSSA Posted November 4, 2003 Author Share Posted November 4, 2003 Mabye I might stitch weld a little, I just found more rust in the floor so it going to have to come apart more than I thought. Just when I think I am ready to put thinks back together something always comes up. Usually Rust! Crap! I can, and will, make strut bars. It looks like you can reinforce the front anti roll bar buy adding a box section above it and tieing it into the inner guard. I am surprized that no one seems to do a brace to the front part of the steering rack mount. Its just hanging out there. Might have a look at that as well. Still open to more sugestions. Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 Seam welding the car with 1" welds spaced about 1" apart throughout all the body seams (after spending hours cleaning all the crap out) will do more to stiffen a Z chassis then most anything short of a welded in roll cage. Its a long, dirty, tedious job but its worth it after you've had a few weeks to get over the hell it puts you through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rc's240z Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 Thank you for the clarification John. If you seam weld the entire chassis vs. seam weld 1 inch leave a 1 inch space and seam weld 1 inch etc. (which I refer to as stitch welding), the area adjacent to your continuous seam weld where heavy stress is applied to your chassis becomes brittle (in the process of welding) and will crack, by stitch welding, as explained by John above, you are spreading out the stress applied to the chassis while re-enforcing the overall structure. This is the basic reasoning for spot welding structural members on automobiles together. "Stitch" welding is basically doing a better job of holding your chassis together and adding strength without creating a brittle structure. The weld itself wont break, the steel adjacent to the weld will... "Stitch welding" is a messy crappy job that is further made difficult due to the imperfections in the steel on a 30 year old car. The end result is worth it however. Any chassis will get worn out, lose a large quantity of structural strength over 30 years. Larger swaybars, springs, better tires, bad roads and aggressive drivers will shorten the life of your chassis. Typical issues of a worn out chassis: 1)Your radiator keeps coming apart, your radiator is bolted solidly in place and you keep pulling one side or the other apart. BTW, I suggest a floating mount for anyone serious about racing their Z. 2)Cracks in the frame rails above your front swaybar mount. 3)Tell-tail cracks in the chassis above the quarter window where the car is leaded together. 4) Cracks or structural dammage to the TC box area. And I am sure there are many others... I will get off my soap box now Hope this helps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Your Car is Slow Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 Gotta picture of all that completed? Id certainly like to see! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rc's240z Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 My car is being media blasted as we speak and will be back in a few weeks to do some finish welding, I will have more photos when that is done. You can see what I have done to this point at: http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showgallery.php?ppuser=932&cat=500 my photos are scattered within my gallery, there are about 6 pages or so of photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZROSSA Posted November 4, 2003 Author Share Posted November 4, 2003 Thanks guys, Seam welding is a real pain. I spent months under my corolla doing it with a gas torch. As I said it looks like the car will have to come further apart so I may as well do some "while I am at it". Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Your Car is Slow Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 Awesome job on the cage...is that a custom job? I also like the fuel cell...any more info? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rc's240z Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 what would you like to know? The cage was done by PDK Fabrication, http://www.pdkfabrication.com/ PDK did some great work very quickly and very reasonably priced. The fuel cell is an ATL "well cell" (12 gallon) with a few cool ATL add-ons, a surge tank, aluminum top plate and electric fuel sender. Props to the guys at ATL as they made me a great deal.... Anyway I would be more than happy to cover the rest of the details off line feel free to email me at rc240z@cox.net. thanks, [/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Your Car is Slow Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 Wonderful...Ill send you an email with my questions tonight! thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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