Guest na_caraballo Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Before anything else, I know. Give me grief later, I give myself enough. Here is my car. I am planning on the rebuild but I don't know if I need a body or not. I think the roof is the worst, and I don't know if I can fix those dents. Suggestions? I plan on stripping down to bare metal on the car to start. More pics??? That's surface rust from sitting for a while. The paint came off from the accident. That's no big deal. But what I'm starting to worry more about is the roof. I've tried to punch them out, but they won't stay. Tell me if more pics are needed. I think I'm fine with the rear fender. But the way that roof is shaped and how the dents are they don't want to go back. And I don't think I can weld a roof in, so any input on that would be helpful! Thank you for helping me. You can call me Mr. Dumass! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 welllll... Hmm.. looks repairable to me, but it also looks like there is a healthy coat of BONDO in a few places.. posibly evreywhere.. There was a post here a while ago about fixing the 'roof dents' issues.. Something about heating with a propane torch (you're striping it down to bare metal, so paint burning wont be an issue..) and pushing it out/back.. I'm not sure though. See what you can find in the search. I'm curious though.. WTF happened to that car?!? Looks like the rear wheel is bent/pulled quite a bit.. how's the frame/unibody in this car? Personally, that's the first thing I look at when trying to determine 'is it worth fixing?' on any old car.. The body on my 75 was terrible, but the floors had been replaced prior to me buying it (not perfect, I had to finish the job.. damn previous owners..) and up here, the ol Z's are getting hard to find.. in any condition! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest na_caraballo Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Spun out taking a turn. Car actually was on it's side 90 degrees when it hit the curb, stood on it's side for what seemed to be forever, and slammed back down on all four tires. Checked out underneath to the "frame", nothing except control arms. Very very lucky in more than one way, now I want to do this car right by me (I loves my car) and willing to spend a ton of time, and money to "git er done". The roof happened in high school. Never did thought I'd be able to fix it. It looks very bad, and like I'm going to be seeing dents and imperfections, and I want NONE. So... Also, anybody know of a "double bubble" roof maybe I can weld in/ install? That would look killer. Yeah. The more I think about it the more I want to do it. I'll be back when I can finally make one decision... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 305240 Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Save your self a bunch of grief. Get a truck and trailer, head for the southwest and buy a good body. In Oregon you can pick up a relitively rust free driver for around a grand to 1500.00. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Hmm.. well, evrything's fixable, but aftre an impact like that ANYTHING is gona be a bit 'tweaked' or bent.. and an old Z is not the strongest car to begin with.. I'd say at this point, if you have the funds, buy a solid roling shell and use this car as the parts vehicle.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Cut off the roof, make it a convertible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savageskaterkid Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Trever has a point, make it a convertable-they sell a kit to do that-u basicly cut off the top part of the exterior frame, and replace it with a fiberglass type rear hatch. I can't remember who makes the kit though...... Found it http://www.zparts.com/ads/zspider/zspider_index1.html BTW its a kevlar rear hatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 I bet the unibody is twisted. At a minimum, take it to a bodyshop to have it checked if you plan to keep it. If it's bent, I wouldn't bother with it.....not like it's a '56 Ferrari or anything.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wagz Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Cut off the roof, make it a convertible. .....not like it's a '56 Ferrari or anything.... Velo Rossa kit, Baby! Turn it into a convertible AND into a (pseudo)'62 Ferrari! Seriously, I would have a frame shop check it out before I spent another dime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjhafa Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 Start selling parts, make a bundle on guys like me from the rust belt then go to the SW and get a solid start. I had to drive 18 hours to get mine one way. It was well worth the road trip. NO regrets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moridin Posted March 9, 2005 Share Posted March 9, 2005 I bet the unibody is twisted. At a minimum, take it to a bodyshop to have it checked if you plan to keep it. If it's bent, I wouldn't bother with it.....not like it's a '56 Ferrari or anything.... I had my bent unibody on my 91 Honda Civic straightened for $400. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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