Guest mrt0mjones Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 my father recently passed away, and i hadnt seen him in a long long time, and his 78 z car was passed to me in his will, and he always wanted me to work on it, but due to circumstances, we never worked on it. i really want to finish this car, nomatter what the money, i will get this done.. ok, some quick questions. how the **** do i get the body off, the frame rails are shot, i'm replacing them. What rim looks best on pearl white. where do i get a driveshaft for a z rear end to fit on a rb20 time to make the monster my dad wanted me to make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hypertek Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 welcome to teh forums.. The car doesnt have seperate body/frame.. it is all 1 piece (monochassis whatever you want to call it). Regarding wheels, that is all personal opinion. It is up to you. I perfer Watanabes tho since it matches the car of its era. Timeless look. None of that redneck hillbilly stuff.. THe right sized wheels/offset set the car off really nice. See how nicely match the outside of the wheel is flush to the body? Regarding the drive shaft, if you get the RB20, hopefully they will include the driveshaft end piece that slides into it, just take that and the stock driveshaft to a shop to have them weld that piece on and balance it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mrt0mjones Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 so.... just get them to weld on a stock for stock piece.. ok.. now, when i got the Z, it in detail stated, from him, that the framerails were gone??? and the floor is rusted to hell, but i can weld, and i'm a damn good body man... but what the hell, if this is a unibody, why are there framerails? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 I strongly recommend that you do a lot of research and go to http://www.alteredz.com Pete has excellent framerail blueprints for upgrading yours. No offense, but you really don't sound like you're familiar with the car very much. READ A LOT here and at ZCAR.com and get educated about that car before you dive in. Your dad deserves it. Best wishes! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mrt0mjones Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 are there pre made frame rails, i'm not afraid about making it strait, thats easy, making the framerails , i dont have a shrinker for steel and such. i'm not very familiar on this platform only 3000gt's but this platform looks very capable of many things, and the weight issue isnt there, plus i' probably will make this car a litte wider in the butt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darrel Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 zedd findings for the frame rails and floor pans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparks280zt Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 bad dog parts makes the frame rail connectors, and the and u dont need special equipment to put floor pans in. 240hoke put his in with a welder and a bench to bend the metal on, and he cut the metal with a drill attachment. The Zedd Findings units need alot of massaging, atleast mine did Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNeedForZ Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 Gottan include a link when you recommend a site, no? Zed findings http://www.datsunzparts.com/NewParts/summary.htm Bad Dog Parts http://www.baddogparts.com/ The so-called "frame rails" are the square boxed-up tubing you can see inside the engine bay. One for each side and they run parallel to each other. They provide places for mounting the motor.(a unibody car still needs these "frame rails" for structure support) Underneath the floorboards are "floor support rails" some times people mix up "floor support rails" and "frame rails" and just called them all "frame rails". Underneath the trunk area, there are also rails, you can call them "rear frame rails" but they are not straight, just boxed up supports that runs from the end of floor to the rear of the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mrt0mjones Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 thank you all so much..... this is great! will post pics of how rough she is soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mrt0mjones Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 is the structure of the 280 any different than the 240.. because it has diagrams on those other framerails, and i could make some... doesnt look too bad?!?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mrt0mjones Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 what gauge steel should i make these floors out of?!?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 16ga steel for floorpans. I'd advise getting the parts from zedd findings... save you the hassle of measuring, cutting, and scratching your head Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mrt0mjones Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 going to make bitchin floorpans, and i cant see myself spending that much on rails when i am a skilled welder? just doesnt make sense to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ON3GO Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 going to make bitchin floorpans, and i cant see myself spending that much on rails when i am a skilled welder? just doesnt make sense to me. your right.. if you have the skills and most importantly... TIME to make your own floors and rails its way cheaper and sometimes better. just take your time and measure alot!!! best of luck and stick around and read up on this site, you will learn so much! mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 Regarding wheels' date=' that is all personal opinion. It is up to you. I perfer Watanabes tho since it matches the car of its era. Timeless look. None of that redneck hillbilly stuff.. THe right sized wheels/offset set the car off really nice. See how nicely match the outside of the wheel is flush to the body? [/quote'] Is that your car in the picture? Do you know what the size/offset of the wheels is, and what tires are on them? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted September 28, 2005 Share Posted September 28, 2005 16ga steel for floorpans. I'd advise getting the parts from zedd findings... save you the hassle of measuring, cutting, and scratching your head That seems really thick. Aren't the stock floorpans like 24 gauge or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK-Z Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 I would use 16 gauge, better safe than sorry. If I bought premade with 24 I would use that instead, just because I wouldn't have to do all that fabbing. With me I would go overboard on stiffening and support under that car. Probably look like a peice of the eiffal tower under the car lol. Ihaven't really started on anything on my car right now and don't intend to untill spring. I just hope I don't over load the chassis when I do get started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mrt0mjones Posted October 1, 2005 Share Posted October 1, 2005 well tonight progress was made. Disconnected all of the wires, and hoses in the engine bay, (professionally relasing anything in the air conditioning lines), and started pulling off the front bumpers... and a welded bolt came undone, and i cant get it off, also cleared the inside of her out. all in all, this will be a great car i can tell, and will hold up to much abuse, and be driven, like the man wants me to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNeedForZ Posted October 1, 2005 Share Posted October 1, 2005 Great progress, signature too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mrt0mjones Posted October 1, 2005 Share Posted October 1, 2005 ok, will i need to rebuild the rear-end...??? do i need cross bars tac-welded to make sure the frame doesnt shift around. where do i get those jspec mirrors? what do i do with driveshaft issues? so..... i have the engine out, and she's getting gutted of rust! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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