poortecher Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 I finally got my 240 to the sandblaster a couple of weeks ago, after having the bare shell sitting around for what seemed like forever. It did reveal a few little surprises I didn't know about, as well as making the problems (read:R-U-S-T) I did know about really show themselves. There's a decent sized dent on the roof that was covered with bondo, as well as a whole bunch of bondo on the driver's side dogleg that could be hiding anything. Other than that, I have some rust on the pass side dogleg, the a-pillars need a fair amount of work (leaking windshield seal) , and it needs new floors. Other than that, I think I got away pretty clean. So I got the car into some PPG epoxy primer and now it's onto the metal repair and fab piece by piece. Leaving for sandblasting (at 5:30 in the am, ugh...) Back from the sand blasters. The car came out pretty good, other than the fact that they didn't get rid of the bondo......argh Rust on the pass dogleg Bondo on the drivers side (terrifying ) Bondo on the roof. I think a little shrinking and some hammering should make it ok **insert long, drawn out, black-and-white era horror movie scream here** prepping for primer. that's me killing brain cells-----v finished product (PPG DP50LF) So that's where things stand right now. Gotta get started on the rust repair, fab and swap. I'll post more pics and trials and tribulations as they come (which they inevitably will), but it will most likely be a while, as i need to get some work done on my firebird and jet ski first. I have to many projects. Anywho, lemme know what you think, especially on the rust. I've never tried stuff that bad before... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Impressive. Looks really straight... the final product is gonna be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK-Z Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Lucky. car looks to be good quality for a 20+ year car. Final product will come out really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonfly Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 I think you got pretty lucky as well... the rust on the A pillar will probably be the hardest to repair but I know someone else on here did it and posted pics. The dog legs can be purchased from a company called Tabco and there are pics on here of people making that repair also. I saw in your pics that you did not remove the fuel filler hose and you primered it at the same time as the rest of the car. I know it is hard to remove but I think you would have been better off the do the extra work to remove it. The best way in my opinion is to remove all the screws (as it appears you did) then use a heat gun to heat up the top "flange" of the tube, then it becomes much more pliable and you can pull it downwards to get it out. Do the same again to remove it from the lower hole and the metal rings that seal it. When you are ready to put it back in do the same thing but in reverse. Dragonfly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexideways Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 ... lemme know what you think, especially on the rust. I've never tried stuff that bad before... Don't worry, I' ve done one of my friend's 71 Challenger, the car looked pretty straight but, as we were watching the sandblast process, we felt like crying. There was so mutch Bondo on the car it was incredible, plus what had seemed like "not so bad" floors, finally ended up being nonexistent, in the end, we replaced rear left quarter, both rockers, both front fenders, floors, trunk floors, fraim rails, rear right wheel well and had to rebuild the firewall and front wheel wells. The most important part is preparation, do one section at the time so, this way, you see results quicker and it builds your confidence, keep the pillars for last once your skills have been polished a bit. Take your time and take it easy on the welds as you don't want to distort the surrounding areas and end up with an ill fitting car. Keep the pics comming. Good work so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS1 240Z Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 by datsun standards your car is excelent. my car (which is pretty much the same color on the inside) had rust in the a pillar exactly where yours did, and ive seen several others with rust there. all in all you got one of the best chassis ive seen in a while to start out with. you plan on painting it back that sweet lime/yellow color? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFancypants Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 poortecher - How much did the sandblasting set you back? - Greg - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poortecher Posted November 10, 2006 Author Share Posted November 10, 2006 Haha, actually i forgot to take out the filler hose before i took it to the sandblaster. Oops. I'm sure it can stand to be replaced anyway. Someone makes them, right? I'm glad to hear that my car isn't so bad. But then again, i've watched all of mull's videos, so i can appreciate the difference. And yes, that super awesome lime yellow green is SO going back on! *news report on tv in the background*-Yes, the 70's really are over... *me*- NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! haha, i guess maybe not with the green stuff. no, i think i'm gonna por 15 it all then dynamat. The sandblasting was actually really reasonable. The shop that did it (Crystal Sandblasting, Upland, CA) charged me $600. They used aluminum oxide over the entire car, and they dropped the working pressure when they stripped the exterior sheetmetal to control warpage. It seems to have worked, and it was a pleasant experience dealing with them, so I would recommend the shop for anyone around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonfly Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Haha, actually i forgot to take out the filler hose before i took it to the sandblaster. Oops. I'm sure it can stand to be replaced anyway. Someone makes them, right? If you are lucky... I have yet to see any new replacements for the filler hose, but you can still find them in the wrecking yards, they seem to be one of the parts that is always still on the car. Since you probably can not run a heat gun in the wrecking yard (not much electricity to be had there) you may want to buy or borrow a butane soldering iron, they come with a heating attachment for shrinking heat shrink tubing which you can use to heat up the filler hose to make it pliable. Dragonfly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dscott@red3 Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 What color will the finished product be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poortecher Posted November 11, 2006 Author Share Posted November 11, 2006 I'm not sure on the final color of the car yet. I was thinking a gunmetal silver, but I already have a car in pepper gray metallic, so I don't really want a second of the same color. Dark blue? Maybe a really dark metallic green, like almost black. Who knows. I have got quite a while to decide, so i'm not too worried about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wickiewicked240z Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 I did it in 2 pieces not that hard and my first time doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 I did it in 2 pieces not that hard and my first time doing it. Damn. Nice work. I'll have to bring my car by should it ever need that type of repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mull Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 I got quite a laugh at your dogleg "rust" : ) Here's what mine used to look like: Nice looking project you got there! Looking forward to seeing the continuation! edit; HEY! You primered the car when there's still rust holes in the floor panels?! Please tell me you're not just going to bondo them closed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boy from Oz Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 Poortecher - You've given me some food for thought with your trolley design. I had been thinking how wide to make mine, balancing space and stability issues. I now think I will build it with the same track width as the Zed so that I can wheel the whole thing up the ramps onto the trailer. I'm also thinking of investing a bit more in the construction with possibly 6 or 8 inch castors. Unfortunately I have a tandem garage (as opposed to double) and I will need to wheel the car about amost every time I want to work on it. Did your trolley 'do the job'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powershift Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 HEY! You primered the car when there's still rust holes in the floor panels?! Please tell me you're not just going to bondo them closed? it looks to me like he primerd the whole car to prevent surface rust from begining on the bare blasted metal, which is proper as long as he goes back and cuts all of that ♥♥♥♥ out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexideways Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 From what I read in his original post, that's what he's planning and it needs new floors. Other than that, I think I got away pretty clean. So I got the car into some PPG epoxy primer and now it's onto the metal repair and fab piece by piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poortecher Posted November 13, 2006 Author Share Posted November 13, 2006 Bingo powershift! Ya, I just covered it in primer right now to prevent surface rust while I work on everything else before it gets painted, sometime in the next decade hopefully... Don't worry mull, i'm doing it the right way. Rusted metal comes out, new metal goes in. By the way dude, you've got guts. I would have taken one look at that car and started crying. You are an inspiration. My "trolley" is just an old pallet i took from work, and I bought four casters from harbor freight and put it all together. I forget the exact dimensions of the pallet, but it sits just inside of the pinch welds and runs about the length of the floor. This thing worked awesome. My driveway has a bit of a grade to it, and I can move it up and down with no hassle whatsoever. Also, when we pushed it onto the trailer, the ramp had a good 20 degree angle to it, and my dad and I were able to push it up no problem. With the casters, the 4 1/2" ones I used worked fine. Rolled over the cracked up concrete and the road no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mull Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 Ah, glad to hear that you're patching things up properly : ) Thanks for bit about being an inspiration - glad my not knowing better is coming to good use for some people. Haha! : ) Like I said before, I'm really looking forward to seeing more updates/progress! Keep it up! Um. What are the plans exactly? : ) SBC? BB? L24? L28? RBxx? Race? Dragstrip? Old school restoration? Auto-X? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john kosmatka Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 Very nice, makes me wish I would have had mine blasted. Looks like a nice starting point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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