warrenHLS3083301 Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 hello anyone know how i can repair this rust on the inner fenders? does anyone know is their are replacement panels for this. I was thinking mabe i could just use fiberglass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom'sZ Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 Wow... that one looks really rusty. I mean these cars are known for being rust buckets but that one is really really bad. The main problem with using fiberglass to repair rust is that steel has elasticity. It bends. It contracs and expanes with fluctuations in temperature. Fiberglass is rigid and brittle, it's very hard. So it tends to not stick real well to metal. Mosture gets up under and rust returns. What's more worrisome about that car is it looks like the unibody itself is quite rusty. This is the structure of the car. Repairing it with fiberglass will not restore the structural strength of the unibody. Do you have welding skills? More pictures would be required to pass judgement on this car but it may be to far gone to attempt conventional repairs to the unibody. How does the rest of the car look? The floor pans, the frame rails. If the inner fenders look like that I fear the rest is no better. I hate to be the barer of bad news but that one looks really rough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeatrpi Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 I agree with mom, that is really bad. You can't use fiberglass there. Impossible. You would have to replace almost all of that rusty metal, and probably make most of your own patches unless you could find a solid donor car. In which case it might be easier to swap everything from the firewall forward. Which, most people probably wouldn't do unless the car has sentimental or significant monetary value. Maybe you can fab up some cap pieces to brace everything again. It will be time consuming but you might be able to rebuild it like a jigsaw puzzle. So, what else is rusty on your car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 I thought my car was rusty. Youd have to judge if its worth trying to repair it all. One thing you could do is scrap the front end and make a tubular chassis for the front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warrenHLS3083301 Posted December 26, 2006 Author Share Posted December 26, 2006 the rest of the car isnt that bad, the only other panels that need replacing are the rear fender lips but i was planning on using some jdm flares. other than that there is a hole in the firewall just behind the battery, and a small hole in the floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom'sZ Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 Even if you use the flares, you must repair the fenderwell lips to regain the structural integrity of the unibody. You could simply cut away the rust and weld the inner wheelhouses to the outer quarter panels. Did that car come from somewhere where they salt the roads? The battery area rust comes from acid leaking / venting from the battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderllama Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 while mine are not that bad, i too am wondering if there are rust repair panels for the inner wheel wells. my rear wheel wells are flaking off fast, and it would be real fun to bend a piece of metal for a patch... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warrenHLS3083301 Posted December 27, 2006 Author Share Posted December 27, 2006 i would like to repair the car if i can, Zcars are hard to find in my area (vancouver B.C.) and they are all rusted, its not that important, it does not have to look good because it gets hidden by the front fenders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ManyZs Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 Warren, there are no repair panels for that section, your best bet would be to pull them off a parts car. The only other alternative is going to be fabbing them up yourself or have someone do it for you. Unless you got really lucky and found a NOS piece (which would be like finding a winning Lotto ticket IMO) And to answer the question about the rear inner fenders, MSA used to sell repair panels, but since it's been years since I bought mine, I have no idea if they still have it or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 There are more problems with that car than can be fixed... short of a museum visual only retoration... seriously.. you may think the rest of the car is not that bad... but there is no way that is true... Those front rusted areas are fairly well protected.. There is no way that the back and middle of that chassis are any better off... That car is a runner up for the all time worst condition Z car that still rolls under it's own power on all four wheels... That car should not roll anywhere at all... I have gone through many Z cars.. I have scrapped cars that were in FAR FAR FAR FAR better condition.... I can tell you that the rockers and the rear suspension mounting points are gone or going as well... There is nothing salvagable from that chassis AT ALL... I cannot believe it made it this long without killing it's owner... WOW!!!! that is REALLLYYYYYYYYYYYYY BAD RUST!!!!!!!!! incredible... unbelievable... insane amounts of rust... This is structural steel here... It needs to be strong... the cowl box area is also a major component of the chassis.. If that is also rusted the chassis is scrap... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 Man... I thought MY car was bad when I got it.. well, it was pretty rough and I DID have to repair some of that area on my 280, but there were good solid areas to patch too. Your pics indicate an extreeeeem amount of rusted metal are all that's left of the front end.. I'll bet the x-member and motor/suspension are the only thing holding that car together right now.. evrything is fixable, but there has to be a line drawn somewhere.. it may take 3 times as much time and money to fix this one as just ponyin' up a bit of extra cash now for something in better overall shape... Sorry man, but unless you're good with a welder and are prepared for months of work (not to mention a load of $$$), you might consider looking for another car to build, and strip this one for any good parts/panels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warrenHLS3083301 Posted December 28, 2006 Author Share Posted December 28, 2006 new pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 Here's an idea, find another body and use what's left of that one for repair panels. Looks like the most common rust spots on that one are fine, but the less common spots are horrible. You'd almost be better off building a new car. Or building the tube frame front end as was suggested earlier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj paul Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 cut out the area clean and rust proof paint the inside of the rest of the area. use a series of panels instead of just one for repair so that its easier to get the curving form of the inner fender. tack weld these together really well and just start beating it with a hammer untill you get the form you like. i like to high temp paint the inside of the panels i weld so that an area you cant get to, isnt just exposed metal, know what i mean? do not repair this area with fiberglass. i hate people that do that! (my floorboards were repaired with fiberglass and guess what was left of them when i got the car? nothing!) if you need any inspiration just look at my pictures. dont give up on her! my car was really crappy and look at her now! of course i could have found something much much easier and used my car for parts but whats the fun in that? lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 I have to disagree with everyone who is saying to save this car. Those aren't really inner fenderwells. They are the UPPER FRAME RAILS. That car is toast in my opinion. You could put it back together for the sake of learning how to build a car from the ground up (literally), but it's a waste of time and money. Maybe if it was a 54 Ferrari or something, but since it's a Z, I'd strongly suggest getting something in better shape to start with. Personally, I wouldn't drive that sucker faster than about 15 mph. It might completely disintegrate and I wouldn't want to go too fast in case I had to "run it out". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260pos Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Ditto, unless this car was your late grandfather's or you had your first encounter on the hood. Other than that, I would advise getting a new car to start with. Take a trip to the southwest United States; there are still Z’s here with minimal rust. Thanks for reminding me of what the Snow Belt does to a car. I need to change my signature! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warrenHLS3083301 Posted December 29, 2006 Author Share Posted December 29, 2006 upper frame rails? i though they were cold air vents, or supports for the front struts and fenders. they cant be that structural because the are very thin ga steel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Cut open a lower frame rail. Same extremely thin metal. It is a duct for fresh air, but look at where the strut tower attaches, and it's right at that frame rail. Without that structure there, the struts really are basically being held up by the fenderwells. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeatrpi Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 The Z car is a unit-body. Even though those pieces are relatively thin gauge the bends and box structure add rigidity to the entire car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Some-Guy Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Do like me SCRAP It. It will be less hassle keap everything you can and look for one with less rust. Myne was in similar shape and once I got to taking it apart the unibody was wayyyyyy to compromised to keap. Iam in Surrey and I have seen alot of em around here more than I expected anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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