uncovering a history of bad body work

[Careless]

so i took the bondo off my rear quarters today and found out that the overlap joint weld that the previous person did on this car back in 1976 is pretty damn ugly.

 

just below the crease that runs to the rear , above the fender flare lip and across the door handle... it was welded there and bondo'd over about 3/4 inches thick, and underneath the soft bondo is that hard metal fibre or grey bondo that's a bitch to remove.

 

I want to cut out the entire rear section and replace it, but tabco and the other companies sell only lower panels.

 

where do i get replacement panels that go all the way up to the hoodline that makes the curve on the rear quarter, just below the venting emblems?

 

this sucks =(

[Careless]

i'll post pics later, but i still cant find these panels. any where that ships to canada is cool

[Brad-ManQ45]

Quarter panels only go to the body line - they don't bend over to the pillar area - I know - I've got one for the drivers' side on mine....from MSA.

[Careless]

Quarter panels only go to the body line - they don't bend over to the pillar area - I know - I've got one for the drivers' side on mine....from MSA.

 

which body line do they meet?

i think i have enough metal under the hoodline to work with, i would just make it as straight as possible and lead the rest.

 

the panel that was welded on is even in pretty good shape, i just needs to be properly re-fastened, i think

[Careless]

also, where would i get the hatch sill from?

I need one of those too.

 

i think ever other part of the car is pretty good.

[Careless]

ok so i've found a early 260z chassis that could be a good candidate for me to swap parts to.

 

But what parts will i have to change for them to swap into the new 260 chassis from my 280, considering the 260 is of the 240z style chassis.

 

I have all the parts from the 280 so i got next to everything, including doors and fenders and hood and such

 

just wanna know what i'll have to re-buy.

 

I'm going RB aswell, and changing the rear subframe to a s14 subframe, and possibly the fronts too.

 

I'll just put a fibreglass widebody on the 280z when I finish this 260.

[Careless]

so the 260 i wanted to buy is not for sale anymore. i got sucker punched by some people who i thought wouldn't do what they did.

 

even after the seller told me to call him in an hour, which i did, and he didnt answer his phone.

 

so basically im going to have to stick to my guns and pay for the panels to replace my car, and the best job i can.

 

I figure it's my only choice, so I'm gonna attempt it. whatever.

 

Whats funny is that in lieu of this whole bucket of shinanigans, I was chipping away at the rear section of my car today and I hit a damp blue surface, just before the metal.

 

THE FIBREGLASS BODY FILLER FROM THE LATE 1970's HAD NEVER CURED.

 

THAT is how thick it is. there is literally a 2 x 2 x 0.5 foot pile of body filler sitting behind my car, since i swept it today.

 

just great =)

[OlderThanMe]

I say just keep looking for a shell that is already stripped down and transfer all your stuff over or go to a JY with a cordless sawzall and have at one of the JY cars and weld the panels into your 280...

[Careless]

Raff,

 

It would make for a better use of time as Dan/olderthanme suggested about looking for a better body shell to work with!

 

If you lived here in the SF bay area, my buddy had to pass an incredible deal on a bunch of Zcar parts. An "excellent" rust free body, already stripped of interior, motor etc., brand new rotisserie, 280z R200 diff and control arms, perfect dash etc., All for $1200!!! It was a project I had started for someone but he decided to move on to something else. He is even throwing in a brand new masking tree, bodywork mobile workstation (hand built out of wood pieces) and I believe some spray gun equipment. Incredible deal!

 

If anyone is interested, let me know because he needs to get rid of the stuff.

 

Ernie/RacerX

 

I know I know..

but to be honest, I can't find a zee that people are willing to part for anything around that price.

 

here's the reason why i'm going to continue on this car.

 

1) Im going to sandblast the car myself (theres a parking lot behind my house, I just need to borrow a pressurized blaster tank)

2) I am going to order repair panels and fix the rear end back to original condition to see how well I can do it, and to test my limits. (I've never failed before!)

3) There's a soul attached to this car that I'm doing this for. I know it sounds cheese-ball, but it's all I got to work with right now, and I'm gonna go for it.

 

think of it this way, this car is actually in slightly better condition than a certain "hugo" car that was posted and everyone seems to enjoy reading about. I'm sure I can bring some of that enthusiasm back to this board once I tacle what's wrong with my car, so I'm going to just get repair panels and do it.

 

that's what im sticking with.

 

I like everything else bout the car.

 

Frame rails are gone, and so are the rear lower quarters. That's it. everything else is solid. even the rear hatch area is solid (minus the area at the very bottom of the spare tire well, common problem anyways)

 

I'm just gonna go with what I have and just take longer to do it. can't really rush anything because I don't have much time, just weekends and weeknights sometimes when it's not cold.

 

I know finding a better chassis would be ideal. but not for what people want me to pay for them... they all have their fair share of problems too that would require money to fix. so buying a new chassis puts me back to square one, except for that chassis that I had mentioned that was stripped, blasted, and welded up in certain areas already.

 

I'm not toooooo concerned about what I'm gonna do.

im just pissed on how it panned out. =(

 

Raff.

[TBK]

RacerX, Im in need of two front fenders and a rear hatch 77ish, it they are gonna seperate!

[Careless]

well im back in for an update.

 

took a trusty wire wheel to the rear quarters, and i got some of the 2 cm bondo off.

 

here's why this car ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ sucks. you'll see what i mean in the picks. whoever did the repair work didn't do it very well. should i continue to repair this thing?

 

i need professional opinions on this, but I don't think I can find another chassis that is in near as good shape as this. I did once, and it got scooped (still pissed about that).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Careless]

my main issue is the doorjamb, and the height at which the overlap starts. the person who decided to repair the door jamb said "HEY, LETS WELD UNDER the door jamb, instead of a lip OVER the door jamb like they did from factory."

 

STUPID. now it fcuked up the entire contour of the doorjamb. not to mention the fact that the SEAM WELDED the entire thing. not a series of tacks, but a full on BEADED SEAM.

 

Now the driver side is a mess, but not as much as the passenger side.

 

However, the driver side goes all the way down to the rocker area and it gets ugly right where the dogleg starts. same idea, doorjamb over panel flap, isntead of under.

 

and the fact that ALFAPART.COM DOES NOT HAVE THE DIE-STAMP ANYMORE, AND CANNOT PRODUCE PANELS. FCUK!

 

 

man, im so pissed. I think i might do it just to test my limits as to what im capable of, but finding a replacement is going to be a bit of a bitch.

 

EDIT: Oh, and has anyone noticed the hatch door with the welded spoiler, as well as the buttresses of the car too.? WTF is up with that.

 

GRRRRRRRRRR.

 

the rest of the car is just usual datsun poop. rusted frame rails and floor boards. all the OTHER metal on this car is VERY solid. even some of the floor is so solid (while rusty) that I can donkey kick it and it wont budge.

[Guest TeamNissan]

OMFG I'm speachless...... That bodywork looks like bufords backyard special lol. I genuinly wish you the best of luck man, I really do lol.

[Careless]

OMFG I'm speachless...... That bodywork looks like bufords backyard special lol. I genuinly wish you the best of luck man, I really do lol.

 

the hatch im not too worried about. im worried about whats under the metal, but as far as the way it was attached, well.. im putting a one-off whale tail that i'll be making out of fibreglass, layed over high density foam, and filled with fibreglass bubble filler, packed to the brim, until it hardens into something sturdy.

 

so as long as the base is smooth, that's all that I would need to worry about.

 

The quarters themselves.... ouch =(

 

but ive seen what others have done on this site, so it's quite inspirational.

 

and you and i have to talk about RB30's ... the data you gave me is somewhat incorrect, and I have a link to some information you might need =)

[Guest TeamNissan]

Thats actualy a very good idea, I have heard of people doing that too.

 

I'm going to bet he WANTS to do it himself though

[Careless]

TBK,

 

Unfortunately, he won't part the car - he wants to keep the body intact.

 

Raff,

 

I'd wish I had the opportunity to use your car as a class project to teach the up and coming youths bodywork and painting methods - it would be perfect for that.

 

Just wondering - are there any ROP (Regional Occupational Program) schools near you that you could volunteer your car to be used as a class project, to help the students learn bodywork and paint? I've known a handful of people that had their cars "redone" at the local ROP. They only had to pay for materials and the cars turn out to their satisfaction. I knew one person who was also a student and brought his car there to be worked on! Turned out well!

 

Ernie/RacerX

 

Hi Ernie,

 

I don't mind doing the body work myself, actually.

The problem is finding the parts that are in good enough condition up here in Canada

 

I think this car was donated as a class project to begin with, which is why it's in it's current state.

 

I really wanna keep the car, as the rest of it is solid. so I'm going to find the quarters and do it myself. Just wondering if anyone has any leads since alfaparts is bunk, and tabco, i hear sucks.

 

Someone on this board might be sending me a pair for a good price, so I'm going to hold off on pictures from him to see what I have to work with.

 

like i said, it's only the doorjamb area and the lower dogleg i'm concerned about.

 

Raff

 

EDIT: and as i had mentioned, it's only reall the passenger side that is FCUCKEd. the driver side can be repaired easily as the fix that was put in place just touches the lower area of the door jamb where the curve is, which is alot easier to build than the entire door jamb itself, like i might have to do on the passenger side.

[Careless]

looks like someone has located and put a reserve on some 280z rear quarters

 

now.. question.

 

for the inner fender well, what should i do? Im going to be running wide flares on the car that are going to be bolt on like the ZG's, so i know i'll have to cut and reweld them later. so what do you guys think i should do interms of steps.

 

should i make a semi-tub style inner fender and just leave it hanging for now? I'm thinking of putting off this part of the build until I find some wheels that I like. maybe I should just aquire the panels and do the deed later on?

 

decisions decisions. =)

 

I am quite happy though. besides, this car will end up looking better than that danged 260Z that was kickin around anyways. I guarantee it! =)

[Careless]

well sommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmeone's got a pair of quarters waiting at mommy and daddy's house.

 

Thanks Chuck! (cbuczesk)

 

pleasure doin biznazzzz!

 

 

so now I'm going to install those during the summer, and in the meantime, I'm going to be acquiring more parts for the build up. I think I just need the S14 front suspension and cross member, and the RB30 block for positioning, and I should be ready to get this thing into full buildification mode.

 

I might have to pull out my calibrated smashometer tool for the floor pans to beat out the rust before sandblasting it.

 

=)

[Challenger]

and underneath the soft bondo is that hard metal fibre or grey bondo that's a bitch to remove.

 

I believe thats lead filler. Looks like you got a big job ahead of you. Is that spoiler some home made contraption or do most wings have that chicken wire in them?

[Guest TeamNissan]

They stopped using led filler a long time befor the 240z man lol.

 

The wing ends are def home made comtraption too, I cant say wiring out like that was EVER standard practice.