Rabbithead Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 Hi Folks - I am new to the forum and to z-cars. I purchased a rust ridden Nov 1970 240z. The firewall is rusted and I am considering replacing the entire front clip with solid piece - firewall forward. Is that crazy? I could re-build the existing one with patches from the solid front clip - piece meal approach. I will also be replacing the floor pans as well... I will post some pictures soon but wanted to get initial thoughts. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintage Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 If you could perhaps find a solid 240 thats been totaled in the rear, I would go for it. I doubt there are very many of those, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 Unless this car has a two or three digit serial number, I'd use it as a parts donor for a more solid car. Usually the Battery Box Area is the only area requiring repair, what, specifically, makes it so bad that you would change the entire assembly, firewall forward? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbithead Posted July 23, 2007 Author Share Posted July 23, 2007 The VIN is HLS30-14555 and the firewall is pretty rotten - the battery tray areas is mostly gone and one frame rail is fairly bad. I found a really solid front end from a 73 260z that I could either cut-n-paste from or integrate as a whole. I would lose some originality but it may be less expensive than the cut-n-paste method. My auto-body guy is charging me $75 per hour so I want to make sure I am spending it wisely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e_racer1999 Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 wow, sounds like MUCH more of a task/expense than just getting a rust-free shell and working from that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbithead Posted July 23, 2007 Author Share Posted July 23, 2007 Any thoughts on where to find a rust free shell in the Atlanta Georgia area? Just kidding - I have looked for a shell but everything I have found needs work so I figured I would build one from the ground up and then I will know what I have... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zgeezer Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Hi Folks - I am new to the forum and to z-cars. I purchased a rust ridden Nov 1970 240z. The firewall is rusted and I am considering replacing the entire front clip with solid piece - firewall forward. Is that crazy? I could re-build the existing one with patches from the solid front clip - piece meal approach. I will also be replacing the floor pans as well... I will post some pictures soon but wanted to get initial thoughts. Thanks in advance! No its not crazy, but it can be expensive. Personally, I replaced the front clip of a December 1970 Z and the left rear 1/4 panel, along with rust repair in the floor boards and rocker panel. It would have been cheaper to buy a Nevada or Arizona later Z. But I wanted to run a smog legal LT1 SBC in California, so I pretty much had to go with something no older than 1971. Overall, you are better off starting with something sound and rust free. g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aziza z Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 i think u have an excuse to tube chassis the front end haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpt jack Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 yea i have a 76 here in nv and there is like 2 lil lil lil patches of rust nothing even that bad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbithead Posted July 24, 2007 Author Share Posted July 24, 2007 i think u have an excuse to tube chassis the front end haha. Yes - tubing the front end is a possibility - I am going to take the car and related parts to the shop this week and get an estimate and guidance on next steps. I'll post the outcome or lack thereof... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 My auto-body guy is charging me $75 per hour so I want to make sure I am spending it wisely. I had my car clipped in front of the struts to fix some previous collision damage, new front frames rails, sub frames and floor pans. I had a welder do this at far less than $75/hr and then I took it to a body shop for the final finessing and minor rust repair. I cut a deal with the body shop at $50/hr and before all was said and done I was in very deep. I now have a beautiful & straight completely rust free body shell but it cost me. It would have been much cheaper to buy a Z out of Arizona and have it shipped here. If you aren't doing the work yourself then find a clean Z to start with, you will be much better off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
78zlt1 Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Yea Jeff but think of all the knowledge you have aquired! .....at least thats what I keep telling myself.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbithead Posted July 27, 2007 Author Share Posted July 27, 2007 I had my car clipped in front of the struts to fix some previous collision damage, new front frames rails, sub frames and floor pans. I had a welder do this at far less than $75/hr and then I took it to a body shop for the final finessing and minor rust repair. I cut a deal with the body shop at $50/hr and before all was said and done I was in very deep. I now have a beautiful & straight completely rust free body shell but it cost me. It would have been much cheaper to buy a Z out of Arizona and have it shipped here. If you aren't doing the work yourself then find a clean Z to start with, you will be much better off. Yes - I that is good advice and I will do some searching and pricing of this route to at least get a comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbithead Posted December 18, 2007 Author Share Posted December 18, 2007 Hey Folks - Thought I would give a brief update on the replacement of the entire front clip. It's done and it looks great. The work was done by www.gralasclassiccarshop.com specifically Paul and Steve Grala. I will be adding pictures shortly. They are currently moving onto the floor pans and rockers. We're rebuilding this baby from the ground up.... lot's of money you say... well at least I'll know what I'll have when I'm done - hopefully that will be soon! Anyway, I highly recommend the guys at Grala's - if you're in the Atlanta area check them out. Paul knows his Datsun's specifically the z-cars. Don't let the Mustang specialty fool you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deja Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 Hey Folks - Thought I would give a brief update on the replacement of the entire front clip. It's done and it looks great. The work was done by www.gralasclassiccarshop.com specifically Paul and Steve Grala. I will be adding pictures shortly. They are currently moving onto the floor pans and rockers. We're rebuilding this baby from the ground up.... lot's of money you say... well at least I'll know what I'll have when I'm done - hopefully that will be soon! Anyway, I highly recommend the guys at Grala's - if you're in the Atlanta area check them out. Paul knows his Datsun's specifically the z-cars. Don't let the Mustang specialty fool you! Sounds like you're progressing well. Good to hear about Grala's, they are just up the road from me. Well up I-85, but close. Looking forward to some picts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 glad to hear you saved it instead of junking it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbithead Posted December 18, 2007 Author Share Posted December 18, 2007 Yep - I'm working on saving her - still trying to figure what I am going to ultimately do with her... probably prepare her for vintage racing... sounds like fun I'm not sure. Here is a link to a ton of pictures that Paul Grala has taken during the restoration process. unbelievable progress and not that expensive - still a long way to go though. http://public.fotki.com/pjgrala/all_about_cars/72-240z-project/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 Unbelievable amount of work. I kept looking at the "before" pictures and wanted to click on the "report this image" link to turn them in as obscene. Would have been more simple to drill out the 8 pop rivets holding in the label plates on the 70 and cutting the VIN section out of the firewall and transferring those to the 260. But hey, great work. Job well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Holy crap that's a lot of work! Congratulations on saving the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fhptom Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Makes me feel bad that I do not want to take on the 1977 280 I picked up. Far less rust and body work that needs to be done than yours. As long as I can just keep it out of sight in the barn I will probably be able to keep it around and start on it some day. Great job and good luck. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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