Frame rail decision.. Will I be ok?

[Guest zehto]

Okay so I am planning on buying this 1973 240z. I went to go look at it everything seemed okay. The only problem I have is the passenger side frame rail is rusted in the front. I do plan on replacing both of the frame rails if I buy it, but I wanted to know if the car would be okay for 2-3 months being used as a daily driver more or less? Or should I just weld some metal on the rail as a temporary fix till I replace the whole rail. I do understand that since it is a unibody structure that if one part is bad then the whole structure is weakened that is why I am concerned.

 

Here is the picture of the damage. The guy is letting it go for $2000

 

this was the worst rusting I found on the car. The hatch, doglegs, floorboards were cut out and replaced.

[LLave]

From that picture it looks pretty clean. But you never really know what lurks under all that paint and underbody coating.

[Guest zehto]

The interior was stripped out so I was able to see inside the doors and rear hatch he repainted the whole car so its not bad, its decent.

[ihatejoefitz]

Pass! You are in california and this is the best deal you could find? $2000 for a stripped, rusted death trap?

[EMWHYR0HEN]

if it's rusted that bad in that area, I woudnt be surprized to see more rust under all the paint. If you think it's a deal then go for it just remember metal is always fixable.

 

I wouldn't drive the car daily. That's an important structure of the car, and if it's gone your probably gonna hurt other structures.

[BRAAP]

Zehto,

First off, welcome to HybridZ.

That frame rail is quite bad. As mentioned above, definitely look over the rest of car first as this picture could be an indication of much more extensive corrosion thereby making the car essentially worthless other than as parts car, i.e. worth only $200, not $2000. You know, that is the area/frame rail directly under the battery which could’ve caused that corrosion and rest of the car “could” be ok. Again, you will want to look over the entire car paying close attention to the common problematic Z car corrosion areas. Those areas have been spelled out here on HybridZ in the past and can be found with some searching.

 

Secondly;

Please click and read through the "Click me..." link below as it contains some valuable information regarding how to make your posts here on HybridZ more effective. In particular, #3.

 

 

Click me...

 

 

Thank you and good luck finding a worthy Z.

Paul Ruschman

HybridZ Staff

[Guest zehto]

Sorry about that Braap thanks for fixing that, and thanks to everyone for the information on this. I will keep looking I guess you have to be real patient with these Z cars nowadays.

[DrEaM]

personally being on the east coast and RIGHT next to the ocean (humid salty air) i would say if thats the only rust that that isn't that bad at all BUT $2000 dollars is kinda expensive for a car with rust spots that bad on it

[Guest zehto]

He dropped the price down to $1800. Now Im wondering could I just cut that rust out of the frame rail and weld in some sheet metal as a temporary fix.

[Pop N Wood]

If somebody fixed all the other rust areas and left THAT, then I would be highly apprehensive of the quality of the rest of the work.

 

If there is any paint on that car that has seen less than a year of on the road driving, then I would plan on stripping it off and checking the quality underneath. Fresh paint can hide a LOT.

 

If you know you are going to do rust repair, then I would look for an “unrestored†vehicle with aged paint. That way you know what you are getting.

[Guest zehto]

Now that I think about it at the tip of the hood the paint chipped away and there was rust under. So like everyone says the paint is probably hiding some more rust away. I know it is getting harder and harder to find a rust free Z that is why I was expecting to have to do some rust repair. It just gets frustrating thinking that I may never find a good Z to call my own.