lgoodson@pacbell.net Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 I am looking at a 240Z and looking at the paint I notice there are stress cracks at the top of the hatch on the roof, running from the hatch opening to the rear window and I notice similar stress cracks on the roof at the front windshield posts. Is this typical for a 240Z or does it indicate more serious problems? Thanks for your help. Thank you, Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 Paint cracks or metal cracks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lgoodson@pacbell.net Posted November 30, 2008 Author Share Posted November 30, 2008 Paint is cracked a little, can't tell if it's into the metal without grinding off a fresh paint job, Tower struts have added to stop this. Is these kind of stress cracks normal for a 240Z. It's academic now as I boughgt the car but still would like to know. Thanks to everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sickboy Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 Yes that would be considered normal for a 240z which is (or was) driven hard or autocrossed. The stock chassis is surprisingly flexy and those are the points where it shows. My car was stock (with hubcaps and original paint) when I bought it about 15 years ago. It began to develop these cracks after several autox events. Strut tower braces and a rollbar will help a bit. Don't sweat it though, you're not alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 My 280z had those cracks in the paint as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240Zed Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 Yep alot of 240z have them. Theres lead filling in those spots which cracks when the body flexes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lgoodson@pacbell.net Posted December 1, 2008 Author Share Posted December 1, 2008 Thanks for the info. I went ahead and bought the car, the one pictured in my signature. I thought it was normal and didn't think that it would be the end of the world as we know it if it needed repair. Very small cracks on an otherwise very clean car. LT1/T56 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK-Z Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 The crack is because of old lead (metal). They lead loaded these cars, instead of using body filler (I don't think body filler was around that far back ). Unlike body filler, the lead is partially structural, but nothing to worry about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Bump I recently bought a 1971 240Z and noticed it has cracks (and some other weird stuff that I don't think is related) in the drivers side B pillar, and at the bottom of the A pillar, and shows some faint signs of cracks under the paint in the pass. side B pillar. The A pillar crack seems pretty big to me though, is it normal for it to look like this? I just want to make sure it's nothing to worry about, and that I can safely drive the car. I plan on chassis reinforcement later on, but not for a while, aside from strut tower bars. The car has MSA springs and what seems to be some pretty big sway bars. They're definitely bigger than what's on my 280z. Anyway, here is a pic of the crack, I know it's lead, but it still seems a bit big to me. Let me know what you guys think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rags Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Owen, My 71 looks just like that. Don't sweat it. Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phlebmaster Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Ha..I have them too. I was curious why, now I know. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palosfv3 Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Bump I recently bought a 1971 240Z and noticed it has cracks (and some other weird stuff that I don't think is related) in the drivers side B pillar, and at the bottom of the A pillar, and shows some faint signs of cracks under the paint in the pass. side B pillar. The A pillar crack seems pretty big to me though, is it normal for it to look like this? I just want to make sure it's nothing to worry about, and that I can safely drive the car. I plan on chassis reinforcement later on, but not for a while, aside from strut tower bars. The car has MSA springs and what seems to be some pretty big sway bars. They're definitely bigger than what's on my 280z. Anyway, here is a pic of the crack, I know it's lead, but it still seems a bit big to me. Let me know what you guys think. That crack is different from the ones the others are talking about that is lead filled. That is not a good place for a crack . You probably already have wet carpets or rotted pans. The windshield will eventually break from a crack of this nature. Be wary when purchasing any car with stress cracked metal. Its a major sign of structural problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 That crack is different from the ones the others are talking about that is lead filled. That is not a good place for a crack . You probably already have wet carpets or rotted pans. The windshield will eventually break from a crack of this nature. Be wary when purchasing any car with stress cracked metal. Its a major sign of structural problems.What do you mean? It is lead. I made an attempt to check the depth of the crack with a thin piece of paper, and it was roughly 1/16" of an inch, I think. 1/8" at the very most, I don't recall. It was obviously hitting something. There was lead at that spot on another 240Z I cut up, roughly the same depth. It's definitely lead, much too soft to be sheet metal. My floor pans are pretty solid, with only minor rust issues. There was water in my car when I got it, but, a) it was in the back of the passenger side floor, and the car traveled through a pretty serious rain storm to get to my house. I'd like to have the lead melted out and the area inspected, but that costs money, which I don't have, so for now it stays. Thanks for the input though. Just to make sure, were you aware that area was a place they used lead (I know I wasn't)? If not, does that change what you just said, knowing that it is lead, and not the sheet metal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palosfv3 Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 The only way to tell what the condition of the metal is in the area of the crack is to remove the paint and filler to the bare metal. The area your pic is showing should not have any lead. There is a joint adjacent to this spot but not on the curve of the window opening. How about a better picture ? Maybe with the cowl panel removed ? The location and type of crack lead me to believe this is a failed previous repair. Is this picture of the same area ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 The only way to tell what the condition of the metal is in the area of the crack is to remove the paint and filler to the bare metal. The area your pic is showing should not have any lead. There is a joint adjacent to this spot but not on the curve of the window opening. How about a better picture ? Maybe with the cowl panel removed ? The location and type of crack lead me to believe this is a failed previous repair. Is this picture of the same area ? Yeah, that's the same area. Tomorrow I will see about removing the cowl and fender to get a better pic. On my previous 240z, I cut the roof off in almost the exact same spot the crack is in on the new 240z. Without a doubt, there is lead in that area. It didn't have the shine of sheet metal, but did have the shine of lead, a lot like in the picture at the end of my post and certainly looked like it was used as filler. I'll get a pic of this too. I poked at it with a screw driver, and like I said, it was FAR too soft to be sheet metal. It is, without a doubt in my mind, lead filler. I can't think of anything else it could be. I don't blame you for being concerned, and thinking it's a crack in the sheet metal. That's exactly what I thought too! Anyway, tomorrow I will try to get pics of the area on both cars with cowl and fender removed. Thanks again for your input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 The cowl isn't coming off without a good bit of effort. The screws are rusted tight. Here's the same spot on my 240z, minus the top half... And one more of the crack... you can kind of see that it's dented now where I poked at it with a screw driver. Lead, without a doubt. Here is a pic of jmortensen's 240Z, same area, after melting the lead out. You can see that it was covering spot welds. Notice that the joint there on Jon's car is not the same as the joint on that 260Z. I'm thinking this is another one of the design changes between the 240Z and 260Z, or maybe just early and late 240Zs. I wouldn't be surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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