How difficult is rust to fix under the car?

[Guest Anonymous]

HI Peoples,

 

I thought Id consult with the experts before I shelled out some hard earned cash.

 

A friend has a '74 260Z sitting down the road outside his surf shop just collecting dust (been offroad since the motor is running poorly), and Im keen to buy it.

 

It has some rust, can see spots coming through the paint, but I expect some rust on such an old car, seems in a reasonable condition all round, and am real keen to buy it, I love zeds! =)

 

But I found a hole or two around the floor pan area of the car and this worries me because I cant jack the car up to see how bad the rust really is, I wont know till after Ive bought it, have had a cursory inspection with eyes and hands, poking around.

 

What I need to know is, how hard is it to fix rust under the car, especially around the crucial areas like the frame rails. I have a frend who is a panelbeater who said he could do the rust spots for me & said one spot is pretty much no more difficult that another. But I have anotha frend who said that underbody work is difficult, basically he thinks removing rust under there would be a major.

 

What do you guys think?

 

Any advice appreciated,

Dwayne

[Tim240z]

Dwayne,

If you can see rust then I would bet that there is plenty more that you can't see. I thought my 73 Zed had zero rust until I scaped away the sound deadening from the floor boards and ended up having to cut them out and weld in new material. Not a major job if you can weld. Many blokes on this board have done it. I replaced the frame rails at the same time and connected the subframes. click on my homepage icon above if you want to see pics. Pete also has some pics on his site which are far better and what I used to fashion mine after. If your mate is a panelbeater, he should be able to do it with little effort, or at least give you pointers.

Cheers,

Tim

[ZROSSA]

Dwayne,

 

Is this beasty a 2 seater or 2+2? I have really got to wonder if a 2+2 is worth it seing that heaps came over as jap imports. In saying that, mines a 2+2. So far i have found rust around the hatch, hence i am thinking about converting it to a convertible. I havent climbed under it yet but if the floor and chassis have rust i will take what i want and bin the rest. Cheers for the links, buy the way and I sympathise with you regarding Auckland weather. I put up with it for 20 years. That why I live in the Hawkes Bay now. You wouldnt contemplate a convertible in Auckland.

 

Cheers

 

Douglas

[Guest Anonymous]

Thanx Douglas and Tim for your advice

 

To Tim:

Yea, Mike (the panelbeater) said doin work underneath the car will be no more difficult, so sweet as. The car has been repainted in 2k but there are some bubbles, probly some bog too! =)

Ill have a look at ur photos, cheerz.

 

To Douglas:

Its a 2+2, that means it has the four seats and not 2 right? I just want to clarify that point since I allways see 2+2 mentioned, and the zed Im looking at has 2+2 on the warrant.Yea the weather in Aucks does suck, Im originally from the Far North, past Kaitaia way, so am used to the sun. Am heading to paihia for new years! =)

Heard the Hawkes Bay is nice, and that there is mean surf there

 

In General:

I think thats about all the reassurance I needed, I was probably gunna go ahead with the purchase anyhows, just needed to clear some garage space!

But its good to have a little peace of mind.

This is my first car project, looking forward to having some fun, probably some headaches too though, but 'par for the course'.

For $1250 i think its a pretty good deal, and when I take the tired 2.6 out and put in a RB26DETT, it should hum along nicely.

 

Big Merry Christmas to all you Zed fans out there, and Happy New Years!

 

Dwayne

[fl327]

i personally dont care if there is rust on a zcar, it makes a great bargaining point, and in my case, i like it on a car thats extremely modified, not only is the welding work simple, you can get the car cheap, i expect that most zs have cancer, and curing them gets you a great car...