bobbyc Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 (edited) i've been messing with zs now for about 10 years...since i got my first one at 17. story started with an 81zxt which i wrecked. i had a friend with a 73 with a blown motor...i picked up the shell for a few hundred dollars and swapped the motor in. i drove that for a few years as it would allow, and finally parked and started working on it in jan 06. i had been working on it off and on for the last 4 years, i think it drug out so long because there was so much wrong with it. it had been rear ended at some point and it rippled the back floor, stolen (while i had it) and then lit on fire, FD crushed the firewall prying the hood open. every part of the undercarrage had been used as a jack point, PO installed flares, but cut the inner and outer fender apart, it was cut too far and used some tar paper to fill the gap. sometimes i would just stare and it to form a plan of attack on some of the parts...i have some nice parts and i want the whole package to be equally as nice...and i didn't think that chassis would give it to me. i came across an ad on CL for 72 parts..i thought i'd snag some to repair my z. well it ends up the kid bought the car to drift..it had rust..and he couldn't weld...so i picked it up for $240. it had good glass, a nice interior, a hatch full of extra parts, and the rust was just in all the "normal" areas. i dropped all the parts off the 73 and scrapped the shell, minues a few parts id use for patches on the new z, and the roof and couple other little parts i gave to proxlamus. most of that time down was spent fixing parts that will easily swap into the 72. the z is running a l28et, bored .080 over and forged SDS6f with coil packs for fuel and spark powdercoated underneath with GC coilover, sectioned tubes with MR2 front struts and TTT camber plates. low pressure pump into a hand built surge tank and walbro feeding the engine. all SS braided line. no more fuel cell, PITA to lift the hatch and fill. surge tank will work with the stock tank..i'm keepin it this time. holset hx35 turbo (will prob change) and offcourse all the little pieces required to make it all work SVT 42lb hr injectors greddy boost controller autometer gauges z32 trans adapter (need z32 tranny!) pallnet fuel rail aeromotive FPR AN fittings throughout i'm pulling everything out of the engine bay, i will be repainting it the original 918 orange...engine bay will be a single stage i will be beefing these up anyway. battery tray was good on the 73...saved it to patch this. old z, i know some people will think i'm crazy...but this one is honestly in much better condition. i don't have to deal with PO fixes. i got some new rear quarters from a 260z, i will use parts from that to patch this area, it's literally the side of the car since the panel was cut on the inside up through the wheel well...that area was rust free on the 260z..im doing both sides. rear suspension the seams at the rear roll pan had rust, as did the orignal quarter fender lips. as i cut the lips off i saw rust up inside...it appears this car was not dipped after assembly. so i blasted the area clean and por15 it all, also applied weld through primer where i will be reattaching the quarter. i will be welding to the inner panel so it will go out straight to meet the outer fender where i will attach the fiberglass flares. same with the rear roll pan area..this had some surface rust...blasted and por15ed 4x4 stance the parts that are going in. i will be putting in camber plates. i used the top hats to mount them on the 73 so i could roll it. for now i will be putting in a lot of my time to get all my parts back in and car solid. theres not much money for the z now,but i did manage to get all the parts i needed over the last few years to pretty much complete the build. Edited July 24, 2010 by bobbyc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Subscribed. Looks like it'll be a great project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbyc Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 (edited) been workin on seperating the rear quarters i picked up...i got one side off, still need to finish the rocker before i can begin the plug weld all the holes drilled out from the spot welds...i will be welding the highest portion of the inner fender straight out to meet the quarter panel. start taking the lower rocker dogleg area apart...to use on the 72. i'm gonna media blast and por15 these pieces and then reinstall and weld in place. inner rocker where seatbelt mounts, lower portion destroyed on the 72..will be using this to repair here is the inner dog leg area...it's the part seen from the inside...and gets sandwiched between the inner and outer rocker panel. i've learned a lot over the years tinkerin with the old z....i should have it reassembled and look factory...without a spec of rust. Edited August 18, 2010 by bobbyc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbyc Posted November 3, 2010 Author Share Posted November 3, 2010 (edited) i don't get a lot of time to work on the car...but i did break out the media blaster and clean up some of the parts...i'm workin on the inside rocker around the seat belt mount. i have all the donor parts i removed with a spot weld bit...so i dont have to fabricate anything...just pinch it with some plug weld pliers and put her back together...using por15 and weld through primer at the plug welds. heres the part i took out... the top of the 240z inner rocker was fine...the bottom was gone...the seatbelt mounts between the two are different..so i used the 280z inner rocker...removed the plate on the backside that the seatbelt bolts to....and pieced them together...i'm out of gas on the welder...it will get welded later...i will fill in the holes as well so it will look like the inside of a 240z rocker. and here's whats removed...i will be blasting the inside of the rocker later today...getting rid of all rust...and then coating with por15. i think i have some form of OCD...i know most people don't bother if it hasn't eaten all the way through...but if i did leave it the thought of not knowing quite how bad it was...would tear me up...and i plan on keeping this car for a while. Edited November 3, 2010 by bobbyc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbyc Posted November 3, 2010 Author Share Posted November 3, 2010 (edited) i started blasting and the results were what i expected but was hoping i wouldn't have. the metal is heavily pitted from all the rust...and there are a few holes. it'd prob be fine to just slap some por15 on it and take the welder to build up the heavy pits...but i'm going to replace it. here's the donor...while i was blasting i cleaned it up too. hopefully tonight i can get all the spot welds drilled out and get it fitted...i didn't make it to the welders to get gas...i don't have another day off for another 6 days so it may have to wait til then. fixing it wasn't too difficult...only took about 30 min...just need my dang welder and i could make some real progress! Edited November 3, 2010 by bobbyc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 update bobby, update! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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