restoring a z

[lonetreesteve]

2 cents:

Use it for a thousand dollars worth of parts and buy a better shell to start with. I've done this sort of thing for years and years. With the experience you have, you will never be able to get this car saved, even with $16K. Spend 2K on a good shell, use the parts from this one and you will be way better off in the long run. Worrying now about the dash, paint, etc, very premature. You have a very long time before you care any where near any of that.

It is great to dream. Keep the dream, but do it with a different car.

FWIW

Leonard

I agree with Leonard, don't try to repair the body, the rust on your car is REALLY BAD. You would be better off selling the Fairlady for parts (since RHD parts are rare) and use the money you make from the parts plus half of the $16k that you were planning to spend on the Fairlady and buy a solid Series I 240Z that just needs paint and a new interior. Then use the other half of the $16K to refresh the Series I. Just my 2 cents.

Edited December 18, 2009 by lonetreesteve

[EScanlon]

...snip...

I think I'll call her Rusty haha.

Anyway based on the pics how would you plan out restoring this car?

Plan A

Step 1: Determine if the RHD is the main reason to want to keep this car, if so:

Open a beer, raise it and bid Rusty farewell and safe journey then remove all the RHD specific parts you have AND try to cut out the firewall or at least take lots of pictures and measurements after you part Rusty out.

Step 2:

Search Craigs List, E-Bay and all other venues for locating a Z car and find the best car you can find that matches it exactly for the YEAR. The 2+2 option would allow you to use more of the parts that Rusty donated, but the more critical ones (dash, accelerator pedal, grille, cowl etc.) would still work (except for brake lines which would require a 2+2).

Step 3: Disassemble the new car to the firewall, cut out the critical holes to adapt to RHD and weld the LHD holes up.

Step 4: Transplant the RHD parts into the new car

Plan B: If the RHD is NOT a requirement, then follow steps 1 and 2 above except you won't need a lot of measurements.

Step 3: Sell RHD parts for $ and keep those you can use in both models.

Step 4: Use money to make the new car better.

Sorry, but the car you're showing in the pictures is a very likely money-pit. If there is a distinct "love" for it, then have at it, but you've been warned that you will spend MUCHO dinero (i.e. BIG and I mean, B I G bucks) bringing it back.

Both rockers show the advanced signs of rusting out from below, i.e. you're not even seeing how far that rust is back there. For every dime size hole you can see you can expect 4-8 square inches of deep "surface" rust on the backside.

Those rockers are gone, those front fenders might be repairable, the hatch is obvious. The door skins also need help. What's not so obvious is that the rear fenders starting at the quarter windows are starting to go... right at the bottom of the window. The floors have already been patched, the hatch sill already shows signs of crumbling.

At a WAG, I'd be pleasantly surprised to hear that your sheet metal repairs were UNDER $20k, and that would probably NOT include surfacing for paint or primer, just the actual cut and weld.

If you have the time and can throw away the money.... go for it. But that ONE picture into the rocker panel (108 of 124).... YIKES!!

Not trying to hurt your feelings, just trying to advise you the best we can.

FWIW

E

[76flz]

Well, lets just say I'm devastated about rusty. I am attached to her and am sad to hear the advice but sometimes the best advice is the hardest to hear.

I do love the RHD and the idea of parting it out is disheartening.

I'll let you know what I decide.

[IdahoKidd]

I'm trying to locate a recent post, it was here or on hybrid Z, a fellow found a red, right hand drive in a wrecking yard in the midwest. The condition was much better than what you have. While I personally have never seen one, there are some around.

[Kathy & Rick]

I'm surprised that nobody suggested your getting and sharing w/us the

VIN # and production date from any of the data plates on the car. That

will tell you right off whether you have a bona fide RHD Fairlady 2+2 or

something bogus, a "knockoff" I believe you called it. But I just went

back to the URLs and see all the FairladyZ badges and fender mirrors

in the right places, so that helps verify it as legit.

Then I would go to the NY Z Car Club site (NYZCC.com) and try to

contact Jim, the Club VP. His handle is Jim260Z and he has a very nice

RHD 2+2. Great guy, maybe he could give you some leads.

But as someone said above, if it is too far gone it could still be a

decent parts car for another one you get. There aren't too many

around, so I wouldn't trash it just yet until after you do a little

more research.

All Z Best,........................Kathy & Rick

Edited December 18, 2009 by Kathy & Rick
Add another point

[Logan's 240Z]

76flz,Don't let these guys bring you down.If you or a friend have the skills any rusty car can be fixed,and for not alot of money.I've replaced both floors,floor supports,frame rails,both forward rockers.I also fabricated a rotissurie.At this point I have $460.00 invested in sheet metal,box tubing and mig wire.I've fabricated everything myself.I must admit it does take time,and my time is free and so is yours.If you do the work yourself you will save thousands! R

[FastWoman]

76flz, I think you're getting some good advice here. I got the same advice when I bought a 6 cyl '68 Mustang and a partially rebuilt 302 from a friend. My mechanic informed me the 302 was junk and not worth finishing. The body was OK but had a LONG way to go. The advice I got was to find a very nice Mustang that someone had already dumped a lot of money into and was selling below their cost. I sold the '68 for what I had in it, and I found a 289 '66 (more desireable year) with matching numbers that was being unloved. I picked up the '66 about $2000 below appraisal. I added AC and PB, but didn't have to do much else. I kept it, enjoyed it, and eventually sold it for about $3000 over my costs, which made it a better investment than any of my "responsible" investments of late (in stocks and real estate).

That said, I did make one mistake. The car was too perfect and required so little work that I never really "bonded" with it. My '78 Z (successor to my Mustang) is not as perfect and needs *some* TLC. However, it's basically a very nice car. Its strength is its body, which is a great match for me, since my weakness is body work. Its weakness is its mechanical and electrical components, which is where my strength lies. Therefore I'll keep plugging away happily at the mechanicals and electricals, bonding with the machine. In the end, I'll probably put in more time and money than the car will be worth, but it will be a car I will enjoy far more than the mustang. So maybe the third time is the charm -- "just right," as it were.

[Weasel73240Z]

76flz' date='Don't let these guys bring you down.If you or a friend have the skills any rusty car can be fixed,and for not alot of money.I've replaced both floors,floor supports,frame rails,both forward rockers.I also fabricated a rotissurie.At this point I have $460.00 invested in sheet metal,box tubing and mig wire.I've fabricated everything myself.I must admit it does take time,and my time is free and so is yours.If you do the work yourself you will save thousands! R[/quote']

Problem is, he talked about a body shop early in this thread. That tells me he doesn't do sheetmetal fabrication/bodywork. Nobody is trying to bring anyone down, but the advice is sound. A RHD Fairlady is awful attractive, but I couldn't see any less than 25K to get that car back to driveable.

I agree with parting out Rusty and finding a quality Series 1 car to start with. My car was in much better shape when I bought it, I did everything myself, and I still ended up spending almost $12,000 (and I'm not done). I don't think a $16,000 budget is anywhere near enough for this project.

[EScanlon]

76flz' date='Don't let these guys bring you down.If you or a friend have the skills any rusty car can be fixed,and for not alot of money.I've replaced both floors,floor supports,frame rails,both forward rockers.I also fabricated a rotissurie.At this point I have $460.00 invested in sheet metal,box tubing and mig wire.I've fabricated everything myself.I must admit it does take time,and my time is free and so is yours.If you do the work yourself you will save thousands! R[/quote']

Roger, you are missing the main point.

We're not trying to "bring him down", we're trying to be realistic as to what that car needs. Have you seen the pictures or simply glanced at the thumbnails? There is rust in just about every support member from the front fender to the rear wheel well. It's possible the only structural supports left are the transmission tunnel and the roof.

While it IS possible to restore ANY car in whatever the condition, it is highly dependent on Money, Time and Skilled Labor. If you have all three then it's possible to succeed. Heck, with enough time and money you could have your own sheet metal molds made and stamp out your own fenders, rockers, etc.. But based on his statements:

The floorboards are rusted out and the back of the hatch on the sides. The paint is super bubbly on the rocker arms and there is surface rust on the hood, the battery holder and god knows where else.

and:

Is my first step to take everything off the body? I am a little worried that because I have no auto experience I may have a lot of trouble putting it back in.

I would doubt that it would be as inexpensive as you make it out to be.

2¢

E

[ZCurves]

Consider this....

You know that your Rockers, Doors and Rear Deck are shot. But they can be replaced.

<O:p</O:p

Here is what I would do. Remove the entire interior – including the Dash. If you cannot remove the dash cover it real good with carpet. Have the car towed to a place that does Media Blasting. See what they would charge to just shoot a few critical areas (there are plenty of us on this thread to help you come up with a list of places). Don’t worry about the obvious rot; stick with the underside, floor pan, rails, engine bay, battery frame, etc…<O:p

If there are not too many places where the car just "Goes Away" or is like a Corn Flake, then you are relatively ok. Problem is that none of us can get with you to see it in person to make a good judgment.<O:p</O:p

Post your findings and pictures back here and then we will have more information.<O:p

You want to avoid a money pit where major portions of the unibody will have to be grafted together. From the pics that you shared, there will be some.<O:p

I think that the $$$ spent on "exploratory surgery" via Media Blasting will be well spent. Worse case is that you will have to change directions and part Rusty out. Best case is that Rusty will need some transplants and some patience (and quite a bit of $$$). Avoid advice from anyone who might gain financially by your restoration -Body shops only want your business, so to them everything is repairable! Regardless of what you choose to do, you have made an excellent start by posting your concerns here and getting everyone’s opinion.

-Andrew

[76flz]

Here is the predicament I find myself in, I have searched every craigslist and auto trader classics and I can't find any car that is close to mine. That tells me one thing, this is probably a one of a kind car or at least here in the states. The other thing I know is that the car is only worth what someone else would pay for it. I am not really concerned about that because this is a car I would like to leave to my son one day so I am thinking of long term ownership. But, I would hate to put like 8k into it to find out it is not safe to rehab, or that I wont be able to turn it into a daily driver. I talked the owner of a local body shop to come out and see the car in person and he said at 50 dollars an hour I am looking at probably 12K worth of work paint job included.

How can I find out my VIN to verify this is from Japan, with the VIN is it possible to verify?

If it's a knock off I probably will sell it. I know it's no a black pearl but to me it is really cool. I love that it's a 2+2 and RHD. I love that its fuel injected and has the L28 motor.

I also talked to the mechanic friend who worked on the car originally and he said that the compression is great on the engine and that the transmission in the back is a 5 spd and would be perfect if I rebuilt it.

I think I may go with Andrews advice and see about doing some exploratory work, I think one of the regulars at the waffle house actually does that for a living.

[EScanlon]

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/search/cta?query=280Z&catAbbreviation=cta&minAsk=min&maxAsk=max

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/search/cta?query=Datsun+Z&catAbbreviation=cta&minAsk=min&maxAsk=max

Edited December 18, 2009 by EScanlon