Rust Advice 78 280z

[gotham22]

I ran into a problem and I do not know what the best solution is.   I have two different cross members and I am not sure which is the right one (easier) to repair.  Cross member A has a better under side.  Cross member B has a better top side.  In the close up's you can see the damage to A.  I am assuming that I should take the bottom of A and somehow weld it on B. Is that the right approach?  Should I cut and replace the section where I drew the yellow boxes?  How would I separate the bottom of the crossmember from the top section.  It looks like there are two pieces welded together.

[grannyknot]

Whoa, I guess I would go with repairing B, a plate made out of 14ga welded on to span the central rust pitted area with holes cut out for plug welding and also for the steering rack hold downs.

[Patcon]

@gotham22

Strictly my opinion.

I would work with crossmember A

Crossmember B has a lot more pitting across the width of it both top and bottom. For dealing with the steering rack horns...

Well several options. You could fill in the pitting on the horns. the metal fairly thick and shouldn't be as hard a filling in thinner metal.

You could even make a piece to back it up with inside the horn from the bottom for a little more beef

Possibly the cleanest repair would be to sacrifice cm "B" and cut the horns off of it and weld them on cm "A". This requires ALOT of good measurements and you really need GOOD welding skills. I weld pretty well but I'm not sure I would trust myself to do those welds. You could however get them removed and cm "A" cleaned up and ready. Then tack them in the exact proper place and have a professional welder finish them for you. Let me know, through PM if necessary, if you plan to go this route and I can give you some pointers

[gotham22]

thanks Patcon/Grannyknot.  After consideration I think I am going to try to repair A as it is overall in better shape.  If I can't get that to work then I have plan B, literally! Your advice is greatly appreciated.  Will update the post once I begin work.

 

 

[Namerow]

Might be a lot of work and a middling outcome.  Perhaps you should consider Option C, which is: Get rid of A and B and look for a better one.  They're not that rare. US$150 should get you a decent one.  Somebody here just posted info for a Z-only wrecking yard (sorry: auto reclamation center) in Washington state.  They've probably got a half-dozen sitting on a shelf.

Refurbished, you can try Z-Car Source of Arizona...

https://zcarsource.com/engine-crossmember-240z-70-73-used  (call for a price)

Alternatively, there's Motorsport Auto, who will sell you one that's their idea of 'refurbished' (cleaned, sandblasted, and painted, I assume) for $400.

Or our CZCC friend, Jim @zKars in Calgary, who seems to have at least one of everything available for sale.

[gotham22]

I didn’t see a whole lot of them online which I was thinking of salvaging one. And I was trying not to spend $400.  I didn’t see the post about the wrecking yard. Do you have a link? 

[Terrapin Z]

@gotham22 I believe the "wrecking yard" in the other post would be https://www.zspecialties.com in Snohomish, WA. His name is Oliver. His website has been under construction for years, but you can call him. 

While I am not a "wrecking yard" I too am in WA state, and I have some parts cars and could offer something to you. The two I have both have some surface rust (nothing like your examples) and are off earlier cars. One is an early 74 260 the other a 73 240. I am not sure if there were differences in these from the 78 you have.  

 

[gotham22]

From what I understand the 74 260z is the same as the 280z.  If you I have one I am interested.  I will send you a pm. 

[Terrapin Z]

It is an early 260 but it sorta looks like these superseded up to the later 280 at least in CPM mine is a 01/74

I can take measurements for you if you like. I'll send some pic's through the PM too.

[gotham22]

I was removing the fuel rail and I ran into 4 tough screws towards the front of the engine.  This one screw snapped and had I had nothing to grab. I tried a screw extractor which did nothing.  As you can see I am just making the problem worse. Any ideas? 

[Zed Head]

Horrible!

Drilling and tapping looks like the way to go.  The shavings can be kept out of the intake easily, and the mount is not a super-precise fit.  It's actually pretty loose, it's just a clamp for the injectors.

[gotham22]

To clarify, this is a screw for the fuel injector mount