mattbibbey

i've sourced a chassis rail/leg 300 british pounds from a uk company. Also stuff like the radiator support panel i'll be needing. they are about 300 UK pounds each, floor pans for 300 the pair,rear wheel arch repair panel 100. I don't think that's too expensive. (opinions please) Can anyone tell me their favourite method of extracting siezed nuts and bolts? I'm going to copper grease every nut and bolt that goes back on the car, does this make sense? I helped (actually i supplied the beers) when my mate was restoring a triumph tr6, he gave me the idea for the copper grease. Cheers Matt

Yes. My local club is the my next step. I've sent an email to the guy running the Z club of great britain so should hear back from him within a week hopefully. Since my last post earlier, i've taken out the rear glass and put in a safe place. I'd been worrying a bit breaking it accidentally during the work.

Yeah i did look when you first suggested but now i kind of like that when mine is finished, i'll be getting towards expert and will be able to do any job the car requires! Haha. But jokes aside, i am kind of enjoying it at the moment and it will be nice to know i did it all (with a little help from my friends at the classic z car club!!). I think i've discovered the worst of the rot now, it's all up front, the rear doesn't look half as bad from what i can see so far. Most of the bolt i'm trying to remove are VERY WELL SIEZED on but they're coming off slowly. My biggest problem is going to be sourcing parts. I recently bought something from the states and got hammered by revenue and customs. I realy need to find a Z suplier in the European Union to avoid the taxes. ANY IDEAS? Cheers again guys Matt

Arrrrgh! Yes, that is exactly what i was talking about! Bad times for me ahead then. From what i can feel with my hand up in the arch, they're both totally knackered. Why is my Z fighting me so much? However, some good news, the clutch has bizarrely unsiezed itself. Does that sound surprising? Also, as recomended, i have bought a copy of " how to restore your datsun z car" by Wick Humble. Thanks again!

Yes it does thanks. What's the bit above the front wheel arch? On my datsun, it's rusted to hell! Is it structural?

Thanks for the heads up! I have to agree with HS30 H- Alan, when he says that there are far more pressing issues that need my attention at the moment! It's a shame because the things that need fixing first aren't the ones that look the best haha. Oh well, i'm going to start practising with my mig welder next week, i have a spare full bottle and reel which i'm sure i won't need. There's a bit of metal directly above what i've taken this picture of, it's at the top of the wheel arch, it's totally rusted away. Does anyone know what i'm talking about? Also, does anyone have a diagram or picture showing the datsun 240Z chassis with everything else removed? I'd love to see it! Cheers guys

yeah, fair one. I've just bought a mig welder so I should be able to do some of the welding jobs but i'll get help with the really structural stuff like this. Thanks for your comment, I love it when people say that it can be repaired!

I've been working on the premis that nothing is unfixable!

can anyone tell me if this bad? (the picture above that is) I think it's the front sway bar, where it joins the chassis? Please correct me if i'm wrong, I still have an awful lot to learn!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbibbey/3913385806/" title="Oh dear, I think this is bad. by matt bibbey, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2555/3913385806_17ea043583.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Oh dear, I think this is bad." /></a>

yeah i think you're right! There's a lot of crap that i can sense although i haven't seen it yet! The inside of the car is stripped now except the wiring at the back and i've even got all the sound deadening crap out too! With regards to the book mentioned, "how to restore your datsun Z car", where might I find this book, as you can tell, i am in need of direction on the order in which things should come off and stuff. I have the Haynes manual and the factory service manual/ workshop manual. I've also removed the carbs and manifold with all the stuff attatched to it today (took some doing) and i've loosened off the cam cover, i took it off briefly to have a look and it all looks good, no signs of wear or lack of oil, odd since the car has done 126,000 miles! the intake manifold was full of some crap that looked like sand and bread crumbs, it was going into the engine too. What am i to do if the chassis is rotten when i finally get to it? This is my biggest worry!! Cheers again guys Matt P.S. posted more pics.

Does anyone know about having my dash re-skinned? or whatever? The cover of it stinks and is dirty and uncleanable (if that's a real word) and right hand drive dashes are very expensive from what i can find online so far.

does anybody know a cheap place i can get replacement seats from, mine absolutely STINK!!!! Can't get rid of the smell! I also need something doing to the dash board, it smells too but it also looks very dirty and i can't make it look ok. Any ideas?

BAD. REALLY BAD! The tail gate needs replacing, and there's a few patches of rust on the edges of the rear quarter where they join the tailgate. I'll post a picture of it if you're interested. the locking mechanism is unreckognisable, it's just a mass ball of rust. When they're all striped down, can you see any of the actual chassis?

Yeah i looked through all your pics. As you can see from my pics I haven't taken the body panels off yet but i can feel that something underneath the top of the wings is about as sound and strong as wet toilet paper so that will get me down a bit!

Cheers for that mate! I finally got it off today! What a lot of hard work. Some of the srews fastening the heater cables and stuff were rusted on so had to snip the wire :0(

Hi guys, I'm having some serious problems! I can't get the dash board off! I've undone all the bolts (I think) and i can tell that there's something to do with the heater that's preventing me lifting it clear. How do I disconnect that for a start? Did anyone see the front wings on my pictures? I've looked them over and there's only a small patch of rust on the bottom of the right side one, none at all on the left one!!! RESULT!! If anyone can explain to me how the dash comes away I'd be very grateful. Thanks once again Matt

Montezuma, my triple carbs are webers. They've had a really good clean up! I've got it all to do before they go on. The car has ( at the moment) the original hitatchi's.