280z1975

I hadn't thought about that ... a body roller that is attached like a rotisserie. I like the idea because the concept is much easier (and a bit safer) than that of a body rotisserie and much easier for me to fabricate for what I want to do (move the car with the engine and still in it. Well guys, when I am back look for some plan to be made for a new design / alternative to the traditional rotisserie.

Hello all, Well I would like to say thanks for all the help I have been getting so far and I thought I would introcude myself to the Classic Zcar Club. I have recently accuired a 1975 280z. The Z came from my uncle. He has owned it for as long as I can remeber and I think he got it when it was only 2 years old. The Z sat in the garage till about 1999 or so when my uncle and his daughter began to fix it up. He had the engine rebuilt and made it mechanicaly sound so that it could be daily driven and refreshed on the weekends. After a year the clutch went and the car sat in the garage till November of 2005. This is when at Thanksgiving dinner I was talking about how I would rather use an audio input jack than a cassette adapter to run my music in my 96' Sentra. My uncle said, "Well you can have the one out of the Z before I have it towed away." I was like, "What? Your going to have the Z towed away?" In the back of my head I knew I would like to have another car when I moved to Hamilton, Ontario with my fiancee, so I asked if I could have the car. A week or two later and the car was at the mechanics and the journey begins. I am going to have this one as a daily driver. I am firm believer that cars are ment to be driven. Look to Jay Leno, he own a boat load of cars and drives them all. So I am going to refresh this to a high standard and enjoy the car. But first, it's time to prepare it for the world out there and all the rust it brings. I don't have the cash to do a full restoration on it, but would rather put $2,000 into saving this Z and having a cool car than buying a regular used $2,000 car. Anyways, down the line once I am more monetarialy set I can do all the extra perks to the car to maker her right. I have read how much some of you guys put into your car and gone :surprised I have a website where I will keep photos and track progress of the car. I want to chronicle how to do a Z up well, but on a budget. http://gregggermer.com/280z.htm I plan to do a few article write-ups and keep track of all the information I find to help make the next persons a job in restoring a bit easier. I started this whole process knowing very little, so if I can do it anyone can. Note: Photos of the car before will be comming soon. I am still at the fiancee's for the holidays.

I have read that thread and liked a lot of the information. My biggest problem is the money I have to put into my Z at the moment (I have the effort and time). Even $475 for a rotisserie is a bit more than I want to spend (about 1/4 of my budget). I am looking for a rotisserie that I can put my car on without having to remove the engine (it's mechanicaly good and the engine bay won't be painted this time around). This is why I want to put it on that body roller / rotisserie thing I posted about earlier. If I can't find a solution I will do the body work the hard way. I use to weld trailers and other stuff in the same positions. I will also go to a metal fab shop to ask about the body roller idea and how much to make. My biggest concern is the stress to the body of the car and things it could damage.

Ok, So now that I have a good idea on how I am going to work on my frame rails and put on a new undercoating on my car comes the fun part of putting the car on a rotisserie. I saw this link for a different sort of rotisserie http://www.cjautos.org.uk/phdi/p1.nsf/supppages/cjautos?opendocument&part=4 Any opinons of this? Sources to buy or plans to build? Would this damage my suspension or other parts of my car? I don't plan on doing a full strip of my car (the engine will still be in it) but most of the body panels will be comming off and other stuff. Second, I know there is a guy in Houston who makes rotisserie's for z's? But I couldn't find his information. Also is there anyone in the Houston area that has a rotisserie they could loan me for a bit? Thanks for the help.

This problem has sorta crossed my mind. I don't want to go to all this trouble of eleminating rust, welding on some frame rail's then later on learnering I need to put those very same frame rails off to get to a rust problem. There are some high temperature paints out there, but none that I remeber can withstand the temperatures of welding (even on the backside of the weld where it's not as high of a temp but still really hot). Yeay, one more thing to worry about. :tapemouth

I have Wick Humble's Book, How to repair your Z and the 1975 service manual for reading material. I have read Humble's book and it's great. If I run into any problems I will be sure to ask the forum or consult the people I know around the Houston area (It's nice to have a best friend that works at a body shop :laugh: Now if I can only get back home from the holidays and start working on my Z. :lick:

Gary, Thanks for the suggestion on getting the frame rails first. I don't plan on just welding over the frame rails, but more cutting out the bad areas that are rotted through (all on the bottom and not the sides of the frame rail). Then adding Por 15 and other products to treat it and then adding the frame rails over the existing ones. I don't want to do a half way done job. I have read up on Por 15 and feel like I will be able to use it properly. If I run into trouble I will PM you.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have seen Zedd Findings before and thought about going with them but found this site and liked them. http://www.baddogparts.com/ They make a deal that fits right over the old frame rail and helps to stiffen the whole thing up. What's your thoughts on these and going this route. Anything tricky to this repair or is it a strait up cut the rust, weld on patches, treat it and paint it job? -Gregg-

Hello all, This is my first post, but I have been lurking for the past three weeks. So the quick version about how I aquired my Z. My uncle has been a Z car lover for a long time and had a 75' Z in his garage (it's been there as long as I can remeber) and recently at Thanksgiving I said I wished I had a stereo with an audio line-in. He said, "You can have the one out of the Z before I have it towed away" I was like :cross-eye and asked if I could have the Z. I was looking for a second car for me and my fiancee to use and I would rather put 2,000 into a Z and save it than buy some used hunk of junk. The car has a completely rebuilt engine (done by my uncles friend who done drag engines) and was only drivin a little bit for a year after the rebuild. The body is in 'ok' shape, most of the rust on it is from a neglectiful mechanic who let it sit outside for three months with the windown partially down! (prevention is such an easy thing). Overall it's a great car and I can't wait to get it to a quality state (I am not going for a full refurb or show car as I want this as a daily driver and frankly I don't have that kind of money at the moment (a new house to be bought and a wedding are preventing that from happenting) Anyways, I have attached some photos of the passenger side frame rail (it is rotted through) and would like to know the best course of action. I searched for past articles and couldn't find anything. I plan on cutting away the rot, brushing away the rust, using chemical rust removal and Por-15 (sandblasting if I can find a place to do it) then welding on new frame rails. That's the short version. Thanks for the help in advance. I will be posting more once the holidays are done. -Gregg Germer-