I finally had a chance to get underneath my car that I want to work on and found that the evil rust monster has taken up most of the passenger side of the car. I was just wondering if anyone could tell me with the 78 Z car chassis.. how much is too much rust that would make it unrepairable.. also is there a good book on repairing Unibodies out there that may point me in the right direction before I start down a road I can not pass? I will post some of the pictures later on to show what it looks like.

1st question: Is it rusted through... or is it surface rust? Rusted through is bad, surface rust can be taken care of and treated so that no further damage occurs.

2nd: where else do you see rust? There are a couple good places on the z body that rust through, check these

Below the battery, along the frame rail

At the bottom of the rear hatch

Floorboards

If these are in bad shape, chances are that there is a lot of unseen rust hidden on the car. Use those spots as a guide. The worse they are, the worse stuff you'll find as you go through the car.

Also, it depends greatly on how much money you have to throw at the problem. Rust repairs get expensive really fast unless you are skilled enough to do most of the work. Even then it can "cost" you lots of time and effort.

Check the Rocker panels, and both frame rails as well.

Post some pictures ...

I have uploaded some pictures.. they are currently waiting approval but to answer some of the questions

The floor boards are rusted through on the passenger side and look to possibly be on the driver side as well but until I clean it off completely I do not know.. the frame rails seem to be ok but I just glanced at those before I had to go do something else. The rear hatch has spots that are rusted through as well.

This car is more of a educational tool for me.. I will be doing all the work myself and have never done any type of body/frame work before so I do not plan on rushing anything so if it takes me 4 years to work on oh well.. I know that the engine is in working shape and the transmission needs some work.. I was able to drive it into the garage but did that just for a test. So again thanks for any input.

If you have the time and money go for it. If anything you will learn alot doing it. Sheetmetal work can be fun and challanging. Use the proper tools, read up on how to and have fun. The hardest part of it all is fabricating parts that are not available new.

I agree. Go for it, it will be a great way to learn. If you find that you are replacing significant portions of the unibody due to rust... consider finding a "more solid" donor chassis to do the restoration on. You have a good engine and tranny you stated.... so gauge it as it goes along...

I also agree and say dig into this car. Granted you may find that it might be too much for you to handle and go get another body. But at least you'll have a better understanding of the problem areas with these cars and will know what to look at with the next body. And what to avoid.

Thanks.. does anyone know of any good books on sheetmetal work that I could read.. or just search for some at a local Barnes and Noble to see what I can find?

Barnes & Noble, Walden's Books, etc. Here in Texas we have a used book store chain called Half-Price Books. They always have something regarding autobody work. Check a place like that.

Or you could stop into a auto paint supply house. If they don't have anything there, they will be able to direct you in the right direction to get one. Good luck. It's always great to see someone willing to learn a new trade and be able to do work themselves.

I have some video tapes on sheet metal work that I got from Eastwood. http://blakkat.com/shopping/stores/eastwoodtools.htm Covell is the name of the guy who did them and they are real fun and inspirational to watch. You will soon find out that your inventory of tools may be a little short. Covell makes suggestions on welding techniques and metall hammering techniches showing you how to stretch and shrink the metal with a hammer and a dolly. He also discusses patching rust spots and such.

You can get new metal from various places. Charlie Osborne at Zedd http://www.datsunzparts.com/start.htm has probably the most popular floor pans and frame rails. Tabco http://www.tabcobodyparts.com/html/table_of_contents.htm is where I bought some rocker pieces and fender arch beads. I think VB and MSA have metal also.

A web search on automotive sheet metal repair should turn up lots of information and various sites with books to sell. Have fun. Too much rust is when you get tired of working on the car and haul it off.

I have some rust problems myself. How do you have to replacement the top half of your rear 1/4 panels? Do I have to cut them from another 240Z? Any advice would be great. It looks just a little worse now b/c I tried to fix it with some bondo and filler primer. (the bondo is cracking)

Thanks.

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=6978&password=&sort=7&thecat=500

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