Well i started distruction on the Z today. Taking the front right hand fender off so i could start cutting out the old frame rail.

After i got it pulled apart i discovered alot of crash damage.

The rail that the upper shock gose into. Just behind the tower is bent pretty badly. Somebody made a atempt at fixing it. It was cut and welded but the weld is cracking badly.

This isnt a teribly bad thing im cutting the whole section out due to rust anyways. But it scares me. I hope the main part of the frame aint warped or something. Evan with the old sterring parts i changed it still drove straight. And hasnt warn the tires badly. But I might be in deeper trouble then i thought.

This could explain why the fender and hood didnt exactly lighn up. :mad:

Ill have pics up soon if i can get taken in the am.

Oops i found more. There are welded up cracks behind the passenger door as well. Man am i in for some work

Keep going Bill-there is a beautiful Z at the end of the tunnel!

Will

It was free!

Behind the suspension assembly there is a plate that tends to rust out on the Z's it's at the bottom where the chassis is. If that's what your talking about then it's a normal problem in Z's. Pictures would be a good way for us to assess the damage and provide opinion. It could be one of the reasons for the panels not lining up correctly but sometimes it's more the way the panels are put on that causes bad alignment.(provided it's not too badly damaged).

Anyway as Will says don't let it put you off we've all had a car with some form of hidden gremlin I think.

Ill get pics up asap. After wrk today maybe

It was free!

Hey Billy, guess that's why it had an early 280Z door on the right side. Sorry about what you're finding. I always knew it had problems, I thought it was just rust related. Hang in there.

Chris

It aint your fault man you dont have anything to be sorry for. It was a free car. It can and will be repaired. I owe you so much how could i complain?