My Z project is underway

[J P D]

EScanlon, i totally agree with your post. i see it all too often, i see the ads like you said for great deals on project cars because someone got in over their head. This Z is mine forever so if for some reason i cant work on it for a while or need a break or funds run out, it will be waiting for me when im ready. If it takes me 7 years to finish then thats what it takes, but when i get done this thing will be showroom quality!!! I deffinatly need to get a digi camera. Ive probably spent more money on disposable ones and then getting them developed but i just cant bring myself to go buy one. Anyway when i get some time this weekend the engine and trans are coming out. im gonna do the rebuild myself, well as much as i can, my brother is a welder and has lots of friends in the machining business that have helped us out before with rebuilding engines. im gonna do the body work too and my neighbor has a booth and all the equipement in his garage hell let me use for painting. anyway ill keep you guys updated with my progress. later

[DatsunZsRule]

kenz240z, Sounds like your reading out of the "How to Restore Your Datsun Z Car" book Just about everything you said is in that book

For sure invest in a digital camera. I finally broke down and got one myself last year and it's been money well spent in my opinion.

Once again, good luck with your project.

[26th-Z]

You tell 'em, Enrique! The cigarette lighter broke and two years later, look where I'm at!

[Ed]

Having been on both sides of the restoration picture. I can only say one thing. Enjoy it while it lasts. I'm days away from completing my restoration. I started 2 1/2 years ago and now I spend most of my time just staring at her. Looking over every detail, working out the small bugs. This coming Monday she goes back to the paint shop for her final polish. Then the emblems go back on, and then it's picture time.

What will I do next??

[J P D]

26th z, may i ask what happend, are you in the middle of a resto? or did you get "in over your head"? looks like you started with a beautiful Z.

ed, i look forward to seein some pics of your resto. i know the feeling of finishing up a restore and you just want to seal it in a airproof box so nothing will happen to your hard work. im sure cruzin it will be a blast.

kenz240z i wish i would have read your post before i bought the how to restore the z book, coulda saved some cash toward a digi camera. :classic: .

later guys.

[zman525]

heh. I hate telling my story... I bought this really nice 240z that i couldnt see a damn thing wrong with except the usual rotted battery tray area and need of floor pans. So im thinking this shouldnt be an extremely hard resto. So i finally get the whole suspension out, engine is stripped down to the block. Put a couple hundred into it and then take off the fenders for some treatment of the unibody and i find out its rusted beyond repair ( frame rails ended up being shot, front end of the unibody was so weak you could stab a screw driver through any part, rear end was made of bondo and the floors rotted up into the trans tunnel and up onto the fire wall. What im trying to get at is that although J P D's Z may look like its in nice shape but you really dont know until you take it apart. My Z looked fine when i first got it home. Hell the thing only had 50k original miles on it, but it turned out to be unrestorable. I think hes doin the right thing by stripping it down and doin it over right especially since he has the knowledge, connection, time and money to do it with. Luckily a guy had started a resto in the town next over and ended up not finishing it ( because he didnt have the time or money) And now i have a 1976 280z from cali that i just started restoring and a perfect parts car to go with it. I could wip my car together now and pass inspection and get it registered, but since i have the time to restore it ( notice how i didnt say money? =P) im gunna do it right so i know i have a nice and for the most part rust free Z on the road that i can proudly say i restored :knockedou . Ill stop blabin now but anyways enjoy the restoration!

[J P D]

Zman thats what im most scared of is riping off a fender to discover more rust. Im sure the more i take it apart the more ill find. i went over the entire car with a magnet before i bought it to make sure the best i could that there was no filler on it. i would say i made out pretty good though, the car is originally from las vegas, only been in chicago a year before i bought it, so it was never really exposed to the rust causing elements. all the key rust areas are clean. so mine shouldnt be too bad but you never know.

[zman525]

Heh the 280 i just bought came with the fenders off so i go a nice look at it =) and a real nice look at the brand new OEM fenders that came with it . I went over it with a magnet and everything seemed fine, thats why i dont understand why there was so much bondo in the rear end. I litteraly went over every square foot of it. Musta just been a strong magnet :disappoin

[kenz240z]

I got bit by the car bug as a teenager. My first car was a '64 Chevy Impala SS, and I was still in high school when I became a member of the Nebraska chapter of the Late Great Chevy Club. I met some great people through that club, and got to know a fellow real well who did complete frame off restorations of '62 Impalas (he did a couple of 409 bubble tops for Kenny Rogers once).

I was fortunate to find a good mentor, but then that is one of the gratifying parts of being an old car nut - you pass it on to the younger generation. That's what is so great about this site, it allows the folks with the knowledge & experience to share it & pass it on, thereby keeping the hobby alive. And that's something that we should all be concerned with, as some areas of the country are making it more and more difficult to keep older cars on the road.

There is no trick to restoring a vehicle. It's really an exercise in project management, and requires a good deal of planning and forethought (plus the usuals: time & money!) in order to avoid posting an ad like Enrique described. There are scores of books that have been written on the subject of auto restoration. Some focus on the nuts & bolts of a specific make & model, others take a more generic approach. As for me, I've always been a hands on kind of guy, and I've learned by doing.

My thoughts on the subject are simple: do the best work you possibly can, pay attention to detail, do it once and do it right. Its a rather rewarding feeling when someone looks at your Z and says, "Nice car!", especially when you've done the work yourself.

[EScanlon]

Actually Chris, I feel that the majority of us would agree that the approach you are taking is closer to the IDEAL plan. Total tear-down, strip, replace, rebuild...those are the primary things. That it happens to fit into the scenario I'm describing is happenstance. The tail doesn't wag the dog.

Those that I'm referring to are the ones that will sometime in the future post the ads I'm referring to, somehow I don't envision you posting such.

But you got to admit it's a damn funny coincidence!!

Ed and Ken:

Excellent points! That is what this hobby can take you to. The insanely minute examination of tiny details, of interest ONLY to another addict.

This one bears repeating:

Its a rather rewarding feeling when someone looks at your Z and says, "Nice car!", especially when you've done the work yourself.

Enrique

[26th-Z]

I know exactly what you meant, Enrique. I was joking about the cig lighter. How many "projects" have I seen over the years turn into a parts gig? Believe it or not, there is a guy in the shop bay right next to mine with a 240Z he was building into a drag car ten years ago. I'm drooling over a 1963 Lotus Elite in boxes up in St. Petersburg. Same story.

Thanks for the compliment! JPD, I am conducting a full restoration of a seriously worn out and rusted early car that is sentimental to me. I plan to drive the car for shows and club events. I'm really lucky to have this facility so close. I had to dip the car as she was rusting from the inside out from the salt humidity in Sarasota. My experience with all this takes me back to my SCCA days, with several cars under my belt. I have a vague idea of what I'm doing, however Enrique's scenario is real and fear of that outcome is one of my primary motivations.

Chris

[J P D]

hey guys, finally got around to tearing the car apart, everything came out smooth, like 40 min and the engine and trans were out, then i got the fenders and cowl and such off. as i suspected there is surface rust starting to form but nothing serious at all. http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=8408

after that roll of film was done i got the hatch and doors and some interior stuff, and the fuel tank off. So far rust is looking to be really minimal but is still worth attacking now instead of later, and lots of filth everywhere. by next weekend i should have it down to the shell so i can start the body work. later