pulled front fenders

[carguyinok]

I wish I had done this long ago. I had always thought of pulling my front fenders. I just never did this due to the fear of how hard it may be. I was wrong. Each fender took me about 15 minn. each.

Wow am I A happy camper.:classic: . I do have A 90% rust free Z. I would say to anyone going deep into there Z PULL THEM.

I found alot of sand and road grime in there that would have started some real rut problems. Most of this was stuck up near the frame work in the lower part of the front 1\4s just in front of the door.

I did find the little surface rust dots here and there but nothing that I would worry about. I do plan on scuffing off the rust dots (size if pin heads yes surface not from the inside) and running A solid weld up the frame work. Then coat it.

Is there anything I should be looking for that may not be seen very easy.

I will post some photos soon.

[carguyinok]

yup, there off.

[EScanlon]

Not sure as to where you plan to run a full weld seam in that area, but it sounds as though you might be looking to do much more work than you need to.

Several items of interest and attention in that area.

You'll note that the drain tube for the cowling is right behind the fender support bracket, and the hose ends just a couple inches into the cavity. This is the source of the majority of sand and gunk behind the fender. The "drain" hole is actually the space between the fender and the inner brace on the fender. NOT a good idea and a prime rust spot for the 240 /260 / 280 series vehicles.

I'm doing that mod right now, and although NOT concours it is something that will eliminate that problem. I'm running a small section of hose from the drain to the space between the inner support and the body. In this manner the water that seeps into the cowling area will in turn drain directly to ground rather than into the space behind the fender.

As far as the inner fender support, make sure that the inner edge has the non hardening caulking still in good shape and that the outer edge also has the closed cell foam rubber also in good shape. The back of the fender (closest to the door) also takes closed cell foam rubber. You might have a hard time finding this as a loose item, but Pickup Truck Camper Tape is the same thing. You might have to double tape it to achieve the same thickness.

The top seam should also get a strip of caulking to keep it sealed.

There's another potential trouble spot up there as well. If you look at the edge where the top of the fender screws onto the lip, (essentially the engine compartment) you will note that there is a "drain hole" that is usually (in my experience) clogged with the original seam sealer used at the factory. You need to open this up so that the water can actually drain.

Also when you put your fender back on, put a small strip of non hardening caulking between the headlight scoop and the fender itself as well as on the top edge right by the engine compartment.

There are other things in there to check, but the biggest is probably to give it a good shot of either paint or POR. Especially in the areas where water can get trapped.

2¢

[carguyinok]

Thank you for the note on the drain tube. I will be doing the same. The welding I was talking about was on the top seam and the lower frame rails. I dont think that the welding on the top seam would do much as far as making it stronger. But I cant help think that it would help them hold up over time. Better then the stock pinch welds.

The caulking & tape parts. I went out and took photos of each side so I could look back and see what was done where. But thanks for the heads up on the truck camper tape. Now thats thinking.

I was talking with my body guy today and I think we are going to sandblast the whole front just to be sure it's 100% clean then give it A coat of paint (stock black ).

Thanks again.

[EScanlon]

Ahh, now I know where you are referring to as far as welding. IMO I don't think you are going to gain much other than the welding experience and the expense if you are paying someone else. Check the pinch welds, if they are in good condition then rust-proof instead of welding.

I've been using POR wherever I've exposed metal that shows the original galvanizing and no paint. Also wherever I know that metal will be "hidden" but yet susceptible to moisture or direct water. The inner part of the fenders have already been POR'ed and they look great.

I've just pressure washed the fenderwell and removed 98% of the undercoating. I plan on wire brushing / stripping the rest and then using POR to coat all exposed metal. Afterwards I'll be treating all the pinch welds and metal overlaps to the POR Seam sealer just to make sure there are no openings to allow water to creep in.

I haven't yet decided whether I'll be using any Body Shutz undercoating or any other form of undercoating even though it would help as far as road noise and rock chips underneath.

Make sure that you either replace or restore the rubber skirt gasket that goes in the top part of the frame to seal the top part of the fender. This is part of the weather sealing that Datsun used. Personally, I think it's a stop gap and not very effective, but it DOES help stop some of the road grunge you run into.

Don't forget to make sure that the little rubber triangle skirt gaskets are in good shape on the bottom of the fender support bracket.

Before I forget, do yourself a favor and check the plastic sleeves that go on your headlight, turn and side markers. Mine were so cracked that they fell apart in removing the lights from the housings. Also check the back of the headlight "acorn" / cup or whatever you want to call it. It is directly exposed to the grit blast from the tire so put something on it to protect it from rusting.

I personally went out and bought all Stainless Screws for this area. I had snapped off so many in removal that I had to replace them anyhow, and I know that it was mostly due to metal fatigue due to rust.

By the way, the non hardening caulking I was referring to is 3m 08578 Strip-Calk. It comes in strips and they are packaged in between wax paper. You basically take a strip lay it on the edge you want and tighten down the bolts, or you can place it between two pieces of wax paper and pre-squish it to flatten it. This is the stuff that Wick Humble refers to as "dum-dum".

Lastly, take the time NOW to at least run a tap through all the fixed nuts. Then when you reassemble, use lock washers and some Never-Seize. Yes, Never-Seize. Loc-tite is great but the problem here isn't that they'll rattle loose, at least not if you use the proper lock washers. The problem is that if you ever need to remove the fender again you don't want to have to once again have the screws rusted in place.

Hope this helps.

Enrique Scanlon

[Guycali]

Ha! 15min for each fender? Try 2 hours on just one fender!!! The two philips screws under the cowl panel were seized with rust. No matter how much WD40 I sprayed, they just wouldn't budge. I had no choice but ended up using a locking vice grip to bite on the round heads and turn them a little by little. Well after 2 hours, I finally got one screw off and the other one deformed with 1/4 of a turn loosen. :mad: To be continued next weekend...

Did they come with philips head screws under the cowl panel from the factory? Whoever designed or replaced the fasteners with screws should be shot!

-Guycali

[Dreco]

I second the motion Guycali. My small pair of needle nose vice grips, was the BEST tool in the bag on that day!!!

[Catman]

I got mine off in about 15 min/side as well. This post will be helpful when I start going back together. The fenders are being blasted on the inside and then POR'd, as are the inner supports.

Thanks for all the comments, Enrique.

Andy

[beandip]

POR is the answer for this repair , if done correctly you will never have rust again. But you need to follow instructions. The hose escanlon was referring to that comes from tha cowl and dumps into the "chamber" at the rear of the fender , look to use a 1" 45degree pvc coupling and some vinyl hose that is about 11/4" , the clear stuff sold at home depot , the hose will slip fit over the pvc fitting and just run it out the bottom of the chamber . I will for sure POR this area well. I am into this repair right now , I have sanblasted and pressure washed the whole front end and engine bay and removed the batt support . This is a big sorce of trouble in that moisture and dirt can seep under the seam of metal that is spotwelded to the inner fender, I have por ed the whole area and the battery support and bolted it back in place so it is protected betwween the two pieces , insted of welding , I used por on the bolts and nuts sealing them as well and I know they will not come loose.

[MicksZ]

You may call my bashful but I would have just grinded the heads off the screws, and drilled them out and then re-tapped the thread. Saves time - 2hrs for one bolt - I give you credit for your patience... Wish I had that much...