Welding floor pans in Pittsburgh m240?

[skip260z]

Anyone - (m240? - you in Pittsburgh?) - know of a bodyshop in Pittsburgh that can weld frame rails and floor pans in?

Detected a bit of rust on the one rail, so I know there's more...

TIA!

Skip

in Pittsburgh

[m240]

I just had it done at Richlin Imports in Harrison City. Cost about 1200 but I had a set of floor pans from Motorsport to put in. Their phone number is 724-744-4044.

Mark

[ZmeFly]

two people in pa that are close to me with 240's :stupid:

wow i never knew and they frequent this board too

hey if you guys ever care to meet up sometime i think that would be great.

here i am thinking that im the only one in southwestern pa with 240 or a Z for that matter:classic:

btw im in uniontown

[m240]

Before we get together I have to get my z running. Right now I am "refreshing" the carbs. After that I have to get some paint on it and do some interior work. I'll let you know when its ready. Btw a friend of mine from monroeville has a 71. I guess there are a few z's around pittsburgh.

Mark

[Dougherty2]

HAY I live in new Wilmington PA 50 miles north of pittsburg if you have a get togther let me know . I got a 280zxt and a 240 72. I would like to come shoot the breezzzzz. let me know.

[ZmeFly]

im up for it anytime anyone else is

james

[skip260z]

Originally posted by m240

I just had it done at Richlin Imports in Harrison City. Cost about 1200 but I had a set of floor pans from Motorsport to put in. Their phone number is 724-744-4044.

Mark

$1200? I would have thought it would have been more - did you also have them do the frame rails? I could imagine that would be a much larger job.. What did the repair look like, just the footwells and floorpans, or did they "overlap" the rails?

Reason I ask is that the one rail on mine has a "bubble", which I'm sure is going to mean a rail replacement in the future. The floors are "OK", in that they have been patched here and there, but no rust holes remain.

[skip260z]

Originally posted by ZmeFly

im up for it anytime anyone else is

james

A West PA Z-event would be kinda neat... I'm glad to know that there are a few more 1st gens than I thought existed around these parts. I know one person for sure; they have (or had, as I rarely get over to there side of town) a one owner 72, white. I just happened to be driving by one day and noticed it parked outside of their garage. Stopped and BS'd with him a bit, it was his wifes. I've never seen it "on the road" though.

And another 1st gen; someone on the IZCC digest is from around these parts; he told me that he used to work at Bill Gray Nissan a few years back. They were the only Nissan dealer in the area that still had a mechanic that "knew" 1st gens. He told me that the old guy retired.

Did any of you ever work at Thrift Drug out in RIDC, Ohara Twp? reason I ask is that years ago I used to see a decent 280Z parked there.. was tempted to leave him a note on his windsheild to see if he'd sell his car. Years later, I found my own.

Which leads me to - where did you all get your Z's?

Original owners? Travel somewhere to bring it back?

Older Z's are so few and far between around here...

Take care all!

[ZmeFly]

i had bought mine from california and brought it back here. i figured if im going to get a first gen im not finding one in the rust belt thats going to be what i want.

so off i went and 3000 later i have a really nice 71. it still needs here and there but slowly and hopefully by next summer once i pull her off the road for her winter rest she'll be just what i want

well i dont know where your at as im not or havent been a long time resident of these parts.

im living in uniotown, off of 51 and 119 respectively and also 40. hehe if you know of these 43 is close too.

id love to have a lil get together before my baby goes to the garages for a transformation

2.8 turbo, 944 ic, 3 inch exhaust, (booooooooost!!) hehe, 14x7 panasport lookalikes, energy suspension kit all around. new tokickos struts, CF clutch, havent decided between a lsd unit for the R180 from quaife or a 3.7 out of a turbo 300ZX. im sure theres more im missing but thats what i want to complete this winter at least.

she will be a screaming rocket when she returns next spring hehehehe

[m240]

Originally posted by skip260z

$1200? I would have thought it would have been more - did you also have them do the frame rails? I could imagine that would be a much larger job.. What did the repair look like, just the footwells and floorpans, or did they "overlap" the rails?

Reason I ask is that the one rail on mine has a "bubble", which I'm sure is going to mean a rail replacement in the future. The floors are "OK", in that they have been patched here and there, but no rust holes remain.

Actually they replaced both floor pans, reinforced the passenger frame rail, and repaired some rusted thru areas under the battery. For $1250 I thought I got alot of work done. It needed other work done also that I thought they were a little high on but I would recommend them. I found most places wouldn't even touch this kind of work.

Mark

[m240]

I was looking for an older sports car last year and when i mentioned it to a freind of mine he told me had had 2- a 73 auto and a 71 parts car. I had owned a 76 280z about 20 years ago so I had already been bitten by the z bug. Both had been sitting for about 7 or 8 years inside and I could have them pretty cheap. I got the 73 in march and found that the auto tranny was shot so I picked up the 71 in april and put the motor and manual tranny from it into the 73. I have been working on the 73 on and off since then trying to restore it. Later today i am putting the carbs back on that I rebuilt and I hope it runs better. I live in Export and would love to get together when ever I get this car back in shape but it looks like its not going to be done until next year.

Mark

[skip260z]

Originally posted by m240

Actually they replaced both floor pans, reinforced the passenger frame rail, and repaired some rusted thru areas under the battery. For $1250 I thought I got alot of work done. It needed other work done also that I thought they were a little high on but I would recommend them. I found most places wouldn't even touch this kind of work.

Mark

It does sound like you got a lot done for the $1250.!

I'm still debating whether to press on with my Z and get this work done, or just throw in the shop rag and dump it at for a push/pull/tow trade-in.

I can't say my Z has consumed a ton of cash, but I have spent some bucks on it, plus the considerable lost time in my garage. If I keep it - will have to spend more cash and even more time. And I just don't see it being worth it anymore. I try to explain that I'm trading my time for lack of repair-shop money, but that doesn't go very far.

It's my "disheartened attitude" that revealed your bodyshop's reaction; "I found most places wouldn't even touch this kind of work." Have heard that one before from others.

The logic is that when the bodyshops get done and present the bill, the owners freak over what "their old car" now costs them, and decide it's not worth paying for it. Have even heard that bodyshops jack up the estimate on purpose, to weed out the hobbyists from the serious restoration customers. Plus there is much more business from collision repairs than doing little tasks for anal, nitpicking owners. Like me.

Anyway... I got my old 260 in the pre-Internet days, found it by chance in Overbrook and bought it without thinking (and without knowing squat about Zs) from the 3rd owner, who bought it from a North Carolina transplant. It's pretty solid thanks to it's NC heritage, and is the main reason I have hung on to it as long as I have.

Like the rest of you, I'm getting ready to tuck mine away for winter hibernation, so maybe we can all get together next summer. It'd be neat to see reactions from the public when they see several 1st gens together!