Hi Guys,

i figured it was about time to do a little bit of an update on my project (especially since everyone else is getting somewhere!),

2010 has so far been a busy year, unfortunately mostly on things other than the project (getting married tends to do that to you ), though the last couple of months have been interesting!

(BTW, this whole story will be up on my blog, it may make reading the progress of the project a little easier downt the track as it gets fragmented here)

It all started with an email from a guy in melbourne to my website, he owned a 240K coupe from the late 70's. The coupe had travelled with him for a significant part of his life, and unfurtunately it was time for him to sell up in Australia, and return to his home country. He was looking for somebody to not only buy his car, but to continue giving it the love and attention that he had for so many years.

I agreed to help him find a buyer, and asked him to send through some pictures of the car. The only ones he had were relatively old (and some ancient), but he assured me that the car was still in good condition today.

I couldn't believe what i was seeing, if this car was truely in the condition that the photo's show, it was going to be an amazing car.. a real original grandma/grandpa car!

Edited August 19, 201014 yr by khughes

it sure has.. it has been infinately easier to deal with the brake lines and the bottom in general

Unfortunately the painting/prepping didn't go through as planned, so i am going to have even more use of the rotisserie in the future..

Can't wait to get the car rolling again though.

Kent

Lovely Job Kent,

I love a freshly stripped car. It's the best thing to uncover and cut out those little rust spots. If they have not already, you better cover it up quickly. I have found the best thing is what the navy use to stop rust. JAL Chemicals in Sydney make a product called RUST OFF. It's a Phosphoric & Sulfuric Acid mix that you dillute down to 20 to 1 with water. Spray it straight on and let it dry. I have left bare steel parts in a garage for over ten years without any surface rust creeping in. It's good stuff.

Anyway, are you going to lead fill or bog again. If you don't mind the weight, one is permanent done properly. But you need someone that knows how to do it without cooking the steel around the area. Those window frames would be perfect canditates. The rear quarter would probably be best beaten & shrunk.

Hi Bruce,

good to hear from you, are you still here in Sydney?

They coated it in something called Henkel Paintgrip 253 which is suppose to be good in it's current shape for 6-12 months (though apperently it can last years in good conditions), i believe they just spray it on using a spray bottle. Sounds very similar to what you have suggested.

I would love to get the car lead filled, but it seems to be somewhat of a dyeing art (unless you are paying uber $$$), and i don't have a clue who would be able to do it for me. The quote from the body shop ended up ranging from 12K (just for the metalwork)->22k.. something i wasn't prepared for (it isn't THAT bad!).. i was hoping to get all the bodywork done and the car straight and in epoxy for around $6k.

The Car is back at mum and dad's now, on the rotisserie, so i was planning on seam sealing it all again then putting a couple of coats of 2K epoxy onto the bottom followed by a couple of colour and clear coats.. It won't be perfect, but at least it will allow me to put the drivetrain in and get the thing more moveable. In the meantime, i am still looking for someone to do the bodywork.

Having said all that, the 240Z has a few spots of rust that i am not real happy with, and a bent bottom on the drivers side door (i have NO idea how that happened).. since that car is registered and in the garage down stairs i will probably get this done first.. it is killing me to know it is slowly and visably rusting away.. the pain!!

Kent

Edited June 24, 201113 yr by khughes

best to epoxy then seal

Thanks, will do..

I am still undecided on the final red colour that i want.. I am after a really solid red that "pops", kind of like the ferrari red (though for some reason i think it would be tacky to use the proper ferrari red)

i had previously been looking at the subaru legacy blitzen red (a limited edition model) or the clear red from the mazda 3/6's.. then i discovered the Mercedes Mars red.. loved it until recently when i saw one that looked quite dull in the dark/shade..

reds are really hard to judge, the only way to see what they look like is do a spray out of the colour. Hyundai have a nice red, its called Hiphop Red and the code is HL.

Yeah Mate,

Still in Sydney, I move house in the last 6 months and I'm still recovering. I cannot find a thing. I'll have to drop over some time and drool all over your good work. Hell $12-22K, did you mention you did not want it gold plated. You could probably read up on the Pb filling. I have seen it done and it does not look that hard. You could probably talk to a lead light or window guy about some tricks. Basically you need a big wide torch head that just heats up the whole area, then you rub a stick or Pb in. Use a spatular to push it around to shape. Then let it cool and file or rasp away the excess to the shape you want. Those window frames would be a good area to start.

PS - Don't loose that oil cooler, I'll get it one day;-)