New 240Z owner!

[Stealth240Z]

Goodness, way to make a guy feel good. Haha! Besides stating the obvious about the car's condition, would you guys answer some of the questions that I asked? Yes, it needs a ton of work, but I know it can live once again.

[wheee!]

I would take a step back and find another frame I think...

Sorry, that looks like a lot more than Rustoration.... More like a resurrection!

[grannyknot]

Man,....  I would start looking for another car.

It's those dog legs, they are too far gone and you haven't even got the interior out yet.

Your car, your labour, but I'm just saying there are better cars out there that worth putting your effort into.

That kind of rust can be soul sucking. I hope I'm wrong.

[Stealth240Z]

Seriously? You don't think that creating or simply installing new frame rails and some floors will do the trick? The driver side really is not bad at all!

[grannyknot]

It's not the floors or the rails that are the problem, they are fairly straight forward, it's the doglegs and where they connect to the rear subframe. It is not an area that lends it self to patching.

Pull the interior so you can see all the metal, take an old screw driver and start stabbing.

If the metal is good you won't hurt anything, explore the whole car like that.

Get the front fenders off and examine the hollow archs over the wheel wells, they are constructed of thin

20ga sheet and they usually rot from the inside out.

[Stealth240Z]

Oh, I gotcha. And that was the area that I thought wasn't going to be a huge deal. Great, now I'm getting a bit depressed... Ok, will do...

[Mark Maras]

 The right firewall is usually worse because of the battery location. Corrosion from the battery wipes out the battery holder, fender well, firewall and often the frame.

 After looking at the pics, it's not practical to rebuild it. The seams that you will be attaching to, on these cars, were spot welded and rust creeps between the layers & just keeps going. You'll have trouble finding solid metal to weld to.

 I don't know what the market is like in your part of the country but around here you can pick up a repairable Z ( floorpans & rails & lots of work) for $1500.00 - $2500.00. The more money the less rust but there is ALWAYS rust. The good thing about your situation is you already have a good parts car.(Sorry). Your new one can be & will be a hybrid of parts from both cars.

[wheee!]

All good points above. Its a tough bone to chew but there's no meat left if you get my drift...

[ksechler]

There isn't enough of that car left to save.  Sorry, but no amount of enthusiasm can make up for the fact that the car doesn't have any structure left.  I'm surprised it doesn't sag.  No restoration guru would touch it.  Take everything worth saving and find another chassis. 

 

Take a step back and answer a few questions:

 

1).  Does the chassis still line up?  I seriously doubt it.

 

2).  How will you keep it from folding in half when you put it on a rotisserie?  

 

3).  Have you sourced and priced all the repair panels you will need?  What's the cost?

 

4). Is there really anything special about this particular z?  There are others available.

 

If nothing else #3 should clinch it.  The price for repair panels alone would exceed the cost of a much better chassis.

 

As always, good luck, and don't misunderstand me.  This is my opinion - you're free to do as you wish.  

[Stealth240Z]

I truly appreciate your detailed outline. I NEVER thought that I'd own a 240Z at my age, so it's the fact that I actually do, but now am seeing that it might be totally irreparable, that is just totally depressing me... I have the base car now so I can slowly work on it when money permits. I can't just shell out $1000 or more for another shell, as I simply do not make enough. So, are the dog legs completely irreparable, even with a ton of custom metal work?

[wheee!]

I truly appreciate your detailed outline. I NEVER thought that I'd own a 240Z at my age, so it's the fact that I actually do, but now am seeing that it might be totally irreparable, that is just totally depressing me... I have the base car now so I can slowly work on it when money permits. I can't just shell out $1000 or more for another shell, as I simply do not make enough. So, are the dog legs completely irreparable, even with a ton of custom metal work?

 

 

If the $1000 for another shell is out of your league, then the $20,000 or so to do a complete restoration is going to kill you....

 

Sorry son, time to put this one behind you I think. I used to hate the fact that only the old dudes drove nice old cars. Now I realize it's because the time, money and knowledge to rebuild these cars comes with age....

 

I wish I could have all the old cars I used to drive as a young man back. Then maybe I could restore them as I should have. Keep your dream alive, save the parts you can and wait for a better frame to come up for sale. Take your time and save your money for now. I drooled over the 280's my 'rich' friends drove in high school. Now I'm almost 50 and I can afford a nice new 370Z AND restore a 280 of my own! A dream come true but, alas, it was time that made it come true!

 

Best of luck and thank you for sharing your dream. Hope we haven't crushed your desire to restore a Z one day!

Edited October 28, 2015 by wheee!

[Stealth240Z]

I understand, but I am not giving up quite yet. I will dig around some more and see if it really is a dead horse. Who knowws, I might find another shell!