240z - fabbing new front rails

[ConVerTT]

1 hour ago, wheee! said:

I recommend the Valspar DTM Primer and Sealer. More money than the dominion brand but sprays and sands way better.


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I will keep that in mind.  My supplier carries Valspar.  Hopefully they are still open ....

[ConVerTT]

Man ... this took a lot longer than it should have ...

 

 

for @wheee! - failed attempt laying on the floor pan ?

 

 

Just about there....Sorry I didn't take more pics.  
 

The process is pretty straight forward - basically measure, bend, shrink, shrink, shrink, stretch, stretch, stretch, test fit, ???, stretch, stretch, shrink, test fit, more ???and so on till ???

Still have to work the PS tomorrow ...

Edited April 4, 2020 by ConVerTT

[wheee!]

Still looks good to me...!


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[ConVerTT]

Fabbed up the PS dogleg repair...it went a lot faster than the DS ...

 

 

 

I think this will be the most important angle when it is finished  - looking down while getting in ....

 

 

[ConVerTT]

And welded up the DS as well ....a bit of Bondo and she'll be good as new(ish)  ...

 

 

 

 

[wheee!]

Never under estimate the power of well applied bondo.


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[ConVerTT]

So now that the dog legs are fixed, I can final fit the rear quarters and the wheel house repair panels.   The plan is to fit them and Cleco them in place and then weld and panel bond them in place when the car is on the rotisserie.  It's tricky because the quarter panel and the door edge and the wheel house all need to line up perfectly...

First, the wheel house ....

before...pretty rotted ...

 

I decided it would be simple to cut back to good metal and section in the new wheel house.  Cut line (one metal ruler width from the flange)...

Same width cut on the new wheel house patch ...

 

I put a flange on the new sections and Cleco'd them in.  They will get lap welded in place once the car is on the rotisserie....

 

 

 

 

Edited April 10, 2020 by ConVerTT

[ConVerTT]

 View of the wheel houses through the hatch ...

 

View from underneath ...

 

Done ... next just have to drill and Cleco the quarter panels ...

 

Edited April 10, 2020 by ConVerTT

[ConVerTT]

Lined up and clamped the rear quarter panels in place ...

and then replaced each clamp with a Cleco ...

Then same drill on the driver's side ...

 

It's starting to feel like working on an actual car ...???

 

Edited April 10, 2020 by ConVerTT

[wheee!]

That’s some really good progress Kent!


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[ConVerTT]

Thanks!  Managed to make a good push this week !

[ConVerTT]

On 2/29/2020 at 8:32 PM, ConVerTT said:

Haha - no.  It's the US Car Tool DIY kit - it has all the hardware, just buy, cut, weld your HSS. 

 I bought it on kijiji 5 -6 years ago from a lady who divorced a guy with an unfinished 280z project (true story ??).  
 

http://store.uscartool.com/car-rotisserie-kit.html

So I am pretty disappointed with the US Car Tool design...the rotating head is "inelegant" let's just say, and the mechanical locking mechanism comes with built in finger pincher/skin rippers IMO...

So, since I am a DIY kind of guy, I started looking for better alternatives.  I saw this one on MZR Motorsports FB page and thought "Hmmm... Yes!"

Soo .. off to Princess Auto and the hardware store ....

And a few hours later I think I have a working prototype of the rotator head...

It based on a 1" drive shaft with a 1/4" key.  Very standard stuff, so adding "options' is literally just like building with Lego.  The worm gear should hold the car in position, but I have added a simple mechanical lock (basically a pinion gear and bolt) for added security.   Also I do prefer that the hubs are welded to the rotator arm and so the driveshaft goes right through the arm (as opposed to being just welded to the arm - again extra safety factor).  

 

Unfortunately - no time to weld until Monday so this is just a mock up / teaser for now ....?

 

 

Edited April 15, 2020 by ConVerTT