240z - fabbing new front rails

[Patcon]

My thoughts on corrosion go something like this. After we go to these kind of lengths to restore these cars, most of them will see very little inclement weather and no salt. They survived being exposed to those things until we got them. So they should last a lot longer than the 47 years or so if not exposed to those elements. In addition, most of us will treat the inside of these components and seam seal the chassis that was lacking originally.

[ConVerTT]

All true @Patcon

[ConVerTT]

On the other hand, we also tend to beef up suspension and drivetrain, plus the power levels, so strength of structure is still an important discussion ...

[Namerow]

Somewhat (but not completely) off topic, here's an interesting video that shows how the Volvo P1800ES sportwagon's structure was put together in the day.  Offers some good insights into lay-up jigs, spotwelding equipment, etc.  These cars were not built to the dimensional standards of the Z and used assembly techniques that were somewhere between custom-build and volume-build (note the use of tin snips), but were very much of the same era.  The lead-seam-filling sequences really caught my eye.

https://binged.it/2UdwaNG 

or,

 

[ConVerTT]

Had kind of a lazy afternoon testfitting sheet metal before welding in the rockers ....

 

not perfect but workable ....

Nice parallel lines ...

Inner fender repair fits decent ....

Funny how no two sugar scoops are identical ....

 

 

 

 

Edited April 2, 2019 by ConVerTT
Typo

[ConVerTT]

Made a bit of progress on the rad support ...

templating ....

Laying out the template and the bead roll pattern ....

 

 

Got most of the hard part done....

 

Should be able to wrap it up in the next few days ....

[ConVerTT]

Not much today.  Managed to get the upper inner bracing made and everything fitted and Cleco’d in.  Hopefully punching holes tomorrow ....

[Namerow]

Out of curiosity (I've never looked this up), how much does a Cleco cost?  (Cdn $ please). 

How many do you have in your shop? (I see 13 in use in your most recent picture, with possibly 6 - 12 more hidden from view).

What are the advantages of a Cleco over a sheet-metal screw?

[wheee!]

Buy them in bulk on eBay etc. With the proper pliers, they snap in fast and can be removed in seconds for quick panel fitting etc.
Sheet metal screws tend to distort the metal a bit too. Cleco’s are a clean solution for metal working

[240260280]

I was working in FLA a few years ago and drove up to this business to buy them:

 

https://www.panamericantool.com/cleco-fasteners-plhn-series.html

 

Nice company!

[ConVerTT]

1 hour ago, Namerow said:

Out of curiosity (I've never looked this up), how much does a Cleco cost?  (Cdn $ please). 

How many do you have in your shop? (I see 13 in use in your most recent picture, with possibly 6 - 12 more hidden from view).

What are the advantages of a Cleco over a sheet-metal screw?

So the pliers will run around $20 and the 1/8  Clecos will cost $0.50 to $0.75 cents each.  I have around 50 or 60 and the only time I got close to using them all was when I was doing floors.  kmstools and Amazon.ca have them on sale fairly regularly.

Clecos were originally developed for aircraft (which are made of aluminum and riveted together).   A pilot friend of mine put me on to them.  

There are many advantages over screws.

1) no deformation of the metal (other than drilling the initial hole)

2) spring loaded - infinitely re-usable

3) perfect for the fitting process where parts are going to be attached / detached several times before final welding.  (for example the frame rails were probably on / off  a dozen times before I welded them in).

[ConVerTT]

2 minutes ago, 240260280 said:

I was working in FLA a few years ago and drove up to this business to buy them:

 

https://www.panamericantool.com/cleco-fasteners-plhn-series.html

 

Nice company!

$2.88 each - yikes!

kmstools.ca has the 3/16 and 3/32 on sale for $0.99 Cdn right now...

https://www.kmstools.com/cleco-3-16-temporary-sheet-metal-fastener-82