240ZBUILTBYME 1971 240z HS-001063 Project Georgia

[grannyknot]

Whoa, I just went through your pics on viczcar, that is quite a project.  You're right to be scared of the A pillar and roof rust, those are the most difficult areas to repair.  The rest of the cars rust, although time consuming is repairable but the A pillars consist of 3-4 layers of tightly folded metal and there is just no room to work in there. You might seriously consider finding a complete rust free roof/A pillar State side and grafting on to your body.

Any chance that there is an acid dipper in Perth, media blasting is great but will never get into the inner cavities of the subframe.  Now I'm all for DIY rust repair, for me it is the process of the project that I enjoy but let me play devils advocate for a second.  If you know you're going to spend 35-40k to get this car on the road then that same kind of money will buy you an awfully nice finished Z.

Looking forward to your progress, this forum is great resource for any problems you run into during the rebuild. Will be interested to see what you think of the KlassicFab panels, they look great.  Pricey but if they are as good as they look it will be worth it.

 

[240ZBUILTBYME]

14 hours ago, grannyknot said:

Whoa, I just went through your pics on viczcar, that is quite a project.  You're right to be scared of the A pillar and roof rust, those are the most difficult areas to repair.  The rest of the cars rust, although time consuming is repairable but the A pillars consist of 3-4 layers of tightly folded metal and there is just no room to work in there. You might seriously consider finding a complete rust free roof/A pillar State side and grafting on to your body.

Any chance that there is an acid dipper in Perth, media blasting is great but will never get into the inner cavities of the subframe.  Now I'm all for DIY rust repair, for me it is the process of the project that I enjoy but let me play devils advocate for a second.  If you know you're going to spend 35-40k to get this car on the road then that same kind of money will buy you an awfully nice finished Z.

Looking forward to your progress, this forum is great resource for any problems you run into during the rebuild. Will be interested to see what you think of the KlassicFab panels, they look great.  Pricey but if they are as good as they look it will be worth it.

 

Hi mate!

Yes very concerned about the A pillars. Im getting a restoration shop to complete the A pillar/cowl and roof repairs as I believe these are a bit out of my league. I will do the remaining rust repairs using the replacement panels and there might be a few random spots ill have to make up little patch pieces for. 

Unfortunately there is no acid dipping in Perth. Perths population is only about 2 million people so I guess theres not enough classic cars or demand for it over here. I was just going to use something like eastwoods internal frame coating, have seen some youtube videos of independent testing on rusted metals and it seems to encapsulate it quite well. not much else I can do really..

haha I have had this discussion already with a few people, unfortunately 240z's are pretty expensive here, for a restored 240z you're looking at 60-80k AUD. (roughly 43-60k USD), unrestored clean barn finds are one in a million now in Australia and they normally get snapped up before they even get advertised, even rarer in perth due to the isolation/distance from eastern cities and low population. 

For me Im not interested in buying someone elses restoration, I want to create a bond with the car and memories to go with it, and at the end of the day achieve something I can be proud of at the end of it all. Now thats looking through rose coloured glasses I know, and Im sure im going to be on the verge of throwing in the towel on numerous occasions throughout this resto. 

I bought this car 10 years ago for $5k AUD ($3600 USD). So if I spend 40k AUD ($29000 USD) restoring it I will still be ahead once its complete. Not that Im going to sell it!

 

 

Edited September 6, 2020 by 240ZBUILTBYME

[240ZBUILTBYME]

 

[grannyknot]

7 hours ago, 240ZBUILTBYME said:

For me Im not interested in buying someone elses restoration, I want to create a bond with the car and memories to go with it, and at the end of the day achieve something I can be proud of at the end of it all.

Amen brother.

[240ZBUILTBYME]

 

[240ZBUILTBYME]

So small update

shipment from KFvintageJDM is on its way! Found their customer service very good. My master plan did not work, was going to try and have KF and MSA both ship to my shipito address and send all as one shipment to save on shipping cost however MSA didn't have stock of half my items!!! Sooooo back to the drawing board...

KF shipment is coming direct from Bogota Colombia 

MSA shipment will leave once all stock is received in 2-4 weeks... MSA is so bad in responding to emails....

Also I purchased about $900 worth of steel to start building my chassis jig and rotisserie, due for delivery to dads shed on Monday!

Have I mentioned Ive never really welded???  Ok I lie, I welded once about a month ago...

[Namerow]

On 9/5/2020 at 9:30 AM, grannyknot said:

Will be interested to see what you think of the KlassicFab panels, they look great.

I also have a shipment from KFVintageJDM on the way.  As per your experience, the shipment emanated from Bogota.  I, too, have found the company's customer service to be excellent -- fast replies, helpful and on-topic information.  Shipping was by way of FedEx and the costs were surprisingly modest.  I'm using a USA-to-Canada cross-border trans-shipper service recommended to me by Grannyknot and hope to take delivery at their Toronto drop site sometime next week. 

[grannyknot]

18 hours ago, 240ZBUILTBYME said:

Have I mentioned Ive never really welded???  Ok I lie, I welded once about a month ago...

If it's gas Mig you'll pick it up quickly, it's very forgiving, however Datsun sheet metal is not, it tries to blow holes in itself. Start with small tack weld for the panels, jump around letting them cool and eventually join them all up.

[Patcon]

What he said ^^^!

[240ZBUILTBYME]

16 hours ago, Namerow said:

I also have a shipment from KFVintageJDM on the way.  As per your experience, the shipment emanated from Bogota.  I, too, have found the company's customer service to be excellent -- fast replies, helpful and on-topic information.  Shipping was by way of FedEx and the costs were surprisingly modest.  I'm using a USA-to-Canada cross-border trans-shipper service recommended to me by Grannyknot and hope to take delivery at their Toronto drop site sometime next week. 

Nice! good to hear the experience with KF is universal, I think MSA and tabco/zedd findings will be losing some business. Seems like better quality at a similar price with better customer service experience. they should do well. 

Mine was fedex aswell and Im suprised how quickly it got to australia, currently on the east coast but should be on the west coast within the week! cost of shipping was better than I expected too!

[240ZBUILTBYME]

7 hours ago, grannyknot said:

If it's gas Mig you'll pick it up quickly, it's very forgiving, however Datsun sheet metal is not, it tries to blow holes in itself. Start with small tack weld for the panels, jump around letting them cool and eventually join them all up.

Thanks Grannyknot! thats my plan, slow and steady.... with your buttwelds do you leave a gap or butt each sheet right up? obviously too big a gap equals more blow holes than a pod of whales 

[grannyknot]

I find it is too thin to leave a gap,  I weld it tight.