rturbo 930

L O L at your picture of the floorboard being pretty much gone. Dude, that's what we call mild rust. It's pitted, and if you sandblast it, maybe you'll get some perforation. Consider those floors to be reasonably solid, and maybe in need of patching. They might need a total replacement after removing the factory sound deadening and blasting, but I doubt it. What you're calling the rear valence is what we call the hatch sill. "Rear valence" is usually referring to the panel below the tail lights. Also, what you call "sills" I believe we call "rockers" aka, "rocker panels" As for what else you should ask for? Battery tray for sure. Spare tire well, doglegs (the bit just in front of the rear wheels, the shape looks like a dog's leg), rear fender lips, underside of floors. There's more areas that typically rust out, but that car looks pretty solid, so I'm guessing the less commonly rusty areas are fine.

The floor doesn't look that bad. Doesn't look like it goes through, but if it does, you could just patch it, vs total replacement. I'm stretching my memory here, but I think I recall John Coffey saying it was $1500 a side to replace floors. That said, that picture only shows one spot of one floor, and may be misleading to overall condition. I may be wrong, but my gut is telling me that the driver's side frame rail reinforcement there has rust behind it. Could easily be wrong, but that spot rusts out pretty often, and seems to start from behind. Just kinda looks like it's been pushed out a bit in the middle there from the wheel well. Hatch sill rust looks pretty tame. Not sure you'd need a full replacement. FYI, Tabco parts are kind of a mixed bag for fitment. Some of their panels are just useless. If there's one thing I've learned though, it's that rust is usually worse than you expect.

Might be the first case I've seen where someone intentionally installed the ginormous crash bumpers.

Keep in mind that a nearly rust free car is much more rare in a place like NY, and will therefore command a premium compared to a place like CA where they're easier to find. Honestly, I wouldn't even bother looking in NY. AZ, CA, NV, would be my first choices, followed by NM, ID, UT, CO. Dry states.

Yeah, European and Japanese market cars didn't have them. Not sure if it was just the US market that got them, but it was probably just the US and Canada. To tell you the truth, I don't think the side markers will make much of a difference. How often will the light on the side of the car be the thing that alerts you to a car's presence? Chances are, if you find yourself in that situation, one of the two of you should be stopped anyway. Just another US safety nanny.

2.5" isn't much clearance. I know some people ride around an inch (literally) from the ground and do fine (I have no idea how), but I like to have at least 4" clearance. I wouldn't want to run the risk to ruining my engine due to lack of oil - especially an S38 - and I like knowing that speed bumps and railroad tracks and what not won't be an issue at normal speed. Road quality makes a big difference too, and I can't imagine your roads up there are any better than ours, which aren't great. You may not have much issue with it, but if it were me I'd plan on doing that as next winter's project.

I think I'd shave em. You could argue that you will be slightly less visible at night, but overall I don't think it'll make much difference, given that these cars are mostly toys now and not daily drivers. If you change your mind later on you could probably french something into the bumper without disturbing the body work. I don't find the side markers to be much of an eyesore though, unlike the huge crash bumpers the later cars got.

Am I the only person that thinks both of those concepts are pretty ugly? Thankfully concepts aren't usually the final product. But I don't think the 370Z is that great looking either, and honestly, I'm not sure if Nissan has had a truly good looking car since the 90s, the last one I can think of being the R34 Skyline.

Completely agree with this. My dad did the same thing with his Charger. Took the original 440 out and stored it to put a Hemi in. That would have been 1980. All these years later, it has proven to be a great decision. While everyone says they're going to keep their car forever, the reality is that unless the car is totaled, you aren't going to be the last owner. With the rising value of these cars, I think keeping the original numbers matching engine would be a wise choice. Wrap it up and stow it away.

John C is one of only two people that I can think of that is so frequently right, that I simply don't question what he says. And I can't think of anyone in the community with more (accurate) knowledge on building a Z to go fast. I also appreciated the fact that his posts were accurate, with no bullshit, but not rude or mean. Big loss indeed, and a massive understatement at that. Rest in peace.

Just stumbled on this thread and thought the username looked familiar. Good to see you back in another Z! A bit surprised that it's a restoration considering what you last project was, but not at all disappointed. That is some really excellent work. I think I'll subscribe to this one.

Thanks for the pictures, Matt. That's odd that it's such a common problem, but I guess I'll just keep my mirror. I won't notice it 99% of the time anyway.

Yeah, I wouldn't mind a pic for comparison. I'm building a driver, not a top notch resto, so it's not that big of a deal, just kind of annoying considering I bought it brand new, and I wouldn't say it was cheap. If it's a common problem, I may just accept it, but I have another 10 days or so to think about it...

Both. Seems that when the backing was bent over the mirror glass, part of it was pressed too much, creating a flat spot, and also pushing the metal out. Let me see if I can get a better pic.Edit: Haven't been able to get a pic that shows it any clearer. It's admittedly a really small defect, and pretty trivial, but it still bothers me.

Hey guys, in the process of getting my 240z ready for the road, I realized it had no side mirrors, so I bought a new one, specifically, a new-in-box OEM flag mirror. While looking it over, I noticed this little defect, which you should be able to see in the picture. I can see how it could happen when folding over the edge, and I can see how it would be hard to avoid, but is it 'normal?' Or should I send it back? This may be a silly question, but thought I'd ask. This is mine: This is another pic I found on here, looks like it might have the same defect, in the same place (outermost edge when mounted), if you look at the one on the right. Thoughts?

A friend showed me this, and I thought I'd pass it along. http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/2820420592.html

Wow, I no longer feel too bad about the rust that needs to be fixed on my '71. Do you have any more pictures of the repairs you did on the reinforced section of the frame rail above the TC rod mount? Preferably during the repair if you have them. Also, I'm wondering if you have rust in the seam that connects the inner and outer rear wheel wells. The seam that the strut tower butts up against.

Rusty 1971 240z: $500 as a roller. Yeah, it needs work... lots of it.

Why not sell it to someone who DOES have the skills to fix it then? Seems silly to scrap a car just because you personally don't have the means or patience to do so, or because the car is not suitable for your project (while it might be a great car for someone else). Just from the looks of it, that car looks to be a lot more solid than my car to start with, and mine is FAR from the worst I've seen. My 2 cents...

It is apparent that it has been in a minor fender bender, as the radiator core support is a little banged up, and clearly re-attached. However, as far as I can tell, the frame rails are completely straight, and considering how minor the damage was, I have no reason to believe the car's structure is compromised. It has some rust, but nothing serious.

So my '71 240z has a few door issues. A) Currently (or just before I removed them) I had to PICK UP my door to shut it. Driver's side only, as it's much worse than the passenger side. It would sag 1/4-1/2". I was thinking this is a hinge issue, but I'm not sure. That's a lot of sag... Might be the door itself. I don't know. I don't really remember but I think this started after changing doors. The bottom of the door, when the rest of the door is aligned properly, sticks out maybe a little under a half inch from the body. I can stick my finger in the gap (see pics). I thought the door might be twisted so I put on a spare door. Same problem as before. C) I pretty much know the problem here, but it doesn't really latch. Just towing the car across the yard, the door popped open a few times. I'll see if that goes away once issues A and B are amended. So, as far as I can tell, the problem is not the door itself (or I have two bad doors), and although I am going to rebuild my hinges anyway, I don't think that's the whole problem. They don't seem to have enough play in them to cause my problems. I also don't have any weather stripping in currently, but I don't see how that could cause my problems either. Also, the passenger side has the same problems, just nowhere near as bad. Pics: Front of door: Rear of door: So, ideas? Anyone had a problem like this before? How did you fix it?

Personally, I would not even think about paying $3,000 for that car knowing it was twisted, regardless of the fact I live in the NE.

I got some parts from tabco as well, and although the doglegs I thought were okay (just okay), the part I was really unhappy with was the rear lower quarters. The curve is TOTALLY off. I don't have even a fraction of the skill it would take to make them look right. Wasted money IMO.

Well, for whatever it may be worth, my next (and hopefully last) Z, I am pretty much looking for as solid and straight rolling shell as could possibly be found without having already been restored, and the rest is all gravy. Basically, I want a shell that is exactly the way it came out of the factory. No sunroof, body work, rust, flares, etc. Also, I would prefer all the parts be there, though I'm not too concerned about the interior, or other items that tend to wear out. I've got a lot of parts. What I don't have is a good shell. I'm fine with mechanical work. Rust repair... really don't want to deal with it.