CEgg11

I agree, but these guys are just country rednecks. The fault is mine and mine alone for taking the car to them in the first place. They feel bad, and so do I, but what is done is done.

Will do. The plan is to take the doors off, and I've already removed dash/console/seats.

I wouldn't be shocked if it were stock. If it were NOS, that is at least 30 years old, and it was never great quality to start with. I used a Rustoleum Plastic paint, sprayed the whole thing, then went back over it with thinner on a q-tip to remove the paint from the Z and the rim. Worked well.

I used the new floor as a template, and left a good margin on all sides. I really didn't NEED to replace the whole passenger side - it just had a lot of smaller holes in it, and I thought better to replace the whole sheet of metal. This guy didn't seem to mind the hole I cut. I went back by last night, and the real pisser is that this guy didn't cut back enough on the drivers side, and just lapped over the bad metal with good, so I'll have to go back in and cut the rest out. Grr.

I am under a pretty strict, though reasonable, budget. No extra money to buy a welder, which I wouldn't use again after this job anyway. The car is suprisingly solid for a car that had to get floors put in..battery tray good, rockers good, hatch deck good, etc. It didn't have a hood, but I had an extra. It did have a welded diff in it - it was going to be someone's drag car.

I don't know which is better - to do all the welding then grind, or grind what has been done, and then finish welding. I imagine I will grind some, then weld, then grind, if only to give me a break. What I can't weld, I will glue with Dymax 800, which is waterproof and has a structural strength of 3500 psi. Then I will seal all the seams, paint it, and hopefully all the hard metal work will be complete. Then on to assembly, then a drive for a while, then disassembly begins for paint. I think that is the best way to do it, but it is slow.

It will be ok. The floors are a lot better than when I started. I think I can do the rest with a hammer/dolly and a roto. The frustration is that I told this guy that if he did a great job, I would recommend him to people in the Z club here in Georgia. He asked me after I saw it if I would, and I said, ummm...no. I had to tell him why, and he told me he would make it solid, but he'd also charge me more, and I figured if he wasn't willing to do it right the first time, I'd be a fool to do let him get a second try. Now I just have to rent/steal a MIG welder. I have one that I can borrow, but it isn't a MIG. Its just a M...there is no IG attachment...

It was a full install on the passenger side, with the hole already cut to match the zeddfinding pan. On the drivers side it was a 10 X 5 hole patch. I didn't get anything except welding done, I will do the rest when the car gets on the roto. I imagine I'll do the rest of the welding then.

He told me 500-700, and I had already gotten estimates from other companies that were over 1200.00. I guess I bit too quick when I heard that price. I am not a great welder, but I suppose I can hammer some stuff tighter and finish the job myself. The "big" stuff is done anyway.

That doesn't really help too much...

Everytime I convince myself I am not really an idiot, I do something like this.... I was concerned with my inability to weld, so I took my 240 to a guy on my road that I was told was "an old-school" welder, that he could weld anything. I figured that welding was welding, so I trailered it over to him, showed him EXACTLY what I wanted, and left it in his capable hands. Four days later, I get a call that it is ready. I head over to see it, and see visible gaps between the new panels and the old, and thick, very thick metal welded in some of the larger gaps. The work does appear to be structurally sound, but I didn't see that attempts were made to grind welds down or try to make those small gaps filled in. I asked, and he said "those aren't problems, you can just bondo in those holes. This floor is stiffer than the stock one was." He does have a point about the strength - you can beat on these floors with hammers, and there is no flex. He also custom-made new seat mounts out of the same metal (big box, a bit taller in front, drilled for the Z seat). He is going to charge me 600.00. I haven't started arguing money yet, but is he right? Can I just fill in these small gaps between the panels? The largest of the holes is maybe 1/2 inch tall and 3/4 inch wide. Any help is appreciated. I am eager to get started on the rest of the car - engine ready to go, trans, pumpkin, etc. Thanks all!

Some sites say they are from early Z's, some say from late. I have a set that have Japanese symbols stamped in, but I have no idea how old they are. I am tying to sell them, because they are one of three sets I have.

I have officially given up welding. Gonna have a pro do it I guess.

I have a rear bumper from a 72, that has the extra bar on top of the regular bumper, which guys around here call the sissy. Does it add value? I am considering getting it cleaned and chromed and will try to sell, if I don't decide to keep it for my other 72. Thoughts? Curtis 72 72

Rain has kept me from getting out there, I am hoping for good tomorrow. I am using a ball peen hammer and no dolly at all. Need to get one, just don't know where to get one.

I got some advice to use a butane torch to soften the metal to bend it right, not to just rely on hammers. I will try that this afternoon. I will add pics along the way.

I get it. I am a teacher, so I have summers. The orange Z in one of those pics has been mine for 9 years, and no real work done on it. I left it sitting so long, I ended up just using it for parts, and the white one is what I am working on now. I appreciate your help, and will see what I can find as far as a good welder, or someone with one that will do the work.

you are a big help. If you were near Atlanta, I'd tow the car down there and pay you to do the work. I may bail and pay anyway.

I did start at the bottom, yes. I am calling around for a gas welder to borrow, I am going to take the rest of the night off, and get back to it tomorrow. Gonna take the pan completely out, grind the hell out of the pan and car, and get back to it. I am hoping for better.

Where is Caffene and Octane?

it may be due to lack of good prep for the metal, and the differences b\t the thicknesses. I am adding a pic of a weld I did in a cut I made in the floorpan for easier bending. Look at the difference. The welder I am borrowing doesn't have a capacity for gas. I have no idea as far as cost of adding gas to it, or even how.

as seen above, I can't get a good bead going, and I can't seem to get even a good puddle. It is just a collection of spot welds. The pic on the right is my 3 different layers over the same seam. There is no cure for idiot, but I am still praying for one.

welds look horrible. Can anyone give me some help? I thought I could weld, but..... I am using a miller 115 Cricket XL, flux core wire. .030. I know I am supposed to use thinner, but I can't find flux core wire any thinner, and I don't have a friend with a true MIG I can borrow.

I am north too, towards canton. I agree, I told him he should part it out, but he says he doesn't have time. I would love to see your cars sometime, would inspire me to keep going with mine.

Off to get it done right now. Will hopefully send pics in about 2 hours.