Replacing Battery Area

[Go240Zags]

I was driving to the State 1A Basketball Tourney in Yakima, Wash. last week when I spotted a Series I 240Z in Quincy. Stopped and found the owner and he said he had stripped two Zs and hauled to the wrecking yard. So, after Oroville was knocked out of both their games (2 days later) I returned to Quincy and found the cars. Imagine my surprize when one turned out to be a 10/70 Series I. The other was a 280Z 2+2. I stripped everything I could use before dark (there wasn't a lot left, but took what I could). I asked the owner of the wrecking yard if he could cut out the batter box area he said he could, but not until the next day (he said he'd already had 4 beers and didn't want to set the place on fire). It was Thursday, so I said I'd have to come back the next weekend and that I'd like the gastank too. I paid ten bucks for the parts I had (one good plastic tool box and hinge, the caps from the seat adjusters, a broken interiro hatch vent, a broken lid off the ashtray, plastic fuel fume thingy and whatever else I could grab).

So, I drove the 3 hrs. to return Sat., and of course he hadn't left as much of the battery box as I wanted, but I think it will do to replace mine. Just very minor rust. It has to be better than the thick plastic dairy thing and chunk of 2x4 that had been screwed there before. I've included a couple photos with the PO's fix, as well as the removed contraption, and two pics with the repair section test fitted. I cut away all the really rusted area yesterday and found I have a bad rust thru in the firewall as well. Any suggestions, cut it all out and replace with a flat patch panel? Or is there a better way. I'll take photo of firewall tonight.

[Go240Zags]

And here are some pics of the parts car, I also got the driver's door. It is dented at the bottom, but I've read here it is better to repair a dented, rust free door, then to try and fix a dent free, rusted door with a patch. Any other parts I should be looking at? The roof is kind of rough, no dents, but looks like it's starting to rust. The hood, stuffed in the hatch is really dented at the front point. The vented hatch was gone. The wrecking yard owner is cutting out around the tire well because it is perfect ($10) and he is getting me the uncracked windshield ($20). I could have had the whole car for $125, but just could not stand the idea of towing it for three hours and having another hulk in my back yard. My neighbors will start to complain. I don't know if the guy is up to cutting out both rear quarters. I'll have spent about $75 when I'm done, but I can sell some stuff to finance some more stuff.By the way, the car was originally orange. Mine is 905 red, but looks kinda orange in my cheap digital photos. Sad to see the state its in, but happy to know it will live on in my car.... eventually.... I hope.

[Go240Zags]

And one kind of artistic looking shot -- sort of like coming across an old skeleton in the desert look.

[texasz]

Both rear quarters looked in good shape, if the are grab them!

[hls30.com]

Get the rear section-if it isn't rusty-that is a very common area to have to repair.

Get the seat mechanisms if they are early(round adjusters-not levers). Just store the mechanisms if you don't have room for the seats.

Check the vent area under the cowl and above the heater fan-they rust out and need repair(I need one).

What about the wiring harnesses?

There is one quarter window left!

Will

[Bambikiller240]

Gary: Did you find that car in Quincy, CA (out in the middle of nowhere, near the Feather River?)

[wal280z]

I cut away all the really rusted area yesterday and found I have a bad rust thru in the firewall as well. Any suggestions, cut it all out and replace with a flat patch panel? Or is there a better way. I'll take photo of firewall tonight.

Not necessarly the right way, but FWIW, this is how I did mine. Without any stamping or the roller kit from Eastwood, I used the panel off my donor. I just didn't want the 'flat look'.

I took the upper half of the firewall (from the donor car) where the battery mounts to as it was not rusted. I rotated it 180º so that the embossed sections matched up. see photo below~

If you are going to attempt this, I would highly suggest removing the spot welds that attach the firewall to the cowl in the area of 'donation.' I also had to weld in additional mat'l below the patch on the firewall due to cancer.

I'll try to find and post a photo of the finished product.

Good luck!

Wayne

[hls30.com]

Brilliant!

Will

[Go240Zags]

Gary: Did you find that car in Quincy, CA (out in the middle of nowhere, near the Feather River?)

No Bambi, I found the car in Quincy, Washington, out in the middle of farmland/desert). It is about 3 hours south of Oroville, Washington. Quincy has a distinct odor of french fries because one of the largest frozen fry plants in the U.S. is there. From Quincy you can drive about an hour or so and visit beautiful Hanford, Wash. birthplace of the nuclear material for the bombs dropped on Japan. As I'm sure you know there is also an Oroville, California, much larger than my hometown. We were also a pretty famous gold town in our state. Around the turn of the century (the other one) we were known as Oro, but the Post Office in their less than infinate wisdom thought it would get mixed up with Oso, Washington (wherever that is) so it was changed to Oroville.

[Ed]

Just a suggestion, before you start welding make sure that BOTH surfaces are clean, you must remove all rust, grease and dirt. Any impurities on the welding surface can cause "popping", excessive slag and welds that are not as strong as they could be.

$.02

[Go240Zags]

Both rear quarters looked in good shape, if the are grab them!

I'm thinking about making the three hour drive again soon, and will see if I can get this guy to cut both quarters off in back, maybe the roof section too. I have to go back for the windshield and tire well anyway. I wish I was better at doing this kind of thing. The outer wheel wells (lips, whatever they're called) are kind of rusty, but the rest of the quarters looks OK. I should just pay the $125 and tow it back, but what a PITA.

Get the rear section-if it isn't rusty-that is a very common area to have to repair.

Get the seat mechanisms if they are early(round adjusters-not levers). Just store the mechanisms if you don't have room for the seats.

Check the vent area under the cowl and above the heater fan-they rust out and need repair(I need one).

What about the wiring harnesses?

There is one quarter window left!

Will

I'll get the quarter window, but I actually have four spares I think. Not quite sure what you mean about the cowl area, maybe if mine is okay I could grab it for you. I have the the actual adjuster circles and caps for the seats(again, whatever they are), but not the rest of the mechanism. I have spares of these as well, just wasn't sure the guy would want me taking the seats all apart without buying the whole seats. One of them isn't too bad, while driver's side has a cushion that looks like an elephant sat on it. I wish the ashtray lid was better, but a large corner was broken off with the hinge. I admit I broke the passenger side toobox when I was trying to get it off. I really wanted a second hinge for the set I have. And yes, I kick myself for not grabbing whatever part of the wiring harness might have been left, especially that part that goes to the headlights. It might be gone tho, I was trying to strip as much off before dark as I could, knowing I had a three hour drive home ahead of me. I just took my fenders off at home broke two out of every three bolts (PB Blaster and all). I noticed that one headlight was missing the connectors and had been spliced so I could use the driver's side connectors to get it back in shape before I buy one of those fancy relay thingamabobs being sold out of Marysville (members name escapes me at the moment).

[Go240Zags]

Not necessarly the right way, but FWIW, this is how I did mine. Without any stamping or the roller kit from Eastwood, I used the panel off my donor. I just didn't want the 'flat look'.

I took the upper half of the firewall (from the donor car) where the battery mounts to as it was not rusted. I rotated it 180º so that the embossed sections matched up. see photo below~

If you are going to attempt this, I would highly suggest removing the spot welds that attach the firewall to the cowl in the area of 'donation.' I also had to weld in additional mat'l below the patch on the firewall due to cancer.

I'll try to find and post a photo of the finished product.

Good luck!

Wayne

Thank you for the pictures. Yes, I was worried about the flat look myself, but may end up going that way. I'll check and see if my wrecker-find has a good firewall section to cut out. I went to where my friend had the hulk of my stripped '72 parts car stored and it looks like the firewall there isn't much better. I did retrieve the fender splash guards (another whatever they're called, couldn't find it in the FSM). They go behind the fender and are bolted on to the body with three bolts, have a rubber piece on the bottom. I believe these are to keep water, mud etc. from splashing up between fender and door. These were much nicer than the ones on my '71 car. Gary D.