Finally Picked One Up

[CanadianGTR]

Little bit about myself. I'm Justin, a University student in Whitby, Ontario (about 30 minutes East of Toronto where I was raised). I've been into cars since I can remember and love working on them about as much as I love driving them.

I've been on the forum for quite some time (Signed up back in May '05) from back when I was originally looking at S30s, but I never ended up picking one up. I had 2 R32 GTRs and a Z32 so I figured the time wasn't right for another toy.

Anyway, I sold the GTRs about a year or two ago and just recently sold my Z32 so I figured I would finally take the plunge and pick up an S30. After a few weeks of road-trips to look at Z's - most of which ending with disappointment - I finally stumbled across a 1974 260Z on craigslist that was about 30 minutes from my house. The thing was beautiful and in pretty good shape (interior is a bit dirty, and there was some minor rust) so I picked it up and brought it home the next day.

Here she is the day I brought her home:

http://www.team-mischief.com/justin/260Z/8.JPG

Just an impromptu photoshoot a few days later:

http://www.team-mischief.com/justin/260Z/1(BW).jpg

http://www.team-mischief.com/justin/260Z/2(Colour).jpg

http://www.team-mischief.com/justin/260Z/4(Colour).jpg

http://www.team-mischief.com/justin/260Z/SUPARPIC.jpg

Today I decided it was time to remove the wing to find out how the rust situation was underneath it (there was a crack in the wing on the hatch and passenger quarter panel pieces) and here is what I found:

I'm no professional when it comes to rust... I just know I hate it, and that it's bad. But I don't know how much would result in me needing a new quarter panel/hatch. The hatch looks like a straight forward job since it's just a flat piece that I can patch easily. But I'm not too sure about the quarter panel. Any input?

Once I get the rust dealt with I want to get the paint stripped off the bumpers (I like chrome on silver) and get to work on some cosmetic things (new emblems, refinish the wheels, clean the interior, etc).

I'm looking forward to finally be able to contribute to this forum that I've been reading/ghosting around on for the past 3 years. Sorry for the long winded introduction!

Cheers.

[zhead240]

good to have a fellow canadian aboard eh. zed lookin good (except the rust) the early bumpers on the 260 is the most desirable. might be easier to repace the hatch. as for the quarters maybe grind and fill. hard to see what wheels u have, the pics are kinda dark.

[bigoak]

Welcome aboard...make sure you connect with the Ontario Z Car Association...a number of good guys in that group...also you might want to look up Whitehead performance...they know these cars inside out...(they also know a pretty good body guy on Z's up near HWY 7 & HWY 400).

[EScanlon]

You don't mention if you do or don't have any experience doing bodywork.

In my opinion, although it does look bad, it doesn't look terminal.

Sure there is a bunch of D/A sanding you'll need to do, and possibly some metal replacement (can't tell if there are any rust-through holes), but for the most part it looks like your typical bondo covered spoiler mount. That is, it was mounted either by using fiberglass resin and finishing it with bondo, or just bondo. I don't see any mounting holes.

Based on your pictures, I would D/A with 36 to get rid of the last of the bondo/fiberglass and then step up to 80 or so to clean up the metal. Then evaluate just how pitted the metal is. If it is very pitted, then the chances of it being weakened beyond relief are strong and a replacement hatch would be in order (cheaper and easier). The fender on the other hand, I would work hard at cleaning up and prepping before I decided to cut and patch simply for some pitted surface rust. If it is rusted through, then that's a different story.

Just my 2¢

E

[Zak's Z]

Hey, welcome to the club. Im in Maple up near Wonderland...just a bit west of you. Have you dug into that hatch yet to see how bad it is?

Theres also a really good shop in Toronto that deals in datsuns if you find out you need mechanical work that you can't tackle yourself.

[CanadianGTR]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys.

Sorry for the lack of updates, have been busy working on the damned thing.

I didn't get a "post grinding" picture of the rust but it was pretty bad in a few spots. I don't think I can salvage the hatch ledge and will probably end up just replacing the entire hatch just because it's a bit easier. The driver quarter is fine but the passenger quarter had some pinholes from the rust. I grinded off whatever I could while leaving enough material to work with and started to work on it.

I hit all of the metal/leftover rust with concrete etcher and some rust converter, hit it with self etching primer and started doing some body filler. This is all just temporary until the car is off the road for the winter when I can get the arse end cleared up professionally. Don't think I did too bad of a job for someone who hasn't ever done any body work before - I guess it pays to be obsessive compulsive sometimes.

Here are some shots of the primer after a good wet sanding, all ready for paint. The car has since been painted, but I was supplied with the incorrect paint code and it is WAY too dark, so I need to sand it down and hit it again with the PROPER colour (going to get my gas cap scanned to get a good colour match).

As for the comments about Whitehead, the car was amazingly well documented and it has, according to the receipts, been up to Greg quite a few times in it's life once it came to Toronto from Ottawa/Winnipeg. Do you know what body shop they use? Discovery Auto Collision out in Mississauga is my shop of choice right now as they do a lot of work on the local road race cars.

For an update on the rest of the car. I was digging through the documents that came with the car - receipts dating back to '75 - and found out some neat information about it. It has some random header on it, not sure where from, but it also has 240Z round tops on it. Which makes sense since I was looking at the carbs and was wondering how they could get much rounder! It's really nice to get a well documented car. The rims are compomotives and I think I'm going to get them sent out to be refinished with a black face/polished lip.

I guess I need to renew my Ontario Z Car membership now that I have a Z again - signed up back when I had my Z32. Do Greater Toronto Area Z guys meet anywhere on a regular basis or have swap meets? Would be nice to meet some of you in person.

Thanks again for the warm welcome.

Cheers.

- Justin

[Zedfoot]

Come on out to our meeting Wed night. It's at Route 66, near Vic Park and Eglinton. Go to www.ontariozcar.com for details. I'm just finishing a major restoration on my '72. It is documented on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/janeeric/sets/72157606153458051/

[CanadianGTR]

Ah I forgot about the Route 66 meets!

I'd almost feel bad coming out with the back half of my quarter panel/hatch looking like dark primer, while the rest of the car is in good shape.

Sweet restoration you have going. I wish I had the facilities to do something like that. How long has it been so far?

[bigoak]

Do you know what body shop they use? Discovery Auto Collision out in Mississauga is my shop of choice right now as they do a lot of work on the local road race cars.

When I was there (about a year ago), they were referring guys to Luciani Auto Collision (the guys I referenced above). They are at 10 Doughton Rd in Concord. 1-905-669-4061.

They did a really nice subtle fender job for one of the guys who had done an RB swap. The owner started getting enough Z business that he brought one in from California.

Cheers.

[beezee]

Welcome Justin, nice to see another 260, I,m also an Ontario Z member haven,t made any meetings except the spring swap meet @ Whiteheads Plan to attend Z-Fest Aug. 24 @ Christie Lake . Look,s like you have the body repair and paint under control. Cheers, Rick