Its arrived V2.0 :)

[Alphabettispaghetti]

No such thing as a rust free 240z

Well some small progress has been made.

Indicators/hazards will now be fine when the dash is back in the car, I had a good find of some new K-mac upgraded ARB's going for a good price which will come in useful later in the build.

However for now I thought i'd chip off the factory heat matting/sound insulation stuff as a few bits were showing signs of cracking, well i'm glad I did, it was a pain but it did show where moisture had become trapped with some light surface rust, 2 tiny patchs were through though. There was no way to see this at all without chipping away at the matting.

One bit is the size of a ten pence piece, the other about 7x7cm. I'm happy though as this is all i've found so far Pretty sure I can weld in 2 patch's and grind the welds back so it just looks like sheet metal, another thing to add to the list. I can't get in with my grit blaster so I need to treat the surface rust where it is.

For the rust and treatment i'm thinking about one of the dinitrol kits as a complete solution, also the anti chip.
http://www.rejel.com/rejel-store/list/1/categoryid/1213/level/a.aspx

Has anyone used Dinitrol products or have any other suggestions?

Once i've done the patch's and treated/protected/painted the inside I was going to install some dynamat but i'm not sure now if it'd be a wise idea as it could trap moisture again, however it has lasted 42 years pretty well so far

 

[Throttleton]

Franky there is nothing that 'fixes' rust ( I reckon you know that allready!)
Cut out the infected area and then cut some more out. Get back to decent steel.
Around any holes there will be minute perforations you may not see and if you grind the rust off the steel will be to thin...get back to decent steel.
If you have decent steel at the end off your repairs prepare it properly and 2 pack it. I wouldn't add 'wonderlayers' of magic stuff as these types of products were put on cars to extend the life of the steel till you have no comeback on the warranty. There are loads of products to clag on to steel supposedly to help but they don't in the long term. If you want to go better than 2 pack then there are very good epoxy coatings which have a good mechanical bond to steel and avoid the dreaded water entrapement between.

 

[Aceman]

Looks similar to ours we just did, although we were lucky and only had the surface rust. A lot of it looks worse than it is though..

Particularly in the boot just behind the storage compartments we had it worse:

But then a quick rub down with some petrol (to clean up the melted bitumen!) and it looked:

We have then used the Dinitrol products to provide a new coating to the metal (we rubbed it back by hand - I wish we had a blaster!!!!) but put loads of layers on (the more layers, the less likely oxygen or water will get through!). They seem pretty good (easy to apply and look to provide a quality coat/finish). Yes, we would prefered to have stripped the whole car and had it professionally done, but I can't imagine it being a lot better than what we have ended up with:

 

[Alphabettispaghetti]

Not much progress, Looking at Aceman's pics and a couple of cars i've seen have confirmed that I should attack the car properly, removing all traces of even the finest surface rust.

Found nothing but good news during further investigations, looks like it might have a new wing on it, Its a painful process removing the stonechip/underseal but it'll be worth the effort i'm sure. This is now long term project

Found plenty more sand everywhere which can only be better than rot.

just got to work out how to get under the car too...

Strange one this, I can't see any replacement panels at the front at all, also its got the original paint code stickers too, however the front seems to have some black brushed on paint, looks like a neat enough job, is this standard?

 

[Albrecht]

Strange one this, I can't see any replacement panels at the front at all, also its got the original paint code stickers too, however the front seems to have some black brushed on paint, looks like a neat enough job, is this standard?

Don't worry, it's Factory. Done with a brush and a pot of satin black paint, it was just to shade the sheetmetal behind the grill ( not attractive to see the contrast colour either side of the rad showing through from behind ).

 

[Alphabettispaghetti]

Cheers Alan. It looked too neat to be done by an American body shop

 

[camerashy]

Aceman, when you say you rubbed it down with petrol to get ride of the traces of bitumen, how exactly did you rub it down? (without setting the car alight)

 

[Aceman]

Awesome, where did you end up getting the product from? Does it feel like a standard dash where its repaired?

Final product..

Took a while, and is not at the finish quality we want, but unfrotunately Le Mans Classic is approaching and this needs to get back in the car!!

It'll be out again in a couple of years for, likely, a leather finish being arranged, but for now, it's plenty good enough for a trek through France!

 

[Rob Gaskin]

Well done - tbh a matt finish might be better. France in July will give you reflections in the screen.

Le Mans Classic is awesome - go to Arnage corner Sunday lunch for the last couple of races. Great atmosphere with a pint and a hot-dog!

 

[Alphabettispaghetti]

Final product..

Took a while, and is not at the finish quality we want, but unfrotunately Le Mans Classic is approaching and this needs to get back in the car!!

It'll be out again in a couple of years for, likely, a leather finish being arranged, but for now, it's plenty good enough for a trek through France!

Well done, looks great! Also well done for being allowed it in the house


Which products did you use in the end?

Regards

 

[Alphabettispaghetti]

Only a small update.

front end is stripped...

Small surface rust showing around seams etc so I started at the front of the car and intend to work my way back then underneath.

Great sold metal though with zero pitting.

Due to family commitments taking up all my time progress isn't swift at the minute, i'm not moaning though as i'm trying to do a thorough job so I only have to do it once.

A new addition has been a r180 4.44 plated diff...

Gearbox to follow. I was/am going to get output adapters but from when I built my kit cars I know you can get driveshafts modified so i'm going to make a few calls about using subaru CV shafts, shortened with the datsun/nissan on the outer end. I **think** it may be a decent solution offering modern CV joints into the mix. I'm not fussed if its financially not viable though, stock shafts will do me fine.

The 2.8 is stripped apart so I can give it a bit of a going over and decide what to do. Its in great condition though, F54 flat top block and P90 head

I still half fancy using the original engine though, decisions to be made I guess.

 

[zedhead260]

The 2.8 is stripped apart so I can give it a bit of a going over and decide what to do. Its in great condition though, F54 flat top block and P90 head

I still half fancy using the original engine though, decisions to be made I guess.

I have a set of piston rings to suit this if you decide to stick with the L series.

 

[moggy240]

or you could use these for your subaru diff,2nd one down
Beta Motorsports, LLC Products

 

[Alphabettispaghetti]

Moggy, they're my default choice, there's a guy who posts on here from the Netherlands who also makes/sells them but I think they'll work out quite a bit more expensive than the ones from Beta motorsports.

 

[SeanDezart]

z-spec. If you can all wait long enough, I'm also making 'em but complete shafts from hub to diff.

 

[Alphabettispaghetti]

subaru to nissan Sean? Can you pm me a rough idea of price? I have found someone who will make 'unbrakeable' shafts to suit, just need to work out the other bits.

Its not going anywhere for a while!

 

[SeanDezart]

Absolutely no idea mate BUT I will be doing them because overall compared to getting diffs in then adaptations and the added advantage of new material for strength......!

Wait and see but go ahead with your own contact and we can compare numbers later. I'll be going for several so maybe a reduction for a big enough order ?

 

[Alphabettispaghetti]

Small update(again!).

No real progress apart from the car being more or less a bare shell. Seems like its a long way back to being on the road again now

On the upside she keeps surprising me, amazing condition for 42 years old. Engine bay has been stripped, now its the slow progress of bringing it back to 100% bare metal. I'll strip etch prime and primer the engine bay before getting or making a spit to put it on, then i'll do the same underneath. I hoping that even though this is boring hard work it'll be worth it for having a 101% rust free(everywhere!) and solid shell. I've been pondering colour too, I really fancy the mustard yellow colour or deep orange, I guess just a little more fun than silver.

 

[Rob Gaskin]

I hoping that even though this is boring hard work it'll be worth it for having a 101% rust free(everywhere!) and solid shell. ]

I'm sure you're right

 

[Alphabettispaghetti]

Slow progress here, body strip is in progress, its timing consuming though and sometimes I wonder why i'm doing it, however it'll be worth it to have a proper rust free shell. Quite a boring thread so far!

The car's now on a spit which makes things easier.

The inside of the car is getting there, the factory sound proofing is difficult stuff to remove. I've found a few bits that need repair on the floor, I think this is just trapped moisture combined with the fact that from the factory the sound proofing was put on bare metal!!!!

A small bit of Datsun cancer

Under the car the chassis rails are looking shabby from years of thoughtless jacking, new ones needed.

On the mechanical side i've decided to stick with the 2.4 as i want a fairly original car, also going down to 7J wheels.