Project Candy Begins (rb25det 240z)

Wally

Club Member
The car has finally arrived on Friday so I thought I’d start documenting everything here to keep you gents up to date and for you to stop me going rogue and screwing up a beautiful car. This has been a dream car to me for a long time and I count myself lucky I'm in a position where I can afford to buy one and hopefully get her back into a good usable shape.

Why Project Candy? Because like a good stripper her beautiful looks keep enticing you to throw more money and time at here.

The overall aim:
I've always wanted a classic looking car but with a modern(ish) engine, drivetrain, brakes, suspension and electrics. That way I can use the car as much as possible without worry. I don't want this car to be sat in a garage and only used twice a year. I want an excellent handling car with a reasonable amount of power.

The rough plan:

Shell prep. This is where I've spent most of my time researching and is something I want to get right from the get go. I'm starting with a relatively rust free shell from california and will take as much time as needed to make it as rust proof as I can get it. As well as soda blasting the car I'm planning on using Rapter bed liner underneath and lizard skin sound deadener and heat protection sprayed on the interior. All seams will have new seam sealer and I will probably drill small access holes in all box sections to spray a treatment inside.

Engine and drivetrain. I'm planning on using the pretty well proven RB25DET with the CD009 gearbox. It's a relatively straightforward swap and will give me my power goals without having to have a highly tuned temperamental engine. Will be more than likely using an R200 diff and cv axles.

Suspension. I'm planning on using the Apex Engineered front crossmember and rear suspension conversion. With all their fully adjustable control arms etc. Not the crazy cantilever setup. I'm swayed towards bc coilovers but will definitely take recommendations on better options.

Electrics. I'm hoping to replace all the wiring in the car and upgrade all lights to LED.

Body. I'm pretty much wanting to keep this as it came from the factory but with some arches and more than likely minus the bumpers. I think I'll give the chrome a miss and have it black. Colour is definitely a problem for future me as I continually change my mind.

Interior. This will probably be pretty standard bar the contact points such as seat, steering wheel and gear knob. I also plan to have a rear cage fitted to help with body strength.

As with all good plans they evolve with time so I may change my mind as my experience with the car grows. I'm always open to suggestions and advice. I think setting a deadline is too optimistic at the minute but I'd like the car driveable in 18months. We'll see how that goes though [emoji1787][emoji1696]
 

Wally

Club Member
The good the bad and the ugly.

So I've spent yesterday going over the car and making mental lists of what needs doing to the shell and bodywork as this will be main priority to start with. I want a solid base.

The car is a 71 240z, has come from California and is pretty rust free. Although the body has some flaws. Some minor, some more major in my eyes. So in no perticular order:

Exterior shots.
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The body isn't in too bad of a shape with some minor dents which should easily come out with a bit of dolly work. My main area of concern is the rear end. There is a small dent to the left of the rear light and the rear bumper us in a state and requires serious work. Sections may well need to be replaced as I think they are beyond panel beating them back into shape.

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The bonnet may be saveable or might need replacing. The corners aren't the best the main portion looks good.

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Wally

Club Member
The doors and tailgate look good to me with no rust. Slight damage to the left hand door where a mirror was fitted.

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The slam panel on the boot is another matter though and requires replacing and a patch on the panel underneath.

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Floor rails require replacing as does the right hand floor due to overzealous use of a jack or from a set of forks at the docks.

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The interior isn't in the greatest of states but I'll save and restore what I can. Surprisingly a lot of the rear interior panels are intact with no cracks. I've got a new rhd dash to go in and I'll get or make a new carpet and coverings for everything. Still undecided if I'll stick with the standard seats or not.

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Last edited:

richiep

Club Member
I would’ve said that rear damage is pretty easily repairable without replacement. Some stud welding and maybe a pull or two with a chassis dozer would get it close, plus some hammer and dolly time.
 

Wally

Club Member
I would’ve said that rear damage is pretty easily repairable without replacement. Some stud welding and maybe a pull or two with a chassis dozer would get it close, plus some hammer and dolly time.

I'm certainly going to give it a good go at repairing it before concidering replacing the metal. Hammer and dolly is another skill I'm going to have to learn.


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Robbie J

Club Member
have you checked all over with a magnet? The first US car I had was hiding stuff under the paint. The rear slam panel rust means water has been in the back etc the US love "mud" in the 80s
 

Wally

Club Member
have you checked all over with a magnet? The first US car I had was hiding stuff under the paint. The rear slam panel rust means water has been in the back etc the US love "mud" in the 80s

I've not but it's going for sand blasting in around 4 weeks so I'll find out any fun surprises then. The car lloks to have been originally orange, then a deep blue and finally the horrendous matt black. Hopefully not too many surprises.


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uk66fastback

Club Member
Plenty would get it running, redo the interior and drive it as is :D

But having it blasted will tell you the full extent of the work required.
 

Wally

Club Member
Plenty would get it running, redo the interior and drive it as is :D

But having it blasted will tell you the full extent of the work required.

I have concidered it. The temptation to just get it going and enjoy it is strong. I think if I started driving it I'd never get around to stripping it and getting all the work done.

I've got a thing in my head with this car and rust so I want to make sure that issue is resolved before I start enjoying.


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Wally

Club Member
The strip down begins.

Didn't want to start stripping down the car without having some shelving to organise all the parts I'm pulling off so that was today's first job.

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All the interior is stripped bar the dash. I can't believe how much of a pain the rear seat nuts were. The sliders for both seats were seized so access was a nightmare.

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Just needs a good vacuum then it will do for now. I'm surprised that all but one of the rear interior panels are perfect. They'll just need a clean up and I may coat them in fabric before they go back on.

The engine is all disconected and ready to come out. Just waiting on an engine hoist or I may just lift the body off the engine and front crossmember once the rotisserie arrives. Undecided.

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The front wings were my first stumbling block and where I stopped for the day. The two screw headed bolts near the A pillar are seized on both sides and the heads are mush. Will need to get a stud extractor or drill them out. Why didn't they put bolts in there like the rest of the wing.

I'll be starting again tomorrow and hopefully I'll have the dash out.
 

Wally

Club Member
Well the dash is out. What a pain that was. Forty odd year old electrical connectors did not want to come apart easily. The removal wasn't helped by spurious wires everywhere from some aftermarket alarm and sterio.

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Hopefully I'll have it fully stripped down by next weekend then time to get it booked in at the blasters.


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Wally

Club Member
Haven't got as much done as I've wanted over the last week. Started again on the strip down today. The wings are off and everything us looking good underneath. Only one tiny area of rust. The top bolts by the a pillar were a nightmare. Why didn't they use bolts rather than screw heads? Ended up grinding two out to free the wing
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The small area of rust
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Wally

Club Member
Is this place fine for an axle stand? Looks solid enough.

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Wally

Club Member
And me. Can you turn the stand through 90' and fit it under the bush?

This sort of position? In my head the car wouldn't be as stable there when on 4 stands. I definitely need to get a jack with a higher lift. The sgs one I'm using now ain't great.
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