tyroguru
Club Member
I've decided to mix it up a bit and do some metal replacement. Obviously I'll see how this goes but the areas that I'm thinking of tackling to start with include floor pans and rails, battery tray area and some of the firewall, outer sills on both sides. As usual I'll maybe change plans slightly as I go along.
I've had the car on a rotiserrie doing various bit and bobs so I need to get it onto a jig of some sorts to do this work and I'd seen a jig design on classiczcars.com which had a whole bunch of measurements provided together with some nice pics which is perfect for me as it removes the need for original thought . Here's a photo of the original jig design which I've followed (all credits to user ConVerTT on classiczcars.com):
I made the design from 50mmx3mm box section and 3mm right angle apart from the front ARB support which I did in 20mmx3mm section (according to the given design). Now I'm sure this may be a bit over engineered and I've no idea if this is the best way to make a jig for the 240Z but this appealed to me a lot because it would give me plenty of welding practice which I desperately need! The jig I've eventually made is pretty much identical to the above photo apart from a very slight change to the section that bolts into the transmission tunnel mount.
Anyhoo, the project gave me a chance to buy a new tool which is always a good thing. On account of the amount of metal needed cutting I got myself a new band saw - a Femi SN105 from Stakesys - and this is definitely now one of my favourite tools: I love it.
Well, the car is now on the jig and it feels totally rock solid and I'm really pleased with it. We'll have to see if all my welds hold up over time as some of them were decidedly poor but it was a great learning experience for me with my welding. Note to self: always re-check the basics and don't go looking for more complex explanations when things aren't going well with the welds as apparently wire speed settings get mystically altered sometimes!
I've had the car on a rotiserrie doing various bit and bobs so I need to get it onto a jig of some sorts to do this work and I'd seen a jig design on classiczcars.com which had a whole bunch of measurements provided together with some nice pics which is perfect for me as it removes the need for original thought . Here's a photo of the original jig design which I've followed (all credits to user ConVerTT on classiczcars.com):
I made the design from 50mmx3mm box section and 3mm right angle apart from the front ARB support which I did in 20mmx3mm section (according to the given design). Now I'm sure this may be a bit over engineered and I've no idea if this is the best way to make a jig for the 240Z but this appealed to me a lot because it would give me plenty of welding practice which I desperately need! The jig I've eventually made is pretty much identical to the above photo apart from a very slight change to the section that bolts into the transmission tunnel mount.
Anyhoo, the project gave me a chance to buy a new tool which is always a good thing. On account of the amount of metal needed cutting I got myself a new band saw - a Femi SN105 from Stakesys - and this is definitely now one of my favourite tools: I love it.
Well, the car is now on the jig and it feels totally rock solid and I'm really pleased with it. We'll have to see if all my welds hold up over time as some of them were decidedly poor but it was a great learning experience for me with my welding. Note to self: always re-check the basics and don't go looking for more complex explanations when things aren't going well with the welds as apparently wire speed settings get mystically altered sometimes!