Navigating a nut-and-bolt restoration.

Huw

Club Member
Hi Matt

All the advice so far has been good, the bible is a must for you as pmac said. What he also said about timescales is spot on. I have done quite a few restorations on other makes of car, mainly really old stuff and they take an inordinate amount of time. The ZX is the most modern I've done. It depends on what you are trying to achieve, a show car or just a solid day driver. Comes down to how much time and or money you want to invest to get the finish you ultimately want.

As a rule I will always try to refurbish as many parts as possible before I look for new bits to keep the cost down. No rule of thumb for this as its down to the part in question. If its just a bit rusty, then a chemical dip or abrasive removal and re-coat with paint or re-plate in the case of a bolt for example. Getting chrome bits re-plated properly can cost you almost as much as replacing with new if the part is available, so watch out for that. Don't be tempted to get a cheap chrome plate job done. Quality costs with chrome plating.

I can let you have a list I kept of all the parts I had to replace on the ZX to give you a flavour if that helps. Most of the parts I will always replace are service items that wear out (bearings, tracked ends, brake linings etc) or perish with age (pipes, bushes and seals). Bolts, nuts, screws and small fittings can all be silver or yellow zinc plated and its pretty cheap to do. There are other plating options out there. Brackets and bigger bits such as suspension parts can be stripped and painted or plated then powder coated if you prefer to get it done professionally. I never throw stuff away off a car unless it is pretty much scrap. Old bits are good for patterns to make new if you need to.

Have fun matey, this is the best bit. Oh and don't scratch that lovely paint of yours..... :)

Cheers

Huw
 

Mr Tenno

Digital Officer
Staff member
Site Administrator
Some great advice guys - thanks! Definitely sounds like picking a section at a time is the way to go.

As you can see it's all well organised and labelled :EXTRAlol:
 

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Some great advice guys - thanks! Definitely sounds like picking a section at a time is the way to go.

As you can see it's all well organised and labelled :EXTRAlol:

I'm exactly the same.

I struggle for time, so it'll be little bits. Yesterday, I did a cavity wax job on it, almost too much as the car was 'bleeding' everywhere. Job Number 1 done.

to get some bits out the way that I was sick of moving, inspection lamp/bonnet hinges/id plate fitted/bonnet support rod all fitted (looks nice also)

Cleaned some engine bay threads out and put screws in them.

2.5hours total....
 

johnymd

Club Member
Cavity wax - Thought it was about time I re-did the rat look car and sprayed it in all the nooks and crannies'. Mine is also bleeding from every orifice. Quite satisfying knowing its coated everything and having the ramp made it a 10 minute job.
 
this is my custom nissan specific setup for those big dark passages. No hole is safe.

HFY03r9.jpg
 

toopy

Club Member
Cavity wax - Thought it was about time I re-did the rat look car and sprayed it in all the nooks and crannies'. Mine is also bleeding from every orifice. Quite satisfying knowing its coated everything and having the ramp made it a 10 minute job.

Do you drill access holes in the chassis rails, sills and front cross member for complete coverage?
 
Do you drill access holes in the chassis rails, sills and front cross member for complete coverage?

I think on a built car thats the only way to do it. I'd guess he's had to drill in the arch behind the dogleg, along the engine rails, into the floor support rails. Could be a sensible thing to do, then use rubber plugs?
 

Makesy

Club Member
Some really good advice here from others so far.

I had never attempted to restore a car until I picked up my 240z - I only had experience with basic maintenance on my MX-5.

My first move was a very obvious one - I needed to get the car running. New plugs, new fuel plugs and a couple of bad earths later, and she was firing, but spluttering.
This led me down the next path of "what is causing the splutter? Fuel? Air? Spark?" And so I was away....

A lot of my experience has been around finding the areas which need work as I go along. eg) my gauges didn't work, but I didn't know the root cause of why, or finding little patches of rust which needed fixing after I'd removed the fuel tank.

I recently found an old pinboard and used it to make a job list. For a couple of months I wasn't achieving much more than tinkering, however I now try and cross off a job every time I venture into the garage! Definitely worth making a list and sticking with it.

Try to keep a record of costs along the way. At worst it will support if you ever decided to sell your car, but I find it useful to help me weigh up where my money is going!

I also find that keeping my build thread updated helps to keep me motivated, and gets me thinking about solutions to issues I'm facing...


...which is probably why I woke up in the middle of the night with an idea of how to fix my fuel filler hose!
 
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