vadfamous

i am currently stripping the 1972 z i bought. i had a guy come out to take the hatch glass and the windshield glass out. he ended up breaking my windshield and didnt know if you could still get the gasket and all that. is this guy an amateur? i would like to replace the glass without the chrome trim. do you guys know if this is possible? i have all the trim pieces still so not a big deal but i think it would look better without. i also took off the side trim as i think it looks unnecessary.

also, ive been taking all the paint off of the car and it looks like there are quite a few dents in it. also rust holes in the lower drivers door and passenger and driver fender. holes in both floor pans too. do you guys think i could get it painted and repaired for $4000 if i strip the car and do all the grunt work? sorry i dont have pics. just wondering what you guys have experienced with restoring these things cost wise.

zxguy1986

Welcome to ZDriver!

There are trim-less solutions to windshield surrounds, black rubber stuff of various profiles. Honda types use them all the time. Your window glass guy can supply them and maybe there's even a catalog.

It's probably not fair for you to ask for body work $estimate$ without posting photos here. Words really don't make it in that department if you know what I mean.

Thanks and welcome!

Lazlo

You can do a lot with $4k but it really depends on what you want when it is finished. You could easily spend $8k in show car paint alone or you could get it done for $1k if you know a local guy who does paint on the side. The real work (98%) is in prep.

Paint is one of those things where the old adage that you get what you pay for is absolutely true.

Fixing the rust has to happen first. A shoddy job will just rust right back through the paint in no time. Do you weld yourself or have an interest in buying the equipment and learning? A general rule is that there is actually twice as much rust to be dealt with than what you can easily see. If there is rust on the door skin, then it is probably rusted internally as well.

Post some pics and we can give you a better idea of what you are dealing with.

Have fun with it! The zbug isn't easy to get rid of once you catch it

vadfamous

here are some pictures. let me know what you think of the welds on the back pillars and on the front passenger side pillar it looks like they leaded it. did they replace the whole roof on this thing? the car was intact and i tore everything off of it. have been grinding paint off slowly but surely. like you said its alot of money in prep work so i am trying to take care of everything i can. i know how to weld but i have a pretty small garage so i am trying to limit the amount of tools i buy. i may buy a stud welder to atleast take care of some dents. i think i bought a car that has been beat up pretty good, but im already in this deep and im not going to stop now.
i am also a plumber by trade so i am hoping to trade work as well as pay cash. it turns out my buddys boss owns an auto body shop and loves 240s. he has like 5 of them. also he needs some plumbing work done so i may have lucked out. i have worked on cars a bit. also worked in an autobody shop for a year. im also not afraid to get dirty (plumber).
thanks alot guys.

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zxguy1986

[QUOTE] the car was intact and i tore everything off of it. have been grinding paint off slowly but surely. like you said its a lot of money in prep work so i am trying to take care of everything i can...but im already in this deep and im not going to stop now. ...i have worked on cars a bit. also worked in an auto body shop for a year. i'm also not afraid to get dirty (plumber).

You just lowered your cost estimate by 70% since the hard (time-consuming) stuff is being done by you. Great idea. You already know how to pace it - so do it right. Definitely a labor of love here. Take your time and give everyone your best work.

Those cuts/welds at the roof say it was replaced at some point. Car may have been rolled. Not a problem for you at this point.

Now that you're doing photos , maybe you can turn this into a thread for the archives. Lots of guys here thinking about a major restoration like yours. You could help them get the nerve up to do it... One more Z on the road is a great thing...

vadfamous

i will definitely keep posting pictures. just talked to the guy at the auto body shop he sounds like hes into it. he asked me what i wanted from the car and i told him i want a nice smooth finish with the body, nice long lasting paint job and i want the rust taken care of so i dont have to worry about it again. it looks like the rust is in the normal areas. the spare wheel tub looks like it has has surface rust. is it normal for the floor pans to be rotted through but the frame rail under it intact?
luckily my wife is easy on me and is only have a mild panic attack about the car i just bought and tore apart immediately. and so far only a few parts from the car have made it into the spare bedroom/office for storage.
wish me luck.

zxguy1986

Well done.

Yes, the floor pans can rust out without the frame being affected. It happens when rainwater is allowed to sit in the pans for an extended period. They are inside and closed off - so the water cannot evaporate. Rust city. The frame underneath is open to the air, dry and not affected. It rusts at a predictable rate that does not affect the frame's strength until you can poke a screwdriver through it.

Keep at it - and post photos at each stage, even if you are not doing the work yourself. Thanks, vad

vadfamous

well i finally got most of the paint stripped off. for the past few months ive been getting estimates on how much to fix the rust, the dents, and paint the car. its ranged from 6k- 10k+. i was getting upset because i thought that stripping the car of all lights, glass and getting all the paint off was going to save me a ton of money. but once the people i were talking to heard about a little rust it becomes a major issue. i made one fatal mistake after buying this car. i took all the glass out and basically made it undriveable so i had to call into places to get estimates and send pictures. since this is my first time doing this i obviously didnt think this through. if i had been able to drive it in and get estimates its may have been a different story.

but there is good news!
i was patient and spoke with everyone i knew and, as it turns out, my friends brothers friend knew a guy less than a mile from me who does autobody work on the side. so it looks like i may get out of this with less than 5k (hopefully more like $3500).

a message to all newbies like me, think stuff through!

i will post pics as soon as the job is done. hopefully ill be illegally driving it to his house next week and itll probably take him a month or two.

cheers mates

zxguy1986

Good work so far! You are a stick-to-it owner.

Soldier on! That Z NEEDS to get back on the road!

vadfamous

so the guy i got to do the body work on my car called me the other day. he was welding in a repair piece to patch the sunroof someone put it there a long time ago and he caught my seat on fire. i went and looked at it and it looks like there is damage to the steering wheel, dash, center console, seat belt, visor, a pillar coverings, wiring in the roof and the seat is completely toasted.

my feeling is that he should have taken the seat out or at least covered it in some type of blanket. he said he would fix it for me. should i file an insurance claim? would it matter if this guy working on my car on the side? i got full coverage on the car when i bought it and it covers everything except if i crash my own vehicle at my own fault. this really sucks im not sure how to proceed.

thanks guys

88dangerdan

First I would document all damage you noticed ( pictures, lots of pics, date and time you became aware ).My next question would be how does he plan on fixing it? Don't know said welder but it would seem to me he should have thrown a fire blanket over everything in the interior. But to late for that.
As far as your question about the insurance that is a personal choice. Is it going to jack up your payments? Is this a friend because they'll go after him for restitution . Sounds like there is a lot damage. Although they might be small burn holes. Is that how you want to leave your car.could be a issue come time to sell.
well there's my 2-1/2 cents worth. Good luck

vadfamous

He is not a friend. I just got referred to him from a friend. I dont want to screw the guy over but I definitely want it fixed. I was worried that the insurance would go after him. I told him Im trying to keep it original so he needs to find all the right stuff. This is just a really crappy situation that could have been avoided. I dont know what to do.

Lazlo

Go have a nice, rational, calm conversation with the guy. Anybody who is going to be welding over uncovered interior is either a complete hack or a newbie. He could end up causing more problems than he fixes.

What if he does all of the rust repair and ends up getting the metal too hot and warping the panels? Now you are either going to have 100 lbs of filler in the body or a crappy job that will cost twice as much to repair properly.

You may want to cut your losses, figure out a fair agreement between the work he has done and the damage he has caused, and then take your car elsewhere.

myfirstcar280zx

I am about to take this kind of project on myself. I am looking for a donor car that i can cut a section of roof windshield frame from that isn't so rusted and keep me from having to do the bend and finding a donor car in this area may be the hardest part. Any cajuns around?? Help a girl out will ya.