I discorvered some rust on the frame rail a couple of days ago, and on closer inspection today it looks pretty bad. The rusty part is about six centimeters long, and it has rusted through. I guess after my exams i'll have to fix it up. I must truly be a Zed owner, now that I have experienced my first bit of rust!

Alan, Australia

 

u gotta fix that stuff ..... if u find this much, best to look around the whole car, and fix any u find now, or else give it a little longer, the car will be worth crap all...

<font color=blue>76 260z</font color=blue>
The NiteRider

 

yeah, I'll do it in two weeks. My dad said I should sand it back ,put rust converter on it, the spray 'fish oil' in it the weld on a bit of metal and prime and paint it. Is this what I should do?

Alan, Australia

 

Hi, Alan.
I was wondering whare the rust is located exactly.
I had the same problem my frame rail rusted out right before the firewall on the wheel well side all the way up to the battery trey itself. This is how I repaired it.
1. clean area of all dirt
2. sandblast everything you think is rusty(blisters in the paint.)
If you have a compresser you can buy a portable blaster
for $45.00 Can/Aus. This is the best way to remove
the "cancer".
3. tap at the sandblasted area with a pointed pick hammer
to expose all thin sheet metal
4. group the holes into formable sections and cut them out
using a cut-of saw with a thin disk. Make sure not to bend
the pieces. don't forget to drill out the spotwelds
5. form the new pieces from new sheet using damaged
pieces as templates. drill new holes for plug welds.
its amazing what you can form with a body hammer,
dolly, and vice
6. sandblast any newly exposed metal IE flanges or the
inside of the frame rail. coat inside with por-15 leave the
flange surfeces bare.
7.Very important -blow/clean away all sand. spray the flange
mating surfaces with WELD-THRU primer.
8. but weld and plug weld new pieces into place. It's not hard
I learned how to do it in about fifteen minutes and I was
only seventeen. Make sure to weld only 1/2 inch beads at
alternate points and leave a little less then a 16th between
the two pieces (When you weld, the heat causes the
metal to expand beyond it's elastic point and the weld area
might loose its shape).
9. sandblast and grind all welds. metal prep
and coat with an epoxy primer.
10.If done properly the repair cannot be identified or seen,
you can then oil(Rust Check) to prevent rust.

I may have left something out so E-mail me if you have any questions. I have replaced the equivolent of almost
2, 4x8sheets of steel on my car. so have gained extensive experience.
BTW here is a link that might help:
http://www.randomunity.com/superrod/...ech_skins.html
I also have some pics of from my car if you need any references.




IT'S ZED NOT ZEE GOD----DAMIT!!!!

 

Thanks for the help... It's not that bad, its just on the frame rail, about a foot back from the wheel (under drivers side door) Do I need to sand balst it, because it would be very hard for me to get a sandblaster

Alan, Australia

 

Hey guys anyone know of any sites like Zspeedrazor's with tutorials on rust removal and details on what tools are required etc. My battery area on my Z as well as the door, hatch and some minor fender rust all need attention with my rebuild. I've currently enrolled into a welding course through my Uni which I'll be doing part time, when I'm not doing my computer course.
My goal with my car is to do the majority of the work myself and done properly at the same time. I've never restored a car before but I've been working on them now for around 4 years on and off where need be.
I have a website with the project I'm undertaking and some snap shots of the rust.
http://www.project240z.0catch.com/body.htm
(never mind my contradictory comments at the top of the page that was before I was gonna do the bodywork myself).

I am wondering if anyone knows of some great books with usefull info on what tools I'd need and what I should and shouldn't attempt.
Thanks

Gavin,
Melbourne
Australia
73' Datsun 240z
<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by 240z on 06/16/02 11:43 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

You did not post further up on the page(i don't think).... You're in australia, I have this book called 'Readers Digest book of the Car' -its got pretty good info on rust repair, as well other info on how cars work. Apart from that, I don't know

Alan, Australia

 

Once you fix the rust, a great thing to do, is detail the entire frame. Before you spray in the oil, get a sanding disc and a wire wheel, and remove all the rust you can get to. Then, buy some Por-15 or Coroless (from Eastwood). Brush or spray this on, and after it cures, touch it up with some Krylon satin black.

Let this cure, then spray your oil in. Your frame will look great and it will have some protection.

Good luck with the welding.

74 260Z Turbo
79 280Z
77 Corvette L-48
01 Montero Sport
02 Hyundai Elantra GT

 

Alan
If you like you can drop in one day & I'll have a look over your car - I've taken care of most kinds of rust in my 240....

Ben
Adelaide
Sth Australia
IZCC#1902
240Z L31ETT
L28ET MR30 Skyline
FJ20DET DR30 Skyline RS-X

 

If its not to much of a hassel, that would be great. I was planning on going to my uncles place and fixing it up there, as he has a welder, and pretty good knowledge of cars.

Alan, Australia

 

For books and/or articles, I've found Wick Humble's classic _How To Restore Your Datsun Z Car_ to be an absolute necessity for body restoration with the ubiquitous early Z rust.
Also, if you happen to have the Fall 2001 Issue of Sport Z, there's a great article in there by Jim Seethram who worked through a nightmare of rust on a '78 in Canada. If your rust turns out to be much worse than anticipated (sometimes it's hiding and you only find it as you start to work on it), then Zedd Findings (http://www.datsunzparts.com/) has a nice selection of replacement body bits like frame rails, floor pans, and more.
Dave

 

I forgot to mention that it has rusted from the inside out (it doesn't have a drain hole) Does this mean I need to look for where the water is getting in, and on the same note, the other frame rail, which has a drain hole, isn't rusted. Should I make a drain hole in the rusted one?

Thanks for all the help, its much appreciated

Alan, Australia

 

im going through a very similar problem!! http://photos.yahoo.com/chase240z/ tell me what you think!

chase
just another rb26dett transplant,
drifter enthusiast...GO OLD SKOOL DRIFTERS!

 

Well, I'm gonna attack the rust sometime this week when it looks like its not going to rain. I also found some minor rust in other places that I'm going to fix. Bought some rust converter and some kill rust paint, so hopefully I'll bite it before it gets too bad. I'll post my results once I'm done

Alan, Australia

 

I think it might be mig, is it a long grey stick that you use to weld, and do you clip a clamp on to the metal? if so it is a mig. I don't have a welder, but my uncle has a mig, so if i need to weld he helps me

Alan, Australia

 

MIG rigs vary in strength. You usually get a 110 V or a 220 V (well, here in the US anyway...). They've usually got a rating on how long you can continually use them before they overheat and die, along with a rating on how thick a piece of steel they can weld with 100% penetration (which is critical). The vast majority of the time they *must* use some sort of gas to allow forming a good weld and not just tons of oxidation.
If you haven't seen one, the basic idea is that they feed the wire into the puddle formed by a rapid, strong arc from the wire itself, and there's your weld. They're fast and easy to use (especially overhead), and cheap to buy. The downside is they're not usually very pretty welds, so no nice "row of dimes" joinery like on a good roll bar or racing frame.
I've used them to get effect on first gen Z's (the steel is relatively thin on unibodies), but the "frame rail" is some of the thickest steel on the car, so check the specs on the welder unit. Have fun! MIG is a good way to learn welding. If you haven't welded before, just be sure you're well protected. MIGs look innocuous, but the radiation sunburn can be just as bad as a high-dollar TIG unit. And of course, pics of the results would be really cool to see. Good luck!
Dave