So It would appear that the guy that had the Z before me misplaced the frame rails! I wonder what part of the yard he left them in, or all over the road. Either way, do these MSA Frame rails I was reading about in other posts work on 83 280zx Turbos? Or do i have to get creative? I don't have much along the lines of frame left. They were covered in an undercoated and would appear that they rusted from the inside out, and got crushed or something.

 

Misplaced the frame rails? The Z's are unibody... it's not like he just unbolted them.

Did he cut them out to replace them?

 

Nahhh they rusted out and haven't been replaced. I found some the MSA rails everyone was talking about. I was just wondering how well the would fit on a 280zx of they would fit at all, or if i'm going to have to make some from tubing. I obvioulsy don't know a ton about Z's or restoring frame rails, So I was wondering if they would work.

 

Are you talking about the S30 (240z-280z) frame rails? http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/SBC1B10/30-7314

No... it's not a direct replacement. If you don't have any auto, welding, or body experience, you should not jump straight to repairing the frame rails yourself.

 

I have outside help from a friend! So i'm not alone! I know the frame rails are pretty much shot, but being a unibody wouldn't still be drivable for the most part? I got it just as a summer time toy kinda thing. Or should I just try and get rid of the car now?

 

that depends. did you buy it as a fixer-upper type toy, just beat around type toy, or a use-it and abuse-it toy?

Fixer-upper: if you don't have a bit of money to spend fixing it then i'd go ahead and pass it on to someone else. frame rails are a very extensive undertaking if you are trying to do it yourself. I recommend professional help.

Beat around: its a beat around toy, you could prolly let the frame rails slide with no ill concequences. you get a lil body flex. worste case, you hit a bad *** bump and your body tweaks out of allignment.

**use-it/abuse-it: who the heck ever spends money repairing an abuse-it car?


**if the rest of the car is in good shape then please don't destroy it. but if the whole thing is in an utter state of crap, i guess i've no argument against it. hate to see any z get destroyed though. (reincarnate it as a rat rod!)

 

Yea, upon first inspection it looked like it just needed some TLC. From what we could see before i bought it the frame rails looked ok. It just needed some interior stuff and a tune up. Once i jacked it up and started looking around i could see how bad the underside actually was. It's not pretty. So I may just drive it till it dies. Or do a motor swap of some sort. The engine still screams it was rebuilt a few years ago.

 

I'd fix it myself I dont see why you couldnt make your own subframe for it