Hi Guys,

Well its been a while but my beloved zed has been sleeping quietly in the garage underneath an indoor cover,

but unbeknown to me has been rusting without me knowing, really annoyed. ( how its rusted in an indoor garage is puzzling me )

 

first sign is a fuel tank leak, so began the process of removing the rear tank,

 

looking under the rear arch behind the bumper, it has rotted through, this has been repaired before but again has rotted through,

does anyone have any pics or experience with repairing this section?

 

looking under the zed it looks like I will be dropping the subframe and using a product called POR 15

http://www.frost.co.uk/semi-gloss-black-por15-rust-prevention-paint-946ml.html

 

I have sprayed loads of waxoil and stone chip under the arches that did nothing to stop the rust, what is the best way to clean it all off to bare metal so I can do a proper job?

 

any help would be greatly appreciated regarding dropping the rear subframe, and redoing the brake pipes, do these need to be done as

a complete section front to back, or do you join them somewhere, ive tried the search function but I need a little more help with the brake pipes

and hicas pipes that seem to have rotted

 

any help greatly appreciated

lots of info here about rust and what someone did to restore his zed

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/thanks-everyone.15465/

lots of info here about rust and what someone did to restore his zed

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/thanks-everyone.15465/

 

That's Redwine300 on here mate...... He knows his stuff and has just replaced the Radiator crossmember.......

 

http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?184923-Radiator-cross-member-replacement-day-one

That's Redwine300 on here mate...... He knows his stuff and has just replaced the Radiator crossmember.......

 

http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?184923-Radiator-cross-member-replacement-day-one

 

Thanks for that, Redwine seems a dab hand with the tig welder good man :) he has inspired me to fix the rear also

 

I have done my sills but I used a product called aquasteel

http://aquasteel.co.uk/

and im not happy with the results, whether its me or the prep work but the surface rust has come back

 

what would you say ould be the best way to go with this rust?

 

ive seen people use etch primer then paint then waxoil, but what about using something like por 15? I know its going to b a nightmare to remove the

waxoil and stonechip what have others used?

Im wondering if maybe i could cut a section of the back and replace it with one from a breakers?

Has anyone done this before?

Can anyone recomend a good breakers?

 

As there is a bit of welding to do i thought this might be an easier way

these are the pictures so far of the rust and hacking I have done

AS you can see its looking pretty bad in there but I am slowly hacking out the bad parts, will be looking into the best cavity corrosion protection hopefully

you have your work cut out there dude

Dan is so funny. Keep at it mate you will get there and JoelyP would know whats the best cavity protection so check his threads.

Pretty common I'm afraid. Unless your garage is hermetically sealed, you will always get moisture on the car (condensation forms on the metal as the metal cools quicker than the air at night)

 

Surface rust on recently repaired panels is due to insufficient sealing of that metal. Use a proper etching zinc primer prior to using underseal otherwise it will just creep back through.

You got a long road there sadly. Good luck though. Nature of the beast really, old cars, a humid country and rust.

I think I did not help the situation...

I put a plastic sheet over the zed for a dust sheet, and after a few months there was a damp smell and mould inside the zed, I think

this has dramatically accelerated the rust in my zed

 

Thanks to Baz I will have a repair section for the rear arch and hopefully the front section too cross fingers,

 

im still on the lookout for a drivers side if anyone knows of one going.

I think I did not help the situation...

I put a plastic sheet over the zed for a dust sheet, and after a few months there was a damp smell and mould inside the zed, I think

this has dramatically accelerated the rust in my zed

 

Thanks to Baz I will have a repair section for the rear arch and hopefully the front section too cross fingers,

 

im still on the lookout for a drivers side if anyone knows of one going.

 

You effectively built a condensation trap. That's actually how you'd get drinking water out of damp air in a survival situation lol

I know tell me about it, once I realised my mistake it was too late and a very painful regret... since then it has had a lovley soft indoor cover, but its tool late the damage was done grrrr.

Onwards and upwards mate. Just make sure you cut out all the rot.

That might be quite difficult in places but will do the best i can,

I have seen a product called dynax s50 that is meant to be good for the inner sills and box sections i cannot get to

 

What would be the best way forward with this patch of rust, I don't want it coming back again, do I need to cut it out completely and weld a new piece in? or do I use a rust cure product primer and paint?

any help greatly appreceated

What would be the best way forward with this patch of rust, I don't want it coming back again, do I need to cut it out completely and weld a new piece in? or do I use a rust cure product primer and paint?

any help greatly appreceated

IMO ....cut out and weld in new metal.

Rust cure products dont actually cure ALL the rust....it eventually comes back.

What would be the best way forward with this patch of rust, I don't want it coming back again, do I need to cut it out completely and weld a new piece in? or do I use a rust cure product primer and paint?

any help greatly appreceated

IMO ....cut out and weld in new metal.

Rust cure products dont actually cure ALL the rust....it eventually comes back.

 

Thanks for the reply matey, that makes sense about the rust spreading, im getting a rear wing section from a breakers ( Thanks Bazz ) I could use this for the repair section cut out and weld in, ill keep you updated

Big thanks to Bazz for the donor rear section :) this is the progress so far, a bit daunting but nothing ventured ....

this is the donor section

Cut the inner arch section off to reveal the outer half of the inner arch section

clean where the spot welds are so I know where to drill them out with a spot face drill

cut the boot floor section off and clean

clean the inner arch section to reveal more spot welds

 

So the idea is to completely replace the rear arch section as you can see, yes it wont go in as intended during production as I cant get to the inner spot welds so a seam weld will have to do, but as my inner arch has rusted to nothing I thought this was the best way forward,

 

I really would like to use a panel bond adhesive to put the section back in as it will not rust in the seams again, the struggle is to remove the inner arch lip from the outer arch lip, this is the lip that goes around the wheel, I don't want to damage the outer section at all so what the best way to separate these?

 

anyone here work in a body shop?

Onto the outer arch section, after redwine300 inspirational post ive decided to do a similar thing...Gulp here goes

Hats off to you mate, stick at it. :bow::bow:

Good work so far and I could never even begin to attempt such a task so it would be costing me a lot. Given the nature of owning old cars which may attract the rust I would be looking at the costs of heating my garage. I know its not suitable for everyone but for some it may be a smart investment that will protect their pride and joy and work out cheaper than the bills that will eventually come.

That's it proper job, well done. Don't loose your nerve, it's going to get pretty scarey before your done here.