Horrible day for my Z [RE-build thread]

[t.mcginley.jr]

So I've been trying to sell my Z for the last few weeks, not really in a rush but I was seeing what offers I got. In the mean time my DD was a 99 Altima while the Z was just sitting in the driveway. Long story short, I stopped to pick up some Spec V rims for my Altima so I was a little late getting home. When I came in, everyone was immediately trying to calm me down but I didn't know why. Apparently my dad had been drinking and decided to get something to eat and took the only car available.... my Z. On the way home he must have hit some ice and well... this happened:








I have no words...

Earlier yesterday it looked like this:




Anyway, I'm most worried about the core support being messed up. It looks like the crash bar and the steel brackets that hold it took most of the damage. The frame rails looked fine, but the pass. headlight is pushed into the core support and the clutch fan is up against the radiator. I can't even get the hood open because it's jammed shut.. any ideas?

[300ZXttZMAN]

Damn man sounds like a night mare. I'm very sorry to see/hear this.

When you get a chance pull the bumper cover off and see how the front end looks, don't forget to look at the bottom of the core support. I can help you with parts if you want to fix it.

[t.mcginley.jr]

Thanks Mark.

From the looks of it, the hood, bumper cover, crash bar & brackets, one or both headlights, fog lights + buckets and possibly corner lights are all trash. I just hope the core support isn't too banged up. I don't know the condition of the radiator, aux fan or AC condenser. I definitely plan on fixing it, gonna take some time though. I'm hoping tonight when I get home I can get it in the garage and get the hood open.

I think I'm still in shock..

[ThisIsSparTTa]

Sucks Tom. You're a big help around here, and I see you on the FB parts group often, too. The 300ZX is not a snow/ice driving car. Ugh. Hopefully you can get something figured out. If you're going to rebuild, I might have some of the stuff you'll need, at least the fog light buckets and crash absorbers, I'll make you a good deal on stuff: https://austin.craigslist.org/pts/4289968933.html

[zcar93na]

That's enough to make a man sick, you have a very nice Z

I have a crash bar and absorbers, auxiliary fan, ac condenser, and some ac lines. Let me know if you need anything

[Godfoot]

I am so sorry for your situation!!! This is heartbreaking! If we can help in any way please don't hesitate to ask!!

[z32loverboy]

I hate to see that. I'm glad you're planning to fix it though. I hate to see people get out of the Z game because of something like this. It's heartbreaking, I know how you feel, but you'll have her good as new and won't even think about it! I'd say I could help with parts as well but I sold my spare shell last week. Good luck

[Z-owned]

What's your dad's response to it?

[DCaff300ZX]

Wow, so sorry to see this and hopefully your Dad is taking responsibility for the damages...although it looks like you have a lot of work to do.
Glad to hear you plan to fix her back up!

[300ZXttZMAN]

What's your dad's response to it?

+1...

Thanks Mark.

From the looks of it, the hood, bumper cover, crash bar & brackets, one or both headlights, fog lights + buckets and possibly corner lights are all trash. I just hope the core support isn't too banged up. I don't know the condition of the aux fan or AC condenser. I definitely plan on fixing it, gonna take some time though. I'm hoping tonight when I get home I can get it in the garage and get the hood open.

I think I'm still in shock..

Yea take your time, don't be in a rush because it might upset you more.

[Godfoot]

What's your dad's response to it?

+1...

Thanks Mark.

From the looks of it, the hood, bumper cover, crash bar & brackets, one or both headlights, fog lights + buckets and possibly corner lights are all trash. I just hope the core support isn't too banged up. I don't know the condition of the aux fan or AC condenser. I definitely plan on fixing it, gonna take some time though. I'm hoping tonight when I get home I can get it in the garage and get the hood open.

I think I'm still in shock..

Yea take your time, don't be in a rush because it might upset you more.

+1 for this whole thing don't overload yourself. Take it in doses you can manage.

[t.mcginley.jr]

Thanks for the support guys and for the parts offers!

My dad is taking full responsibility and paying for anything I need to fix it, on top of apologizing. I can't really be that mad at him, one of his brothers just passed away and I know he didn't take it that well. Family problems, you know? I already forgave him basically, he IS my dad after all.

But anyway, me and a few buddies managed to get the car in the garage and tear down the front end some. I was able to start it and get it in, the clutch fan was about 1/16" away from the radiator, but it did impact it at some point in the crash because there's a big gash.

Here are some pics of its current state:









It's somewhat hard to tell from the pictures, but the core support is totally shot. It will be easier to take it completely off and weld a new one in then it would be to straighten it out. Both headlights were totally broken, along with the nose panel, air filter (MAF sensor survived, along with my PTU which I had relocated under the nose panel), fog lights + buckets, crash bar and brackets/bumpers, the bumper cover itself was annihilated, both under-headlight intake pipes were messed up, etc. Somehow my corner lights survived too. The metal bar that the hood latch bolts to is the only thing that stopped the aux fan from going through the AC condenser.. the fan blades were up against the metal and the bar itself is bent along with the latch itself. Fenders are still perfect, but obviously the hood is shot.

That shiny piece of aluminum you see in the one picture was the lower splash shield that I made... it used to be perfectly flat so you can imagine from how it looks now how bad the damage is. You can also see how far back toward the engine the radiator was pushed (and the twisted silicone upper hose). The suspension and everything is fine, and it seems like the radiator didn't even spill at drop even though its a cheap $126 knock-off ebay radiator that looks like a Mishimoto/Koyo.

I suppose I can use this as a "Rebuild" thread instead of a traditional "Build thread"

[DCaff300ZX]

All good news man, and looks good so far!
Been in there myself if from a smaller accident (see my "build") and feel your pain, but it looks like she is still in good hands...I look forward to your progress!

[t.mcginley.jr]

So tomorrow I should be picking this up for $150 (not sure if that's a good deal or not):



Somewhat dirty, but it should get the job done. I've never actually replaced a core support before, but I know I need a spot weld drill bit. I already have a mig welder and some friends who also know how to weld. In that picture I noticed that the frame rails are still attached to the core support... is that normal? I always assumed the frame rails were separate from the core support.

As a side note, part of me just wants to build a tubular front end... if I actually knew how

[Godfoot]

Wow Great progress already!!!! Can't wait to see her take shape again!!

[t.mcginley.jr]

Don't you hate when people have stuff for sale, tell you they will be available on a certain day/time, and then when you go to pick it up they are no where to be found? HATE THAT

But anyway, the guy finally answered on Sunday and I was able to pick up the core support. It looks nothing like that picture above (he must have gotten it off the internet or something), but luckily it was still in good shape and even had the crash bar, crash bar brackets, AC condensor, fog light buckets, under-headlight pipes, horns, radiator overflow bottle and carbon canister still attached for $150. Here's a pic:



The best part is that everything is straight on it!! (mine was never fully straight from a previous accident on the D/S corner) Not too shabby considering it was sitting under this guys deck behind some trash cans...

I started taking everything off of it and also removing my radiator and hoses, fender liners, etc.

Asked this question earlier in the thread, but does anyone have experience doing this? The core support I have came with the front 1-2" of frame rail attached, am I supposed to just cut my frame rails at the same spot or separate the core support from the frame rails?

[nexus08]

Wow... that sucks, but good job so far. Looks like you will have it on the road in no time!

[300ZXttZMAN]

Great job so far keep up the good work, the frame rails are supposed to be like that you will need to section them together. The frame rails and core support don't separate from each other without cutting. My advice is to install the whole unit together and cut the rails in the same spot.

Although the job may seem easy and pretty straight forward, take your time and make sure the segmented pieces are cut at the same exact place, use a grinder if you need to knock off a few "hairs" of metal.

Also remember that you can always take away metal but you can't add it, once you cut it or grind it its gone so TAKE YOUR TIME and you should be fine. Remember to test fit.

Good luck brother!

[DCaff300ZX]

+1 to the above, good luck and take your time!

[t.mcginley.jr]

Great job so far keep up the good work, the frame rails are supposed to be like that you will need to section them together. The frame rails and core support don't separate from each other without cutting. My advice is to install the whole unit together and cut the rails in the same spot.

This was my initial plan until last night. Since my Z sits fairly low and the Ranger it hit sits fairly high, all of the damage was to the top of the rad support. The frame rails and lower rad support are completely untouched. Only the top part of the rad support, from the frame rails up, was smashed up all the way across (which is why the radiator and condenser were touching the clutch fan).

So anyway, I spent the last 2 days stripping everything else off the front (radiator, what was left of the headlights, etc.), drilling out spot welds, and cutting in some places. This is what I'm now left with, sorry for the crappy lighting:







The shock tower area and the piece of frame that stick out from where the fenders mount are also untouched, so I was able to fully remove the headlight buckets by just drilling out the spot welds and a little cutting to get around the wire harness. The annoying part is the the harness wraps completely around the outside of the engine bay, basically from one door all the way around to the other without a way to disconnect it so you have have no choice but to work around it.



My hope is that I can cut the replacement one the same way and sit in on whats left of the fender-support area, make my measurements and get it all lined up and then tack weld it in place. Either way it should be easier then trying to cut the frame rails and wheel well/shock tower area exactly the same way as the new one. Yes I will still have to do some small cutting to get the wire harness through and the various brackets that go on the sides, but I should be able to do it this way.

I also got the new support all striped down to bare bones:



As a side note, I was very impressed by how well some of the hardware held up in the front. Example, this bolt:



Yes, it did bend pretty bad but it didn't break! Quality hardware right there, especially considering it's only a little 10mm bolt. Made in Japan ftw!

[300ZXttZMAN]

Yep, looking good if you can though for future pics try to get the lighting a little better so we can see what you are looking at. Keep it up! You are rocking and rolling!

[z32loverboy]

Good progress! I'd be pretty intimidated at doing that to my Z but if I had to I'd learn. Looks like you know what you're doing pretty well

[t.mcginley.jr]

PROGRESS!!!

[nissanfreak12]

PROGRESS!!!

Its looking good, just make sure you get the bumper, headlights, and nose panel on to make sure all is seated correctly. I thought I had mine all seated correctly, then I put in the bumper and realized the bumper and various things didn't line up. Little cussing, massaging, and a BFH, all was good.

[300ZXttZMAN]

Hell yea!!

[t.mcginley.jr]

It's been a couple weeks since my last update, but I've been busy with work and waiting on parts to arrive. I managed to get a pair of mint headlights for $100 shipped, badgeless nose panel for $25 shipped, fog lights for $45 shipped, and a stock TT front bumper for $175 picked up (couldn't find any NA bumpers local, but oh well). All around not too expensive for everything.

Here's the most recent pic:



The bumper and nose panel are just sitting on the frame so they look kinda funny, but its still 100 times better than it was a few weeks ago

On Saturday night I managed to take everything back off so that I could weld the core support properly. I still need to grind and touch up a few places, but its getting there. Still need to paint the core support, nose panel and bumper, and sand/fill/paint the hood where it was bent. Body work is slow going..

[ThisIsSparTTa]

Very impressive, keep up the good work.

[DCaff300ZX]

Nice work with the parts sourcing, that is usually the hardest part.
Keep it up!!

[Johnhose2]

Good job bro keep up the good work, you managed to save the bumper?or that's a different bumper?

[DCaff300ZX]

TT bumper he found locally...