I recently bought a 1973 Datsun 240z. Needs to rebuilt from ground up. Wanted a nice project car and since I'm in love with the Z series, decided to find one and restore.

When I say needs to be rebuilt from ground up, I mean EVERYTHING. frame rails are rotting, floor panels are already rotted through, need to weld on patch panels in rust areas. the whole 9.

Main problem with these cars are rusting, I have been reading up on some methods to prevent or prolong this problem. I read about the POR-15. Great reviews, no complaints. What also caught my eye was zinc plating. found this link where You can zinc plate at home: http://home.comcast.net/~rt66tbird/webs ... ating.html

Now, The link talks about smaller items, I want to enlarge that method and do it for my frame rails and floor panels as well as hit it with the POR-15. My question is, what are your thoughts?? Is it worth it to do both for the extra protection? or is it overkill?

I would stick with the POR-15 for all of your larger areas. My '72 has a thick coating all over her.

Before you go too crazy on it, if the frame rails are rotted, you may be throwing money down the drain.

As you probably know, the Z is a unibody car, so those aren't really "frame rails" per se. The problem you may run into with all that welding is distortion of the original geometry - It's NOT hard to wind up with a car that will NEVER take an alignment, rides weird, and eats tires.

I've seen several Z's with poor-fitting panels, doors, and even suspension because the unibody structure was corroded / bent / welded-up.

If you're planning to POR-15 large expanses of metal that metal needs to be bare. Unless you're going to put the whole car on a rotisserie and media blast it, you might be wasting a lot of time.

Finding a relatively rust-free shell isn't hard, and they're a lot cheaper than fixing a rusted one.

Got pics of the intended victim?

Another product I've heard good reviews about and am going to use on my 280 if it doesn't sell is KBS Coatings - They have 3 steps you can use depending on what you need but I've yet to read anything bad about them. A little pricier than POR-15 I believe but could be well worth it.

I would stick with the POR-15 for all of your larger areas. My '72 has a thick coating all over her.

I agree, I dud find a place that will zinc plate for a fairly cheap price though. but i am leaning towards the POR-15.

Before you go too crazy on it, if the frame rails are rotted, you may be throwing money down the drain.

As you probably know, the Z is a unibody car, so those aren't really "frame rails" per se. The problem you may run into with all that welding is distortion of the original geometry - It's NOT hard to wind up with a car that will NEVER take an alignment, rides weird, and eats tires.

I've seen several Z's with poor-fitting panels, doors, and even suspension because the unibody structure was corroded / bent / welded-up.

If you're planning to POR-15 large expanses of metal that metal needs to be bare. Unless you're going to put the whole car on a rotisserie and media blast it, you might be wasting a lot of time.

Finding a relatively rust-free shell isn't hard, and they're a lot cheaper than fixing a rusted one.

Got pics of the intended victim?

it mainly needs floor panels, the frame rail on the driver side (the one from the firewall to the radiator core) is rotting through. however, I do plan on getting the full set of "frame rails" from baddog: http://baddogparts.com/index.php?main_p ... ducts_id=1 which fits over the existing "frame rails" and the main frame rail from the firewall to the raditor to replace the rotting one. other than that, it's mainly body work that needs to be done with rusted panels. I do plan on media blasting the car because the car also needs to be repainted. why do you say it may be a waste of time?

sorry, here are the pics I have/

I think you may have bought a parts car. : That driver's rear panel is eat up to death with cancer. When you get time, please get us some more up-close pictures.

What I meant by that is this: If there's external visible rust, there's 10x more INSIDE the panels. Keep in mind, the outer body panels aren't the issue, it's the structure beneath that they attach to.

Once you start cutting and blasting, you could very easily get into a situation where the shell is simply not "solid" enough to continue. If the frame rails are corroded badly, you will have to build a jig to keep the car "square", because that's where all your suspension components mount to.

A 1/8" misalignment of the tension rod mount, for example, translates to a 1-2" misalignment at the other end. BTW, the tension rod mount (directly under the battery tray) is typically compromised. If that snaps, your entire front suspension folds into the firewall on hard braking, resulting in a spectacular accident.

Looks like someone did a lot of hacking of the front structure as well - You're going to need to locate another shell to get the radiator support and hood mount sections anyway.

I think the "cancer" in the L quarter panel is actually where the white paint is peeled off, revealing brown paint beneath - I hope I'm right.

If that is indeed rot, then yep - You have a parts car. Hope you didn't pay more than $500. No one likes to hear it, but after building more cars than I can remember, I wouldn't steer you wrong when it comes to rust.

Both: I actually have all the parts. Everything from fenders, to doors, to radiator, to engine block. you name, I have it. The original owner took it apart for some reason I can't remember, but sold all the parts to me. He himself was planning on putting it all back together.

AZhitman: the structure seems to be intact except for that one "frame rail: on the driver side that is rotting through. I do plan on giving that to a shop to get redone since they have all the right equipment to help eliminate misalignment.

It is mainly rust. the only parts that are rusted through are the lower front end and lower rear end beneath the door, and the floor boards. other than that, sandblasting and POR-15 will take care of the rest. But then again, like you said, after i sandblast and start cutting out panels to be repaired, then i'll know for sure.

Another product I've heard good reviews about and am going to use on my 280 if it doesn't sell is KBS Coatings - They have 3 steps you can use depending on what you need but I've yet to read anything bad about them. A little pricier than POR-15 I believe but could be well worth it.

just looked into it. from what i have been reading is the same as the POR-15. not much of a difference in price either.
Also read that it was created by one of the people who created the POR-15 as well.

I'll see which one i'd prefer. POR-15 is def more well known. especially since i've only heard of them through my own research and seeing your post is the first time i've heard about KBS. I'll see what process is involved with each product and make my decision based on that. Thanks!

KBS is well-known in the restoration community and is a solid product line (I've used it).

One of the drawbacks of POR is that it is very UV-sensitive, so it has to be coated (which means another round of scuffing / painting). It's also a bit of a pain to "handle", as far as making sure it's re-sealed, and you kinda have to use the whole container at one time.

For undercarriage, I'd use KBS products. Also great for coating suspension components, and requires a little less prep than POR.

so it sounds like the KBS has a little more advantages than the POR-15.

Thanks for all your help guys! It's greatly appreciated!