Z car frame rail replacement

A forum for owners of S30 and S130 Datsun Z's... 240Z, 260Z, 280Z and 280ZX!
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gmac708
Posts: 1913
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 1:59 pm
Car: :o)
1970 240Z
1972 510

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I recently replace the floors in my 1970 240Z. I used the Zedd findings floor panels and the Baddog parts frame rails. Both are quality manufacturers but they do not supply the finished product. It’s more like they supply the raw materials, and you supply the “fab” skills.

Bad Dog Parts http://www.baddogparts.com/

I hope posting these pictures and comments might answer your questions and help you get a better idea of what needs to be done (and what the heck, it can't hurt to have a few more pictures) . I am lucky enough to start out with a pretty solid frame. I think you could easily add extra length and bracing to the Bad Dog frames, they are pretty heavy duty.

I had just completed the passenger side and we are picking up where I moved over to the drivers side.



As you can see, the factory frame rails extend back only part way back.



They do not extend all the way back to the rear suspension support frame.



I chose to replace the factory rails with the beefier and longer aftermarket ones because they are commonly used in high HP V8 swapped Z’s, and Bad Dog seems to be the product of choice. They will end up connecting the front and back frame structure together.The BD frames fit like a glove over the factory rails. I chose to not replace the original, but just remove the damaged areas and cover with only the BD rails.

Up front you can see the damaged area.

This sort of has an “S” bend and is pushed up in back. Not all that flat.



Looking from below, You can see that the frame tapers as well. I chose to leave as much of the original frame alone and only removed the bottom, damaged areas, and what was necessary to keep it flat.

Cut just aft of the floor seam.



Leaving this.



Now… to make the bottom flat.



Support and hold new frame in place.



Here you can see where the frame tapers.

New frame extends to second mark.



I chose to remove the extra material.



Everything fitting well.



Now for the Back.



This took a lot of extra time to get to fit right.



Need to trim the length to match the front rail.



Make sure you measure everything over and over. Keep the rails parallel and flat. Take your time.



When everything looks perfect, It’s time to start welding! Start off by tacking around, using a criss-cross pattern. Do not stay in one place. Move around











It turned out great and I was very pleased with the floors and rails. I hope this helps to answer some of your questions and helps to motivate you to attempt this repair.



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duffman1278
Posts: 6817
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2007 3:09 pm
Car: 89 240sx Hatch, the wildcats!

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That is some sick work! Congrats

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evildky
Posts: 14713
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2004 9:23 pm
Car: 71 240ZT, 87 300ZXN/A-T, 06 350Z GT, Tundra TRD RW
Location: Louisville, KY
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I think were going to post this int he articles section, anything else you'd like to add?

this also qualifies you for a custom title if you'd like one

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NSR_s30
Posts: 15113
Joined: Fri Oct 08, 2004 5:10 pm
Car: '99 Ford F250 7.3L Diesel, '71 Datsun 240Z
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Great work man.

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gmac708
Posts: 1913
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 1:59 pm
Car: :o)
1970 240Z
1972 510

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evildky wrote:I think were going to post this int he articles section, anything else you'd like to add?
I think that would be a great place for it. Just trying to help the next guy out.

DaMan240z
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed May 16, 2012 2:56 pm
Car: 1970 Datsun 240z

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You wanna replace my sub frame rails and floor pans? lol

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gmac708
Posts: 1913
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 1:59 pm
Car: :o)
1970 240Z
1972 510

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DaMan240z wrote:You wanna replace my sub frame rails and floor pans? lol
No thanks. :biggrin:
But you should give it a try. It is a lot easier than it looks. The welding upside down sucks, but other than that, piece of cake :dblthumb:
Gord

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300ZXttZMAN
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Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 4:07 pm
Car: 1990 300zx Twin Turbo 5 spd pearl white.

My Daily: 2008 Frontier NISMO package, 4x4 Crew Cab.
Location: Sulphur, LA 70665
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Wow this is good work gord!

Very nice. +1 on an article.

gchardy
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2010 10:20 am
Car: INFINITY EX35

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Being unibody, can the 240Z be fastened onto a rotisserie to commence this sub rail replacement work or does it lack integrity to withstand hanging it this way? It would add to the ease of the task at hand!

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BuffaloDatsun
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2018 7:45 am
Car: Datsun, 240Z, 510
Location: Buffalo, New York
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This is very true. Just like you were saying, you need to fabricate frames because parts are no longer available and can be very hard to find (especially frames!) Luckily I was able to secure part suppliers but it is VERY tricky and took me quite a long time.

If anyone here needs repair, restoration, or upgrades on your Datsun check out our website at https://buffalodatsun.com


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