Angel's 1973 Fairlady Z restomod
Project Fairlady z
Photo: Project Fairlady zA 1973 Nissan Fairlady Z rust repair and restomod by its owner
Angel bought this 1973 Fairlady Z after a long search and drove it daily until Florida rain worsened some rust, prompting a full teardown and owner-led restoration. The thread tracks slow, self-taught progress over several years: rust repair, frame rail replacement, an L-series engine swap, coilover conversion, and engine bay painting, with the final fender/flare direction still undecided at the latest update.
Specs
As stated in the original write-up.
- Engine
- L-series engine (swap)
- Suspension
- Front camber plates and rear adapter plates for coilovers
- Body
- Bad Dog frame rails installed to repair battery-acid rust damage
Parts used
Parts named as used in the original write-up, grouped the way the Parts page groups them. Where one of the shops we index lists the same thing for this car, it is shown underneath with a link to the shop.
Engine 1
- L-series engine
Swapped engine temporarily reinstalled to save storage space
Suspension & Steering 1
- Coilover adapter plates and camber plates
Welded into front strut towers and rear for a coilover conversion
Body & Trim 2
- Bad Dog frame railsBad Dog
Replaced rusted frame rails damaged by leaking battery acid
- Carbo-Fil fillerCarbo-Fil
Used to smooth welds on strut towers before painting
Photos
39 pictures collected from the write-up, in the order they were posted, shown from Project Fairlady z. A picture opens larger here, with the way through to the page it is on.
LegnaZetr0 · 2010-06-01T07:27:33Z 1this post at Project Fairlady z ↗
LegnaZetr0 · 2013-09-09T04:14:05Z 9this post at Project Fairlady z ↗
LegnaZetr0 · 2014-01-06T03:12:57Z 23this post at Project Fairlady z ↗
LegnaZetr0 · 2014-01-08T04:56:59Z 6this post at Project Fairlady z ↗
How it was done
Starting condition
Angel found and bought this Fairlady Z after years of searching, and daily drove it for about eight months. Florida weather began aggravating existing rust, so he parked the car and committed to a full owner-done restoration rather than risk deterioration.
Early rust repair and setbacks
Work began with welding out rust on the frame, though Angel initially struggled with technique, causing small fires from using full bead welds instead of tack welds. Rear suspension, drums, and the gas tank were pulled, with his brother sandblasting suspension parts. Progress stalled repeatedly due to life events, including a family emergency and other projects.
Teardown and sandblasting
Years later, Angel resumed, pulling the drivetrain, front suspension, and essentially everything from the engine bay, including the booster, master cylinder, steering, harnesses, and brake and fuel lines, ahead of professional sandblasting. The car was reduced to bare structure, revealing solid floors but battery-acid rust damage on the passenger side.
Frame and bay repair
Bad Dog frame rails were installed to fix the acid-damaged areas, bare metal was sandblasted and treated, and camber plates and coilover adapter plates were welded into the strut towers. Carbo-Fil filler was used to smooth the towers before priming.
Engine bay paint
Before relocating the car for storage while Angel moved abroad, he fully prepped and painted the engine bay, applying three coats of 112 Lime Yellow base and three coats of clear, focusing heavily on smoothing the strut towers. The L-series engine and crossmember were reinstalled to save storage space.
Progress so far
At the latest update the car sits stored with the engine bay painted and engine temporarily refitted, while Angel debates whether to run a G-nose front end with flares or keep stock fenders, a decision still unresolved in the thread.
A summary in our own words. The full account, with all its detail, is in the original write-up: read it at Project Fairlady z ↗
Worth knowing
- Use tack welds instead of continuous full bead welds to avoid overheating and starting fires on rusty sheet metal
- Thorough prep work on strut towers before painting produces a noticeably smoother finish