I posted the pictures of where it started in the new owners but I wanted to start a running thread of my own of what is done to my Z. I wanted to do this because I never leave things along and I always wish I had documented what I did so I hope to keep this up to date as I go to make it easier.

I bought the car as a wreck with ~100k miles on it. Its a 2005 Enthusiast with a manual transmission. It had moderate front end damage and light rear end damage. The damage consisted of broken core support, fans, radiator, AC condenser, drivers headlight, bumper cover, bumper impact bar and absorber, airbags, rear bumper cover, rear impact bar and absorber. The body damage was minimal with only a dented quarter panel and hood (both fixable) and a couple chips on the drivers fender. Here is the car as it sat when I bought it.

 

The tires were also TOASTED so I bought some wheels and tires from a forum member (Thanks chatcher). I got to work stripping the car down to straighten the 1 frame rail that was bent and after about 8 hours this is how the car looked. At that point the frame was straight and the car was pretty well ready to go back together.

 

I was able to put in about 10 hours of work on it this weekend and it is all but ready to go. Im waiting on a couple other parts (fender liner/splash shields and the passenger airbag) and I will button it up this week/weekend. As soon as I get it all back together and cleaned up I will take some pictures of it and post them up. I already have my first mod planned and that is to wrap the scratched up interior pieces in some carbon fiber vinyl to try to hide some of its flaws.

 

Congrats on your work. Here's a few random questions: Did you purchase this Z with a salvage title? What did you use to properly pull and straighten the frame rail which was bent? What type of bodywork tools are you using to repair the dents in that aluminum hood?

 

Nice work. I'm not sure i would have put any money into that car tho even if i did get it for free. Did you replace all airbags?

 

Yes it has a salvage title (it will be a rebuilt title once it goes through the state after its police inspection). The big frame table that the car is sitting on is what I used to pull and straighten it. There is enough power there to rip a 1 ton truck in two with out even slowing down so the little Z was not an issue at all. To fix the hood we use what is commonly called "spoons" in body shops. They are basically metal bars in different shapes and lengths with curved and smoothed ends. You can get in through the holes that are in the under side of the hood from the manufacturers and work the metal to get it back into shape. I have been doing body work for right at 20 years....I'm pretty sure I can handle this car LOL.

 

Looks like a fun project, coming along nicely.

 

Why would you think that? I know its not a pristine car at this point but for having less than half of the final value in it you would be dumb to NOT fix it. Yes all the air bags have been replaced. I just have to take it to Nissan to have the new airbag module programmed to the body control module and it will be all done (airbag wise).

 

Awesome project! Pretty daunting task to take on! Subscribed!

 

Thanks for the answers. It helps to hear what it takes for a pro to fix a Z that's been totaled. There's plenty of prospective members who have NO mechanical skills or tools and think they can fix a salvage car on the cheap. Your answer gives a lot more detail on this.

Any idea what this kind of repair would cost if you weren't doing it on shop time?

 

Good to see someone who likes what he does enough to make it a hobby too. Are you building to keep or to sell on?

 

Labor would probably be in the $1500-2000 range depending on the area you are in. I have about $2500 in parts and the wreck cost around $2000-3000. So the car all done would be in the $7000 range.

 

We do most to sell on and even take special orders from customers of what they are looking for. But this one is for me. I have wanted one for a while and I finally found one that wasn't modded by some kid who didn't know what they were doing.

 

Looking good so far. Honestly haters can hate but if you have the know how then why not put it to use.

 

here are a couple pictures of the car in the paint booth. Of course it is going to need wet sanded and buffed but that's a quick deed to do.

 

Sub'd. Curious to see where this goes.

 

looks good man! nice work so far!!

 

I'm going to definitely stay posted already looking really good

 

Thanks! Im gonna get back on the car tonight. I dont have a whole lot of time to work on it because i work 50+ hrs a week and live about 1 hr from my work. Plus 2 kids in sports and all that fun junk. But it will be done soon enough and then I can enjoy it. I got the bumpers on a few nights ago but need to fit them a bit more. I plan to sand and buff it tonight. I also have to put a radio in it (didnt go with anything fancy for now as i can always change that later). Ill post up more pictures either this weekend or first of the week. I expect to be driving it next week even if its not 100% done.

 

Does your $7K estimate include the materials and labor for bodywork and to reshoot the entire Z? Sounds low when you consider what it takes for someone outside the industry to rebuild a totaled Z.