I am not mechanically inclined AT ALL! So this is just outright amazing to me. If you're familiar with "My Mechanics", he is restoring a 1973 Datsun 240Z. Here are the links to his channels where you'll find videos of his progress:

https://www.youtube.com/@mymechanics

https://www.youtube.com/@mymechanicsinsights

Enjoy!!

Body work is an art form. Some of those guys are so good.

I don't do any body work, but I've worked on pretty much everything else on my 68 Mustang. Just finished replacing the heater components (hoses, box rebuild, core, cables, etc...) just the other day. Last major project before that was the suspension (shocks, leafs, front springs). I hope to never have to do the springs again as that scared the hell out of me. Next big project is the upholstery and I hope to get to that this winter. A good shop manual or two is a plus, and there's a lot of good Youtube how-tos.

It's a labor of love. Keeping these old classics on the road is a wonderful thing.

Agreed with that last line, Gus. I enjoy it, so it's not really 'labor' sometimes. Always something else to fix.

That was just delightful. Attempting it when I was 16 and a hack makes this all the more amazing.

Thanks for this post.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Always something else to fix.

Yes indeed.

It makes me a bit sad, I used to own a 1973 240Z.

A friend of mine is a restoration artist. It takes a whole other level of OCD. Some years ago he painstakingly restored a 1970 Chevelle SS LS6. A true dinosaur tooth. It was all numbers matching and came with the build sheet and he found another build sheet in the door panel. It was quite rough. He scoured Ebay and everywhere else on the internet he could find for bolts that had the right factory markings on them. He did not use any reproduction stuff if it could at all be helped. He bought two other Chevelle SS's as donor cars. He had about four years into it when completed. It was stunningly beautiful!

The factory LS6 would lift the front wheels off the ground. His wife nearly divorced him because of the obsession and money he was investing. He had to promise her he would sell it when finished.
A guy from Florida offered him $170K if he would sell it outright and keep it off the auction block. He took it.

Here is a pic of a 1986 Monte Carlo SS he restored for me shortly before he got into his Chevelle project.

Cool!

I always like the way the Monte Carlo looks when it is all black. Having the right wheels and T-tops is a plus!

I bought an old Dodge and am fixing it up as I can find the time and parts.

Okay, 'old' for the budget of mine goes all the way back to 2005, but I'm having fun putting it back together and making parts that I can't find.

I restored both a 240z and a 280zx. At least I thought I did. Nothing to this scale. Watching this guys work makes me envious. So talented. Some of the obviously custom tooling he made for the bodywork was amazing.

1970 was a marvelous year for new car designs: the BMW 2002, Datsun 240Z, and Porsche 914/916 first come to mind. I bought a 1970 2002 in Colorado, and have always regretted selling it; but to keep it I would have had to give up one of my kids, or not go to medical school; so there’s that trade off.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer: Last major project before that was the suspension (shocks, leafs, front springs). I hope to never have to do the springs again as that scared the hell out of me.

I’m in the midst of doing the front suspension on a ‘64 Stingray, one side at a time. Love working on cars, but dealing with springs scares the hell out of me too.

^^^

If you guys are replacing springs, you may want to shop for a spring compressor.

I was able to find an external set a long time ago. Works on GM A bodies as well as replacing strut cartridges.

Don't have any ideas for transverse leafs.