s13 frame rails & body rust

[Suikazen]

I have a 240sx 1993 with a KA. Its an Automatic transmission (planning on converting it) but anyways I have my driver side frame rail rusted and minor rust on different each side of the car. I've been looking around for a welder that could "hook me up" but i cant find anybody around here in chicago. I went to Touge Factory and they could not estimate me a price. Im planning on taking out all the rust in this car as i will not be mainly going for drifting but more like making my 240 a very clean car inside and out. I would appreciate any help! thanks! I am new to this thread & cars and did quite some research also.

[Mikester]

Sell the rust bucket, source a 240 out of Texas, Arizona etc- they are all generally rust-free down there.

I did that (lived in Belleville, IL at the time) and the amount of money, time & ass pain it saved in building the car up clean has so far been immeasurable. Here is my build thread to give you an idea:

http://zilvia.net/f/builds-builds-only/487845-mikesters-fun-mobile.html

Remember, if there is rust all over your frame rails and other places; it is likely to be rampant all over the car- Which will really make building it up clean & worth keeping cost-INeffective.

Best of luck to you, whatever you do.

[Frank_Jaeger]

Fix that rust, save a 240. Anyone who tells you to get a clean car either 1. has ulterior motives in driving up the price of your common 240SX or 2. likes to do things the easy way.

[Suikazen]

Sell the rust bucket, source a 240 out of Texas, Arizona etc- they are all generally rust-free down there.

I did that (lived in Belleville, IL at the time) and the amount of money, time & ass pain it saved in building the car up clean has so far been immeasurable. Here is my build thread to give you an idea:

http://zilvia.net/f/builds-builds-only/487845-mikesters-fun-mobile.html

Remember, if there is rust all over your frame rails and other places; it is likely to be rampant all over the car- Which will really make building it up clean & worth keeping cost-INeffective.

Best of luck to you, whatever you do.

very nice build mike. I just wish i know everything about painting and welding then i would be doing it myself.. i would definitely get one from arizona but i already have this car and just tryna save it and building it up from here to a clean one (saving this 240) im just trying to find someone that knows how to weld and have experience with 240's & maybe work with me to get rid of all the rust.. thanks!:newbie:

[Mikester]

Anyone who tells you to get a clean car either 1. Thoroughly understands the 'time vs. money' concept 2. Likes doing things 'smarter not harder.'

Fixed. :D

very nice build mike. I just wish i know everything about painting and welding then i would be doing it myself.. i would definitely get one from arizona but i already have this car and just tryna save it and building it up from here to a clean one (saving this 240) im just trying to find someone that knows how to weld and have experience with 240's & maybe work with me to get rid of all the rust.. thanks!:newbie:

If TF couldn't give you a quote to fix it, then that's a problem... Like I said above- If the frame rail is rusted thru, there is prolly rust all over the place. Gotta love the midwest.

See FJ's 'fixed' post above. You gotta balance the amount of time & money you put into it with what you expect to get out of it. If your only plans are to clean it up & DD it for a couple yrs, then use your time and resources accordingly... Spending a boatload of cash paying a welder to 'fix' rust and whatnot on a car whose BB value is $2K or less does not make good sense. However, if you feel like getting dirty and buying up the right tools & materials; you can do a lot of the 'rust patrol' yourself for way less than you'd get charged by a shop... plus that way you'd get an opportunity to get very 'familiar' with your car.

Before I got my current 240, I picked up a cheap-o rust bucket thinking "How hard could it be?" Needless to say, after months of getting nowhere with all the corrosion... I stripped some spare parts off of it, donated it to charity & vowed to never make that mistake again. 5-6mos of my life I will never get back.

I appreciate the kind words... My 240 build is a bit different. It will only see about 500-1000mi of fair weather driving/track time per year; and I intend to keep it to give to my grandchildren, or sell it to the highest bidder about 20-30yrs from now when the last thing anyone wants to see is a wrinkly old man in a 2F2F-mobile. I still payed less for it in TX than half the ragged out rust buckets in your neck of the woods.... and just so you know- I have payed way more than it's technically worth for the fabrication & paint work that's been done to it so far.

FYI: "I already have this car" is weak logic (no disrespect meant). It's a car, and there are many like it out there that are not all corroded out. I respect where you are coming from... but not knowing that much about cars; I am not confident you are aware of the potential magnitude of ass-pain you may find yourself enduring. My opinion (from experience) stands... Sell it to a drifter & get a cleaner one to learn on...

[thefro526]

My first hatch had 'typical' S13 Rust when I bought it - few spots on the inner fenders, a spot on the driver's side frame rail where it meets the firewall, some minor surface rust on all of the suspension components, etc.

By the time I got rid of it, maybe 18 months later, the spots on the inner fenders had started to rust through, and there were 'new' spots in the engine bay. Rust is something that's really hard to keep in check, especially if the car is driven all year round.

Now both of my cars originated below the rust belt, S13 is from Texas and S14 is from South Carolina and they're both relatively rust free. Trust me, it's so much easier to just start with a clean canvas and prevent rust from forming rather than trying to save something that's already begun to rust.

Though, if you are dead set on 'saving' the chassis you've already got, you can buy these neat front frame rail repair kits from Excessive: Online Store - Xcessive Manufacturing (http://www.xcessivemanufacturing.com/ONLINESTORE.html?cid=41&step=4&pid=172) and you can actually still get a lot of the unibody panels new from Nissan. Find a good body shop and they should be able to knock it out for you.

[Suikazen]

Fixed. :D



If TF couldn't give you a quote to fix it, then that's a problem... Like I said above- If the frame rail is rusted thru, there is prolly rust all over the place. Gotta love the midwest.

See FJ's 'fixed' post above. You gotta balance the amount of time & money you put into it with what you expect to get out of it. If your only plans are to clean it up & DD it for a couple yrs, then use your time and resources accordingly... Spending a boatload of cash paying a welder to 'fix' rust and whatnot on a car whose BB value is $2K or less does not make good sense. However, if you feel like getting dirty and buying up the right tools & materials; you can do a lot of the 'rust patrol' yourself for way less than you'd get charged by a shop... plus that way you'd get an opportunity to get very 'familiar' with your car.

Before I got my current 240, I picked up a cheap-o rust bucket thinking "How hard could it be?" Needless to say, after months of getting nowhere with all the corrosion... I stripped some spare parts off of it, donated it to charity & vowed to never make that mistake again. 5-6mos of my life I will never get back.

I appreciate the kind words... My 240 build is a bit different. It will only see about 500-1000mi of fair weather driving/track time per year; and I intend to keep it to give to my grandchildren, or sell it to the highest bidder about 20-30yrs from now when the last thing anyone wants to see is a wrinkly old man in a 2F2F-mobile. I still payed less for it in TX than half the ragged out rust buckets in your neck of the woods.... and just so you know- I have payed way more than it's technically worth for the fabrication & paint work that's been done to it so far.

FYI: "I already have this car" is weak logic (no disrespect meant). It's a car, and there are many like it out there that are not all corroded out. I respect where you are coming from... but not knowing that much about cars; I am not confident you are aware of the potential magnitude of ass-pain you may find yourself enduring. My opinion (from experience) stands... Sell it to a drifter & get a cleaner one to learn on...

Thanks a lot for taking the time for a response. You have convinced me that it will be an ass-pain job to keep up with the rust and so does rust will always come back in an already rusted 240. I will take some time looking around for a clean one to work with (even though it will be hard especially living in Chicago). & try to sell the one that I have. Reason why I keep saying no when it comes to buying somewhere else is that I don't travel a lot and most likely will stay around the area. Although a buddy of mine told me to just fly there and drive the car back. I was wondering how much trust will I give to the seller knowing that i am flying there to hit the car without him ditching me or having my ass fly there for no reason. Just a thought. Thanks for the responses!

[Mikester]

^^I did exactly that- found the car online (bone-stock except for 5spd swap), had the guy send me pics of the underside & other rust-prone areas... Got his assurance that it would make the drive from Dallas to St. Louis; Paypal'd him a $100 deposit... flew down, test drove & bought it... then drove it home that night right from the airport.

I got it for $2K; about the same price as a rusty, beat-down 240 in Chicago, St. Louis etc. Inside smelled literally like there was a dead body in there... minor dents/scuffs on the outside... but straight frame and best of all- ZERO RUST. All the 20+yr old hardware all over the car came right out without difficulty, no stripping etc when I dissasembled it. Totally worth the miserable drive back!

I understand that you will be concerned about getting scammed, ass beat & robbed lol. That's why you go down with a cashier's check (trackable)- not cash, and make sure plenty of people know where you went, what you were there for & the name & number of the person you were meeting. Also, extra $$$ for a return flight or train ticket if the deal goes south... If you do it, make sure & have the seller send plenty of pics and can assure you the car will make the drive... ALSO that he/she is the owner per the car's title (this is important)... Or alternatively, you can go down with a truck/trailer & drag it home that way, which will be VERY expensive in fuel... but still doable & worth a rust-free car.