bodywork

hi i just bought my very first 240sx today and i'm really happy about it. it has very low miles for the year and that basically why i bought it over the other 240's around my area but theres only one problem with it....the first owner of the car put some weird ass rubberish flat spoiler on the back and years of rain ect. have caused the body right under the spoiler to rust. there is basically 2 rust spots under it both about 2 inches around and one of them has a hole about 1 inch in it...i was wondering what you guys think i could do to fix it for cheap...i'm not gonna go to a bodyshop because it would probably cost me allmost as much as i paid for the car and so i was talking to my friend and he said i could sand it down and then bondo it and spray paint it and put a clear coat on it and it would probably look OK..i was wondering if any of you guys have worked with bondo before and if so how hard is it and where do i get it?....i basically just dont want the cancer to eat up the car and would like it to look ok but it doesnt have to look professional by anymeans and if it doesnt look all that great i figure i could get a really low spoiler and it would probably cover it up. thanks in advance

bondo... bad. fiberglass bad. putty... bad.

ok straight up you can not fill a hole with glass or bondo, nor can you just sand rust out, even if it is surface rust you sand blast it, putty over it, same problem the rust is still in the metal, the only way to completely remove rust is cut out that section of the panel then weld a patch into place, now once you have the patch in place it will not be level, this is when you use short strand fiberglass to fill it and make it level, then putty over the glass, then prime, paint, clear. now a second note you CAN NOT just paint one small part and expect it to look the same as the rest of the paint, you would have to prolly blend the spot in, or paint the trunk and half blend into the quarters. if you just sand the surface rust off and fill the hole with bondo it will just keep rusting out, sorry to say your friend is not the smartest person in the world, but id rather see a beautiful car like the 240 done right or not done at all :)

so basically what your saying is that i'm stuck with a rusted trunk?.....i dont have two grand to spend by taking it to a bodyshop and having them do all that nor would i considering i only bought it for 3 grand...is there any way i could do anything that will look ok for under like 500??...i'm not looking for a perfect car, if i was i would of bought a new one but i also dont want a rusty trunk that leaks

Easy....just replace the whole back hatch. That's what most people do when rust starts forming under the spoiler. That's what I did. The back of the car also looks much cleaner w/o the spoiler.

the first owner of the car put some weird ass rubberish flat spoiler

That sounds like the stock spoiler to me. :icon16: And your rust problem is fairly common.

Definitely look for a parts car in your area. It should be fairly cheap to replace, definitely less than $500 you're wanting to spend.

thanks for the replys fellas, the model i got has the hatch door on the back so if i got a replacement it would be the whole thing(glass ect.) do you know of any company that specializes in nissan parts like that??...i've seen a few coupes but i dont know if thats the same thing? and where abouts in northern california would you go to find somthing like that?...and finally will any hatch from 91-94 fit on it or just the 92?

94 is the convert . but as far as i know any hatch from 91-93 will work

sup man im from san jose

dont trip, it happens to all of us, go to the junkyard and pick up a hatch from 89-93

yes, 89 and 90's are the same shit

if ur car is an SE , make sure you get one with the windshield wiper, base models did not come with windshield wipers, basically get everytying the sme as your original, and wiring is easy.

good luck and keep us updated

sup man im from san jose...
...if ur car is an SE , make sure you get one with the windshield wiper, base models did not come with windshield wipers, basically get everytying the sme as your original, and wiring is easy.



I'm in San Jose too =o

I thought all the hatches had that wiper not just the SE, I was probably wrong though.

i'm just gonna get the spoiler off for now and sand it down, bondo and repaint for now and i'm gonna head down to pick and pull in the next few months once i get some more cash and look for one...and yeah i got the se model is it harder to find?...how easy was it for you guys to find a new hatch for yours?...think i'll find one down at pick n pull? and how much it end up costing ya?

I got a good deal on mine. I paid $75 for a hatch that had no wiper or spoiler. It looks really clean without that stuff.

I like the stock spoiler, when ever I see a 240 with out one, it looks like it's missing something. (Thats probably just because I'm used to mine.)

I got a good deal on mine. I paid $75 for a hatch that had no wiper or spoiler. It looks really clean without that stuff.


wow that alot cheaper than i thought it would be....i think i'm just gonna forget about trying to do anything to it and leave it as is until i find one...i'll check out pick n pull this monday...the color of my car is like a blueish silver do you know you can buy a specific paint from nissan that will match it? or if i took it down to earl scheib do you think they could paint it to match the rest of my car? if not then i guess i'll just sand,primer,paint and clearcoat with the best match i can find at the store

You can get the exact color you need at www.paintscratch.com.

its kind of along this topic soo ill ask it here

does anyone know where to get the rubber parts for the car's interior like the weather seals the rubber in the trunk which contacts the hatch lid to create a seal [its right there at the edge rubber cirlce to keep out water] along with other parts like that. bumpers for the hood doors etc.

it would also help to know where i could get interior trim pieces.