Don't be like me, take your safety seriously in the garage. Don't wait until a serious accident happens to learn your lesson. Watch the full playlist: • Datsun Z Frame-Up Rest...
I had to skip some parts but just to add to your message: always have safety redundancy. Wear a face shield AND goggles, have a respirator AND a fan, use jack stands AND backup jack stands (see Harbor freight jack stand recall), double up on spring compressors, etc. In the past when working with a grinder, if the angle is weird I've even used a large metal drain pan between myself and the the tool if I was worried about kick back. Anytime you use any aerosol or any chemical I would recommend wearing a respirator. Restoring a slow 50 year old car is not worth cancer. The older I get the more I realize life is too short and I'd rather outsource the dangerous and difficult things to do and make more money/enjoy the nice weather instead. The problem for us younger guys is we don't start out thinking about all this, just used to feeling invincible and sometimes when we realize this it's too late.
Min, the content you provide is absolutely great. Many of us hide the messes we make (which is a lot!) and only show the end result but your approach is very refreshing. I'm pretty much like you: restoring a HLS30 and it's my first attempt at restoration so first time doing MIG welding, fabrication and all that good stuff. I'm therefore making many if not all the same mistakes as you are. Please keep the videos coming and don't change the style! You'll get lots of advice so feel free to ignore: one of the best things I have bought is a welders jacket - I can weld and grind all day long and nothing gets through it. Thanks again from a cloudy UK!
When you described the feeling about using a new tool and the dangers, I know exactly the feeling. Just started using an angle grinder and I'm so cautious due to an uncle of mine who had a cutting disk explode on him and he was in the hospital for weeks but luckily didn't have any long term damage. Get well soon.
Angle grinder is the scariest tool of them all, other than maybe a table saw. Spinning brittle discs at 3000rpm should make us all a lot more nervous than it does.
Hey I’ve seen some restorers use a heat sink such as a piece of Aluminum to soak up the heat from welding to try and reduce warping. Good job with the restoration, emphasis on safety and background music. I am really enjoying your videos.
Great episode Min. I don’t take as much risk as you at times do in this episode but I also do stupid stuff at times like welding without proper clothing. The accident you had could have happened to me. The danger of that happening was not obvious so thanks for sharing that with all of us. For grinding I recommend the 3M G500 full face protection screen with integrated hearing protection. They are comfortable and the screen does not fog up if you sweat. I only sometimes forget to put the screen down hehe.
Good reminder about taking safety seriously. It’s definitely easy to get complacent when restoring a car because we work so much that we get used to all the dangers. We work with cutting discs, grinders, paint fumes, rusty and sharp metal, hot, blinding, and high power welders, loads of noise, and sanders throwing debris. I remember how much more careful I was the first few times I was cutting metal with my angle grinder. Thanks for the reminder before I majorly hurt myself. Also, be sure to be very careful working under a rusty car. Several years ago, I had to go to the eye doctor after getting rust in my eye, and I think I may have even had safety glasses on. I have a pair of dewalt Z87.1+ saftey googles from Amazon now and they work great, and I’d recommend you get a pair as well. Also, thanks for the tip about using vinegar on mill scale. That will likely save me both time and flap discs!
Love to see a video where you talk about what safety improvements you've done! - You had an insulation video and a follow up... why not a follow up for this?
I am enjoying the videos. I dont have a Datsun that I am rebuilding but have an 1982 BMW 320i . I started 10 years ago and unfortunately had to stop the restore project, it was bare metal and all the pieces were in boxes. I have been a bit anxious and wondering if I will ever be able to do it and found some of your videos have helped with the anxiety. I just recently started back on the restore project. In my garage I have a TV and play your videos while I am working, so I look forward to your next one.
Great closing statements. I think you'll be just fine as long as you heed your own wise advice. The only little thing I might add is to try to wear a little bit of eye protection out of good habit 100% of the time. I wondered if the reason you didn't is because of humidity fogging up glasses and disturbing clear vision which is its own problem. But because you've taken on such a major project, I'm sure you'll be switching to different tasks to do in a single session and while some may be no risk to your eyes at all, others might pose a small risk. Without the habit you'll transition to risk taking and leave your eyes completely exposed without even a thought. So I know it sounds ridiculous to say I worry but it's easy to worry a little about your eyes. No matter how lovable or important the Z may be, it's not as important as you. At best the Z is 9/10 but your health and wellness is 10/10.
Haha you nailed it. I don't actually mind wearing a respirator or earplugs (my earbuds are nice since it blocks noise and I can listen to music at the same time) at all times because they're not uncomfortable, but the goggles do fog up and they hurt the sides of my face after a while, probably because the respirator straps push the legs of the glasses inwards. Annoying, but I assume better quality goggles are better in that regard, will be looking into it. I've been meaning to buy another full face respirator but they're hard to find without being price gouged right now.
Also besides other safety tips, if your eyes hurt at night from all the welding during day just put grated potato on your eyes. It works better than cucumber slices.
Love the videos and recently have been looking into getting a 260z, I will say to help with cutting out shapes using the angle grinder use a drill bit in the corners of the cuts to help make the transition easier and avoid having to over cut past the intended area, small detail but definitely saves time and makes for a cleaner cut 👍🏽 keep up the great and meticulous work and get better soon!
Just a word of precaution: it's common to not use any gloves with disk sanders. Gloves can get caught on the wheel pulling hands in. This can lead to "degloving" and I suggest you don't look up what that is.
Oh man such a bummer to see. The latest video I'm editing for the custom fab shop i'm filming at we discuss the same injury on the same tool. The grinding disc we are using in a big industrial one and the fabricator telling the story tells it of the same when a coworker caught his finger in it because of gloves he was wearing and grinding at the wrong angles. He said they call it the ATM machine now cause he sued and got $16k but he also lost his finger. Love seeing the progress. Wishing you a speedy recovery man.
Haha that made me wince and laugh at the same time. The dumb thing is I actually went back and read the manual and it clearly stated not to do what I did. I will at least always read the warnings in manuals now :(
Thanks for sharing, and glad you’re going to be fine. This could be a blessing in disguise as it has awoken you to the threats out there working. It could have been an eye or something permanent. My business is safety intensive. Complacency kills,. Take a second before each task and do a quick risk assessment, “What can go wrong. How dangerous is it How to mitigate it,”. For military and manufacturing people we call it OR!M. Operational Risk Management. First you do Risk assessment, Determine the threats and hazards and how significant the hazard is and then implement controls that reduce or eliminate the hazard. .we do it everyday subconsciously. When you cross the streets you do the ORM steps. You need to apply the same methodology to working in a garage. I had eye damage about 20 years ago working on a engine that was running, the fan shot a sliver of metal into my eye while I was adjust the timing and the fan bumped a tool. Like you no permanent damage. Be safe, love watching you rebuild the car.
As always, appreciate the support and thanks for sharing! I often fall into the trap of "what are the chances" since nothing bad happens 99.99% of the time, but that 0.01% can be devastating. I will heed your advice moving forward.
Good words of advice. Also NEVER free hand drill (hold a part while drilling), the drill bit will go right thru the part and right thru your hand. Also make sure you don't use you foot to hold parts while cutting, Better to clamp and keep body parts clear of flying metal. Just like driving situational awareness is EVERYTHING.
Hey buddy I have an 82 280zx turbo and it's pulling a fairly strong vaccine from the oil cap I was thinking pic stuck or something but not sure yet I don't think that's my only problem bc it's fine for miles and miles then randomly falls on its face..but still I don't think it should have enough vaccume at the oil cap to stall if I take it off
Quick question, so my 280 is having some trouble running. I turn it on and it’s fine it runs fine for a while until it reaches a higher temperature. I have good idle fuel pressure but when I park it and it sits in idle after about 5 minutes my pressure goes down to 20psi. I’ll be driving it and pressure falls and it struggles a bit to come back up unless I floor it. Could it be a bad coolant temp switch?? Along with the fact that I removed the thermostat and the coolant line that runs in between the headers and intake?
I was wondering if you could help me with my z it runs pretty rough and bogs down when I hit the gas and at times sounds like it wants to turn off I don’t know if it could be the fuel pump since it is brand new or the injectors but I just replaced all of them as well. If anyone can help me out I’d appreciate it🙏🏽
Hey man not sure if you got it figured out or not but it sounds like your fuel pressure regulator. It's right on your fuel rail and is controlled by a vacuum line. Make sure your not leaking vacuum before replacing.
Safety is paramount. I'm not so sure about using a respirator when grinding (a dust mask is usually good enough) but it's a requirement when sandblasting. Leather gloves are a must. Steel-toe boots might seem expensive but they're cheaper than the co-pay for an emergency room visit as you probably already know. A cheap long-sleeve welding jacket from eBay is far better than a t-shirt for splatter and burns. Hearing protection is a great thing (even when seeing live music). Never weld galvanized steel, even if you're holding your breath. When using a bench grinder or sander, use vise-grips to hold small pieces. Don't set yourself on fire. I think that covers the basics. I hope you heal quickly and always remember that chicks dig scars. Ace240z.com
You really need to get a metal nibbler. Grinding to cut metal is not the best choice. Get yourself a 3in1 sheet metal tool. You can cut, bend and roll your sheet metal.
I actually do have one. I just dont like to use it at night because I have to kick the compressor on, or I can't use it on anything thicker than 18 gauge sheets.
11:40 :D i got burned by welding too at trade school when we had a welding class, i dont remember when it was but im in mechanic line myself. I was wearing a mask like this www.purkukolmio.fi/sites/default/files/IMG_0438.jpg some mudafuga removed those yellow things and i was like meh doesn't matter and welded for couple hours and got a nice line in there for couple weeks and skin peeling off. It didn't even feel that hot but still it left a nice line and burning marks
LOL yeah the left side of my face began to peel and I chalked it up to driving with the window down in the summer. It happened again and THEN my pea brain finally realized it was from welding and always turning my head to the right before I pull the trigger.
If you're looking for a decent auto dimming welding helmet, I would recommend this one from harbor freight. Its cheap and works pretty well, and also can be used when grinding. Hope this helps. Cheers! www.harborfreight.com/red-design-auto-darkening-welding-helmet-63121.html
