SSSEXXX

Long time, no update, I know.... I had to take a little time away from working on the car to focus on some business. But, that doesn't mean that the shop hasn't been moving along. It just means my quasi lady @ss has not been posting. I managed to get a bunch of parts in. An auto power roll bar with removal cross bar is in, but was delivered to the shop. Also, these goodies were dropped off: NOS Lock Set New carpet. Black and high quality loop. A potentially useful or not useful at all Datsun Sunny badge. Unlikely it will fit, but worth a shot. Some 1600 SSS badges. Again, may or may not use them.... Dapper Lighter 575s with LEDs And a nice little Nissan Skyline GTR Red Start Button

Oh yeah. Been there, done that. It was a costly lesson. Damn lock nut on rear spindles. Has to buy a new spindle. Then there was the windshield rubber metal trim cluster F. Good times.

In all honesty if it wasn't for the people on this forum, I probably would have scrapped my entire car at one point. Now I'm just months away from completion. It's nuts how supportive a community of people who have no reason to help you can be. It speaks volumes about how passion can bind people.

You're going to want to kick me in the groin, but I started this project to learn and with a promise to make sure everything was in the best condition I could. I was hoping to replace all the seals and bearing along the way. I am seriously considering not taking it apart, but wanted to explore options before just repainting.

You guys are awesome! Honestly, without the people here helping me along the way, I'm pretty much useless. Any fear of messing anything up outside of the bearing? I was considering have the steering arm insert plated for corrosion resistance. It has some surface rust. Oh and I also found this link which was extremely useful: http://datsun1200.com/modules/mediawiki/index.php?title=PB110_Steering_Gearbox

Need to disassemble and then restore my steering column. It appears to have a bearing at the top and the last thing I want to do is damage a hard to replace part. Does anyone have any information on how best to take the thing apart and reassemble? Here is what I am working with: Thanks in advance. Searching just got me a bunch of steering box posts. Chris

The most annoying part of building a car is waiting... I have literally done it for years. But sometimes there simply is no other choice. We are still waiting for a lot of parts to come in, but I did manage to get my nubby little paws on this bad boy: Any guesses? That's right its time to Disco with my Disco Potato! Then it was time to test fit my $20 mock-up center console.... Guess what? It fits! Now I just need to find an e-brake that will work with it. Decisions, decisions.... Then it was time to look at the parts rack and dream... Until next time my precious baby!

Thank you Draker! I was really happy to see how these turned out. The side vents are almost ready to go back together. More presents from the delivery gods. Still need to figure out the paint scheme, but these bad boys should cover up some of the pot metal deformities...

For anyone who has read this far in to the thread, you know that this car was in bad shape when James agreed to save her from most certain death. I didn't admit this to James then, but I will now, I would have given up if it were not for him. I was ready to throw in the towel and just say that "enough was enough." James I can't thank you enough and you have my word that this car will be on the road before the end of summer 2017. We are scheduled to have fuel, brakes, suspension and wiring all done by February. Almost everything has been replated, powder coated and is ready for installation. I am commited to putting the love and care in the project that you did all the way to the end. I couldn't have done it without you. I appreciate what you did for me so sincerely. She looks amazing!!

When you are building a car, some days are better than others. Today was one of the days where I feel like I might actually be making some progress. Rear subframe with adjustable brackets came back from powder coating looking glossy and fresh. Behold the sexiness....

Done at a classic car chrome shop in Santa Ana, CA. PM me if you want more information. It was not cheap, but they know what they are doing. It was time to get back to work on my 1968 side vents. First was the basics, clean the nasty off. The old adhesive had to go for the new adhesive to work right? Then there was the matter of the cracking plastic. Nothing some locktite plastic glue can't fix right? Awwwww, my baby clamps are sooooooo cute???? Real men use small clamps.... While one was drying, I was cutting out this flap inside both pieces. I know it had something to do with airflow, but you can see in the picture, the piece had seen much better days. So, I took the liberty of cutting the bad boy out. Now, who wants to be the first to tell me that my car will now explode or sound like its in a hurricane.... Before: After: You can see how I cut the flap from the back here: And by now, the glue was dry. It looks rough, but that is just the shine from the locktite. Otherwise it is good as new. Next up, what to do about the one vent with two washer brackets and another with none. You know my OCD just could not handle knowing the imbalance was there. I could have just bought four big washers. But, I'm too crazy for that. Here was the start of a very bad idea. 22 gauge steel and two old brackets: Then, progress... A little snipping and more progress.. Clearly I am not a fabricator, but do they work? Yes they do!!!! Now, all thats left is to figure out if I am going to paint the recess matte black, make new seals, attach some SSS logos, restore and paint my fancy brackets, reassemble and install on car. Why does that sound like a lot?? This car will be the death of me... damn OCD!!

Thank you! I hope it turns out the way I imagine it in my head at night. Got the 1968 side vents back from the chrome shop and as soon as I saw them I changed my mind on what I was going to do. The chrome came out clean. I was going to paint the entire recess with the edges left chrome. Now, I think I will only chrome the deep recess around the center vent and inside of it. Take a look. Also thinking of adding SSS badges to help cover up some of the bumps in that space after they are blacked out. Here you can see the recesses that I want to paint that are pitted. Damn pot metal!

More deliveries today... Got some pieces of the much needed window trim to go in my NOS rubber: The other part of my soon to be center console. I found out the hard way that some models have unneeded buttons on them. I am trying to be as minimal as possible with buttons, gauges and unnecessary distractions. Last, but not least an early Christmas miracle. Original hardware, yellow zinc plated, from the original manufacturer to Nissan during the 1960s through the 1980s. Period correct and already plated. These bad boys should save my rear end a thousand times over. They also perfectly match the new plating picked up yesterday. I got a call from the chrome shop. My 1968 size vent are done and read for me to pick them up. I will need to paint them in the concave portion in a matte black. Then I will need to drill and thread was use to be a rivet on one of them. Still surprising and weird. I am contemplating chroming the trim for the rubber windshield as well as the exterior accent door pieces. Anyone have any thoughts on chrome versus polished?

Let me first start off by saying that I appreciate anyone who took the time to write something like that and I never said it was bad, I did say that it was not the best. Granted I understand that real estate on a printed periodical comes at a premium. I'm sure it was not easy to provide that information without some of the benefits we have on the interwebs today. That being said, the article didn't tell you any part numbers or provided many pictures as reference. From my own personal experience, the 350z vents fit relatively loosely in the original vent bracket, but how to make them fit snugly was effectively ignored. I am not the most mechanically inclined person. I aim to have the skill set and expertise of many of the members here, so basic steps would have been a game changer for someone like me.

Ahhhhhhh, today was a magical day. The delivery gods favored me and the new yellow zinc plater wound up being spectacular. I was nervous, but they did not lose a single piece, everything looked spectacular and they even kept my things organized in the same plastic bags I dropped off. If you've ever plated anything, you know how rare that is. As a reminder, I took the parts I prepared and the parts that were too big for me to pop in the tumbler and dropped them off looking like this: And my first peak when I picked them up looked like this: As soon as I got home, I pulled it all out: Then it was comparison time. Before: After: Before: After: And the money shot of the details: So, I do have some questions. Do I need to grease any parts of the mechanisms? The springs? And, does anyone have a good link to a tutorial on the best steps to installing them back in. It has been so long since I removed the damn things!! Lastly, the beginnings of my center console arrived. Going the 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 route, but I have some special touches.

Man o' man was I avoiding this day FOR AS LONG AS I COULD!!! I knew the JDM Supersonic Grill I had needed some work and I knew I would have to take it apart. The nightmare had haunted me for too long. It was time to man up. Let's take a look at what we are working with shall we? Full frontal... Drilling out rivets on something you love so dearly is very scary... And when the passenger side piece was off, part of the damage was obvious.... ARGH!!!! But, one was off and no part of the grill was damaged in removing the rivets. So far so good... Then the other side was off with minimal problems... Then there were two pieces lol... And I'm still freaking out... YAY!! All apart. Now I need to figure out to rivet this all back together assuming I can get the plastic on the passenger side bezel fixed. Since the night was a fail. I wanted to try and see if I can polish the Supersonic badge and SSS badge.. https://c8.staticflickr.com/6/5792/31311885271_d4906034a3_c.jpg] Then boom, pow!

Minor update. Still playing the waiting game on parts delivery....

I've been there bro. 5 years and I'm still trying to get her running again. Life can be a test. Keep your head up, the Datsun will always be there.

Lol... I see what you did there :rofl: Nonetheless, congrats on the purchase. I've always liked this dime. I saw the transports on IG. It is always cheaper to buy than to build. In that regard you are much smarter than I am. Treat her like a queen.

Welcome, all beautiful cars. Keep them on the road!

No kidding! And, now we have a good amount of reproduction parts that are helping. Not all of it is quality, but there are at least options.

Project update. Interior door mechanisms come back from yellow zinc plating tomorrow. Powder coated rear sub frame comes back in one week. All other suspension parts are in. Massive parts order today: 2 x NRG Innovations Fiberglass Bucket Seats AEM Infinity 506 Control Unit Aeromotive 15g 340 Stealth Fuel Cell Turbosmart FPR 2000 -8 AN - Black Turbosmart IWG75 Garrett GT2860RS 7 PSI Black Internal Wastegate Actuator Turbosmart Plumback BOV 38mm - Black Aeromotive In-Line Filter - AN-08 size Male - 10 Micron Microglass Element - Bright-Dip Black AEM 3.5 Bar Stainless sensor Kit 2 x AEM 150 PSIg Stainless Pressure Transducer 2 x AEM 1/8" & 3/8" NPT Water Temperature Sensors AEM Boost Control Solenoid Air Temp Sensor Kit DTM AEM EGT Sensor Kit for EMS AEM 12pos. rotary trim pot AEM BOSCH Connector kit LSU4.9 O2 Sensor Garrett Turbo GTX2860R Garret Turbo 0.86 A/R Turbine Housing Full Vehicle Wiring Harness Materials

Seats and tank are gone. Thanks everyone! Still have 1968 grill. Also, listed a few nice items on eBay for those who have an SR or KA. Everything is going cheap. CP 86mm Pistons. All parts WPC treated. Valued at over $1k total, but selling for $600. ARP main stud and head stud kit each for less than a hundo. GReddy Rocker Arm stoppers for a solid $40.

The grill is not the nicest example I have seen, but it just needs some TLC. All of it is still available, but I have had a lot of inquiries. Just glad they are going to friends who have been following the thread. I like to give back to the community for all the help it has given me along the way. The people I have met have been invaluable and this project would not have been possible without this forum.

Laecaon! Long time not talk sir. Glad to help in any way possible. Check out Dime Quarterly Volume 7 Issue 1- Dash Vent Upgrades Page 8. Not the best write up, so here is are a few pictures to help you along: The part number per your request. I got my off of eBay for $30 bucks a pop. I would point out that the S15 versions have actual steel, not polished looking plastic like these vents. But, those are obviously harder to find and more expensive. The Mustang versions referenced in the DQ article fit a little more snug and have a chrome ring. It is a matter of taste really. Here is 90% of what you need to do. Just cut the vent housing on the back and pop it in. I am going to fab up some longer clips to hold the 350z vent in place a little tighter. But this gives you most of the visual you need: