'79 620 daily

[Gary]

sorta like all the cars i own, planning on keeping them forever :D

 

i cant get away with the things you chaps get away with, with regards to rust and all :( otherwise id be no different to you :lol:

[Gary]

progress;

 

got into the cab mounts today, theyre finished and both tacked in and line up good from measurements ive made. hopefully still good when the cab goes back on :D

 

also whipped out one of the sills i made, drilled some holes in the bottom of it, treated it for rust, then clamped it up against the cab, straightened the back of the sill a bit, and plug/spot welded it in

 

tomoz need to modify an engine mount for a mates project, if i get time ill trim the top of my sill down to suit and get patching so it looks like it belongs there

[Pacific coast Datsun]

Nice metal work my friend. Im curious on the valance lenses. Are they the amber / white style & would you be willing to sell them to me?

[Gary]

thanks :D theyre clear ones ya, i think the amber insides can snap out so they're full clear, but mine are cracked up pretty good :( the insides have been hurt by rust too (dulled the finish) so wouldnt be keen to sell em given they're not in good condition

 

ive bought some cables off these guys before and they were alright, could try these instead?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/DATSUN-620-UTE-PAIR-Front-Turn-Signal-Lights-CLEAR-k3-/260645110748?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories

[Gary]

progress;

only managed to trim and weld in the sill, still need to get some bits in where the holes are, cut back the welds then treat it. getting there though

 

tomoz ill get it patched and cleaned up, and fix a hole in the floor

[Pacific coast Datsun]

TY Gary for the link to those signal lights.

[Gary]

no probs :)

 

progress;

friday got more into cleaning up the ends of the sills

 

then it sorta hit me... sills need to line up with the bottom line of the tub, and the err... front quarters. doh :huh: assed that one up nicely. the only way around it is to leave the sills alone after theyre cut out and de-rusted, until the cab is on so i can make them line up properly. so the one in it at the moment will need mods or a whole replacement :\ idiot

 

so ive turned the cab around and have started chopping out the other side. man there's some chunk inside! dirt, stuff growing inside, and crusty bits of rust nearly 1/3 fill the sill. feels good cutting it all out, will feel better getting fresh steel in there once more :D wouldnt it be lovely to be able to fix people this easy :lol:

 

ill get cracking into it tomorrow, and holes cut in the floors so i can get to replace the proper busted mounts. i spose the upside is the cab will be on sooner, but working on the sills at ground level might get annoying. unless the chassis is up for being lifted at either end by two engine cranes... might not like it though heh see how it goes

[Gary]

progress;

 

got the cab up today for some more work on the passenger side;

chopped out old sill, lots of chunk came out of it :\ good couple kilos i reckon. lots of bog toooo

chopped out middle and rear mounts

chopped out a bit of the little lip at the bottom of the back of the cab

hammered out some rust in the wheel arch, and underneath at the back of the trans tunnel

removed the tool mounts on the floor

removed the back of the sill too, was rusted through in a few places

cleaned up a little of the floor so i could weld up a few holes

chopped out some more holey bits here and there

cut the right bits for all the holes i made

tacked them all in

filled the last of the holes in the back of the cab, where one of the tool holders was tacked in

welded up spare holes in the rail the seats bolt to

 

 

also pulled out the bonnet for a look. shit tonnes of bog in it (solid 5mm in one place) to conceal some old repairs done to it

 

ill get into it more tomorrow, maybe get the back of the sill repaired, and more of the floor done too. ive more or less decided to start the sill on the drivers side (one i messed up) from scratch again rather than trying to fix it

[slow620]

Hey Gary, can I give you a small tip that may help with your sill if you haven't already welded it in?

 

I was taught to cut a few access holes along the inner sill panel first so you can get in there with rustproofing later. Seal the holes with rubber grommets when your'e finished.

 

Bend a small lip along the top edge of the new patch panel slightly more than 90 degrees & butt it under the original jamb metal. The bend in the patch panel will then be the new edge of the jamb so you have to cut the jamb metal back a few mm's to allow for the weld.

 

You may still prefer to do it your way but I have found it's much easier to weld & you don't get any warping because the edge is strengthen by the lip. Also there is more weld left after you have ground it back so it's stronger.

 

I hope I explained it properly, Cheers.

[Gary]

thanks mate, sounds like good advice :D ill give it a go

[slow620]

Just hope I explained it properly, Cheers.

[Gary]

makes sense to me :D

 

progress;

ran out of time yesterday to post pics of progress, but just have been chopping out sections, making ones to fit and welding tacking them in

 

today, not that interesting, cut some more rust out, replaced it with fresh stuff, most of it is welded in just needs cleaning up. needs a few more patches here and there before its ready, not far off getting the cab mounts in - so far they're looking like they'll like up good with the centers ive drilled, which is a plus :D

 

tomoz will be more chopping and welding

[Gary]

progress;

yesterday just more chopping and welding, nothing that interesting :D

 

today got to finishing a few areas enough for welding in the rear cab mount, and got that in. as you can see, surgical precision :lol:

 

will finish the middle mount, then needs quite a lot of grinding back and lots of little things to get to before i can get cab back on chassis. getting there though :)

[Gary]

progress;

saturday didnt get up to much, ended out putting some BC's in a mates S13 which worked out nice

 

sunday just got into more chopping, grinding down and welding, cab mounts were tacked in, some more holes and nastiness fixed in the floor

 

today just more grinding back trying to get it reasonably smooth before paint. welded in the cab mounts proper, and picked up some body deadener (aerosol) for under the floor, not the greatest quality stuff but it'll work alright. treated the mounts, tested the deadener on one of them see how it goes after rust treatment (dunno if it'll adhere to it is all)

 

floor needs a little more welding then it'll be done. not sure what i'll do tomoz, ill suss something

[Gary]

progress;

got into a little more of the cab today, finished a few things and made merry with the sound deadener/paint. its lookin ok i guess

 

also replaced the front bit of the tailshaft so the center bearing carrier isnt busted, cleaned a few things here and there, and finally welded in that section on the chassis

 

very close to getting the cab back on, only little stuff to go i think :D

[Gary]

progress;

new handbrake cable went in nice, had to make a quick spacer so the nut was useful but i think that was mostly cos my bracket was banged up pretty good

 

pretty sure ill get the cab on tomoz, i cant think of anything else needs doing while its off

[swb"74"620]

Are you going to paint the chassis while the cab Is off?

[Gary]

it looks alright as is so i was keen to skip it. ive cleaned the front up a little cos it was covered in muddy coolant from when the rad kept overflowing (could sorta be mistaken as rust) but other than that its hectic

 

progress;

cab is nearly on! i remembered i still had to make bushes, right when it came time to put the bushes on heh so ill make some tonight and see if they'll be alright for tomoz. looks like a ute again :D ive already forgotten how long it is

[Gary]

progress;

happy as a clam :D had some other stuff to take care of this weekend so not heaps of progress, but the cab is on good and proper now! hardest part is well and truly over, now its just lots of little things :)

 

first had to make some bushes, but used lots more dye than i should have, which messed up the mix ratio enough for this to happen;

 

melty as. i was almost out of 40A so i made a quick set of 85A just so the cab can be mounted up. pretty sure 40A is too soft so i think next batch will be 60A. ill start offering them to people then if anyone is down

 

got the front ones in, lined it all up nice to find the guide holes i had already drilled were near bang on! :) happy with that. opened them up to 12mm, got some fresh bolts and bushes in there and it all bolted down famously. bulletside lines up good with the tub, so do the lower lines, and the gap between the tub and cab is even :hyper: guesswork and going by feel worked out pretty well in the end (broken tape measures dont count :rolleyes:) looks lots better, feels solid, fkn lovin it

 

need to weld the sills in nice, then POR15 the floor, then ill get to putting the interior back together i think

[dropdatsun]

Ya man is looking purty good. Nice work, and the cab seams to be linded just perfect

[copydat]

Gary,

How much for a cab bush set?

Such a worth while update! Mine are ratty as - would love to replace them when I get the cab off.

Good work mate! :D

 

 

A build thread will come - once my wedding is out of the way.............. Can't wait to start throwing spanners again!

[Gary]

thanks for the comments :)

 

:lol: geordie i read that 3 times and still thought you said "welding" :blink: congrats man! weddings are mad fun

 

cab mounts will be as cheap as i can make em, its not like ive got overheads to worry about heh ill sort it out when i get more 60A (not sure what the price is like yet is all, it varies weirdly between types). wont be long though :)

 

progress;

worked on the headlight rings today to suit my new replacement ones. the stock rings fit ok but the spot welds were falling apart for some of them, and the inner headlights were loose so i thought id make some more to be safe. ill finish those tomoz and maybe repair some rust around where they mount to the rad support so i can fit them good

 

i pulled half of the battery tray out too, there's rust to treat underneath and given i need to make another one anyway i was thinking of relocating it to underneath the tub. a heavy battery that much forward of the front axle not so good, and it gets in the way of fiddling with the headlights :P does mean ill need a dry cell battery though which is money but i reckon worth it. might mean less overzealous police officers out testing my battery strap for durability, given they wont be able to find it ;)

[goes2fast]

thanks for the comments :)

 

:lol: geordie i read that 3 times and still thought you said "welding" :blink: congrats man! weddings are mad fun

 

cab mounts will be as cheap as i can make em, its not like ive got overheads to worry about heh ill sort it out when i get more 60A (not sure what the price is like yet is all, it varies weirdly between types). wont be long though :)

 

progress;

worked on the headlight rings today to suit my new replacement ones. the stock rings fit ok but the spot welds were falling apart for some of them, and the inner headlights were loose so i thought id make some more to be safe. ill finish those tomoz and maybe repair some rust around where they mount to the rad support so i can fit them good

 

i pulled half of the battery tray out too, there's rust to treat underneath and given i need to make another one anyway i was thinking of relocating it to underneath the tub. a heavy battery that much forward of the front axle not so good, and it gets in the way of fiddling with the headlights :P does mean ill need a dry cell battery though which is money but i reckon worth it. might mean less overzealous police officers out testing my battery strap for durability, given they wont be able to find it ;)

 

I was thinking of doing the same thing with my battery, some of the Street Rod shops here sell drop down battery boxes for that purpose, just have to measure to see if there is enough room. When you get the cab mounts ready to sell,figure out a price shipped to the US in US money please, I would like to have one of the first sets, and if there is a color choice, black.

 

Later, :cool:

[Gary]

i havent had a proper look yet but the vague plan is to get it underneath the passenger side front corner of the tub, the side the exhaust goes through up near the panel, dry cell batteries are typically smaller so hopefully there's room. ill suss that one soon i think

 

im sorting out what the bushes will cost me per set and postage cost at the mo, ill make a thread and talk to some moderators soon :) looks like they'll be under $50 a set, plus postage i think

 

yesterdays progress;

finished the headlight rings, now the headlights sit nice and firm. i think ive lost two of the little screws though :huh: annoying

 

also got the rest of the battery mount out, ill be doing that today i think, and repairing a bit where the headlight thing attaches

[Gary]

progress;

finished repairing the battery tray bit

 

and fixed the rust near the headlight thing, one of the plastic mounts didnt work so good but now its good

 

tomoz might get some more work into the front of the cab, ready for some paint