Duncan's 71 "Oz" Goon

[Dantheman]

my 71 wagon has the brace that you are talking about

[KELMO]

pretty sure Duncan's wallet is the one that says "badass mother fucker" on it.

[Duncan]

Anyone have a photo of this brace?  I have a couple of 510 manuals and couldn't find a picture of it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My wallet says "easy, fucker" on it.  The Sunny carbs and parts put a hurt on it lately....

[KELMO]

I looked in my catalog and cannot find anything like what is described.  I looked in the fender section, inner structure, and side body structure.  I was going to paste the catalog pics here but it won't let me.  I could fax those pages to you if you would like (PM me a fax #).  If I have more time this weekend I can read through the part #'s as sometimes they are not in the illustration(sometime the illustrations aren't even all that good.

 

Sorry, I ain't pulling off a fender :poke:

[Duncan]

No worries Kelly.  I went digging on Ratsun and found this photo (I'm sure the 510 Keeper wont mind) and it looks like there is a gusset from the fender rail to the A pillar.  I need to remove the undercoating off of mine, but it looks like there is no evidence of welding in that area on my wagon.

 

The good news is it looks very easy to make a piece for that...

 

[Duncan]

Please check out Datrod's video! I wanted everyone to see it, so I posted it here as well.

 

Well done, sir!  Very well done..

 

[tr8er]

my 71 goons got it too.

 

And that hose just pops off if you are working in that area.  

[Duncan]

Thanks for the great photo!  I can easily duplicate that.   Is that about 1/8" plate?

[tr8er]

Umm no. 16-18 gauge I bet.

[Duncan]

Thanks again.  I will probably do a bit thicker than that, though. 

 

BTW, TR8er, I printed that pic you posted, and it shows that gusset perfectly.  I can easily eyeball the "close enough" dimensions to make a replacement.

 

Please speak up if anyone else sees something :)  It's simple to fix crap like this now :thumbup:

[Duncan]

Sprayed a test piece today with an airbrush and some Cal-compliant paint I bought just to do small pieces like this.  It's single-stage acrylic urethane.  I sprayed this in my ultra-high-tech spray booth.  (It also doubles as a 2-car garage) :)

 

 

 

 

And welcome to Page 9!

[hang_510]

It's simple to fix crap like this now :thumbup:

maybe it a USDM thing?

only wagons have it, not on 2/4 doors.

 

easily made.

 

ill look and see if i took a good pic when i had it off...

[Duncan]

No worries.  It seems like that is on most (if not all) US Wagons.  I will remove the undercoat off that area next weekend and check it out.  Based on the work I have run into on this car, I'd say there was nothing there originally, but I'll know when I get it to bare metal..

 

I just posted photos of the red wagon and my wagon on Ozdat.  It could very well be a US regulatory safety item.  My wagon has quite a few differences when compared to a '71 USDM wagon.  I did drive it around for a year before I tore it apart and I didn't have any problems...

 

I just love a mystery!

 

maybe it a USDM thing?

only wagons have it, not on 2/4 doors.

 

easily made.

 

ill look and see if i took a good pic when i had it off...

[Duncan]

I have spoken with 2 Aussie wagon owners, and neither of them have that gusset.  I will *assume* that most have been a US D.O.T requirement.  If you look at little things, my wagon is quite a bit different than the US models, and this piece looks like another area where they differ.

 

I could easily install one, but I don't see the need at this time. 

 

 

maybe it a USDM thing?

only wagons have it, not on 2/4 doors.

 

[tr8er]

Agree. Spend the time on something more impressive.

[Duncan]

Cleaning off undercoating and making some repairs inside the front wheel wells.  It's messy and nasty..

 

Passenger side needed a few holes filled. Driver's side needed a couple patch panels.  Nothing major.  Hope to get both sides finished

up and painted by the end of the weekend.

 

 

 

 

lead work on driver's side windshield corner.

 

 

I've got to feather the edges a little bit more, but the body lines and concave top channel formed out nicely. 

 

 

 

I ran out of room on my personal website, so I am using Imageshack to host photos now. Wished I had used it sooner..

 

Happy Holidays!

[Draynor]

Digging the build man :thumbup:

[Laecaon]

I have always heard wagons rust less in that area due to those gussets.

[Duncan]

Digging the build man :thumbup:

 

 

Thanks for the props!

 

 

I have always heard wagons rust less in that area due to those gussets.

 

I can't imagine why since there would be more metal in that area to trap water, moisture, dirt, etc..  Not saying you're wrong, though..

 

I don't know what Nissan did in that wheel well area before they left the factory.  Mine had undercoating in there, but it was clearly applied later.    

[Duncan]

An interesting repair.  This area is made up of two panels, so I had to make an inner and outer piece.

 

 

The inner can be seen from the engine compartment, so I had to make a piece to butt weld so it could finished off and not noticed when you open the hood.

 

 

I have some square stock that is threaded with 6-32 threads behind this piece.  I file tiny relief cuts just big enough to get the bolts through.  It holds the pieces tight and flush for a nice weld.

 

 

 

The inner piece was coated, and the outer piece in place and finished off.

 

If you look just to the right of the repair, you can see four holes that were drilled.  I have a bunch of those I have to weld up before I can paint :( 

[datrod]

Don't ya just love it when PO's drill random holes in the engine bay.

[Busta Nut]

Great build, man!!

 

 

 

I'm hooked.........

[Duncan]

Don't ya just love it when PO's drill random holes in the engine bay.

 

NO!!   hehe..  I had an entire day filling small holes in the rear cargo floor around the wheel wells.  The front wheel wells and engine bay aren't so bad, but still annoying as hell..

 

 

Great build, man!!

 

 

 

I'm hooked.........

 

:thumbup:  Again, thanks for the props!  Keeps my cranky old ass motivated to keep going.

[Duncan]

Holy shit, this was a lot of work.

 

 

Got all repairs done, stripped undercoating out of there, and primered,  I also flooded the inner fender rails with an internal coating. :)

 

 

 

Black is crazy hard to photograph, (especially with a phone) but I painted it with a chassis-black acrylic enamel paint.  It's wet in the photo but dried to a nice semi-gloss satin.  

 

I actually have about 6 days total time with these two fender wells.  Total pain in the ass, but they look nice. 

[Duncan]

parts is parts...

 

 

Spent quite a bit of time getting the front suspension/steering apart to be cleaned and painted.  We made special tools to press out the control arm bushings, and a puller to remove the pitman arm from the center link without destroying the rubber boot on it.  (that was quite the challenge)

 

My centerlink and control arms were damaged, so thanks to Hobbes_the_cat and Dreadni for supplying replacements.   

 

 

Coated with relatively inexpensive primer.  Works good for parts!

 

 

Shiny black parts.  I think someone on here called these redneck wind chimes..

 

Next week is assembly and install with all new bushings.  I actually bought a set of prothane bushings, then decided to go all rubber.  The only exception is I'm using Delrin bushings on the idler arm from Experimental Engineering.  They were the only ones I could find.

 

I'm going to need a couple of 14" or 15" wheels for rollers pretty soon.  I have 280zx struts, and my 13's probably wont fit.  Anyone?  I would consider trading my Aussie HotWire mesh wheels for a set of 14" or 15"..  They're pretty common in Australia and I've never seen a set here in the US.  Page 2 of this thread has some good photos of them...