Duncan's 71 "Oz" Goon

[Duncan]

Got some time to get down to San Diego and keep moving on the fuel door.  Was in a rush towards, the end and decided to have a little flow test with the primer.  It was flowing good :)

 

[goes2fast]

Yep, flowed right down the quarter! :rofl:

[tr8er]

Almost looks factory

[Draker]

Can't wait to see pictures with the door on. Looks good!!

[Duncan]

Thanks guys.  It's subtle, but more stealthy, which should make it look a bit cleaner, IMHO.

 

As far as the flow test, I was in a hurry to get finished and on the road.  I had just a bit more primer left in the gun, so I risked it and shot a few more passes hoping it wouldn't run.  Every time I get in a hurry, the results are usually very similar :poop:

[Duncan]

Since I'm home this week, I started digging through my parts boxes.  I have a lot of small things to do, so I thought I'd make use of my time and try to keep moving on the wagon.

 

Hard to see in the photo, but the grill had a TON of black paint on it.  It was really bad, and looked like it was brushed on.  My plans were to chemically strip it, then start repairs and polish it.  

 

I tried paint stripper and a wire brush only to get down to a multiple layers of white paint. (Also applied badly)  I think that when the car was painted white, the PO decided to do the center in white to match the car.  It probably didn't look too good, so they put a ton of black paint to cover over the ton of white paint.  

 

 

The paint stripper barely made a dent into it, so I broke out the Makita with a wire brush and spent about two hours taking the paint off with that.

 

I also hammered out and filed down some dents in it.  The dent repair isn't quite perfect. but it's MUCH better than it was.  I don't think the repairs will be noticeable unless I point them out.  I'll start the buffing and polishing process in the next day or two and see how they look.

 

Here's where I left it.

 

 

Am I correct in thinking the horizontal bars get polished, and the vertical pieces get painted black? 

[Duncan]

Spent a bit of time re-repairing my repairs on the stainless with much better results, then I polished this up.

 

 

Still undecided how this should be done.  We'll see..

[Eagle_Adam]

That gas door is super clean!

[datsunfreak]

Am I correct in thinking the horizontal bars get polished, and the vertical pieces get painted black? 

 

Correct. All vertical bars should be black. 

 

From the factory, not all of horizontal bars were polished. The thin middle bars were usually a gunmetal gray. 

[datsunfreak]

And I need that badge if you aren't planning to use it.   B)

[Duncan]

I actually bought that grill badge, so I do plan on using it, even though it is incorrect for Australia :)  Thanks for volunteering to give it a home :)

 

I saw a catalog from Datsun with a JDM 510 wagon on the cover.  The grill was the same as mine, and it looked like the center bar was lightly polished (or painted grey-ish) and the other 4 middle bars were black.

 

Next Sunday is the Eagle Rock swap, and I plan on looking at 510 grills to see what the hell I can figure out.

 

And I need that badge if you aren't planning to use it.   B)

[Duncan]

Thanks Adam.  As usual, it was much more of a job than I thought, and I hope to get it wrapped up here pretty quick.

 

That gas door is super clean!

[KiloTango1200]

The project looks like it is coming along nicely. Really like the custom fuel door. Been tied up on family matters for a couple of months and finally had time to catch up with Ratsun. Hope your health is improving and keep up the awesome work!

[Duncan]

Other than about 30 minutes of little detail work tomorrow, the fuel door is done. 

 

 

While the primer was drying on this, I got to the dent in the rear left side.  Was able to move the metal back to where it should be, and just now need to finish it off.   

[Duncan]

That means seats are next, then it's final sand and paint the shell.  Finally.. :w00t:

[mrbigtanker]

Nice

[Eagle_Adam]

Other than about 30 minutes of little detail work tomorrow, the fuel door is done. 

 

 

While the primer was drying on this, I got to the dent in the rear left side.  Was able to move the metal back to where it should be, and just now need to finish it off.

 

Do mine next?????

 

Pretty please!!!!!!!

 

:p ;)

[Duncan]

Sure, just bring it by.  :thumbup:

 

Do mine next?????

Pretty please!!!!!!!

:P ;)

[Duncan]

The photos don't hardly look different, but here's the grill with the vertical pieces painted in black.

 

 

I'm not sure which was worse, the making job, or the unmasking job. 

 

I also dug out the headlight trim pieces.  They are chrome plated metal, which is strange considering the grill is stainless and aluminum.  The two chrome shops I have used in the past are both gone, so I need to find a new shop.  Both my bumpers need to be plated, too...

 

I actually finished the bodywork on the wagon today!  I still need to final sand it, and will probably find a few things as I go over it, but it's another one of those big jobs I'm glad to move on from..

[mrbigtanker]

Oh do I have 2 chrome shops for you. One of them takes a twisted bumper and make it new again.

[goes2fast]

Oh do I have 2 chrome shops for you. One of them takes a twisted bumper and make it new again.

I wish there was one here, the only one left went out of business 2 years ago. :crying:

[Duncan]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure plating shops are high profile on the government interference list here in So Cal...

[Duncan]

The bodywork on the shell is done, so I started on the seats.

 

The BMW seats sit pretty high, so I had to remove the front seat mount cross member.  (For lack of a better term)  There are two curved channels on the floor, and one of them sits higher on the inside next to the tunnel, so I notched that out.  The inside seat rail sits in the notch which levels the seat from side to side.  

 

 

The front mount was spot welded in, and I made some holes in the floor getting them out.  I plan on welding those up tomorrow.

 

The seat sits level from side to side, but the front mounts are appx 1/8" up off the floor in the front.  I found some very thick wall 1" tubing and made some spacers that I will tack onto the bottom of the front seat rails. Hopefully, I'll get a pic of those tomorroww.

 

 

 

These seats actually have a lot of height adjustment to them, so even though they are going to mount to the floor, they aren't too low in the car.  They were a bit more work than I imagined to install (where have I heard that one before?) but I think they are going to be real nice.  I'll have the rear seat upholstered to match the fronts.

 

The guys at the shop were telling me I'm going to hell for putting German seats in a Japanese car, but I'll be comfy on the way :) 

[Duncan]

Nothing terribly exciting, but some progress, nonetheless..

 

Wiper / cowl panel stripped and painted.

 

 

 

 

Spent an entire day of welding holes, then grinding down the welds on the floors.  My old aching back..

 

 

 

At least I got both driver and passenger side done and ready for the new seats.

[Duncan]

I also made the plates that the seats will bolt to.  I cut some 3/8" thick bar stock into 2" squares, then drilled and tapped them with MM10x1.25 threads.  I stuck them in the hot tank before I snapped a pic, but will get a better photo as I get the seats installed.

 

 

I was going to use thinner material and weld a captive nut to them, but my friend insisted on using the thicker material with inner threads.  I quickly realized he was correct to insist on the heavier material.  Especially 'cause race car..