Say hello to Phuglee my "new" 710 Wagon! (Lots 'o Pics)

[O.D.D.]

Interesting fun run ... weather was NOT cooperative. Nothing happening with wagon til December 1-3rd, when my friend matt will be out, who has pledged 3 days of bodywork to finish the prep....

[ProjectFeint]

What color are you choosing? Keep the dual tip angled like that!! :rofl:

[its_karl]

When I go my 710, there was years of rats nest in the cowl, to the point that it caused rust in there from infrequent rain and moisture collected in the nests.

[O.D.D.]

Ok....  Its been forever since I have posted On Ratsun (or been online much) But I have not beein idle....

 

A hint of things to come...

 

 

Getting things sanded down (again)

 

 

 

 

Are you ready to do the rust-o-leum rock? Yeeaaah  Baby! 

 

 

Primer is done... more damn masking to do. 

 

[O.D.D.]

And now the (semi) finished product.....

 

 

Other side...

 

 

From behind?

 

 

Other side again....

 

 

Finally, head on....

 

[O.D.D.]

Mirrors and trim still drying, Pics with those soon.  Iron cross rims still to be painted, until then I am borrowing a little bling from the 510 and going with 6 spokes in Black.  More pics soon. little details later. 

[INDY510]

is that rattle can "harbor blue" rustoleum??? ..... it looks great!!!! ... :cool:

[Eagle_Adam]

Holy fuck!!!

 

That looks great!!!

 

More details on the paint products and process please

[O.D.D.]

Primer - 8 cans of Rustoleum "rusty metal primer", 1 can filler primer, 2 cans plain primer (leftover fro mother stuff)

 

Paint - 14 cans of Rustoleum "MAUI" BLUE...   (new color)   3 cans of gloss black, NO CLEAR COAT. 

 

Prep - Random orbital sander with 320 grit before priming, hand sanded with 400 after primer. 

 

2 coats primer, 1 heavy coat of black for trim, and 2 coats of blue to finish. 

 

I PAINTED @ midnight on a cool night with LOTS of coastal moisture in the air.  I think that may have helped a lot keeping the paint wet enough to not see spray lines. 

 

No real drips, sags or runs...but I did get a LOT  of orange peel.  Basically I think I was moving my arm too fast back and forth when spraying. Covered too wide an area with too little paint to begin with, then re-applied in the same method. too much area, too little paint. 

 

The real difference maker was really just buying a friggin clip on can gun.   That $5 was worth 10x that .... and I went through 2 of them over the course of the last year. 

 

Last tip...when can is getting low JUST TOSS IT!!!! Dont bother spraying every last little bit out because it comes out too sparse and too splotchy to be seen. 

 

Overall I needed more blue. maybe like 20 cans. If  I had more, I would not have been as worried about covering the whole car and would have gone more slowly and thickly with each pass. 

 

I considered FOR A LONG TIME going the right route, buying paint, and either borrowing a compressor and buying a cheap gun OR having a friend do it @ a bodyshop. 

 

BUT... The cheapest I could make that happen for was well over $300. More like $500 if I wanted things done right.   Given my shitty job of bodywork overall, and the numerous imperfections still left on the car. It just wasnt worth it. 

 

If I'm gonna spend 3-500 on something, Its gonna be for the 510.  This project is lo budget ALL THE WAY 

 

 

Related to that, Maintenance wise, I have done NOTHING but oil, plugs, a coil, and a set of hand me down wires.... and now have over 15k on the car. NO MAJOR ISSUES.  The exhaust is still falling off, its still loud as hell, and slow as fuck, but getting me to work and back has never been a problem!!! 

 

Next part of project, after getting trim and bits back on, will be a new motor and exhaust system. Probly gonna be my stock L16 with SU's and a cast pre-smog mani.  All good until next year when I face smog.... GRRR

[Eagle_Adam]

damn.... still a bit speechless when i see those pics.... great fucking job 

[O.D.D.]

is that rattle can "harbor blue" rustoleum??? ..... it looks great!!!! ... :cool:

Indy - 

 

  Thanks man,  dunno if you caught it in my little novel above, but I used new "Maui" blue Rustoleum.  Harbor was going to be it, part of the lag on my part was I wasnt quite happy with that color, and couldnt find a blue I liked. I ALMOST painted it a dark cherry red, but I can guarantee it would have come out worse. 

[O.D.D.]

damn.... still a bit speechless when i see those pics.... great fucking job 

Adam - 

 

  Thanks for the praise. Dont be too impressed. I cheated every which way I could. Its a pretty good 10 footer of a paint job, and is pretty photogenic.... simply because I picked one of the lightest colors I could get away with. The Un-even spray coating doesnt really show up in pics, but in the shade from an angle, looking down the bodyline.... its pretty damn obvious.  Like I said above. I would have done better spraying more slowly and a little thicker. (and with real paint, i know)

 

  I got warned several times in several ways that anything under neutral would start really showing flaws and spray lines (zebra stripes), so I made sure to pick from the top half of the "brightness" scale

 

  I was tempted by "shortbus" yellow and didnt want to get hailed by pedestrians hoping for a taxi (lol), as well as a darker cherry red (even though i knew the difficulty)

 

   Im thinking of painting more of the bottom trim black. I only did the runner under the doors, but now kinda want to paint the whole bottom bodyline black from behind the front wheel to where the lines end @ the rear 1/4 panel. 

 

  I will also paint the front and rear window trim black @ some point, as well as the doorhandles.   The C pillar plastics might be airbrushed with something cool by a friend of mine - if I can weasel him into doing it.  The little flat part on the tall trapezoid makes a good spot for a little artwork. We shot around a few "goon" images as well as looking back at the pieces he has done in the past (on his surfboards, etc) and he is SUPPOSED to be doodling a few things for me. I kinda think he thought the car would never get painted.... now I have him with his pants down cuz I got it done alla the sudden in 2 weeks.  

 

  Before all that I have a set of Iron cross rims to paint black and GOLD - Thassright baby GOLD! (lots of dubious looks from people when I say this) 

 

After I get the custom mirrors and painted trim bits back on, i will post a few more pics, and get some feedback on what all still needs blacking out. 

 

   Stay Tuned Kiddies!

 

     - Dan

[Will]

This thread does two things I really like:

 

1. Rescues a Datsun that looks like it would have been parted out or scrapped by a less ambitious owner.

 

2. Has a lot of how-to detail that people can put to good use.

 

Good work!

[Bentaxlebob]

 

 

 

 

   Im thinking of painting more of the bottom trim black. I only did the runner under the doors, but now kinda want to paint the whole bottom bodyline black from behind the front wheel to where the lines end @ the rear 1/4 panel. 

 

 

 

   Stay Tuned Kiddies!

 

     - Dan

  Do not do that. That works on 4X4 rigs, making them look taller. If you do that on your wagon, it will look taller, off the ground, the opposite to what road cars lowered need look like. Some cars go all the way to adding side skirts. Think it over. :thumbup:

[O.D.D.]

  Do not do that. That works on 4X4 rigs, making them look taller. If you do that on your wagon, it will look taller, off the ground, the opposite to what road cars lowered need look like. Some cars go all the way to adding side skirts. Think it over. :thumbup:

 

 

Bob -

 

    Funny of you to mention that. I got to looking @ the wagon and realized almost the same thing. I was totally wondering if it was going to make it look like the car started @ the blue.  you really cant see the runner panel anymore. 

 

   I painted the upper part of the windows and side black to get rid of the goofy bodyline between the rear doors and wagon window on the side of the car.  Where the rear doors kinda rise up for no reason and the bodyline kinda disappears into the middle of the "wagon" windows.

 

 Painting the bottom runners black was an attempt to shorten the appearance of the car itself (by this I mean bottom of metal to top of metal, not ride height)  I am pleased with how the lines came out for the most part, but Im also the kind of dick that can find/sound slightly critical about almost anything.... and Had been grumbling about the car seeming higher than before.  Hearing your advice puts the puzzle together as to why. 

 

 (The wheel/tire combo is also a ton smaller, visually, so at the moment it is also exacerbating things a bit.)    

 

 

 

  That said... Im going to take your advice (which supported of my own ignorant gut feeling)  and keep the black on bottom where it is for now. 

 

 I still have the front and rear window trim to black out, as well as possibly the concave portion of the rear hatch - between the taillights, (which also need to have their trim painted black.) After putting on the rear lamps and lock, the little bits of black trim are kinda lost and floating in  the blue.  I like just about every angle of the car except the rear... not doing anything rash, still digesting my thoughts....but something more is needed. 

 

Rims are going to get painted before any of this, cuz' the 6 spokes belong on the 510....(which is currently on a mismatched set of 6 spokes - 2 are unpainted) so dont any of you start getting attached to seeing them on the wagon. (im trying not to either)

[O.D.D.]

This thread does two things I really like:

 

1. Rescues a Datsun that looks like it would have been parted out or scrapped by a less ambitious owner.

 

2. Has a lot of how-to detail that people can put to good use.

 

Good work!

 

Will -

 

  Thanks man - I appreciate it.

 

I definitely wasted a ton of time and even more body filler working on what is still a total dumper under the skin. She has been good to me though, hasnt left me stranded or required high maintenance attention whatsoever while I was playing with the body.  

 

   There will come a time when I will turn my attention to the mechanical gameplan for her. A choice between doing the simplest thing I can with little help... and having to register the car outta state. OR attempting something totally beyond my current abilities with a TON of help,  and be able to put a CA plate on the car. 

 

  Without being cryptic... I will most likely drop my stock L16 in it, with my spare set of SU's, or a weber 3236 (poo - i know). Doing that is easy, registering the car outta state to avoid smog is harder. I daydream of attempting a stock KA  swap, though taboo to me in many ways.... it would make the car Smoggable and driveable. I am still trying to put together a working smog setup for an L, but the motivation for that is hard to find... I think I have all the parts, but I would have to pull the head off the L16 and put a square port smog head on it. I think one of the ones I have has the notches for the o2 pump nozzles, if not, im up a tree there. 

 

I have until next may before it is due for Reg again... before then I kinda need to solve the puzzle.  That will be big project part 2 for certain. (Part 3...interior and tunes?)

Of course..... I couuuuuulllllddd always attempt getting the 2dr back to life before then... decisions, decisions.....

 

Somewhere along the line i also need suspension. All 4 shocks are totally crapped, and I wanna lower it a REASONABLE amount. I know there has been some great info on Ratsun about the do's and Donts of that  part....shortcut to the proper part of the proper thread anyone? (am i lazy or what?)

 

Can I get down 2 inches on both ends without major drama? I can go stiffer up front, but I have NO EXPERIENCE with leafs. I can get lowering blocks... but I need some info on stiffening things up a bit. Can it be done with shocks alone? (not entirely, I know... but somewhat?)

 

Ideally I need to be able to have enough travel for a shitty road (which there are plenty of around here) and enough strength to load the wagon down with people and shit and go have fun.  (not sure how "shit" became the theme for this paragraph) Almost anything is going to ride softer than my 510 at this point (which is rocking cut roadster springs in rear) So Im not afraid of it being a little firmer than needed as opposed to a little softer.

 

  I thing coilovers can be made pretty easily out of the front struts and I have been meaning to go a little stiffer on the front of the 510. If I do, then I would hand down the 225lb hypercoils, that are currently on it,  to the wagon. They dont seem like they would be overkill - given the additional weight on the wagon.

 

  I have a very tentative possible offer of "borrowing" a set of old comp roadster leafs....but I dont want parts I cant keep, and I know level leafs are weird anyhow.  Furthermore, i dont know how long they are, etc.... 

[O.D.D.]

I expect someone to start asking about bumpers at some point. So Im going to get it outta the way now.

 

She's probably not getting bumpers unless I make some. I really dont like the US ones and really dont care too much for the JDM version either. (At least not enough to shell out the $ for them....free is another matter)  The 2dr has a 510 bumper on the front that i  may use, and my 510 has a bent rear bumper I dont love... so maybe that will be where I go with it.  (dont like the 510 with no rear bumper either, though) 

 

  I also kinda thought about modifying the stock bumpers somehow, but I have to take them outta my shed and have a good long look for inspiration.  I hate that they weigh a ton. The frikkn wagon is so slow already, and taking them off made a big improvement overall.  I dont like the 2 gaping holes under the grille, or the panel under the hatch with all the indentations. (which is also bent thanks to a local senior) So eventually something has to give. 

[Eagle_Adam]

there's a member here with a 710 goon that modified his bumpers to be closer to the car and it looks good! 

[O.D.D.]

Yea - something must be done with the bumperless status, probably not for a bit though. 

 

in the meantime, I did find some stuff to put on the car...

 

 

This pic also kinda shows the slight orange - peeling on the sides. - not really an even glossy look, but it works ok. 

 

 

 

 

These will make more sense when the "iron cross" rims are back on the car. (in  black and gold)

 

 

 

As you can see - I have a few trim conflicts to work out still. 

[O.D.D.]

Set up a tent for the main day of sanding .... around 4pm my snotty neighbor across the street to the right comes up and asks.... " are 

you almost done? - Its hot, i dont want to shut my window, and i cant think because of the noise"  

 

Personally, I hate high maintenance "cute" chicks who are used to getting their way, and this particular one hasn't bothered to introduce herself or her man in the year and a half we have lived here, and was downright cold to my woman when she tried to be friendly @ the mailbox. 

 

Asking me a stupid question typically results in a smartass response, which took me a bit to hold back. In the end i simply told her I planned on sanding continuously for the next few days, but if she wanted, I would take a 30 min break.  

 

 

[O.D.D.]

I thought I would post these for fun.... kinda as a retrospective comparison shot. 

 

 

 

Painting the 6 spoke centers black REALLY makes them look smaller and deeper, doesnt it?

[Eagle_Adam]

just cant get over the goon man!!! it looks great!

[O.D.D.]

just cant get over the goon man!!! it looks great!

 

 

Thanks Again Adam.  Cant wait till trim and rims are done. Im having a bit of panic because I wanted to use ...

 

"Duplicolor Gold" 

 

Paint..... its a laquer, and NOT make or model specific. A friend used it with good results on his Roadster Rims (a set of Uber rare Hayashi 4 spokes) And I love the results. 

Hence the desire to Go bold and Gold with mine too. 

 

Evidently its not readily available anymore???  Autozone, Napa, and WestsideAuto (my local choice - another 510 guy works there)  all say they no longer stock it. 

 

It was on the damn shelves less than 3 months ago, shoulda bought it then when I was starting to harvest primer a few cans at a time between paychecks. 

 

I think I need like 2 cans, may have to go online and hope.

 

Thankfully I have an old can to get the paint number from... with luck I can still get some of the last cans. 

[O.D.D.]

Ok, So at one point I THINK I posted this pic, (buncha pics dont link now - not sure what I did)   Anyhow, I gotr a freebie set of "Iron Cross" Z rims from my friend Derek (who was pictured doing a bit of welding  @the beginning of all this)  2 came basically unfinished, in that kinda oxidized grey that the centers become. and 2 were still holding onto what was left of the yellowish gold that they used to be done up in. On the Z's that got painted brown or gold.  if I remember right. 

 

 

I didnt take a Pic of the can,,,, but I am liberally applying Rust-o-leum aircraft remover with decent results. ...

 

 

2 were gold, 2 are still untreated..... I will let you figure out which are which.  (pretty easy) I got a little impatient with the first one and hit it with a wire wheel. resulting in the need to now polish all 4 of them with steel wool if I want to make the unpainted bits look the same.  Off to the hardware store to get steel wool and a cheap NYLON brush to scrub off the peelings.  

 

 

.... And we are starting to see results!

 

 

 

Insides of the rims will be fine with a wire wheel scrub off. Going to be blacked out anyhow.  2 of these rims had goddamn dust covers inside them. they took a stupid amount of effort to get out. 

 

One down....

 

 

....Three to go! (ok - 2 now, but the last one was done after dark)

 

FYI I am using #1 (coarse) steel wool to get the oxidization and crap off and then #000 (fine) on the outer lip ring, as well as the flat smooth surfaces of the "trapezoids" made by the iron cross main bit. Not a mirror finish, but very nice.  

 

Im thinking of saving the little bit of trim along the doorline  @ the window, and not painting it black, by leaving some plain metal on the rims as well.  Im really not sure if I will like it in the end or not. and going to all the trouble of masking it off is making me think long and hard about how I want to have the car look in the end. Blue Black Silver (metal) and Gold is quite a bit going on. I'm totally fine with loud, but it all has to work without clashing.  Leaving the silver in may be too much. Or tone it down just enough. Who knows? Still havent found the gold I want so I have time to mull it over. 

[O.D.D.]

Current paint scheme idea for the rims.....

 

"iron cross" centers - GOLD 

 

"trapezoid" boxes - black

 

Outer lip and smooth trapezoid faces - polished alum. 

 

Innards/backside. - Black (maybe gold? but why... dont think it can be seen very well)