KiloTango1200 Posted August 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 Finally!!! The rear valance is off the rear clip with very minimal damage. It only took me a month working about an hour every day that I wasn't in Childress. So about 25 hours. Never done anything like this before and had limited tools and resources, so it probably took me twice as long as the body shop would take. Must have saved at least 500 bucks in labor. Only problem is the rear valance on my Sedan is laser straight but rusted out on top. This panel is rust free, but really lumpy. Now, after I grind off the spot welds and remove the other connective tissue, I get to learn how to use an English Wheel. My buddy Phil has one in his aircraft repair shop and it is THE tool for the job. 1 Quote Link to comment
KiloTango1200 Posted August 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2014 Trunk floor, left frame rail and rear valance bottom connection. Lots of drilling and cutting, but the rear valance panel came off clean, with very little damage. Quote Link to comment
KiloTango1200 Posted September 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2014 Connective tissue that needs to be removed. The rear valance was connected to the rear clip by 106 spot welds. 26 of those were not accessible to a spot weld cutter without punching holes in the donor panel. I had to use a cut off wheel and large drill bits to separate the rear valance from the rear clip. Left rear frame rail and bottom seam connection to rear valance connection. 1 Quote Link to comment
KiloTango1200 Posted September 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2014 Now I have to cut off whats left of all these Damn spot welds so the rear valance donor panel can be spot welded on the Sedan. There goes another month! 1 Quote Link to comment
DaBlist Posted September 10, 2014 Report Share Posted September 10, 2014 Read back thru your posts a ways and missed why you are disassembling the rear body panels? Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 Read back thru your posts a ways and missed why you are disassembling the rear body panels? Cliff Notes: His sedan is rusted away where the trunk seal goes. He got a donor rear clip to cannibalize needed parts from. :thumbup: 1 Quote Link to comment
KiloTango1200 Posted September 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 What DF said, AND IT IS A HUGE PAIN IN THE ASS! But will be worth it on the finished product. Quote Link to comment
DaBlist Posted September 11, 2014 Report Share Posted September 11, 2014 Wow, that's dedication to doing it the right way! I think most would have sliced and diced it back to together. 1 Quote Link to comment
KiloTango1200 Posted September 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2014 All the connective tissue has been removed from the rear valance. Quote Link to comment
KiloTango1200 Posted October 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2014 Finally ground off all the spot welds on the donor rear valance. Took a month working every day! Now I have to repair all the holes and other damage sustained by removing the rear valance from the donor rear clip.. The replacement panel is really beat up, and has a lot of dents and bulges that need repair. I hope the English Wheel will be enough to bring the rear valance back to as good as new! Quote Link to comment
Ranman72 Posted October 6, 2014 Report Share Posted October 6, 2014 get one of these if you need it quieter you can run them in series if more power is needed but the 2000 is pretty strong 1 Quote Link to comment
KiloTango1200 Posted October 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2014 The right rear fender panel finally surrendered and is off the rear clip! Quote Link to comment
KiloTango1200 Posted October 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 The right rear inner fender supports are off the rear clip. The Inner support structure is 2 pieces. The cabin piece and the trunk piece. The cabin support. The right inner trunk support. 1 Quote Link to comment
KiloTango1200 Posted October 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2014 The right rear rocker panel is off the rear clip. The rear rocker panel is connected to the rear wheel arch with 2 vertical rows of spot welds. The rear clip just keeps getting smaller. Quote Link to comment
KiloTango1200 Posted October 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 The left rear fender is now off the rear clip. The end of the clip tear down is finally in sight. Unfortunately, I am running out of daylight. The generator is the next priority if I am going to get anything done during the winter. 1 Quote Link to comment
KiloTango1200 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 I finally got a couple of relatively uninterrupted hours, plenty of daylight, 3 fully charged screwdriver batteries and a couple of new spot weld cutters. Got a lot of work done. The left interior rear fender brace. Left rear trunk fender support. Left rear rocker panel. 1 Quote Link to comment
KiloTango1200 Posted November 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2014 Left outer wheel well. Quote Link to comment
KiloTango1200 Posted November 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2014 Left inner wheel well off the rear clip. Rear clip almost disassembled. Right wheel well to go. 2 Quote Link to comment
831Sunny Posted November 9, 2014 Report Share Posted November 9, 2014 IMO resto white for the sedan the race car should be Black and Yellow 1 Quote Link to comment
KiloTango1200 Posted November 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2014 Actually the Coupe race car is white, faded, rusty and dented. It gets to spend the winter outside after a spray down of yet to be determined patina enhancer. The only thing I might try is faded BRE stripes. Then, when the patina is right, it gets a Scotch Brite rub down and a clear coat Gas Monkey style. The credit for this idea goes to Datsunfreak. He said if my goal was to piss off Dallas yuppies in their shiny BMWs, what better way to do it than in a rough, rusty 40 year old Datsun. I couldn't agree more. 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted November 10, 2014 Report Share Posted November 10, 2014 The only thing I might try is faded BRE stripes. Then, when the patina is right, it gets a Scotch Brite rub down and a clear coat Gas Monkey style. If you do them in 1-2 layers of Krylon, it'll be right where you want it by next spring. B) 1 Quote Link to comment
KiloTango1200 Posted November 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2014 Right rear outer wheel arch is off. I'm afraid that the sudden onset of Winter and the time change is going to slow down progress considerably until I gear up for it. Quote Link to comment
graveltrapp Posted November 16, 2014 Report Share Posted November 16, 2014 Holy spot welding removal Batman, I think you may have removed a 50 pounds of tacks and brass. This is quite the undertaken indeed. What are Texas Winters like? Does it rain or are we talking Dew to speed up the rust process? 1 Quote Link to comment
KiloTango1200 Posted November 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2014 I wore out about 20 spot weld cutters taking the Sedan rear clip apart. I worked about an hour a day after work for several months. It was a very time consuming process. Only the right rear inner fender-well remains attached to the floor. What better material to patch holes in a Datsun 1200 floor than another Datsun 1200 floor? The winters in North Texas can be harsh, but it eventually warms up to a reasonable temperature between cold blasts. Some snow, lots of wind, lots of ice. The Coupe's patina needs a couple of more winters worth of work with some help from an accelerator. 1 Quote Link to comment
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