Draker Posted September 13, 2016 Report Share Posted September 13, 2016 Consider it nailed! wow.. The true test will be when it's all bolted down. :) 3 Quote Link to comment
twistedimages Posted September 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2016 Consider it nailed! wow.. The true test will be when it's all bolted down. :) The good news (for this purpose, anyway) is that the doors and the rest of the car already don't match- it looks like the doors spent time inside while the car was left in the field, so even if the new fender isn't 100% right it'll end up working with the rest of the car anyway... Low stress! 4 Quote Link to comment
Ranman72 Posted September 13, 2016 Report Share Posted September 13, 2016 damn he is awesome making new paint look and match old paint close at all is a skill and amazing talent 5 Quote Link to comment
Abe Froman Posted September 13, 2016 Report Share Posted September 13, 2016 Wow, the paint work put a smile on my face tonight. I am excited to see the parts on the car. 2 Quote Link to comment
Filthy_ Posted September 13, 2016 Report Share Posted September 13, 2016 I'm not a fan of feaux patina, but that is just awesome. I was confused by the fender picture at first. bravo. 2 Quote Link to comment
LTJ Posted September 13, 2016 Report Share Posted September 13, 2016 Great stuff! 2 Quote Link to comment
twistedimages Posted September 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2016 I'm not a fan of feaux patina, but that is just awesome. I was confused by the fender picture at first. bravo. I'm not either. I said from the start that this car was just going to stay the way I found it until I was ready to tear it down and repair it properly... but plans change, right? I saw a few trucks come through my shop that had panels repaired and "faux" finished the same way, and I think if it's done tastefully it enhances the overall look. I guess my head went to the cars I'd seen with fake rust holes, bare metal left to rust, etc. that kind of over-did the patina thing. In any case, I'm super excited about it! 2 Quote Link to comment
Stoney Posted September 13, 2016 Report Share Posted September 13, 2016 Amazing work on the guard! I love the patina look, but despise rust, usually the two come hand in hand unfortunately. Adding rust holes just doesn't make sense, but panel matching like you have done here I can really appreciate. 5 Quote Link to comment
fisch Posted September 13, 2016 Report Share Posted September 13, 2016 Dude that is well done! 3 Quote Link to comment
Filthy_ Posted September 14, 2016 Report Share Posted September 14, 2016 I'm not either. I said from the start that this car was just going to stay the way I found it until I was ready to tear it down and repair it properly... but plans change, right? I saw a few trucks come through my shop that had panels repaired and "faux" finished the same way, and I think if it's done tastefully it enhances the overall look. I guess my head went to the cars I'd seen with fake rust holes, bare metal left to rust, etc. that kind of over-did the patina thing. Or that brand new beetle that was floating around the internet for awhile with a fake patina job and smoothies.... yuckie. 1 Quote Link to comment
bilzbobaggins Posted September 14, 2016 Report Share Posted September 14, 2016 ^desert camo. Value plus three 1 Quote Link to comment
twistedimages Posted September 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2016 Or that brand new beetle that was floating around the internet for awhile with a fake patina job and smoothies.... yuckie. Yeah, not my thing. Definitely stands out in a crowd of them with stock paint, but I think what really bugs me about that is the "rust" on the plastic bumpers... 3 Quote Link to comment
sedition88 Posted September 14, 2016 Report Share Posted September 14, 2016 That bug is PlastiDipped. It has been over played at this point, but fads come and go. The way you're doing yours though Phil is pretty cool. Taking the mismatched panels and redoing them to match the age of the rest of the car I like 3 Quote Link to comment
twistedimages Posted September 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 Slow and steady progress. Engine is back in- cleaned up the frame and suspension while it was out, since a couple of small oil leaks managed to make a mess of everything already. One issue I had found was that my exhaust, even with the wrap on it, was way too hot for the paint on the firewall: I scraped the bubbled paint off, sanded and feathered it a bit, and covered it in DEI reflective heat barrier. I have a feeling this stuff won't hold up over time, but it was super cheap and will be easy to re-do later down the road. I have a template laid out for a bezel, so don't sweat me on the funky cut along the edge! With that finished, I was able to get the engine back in place. The clearance for the header is ridiculously tight everywhere, so the process to get it snaked down along the frame rail and bolted to the engine is a bit of a dance. Now that I've done it a few times I think I've got it down. Yeah, that's a cheap ratchet strap on my hoist. This engine only weighs about 200 pounds with everything stripped off of it, so I took a chance. With the engine bolted to the trans and bolted down on its mounts, I was able to get the exhaust and intake put back together today. So far it's coming along smoothly- hoping to have it ready to fire this weekend. From there, finish the brake upgrades, get the height sensors installed, build trunk panels, sand and clear coat the interior, add gauges.... shit- when is SEMA again? 6 Quote Link to comment
mrbigtanker Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 Looking good and for the record I would of carried the engine in. Little easier. Quote Link to comment
fisch Posted September 23, 2016 Report Share Posted September 23, 2016 Comes back stronger every time. 1 Quote Link to comment
twistedimages Posted October 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2016 It was a busy weekend, but we're a lot closer to having the car back on the road! Last week, I got the rear brakes upgraded. The original 240sx disc brake conversion worked fine, but with the Wilwood upgrade going in up front I wanted the rear to match. Here's the dual caliper bracket installed: And here's everything together: The second caliper will get plumbed to a dedicated drift brake, when I get around to that and feel like crashing. With that taken care of, I got the front and rear height sensors installed for the air suspension. The system I was running before used air pressure readings to set ride height- that works OK, but can't compensate for changes in load, such as when a passenger is in the car or the gas tank is full. By installing height sensors at each corner, the computer reads the actual position of your suspension arms to dial in ride height- WAY more accurate! I found spots for the front and rear sensors that have plenty of travel with no chance of over-extending or getting damaged: I also picked up most of the front end sheetmetal last week, and finally got a chance to install it. I still need to run down and get the spook, cowl and hood, but the radiator support was the main thing I needed to get the car running again. The paint isn't a perfect match, but it's a lot better than the green panels that were on there before. I'm going to keep rubbing them down with handfulls of dirt and used motor oil to blend them a bit better, but I'm stoked so far! One fun note: the stripe on the car is about 1/8" wider on the passenger side than the driver side! So when my painter matched the two fenders, the new fender doesn't match the door perfectly! It doesn't bug me much, but he HATES it- so I guess it'll be going back down to him at some point for a re-do. I finished up the front brake conversion (which was a BITCH), got everything reassembled, and was finally able to fire the car back up on Friday. I'm happy to report that the engine is stronger than ever- started right up, no smoking, no weird noises. I still need to find a diff stub and half shaft to get the rear end back together, and then I'll be ready to take it out on the road again! For now, I'm just really happy to have it back down off the jack stands. 6 Quote Link to comment
fisch Posted October 10, 2016 Report Share Posted October 10, 2016 This dime is so bad ass I am really at a loss for words. 2 Quote Link to comment
tr8er Posted October 10, 2016 Report Share Posted October 10, 2016 Someone should make a graphic of this car. 1 Quote Link to comment
LTJ Posted October 10, 2016 Report Share Posted October 10, 2016 Loving the new update. This thing is awesome! 1 Quote Link to comment
datson4life Posted October 10, 2016 Report Share Posted October 10, 2016 This car is sick. Not only because it reminds me of my truck 2 Quote Link to comment
twistedimages Posted October 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2016 This car is sick. Not only because it reminds me of my truck I saw that the other day! Very cool. 2 Quote Link to comment
datson4life Posted October 11, 2016 Report Share Posted October 11, 2016 I saw that the other day! Very cool. Where did u see it? It hasnt seen daylight in many months lol Quote Link to comment
twistedimages Posted October 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2016 Where did u see it? It hasnt seen daylight in many months lol Carlos posted a video on his Instagram, and someone tagged me on it because of your blue stripe. No secrets in the Datsun community! Haha 3 Quote Link to comment
datson4life Posted October 11, 2016 Report Share Posted October 11, 2016 Lol ohhh. Yea he was over the other day. Dude lives 1 minute away 1 Quote Link to comment
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