datsunfreak Posted February 12 Report Share Posted February 12 5 minutes ago, UnderControl said: height should come down a little bit. So you know that clearance is only going to get worse then? 😁 Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted February 13 Author Report Share Posted February 13 Threw a tape across my strut rods and they're a good 1" off of each other so I'll have to get the suspension adjusted a bit before I worry about the arches. For today, I got the passenger side fender wiggled into place so I could drop the rest of the front end on. mostly for giggles, and partly because I had to move it to get at the bumper anyway, I clamped the Camaro lip I have laying around on there. At this point I think the original plan of adding a hole to the valance is the play here. Not within the current scope, but the gap between the bumper and the body bothers me. 2 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 By "hole", do you mean like one of these guys? Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted February 13 Author Report Share Posted February 13 Something to that effect indeed, but I'm going to be keeping the bumper. 1 Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted February 14 Author Report Share Posted February 14 Was going to go out and start cutting, but decided it might be better to start with the flange that will finish the cut and work my way to the start. One of these days I'll need to invest in a real break. Today the edge of the table and a chunk of rectangle bar did the job. Spent the rest of the evening working up a sweat in below freezing temps on the kick stretcher and linear stretching with a t dolly and hammer. Still have more to go, and I suppose I should decide if I'm going to keep the sides straight vertical or have them curl in to match the grille frame. For the moment Ive got some sweet hood horns. 2 Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted February 16 Author Report Share Posted February 16 Weekends these days are mostly for shop projects. This weekend I'm working on making my saw stand more functional by adding a way to throw some extensions on for supporting material and cut stop. As usual I'm working with most of an idea and whatever I decide in the moment. Still gonna need to make some plates to tie the tubes together and probably gonna turn up some plastic spacers, because I can. 2 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted February 17 Report Share Posted February 17 On 2/15/2025 at 8:57 PM, UnderControl said: As usual I'm working with most of an idea and whatever I decide in the moment 2 Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted February 19 Author Report Share Posted February 19 Cold as shit here, and unless I'm making money, I drawl the line on going outside at being miserable. Doesn't mean I couldn't get something done. So opted to draw up some roller dies for flat/rectangle stock. Starting with sloppy measuring. And managing to make 4 fairly simple parts look complicated. Basically just need some 1/2" plate, 2.5" round bar and some 1" tube. Hardest part will probably be drilling the holes for the shaft collars. Should be easily adjustable for width, although may need different size collars depending on the diameter of square tube. 2 Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted February 21 Author Report Share Posted February 21 Got just warm enough to brave the outdoors for some shop time. Flange is mostly shaped up so one last test fit to mark up a rough cut And cut. Still going to need some shape added to match the sweep and peak of the fascia, but sitting pretty well for the roughing phase. 2 Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted February 23 Author Report Share Posted February 23 Shop shit Saturdays/Sundays. Got the receiver tubes for the saw stand braced up. And the hanger welded to the stand. Will need to make up some clamps to go on the extensions for rests/rollers, stops and legs. May also add a bar across the cart frame for a little extra support. Pick up material for the roller dies. They didn't have 2.5" in stock, but they did have 2-7/16, which is close enough. It is 1045 steel which I'm sure the mini lathe will love, but is technically better for the job. It is highly recommended not to even bother trying to roll square tube without extending the roller, so starting to plan that out as well. 3 Quote Link to comment
Rustbin Posted February 23 Report Share Posted February 23 On 2/20/2025 at 8:20 PM, UnderControl said: I think making it a bit wider would be more aesthetically pleasing, basically three fifths the width of the grill opening is optimum. Anyway with the chin spoiler it should get better airflow through the rad when cruising. Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted February 24 Author Report Share Posted February 24 Going any wider would require figuring out what to do with the have to with those bolts on either side. Cooling really shouldn't be an issue with as big of a radiator as I went with. Working out a design for the roller extensions when I remembered I had a 24" circle of 1/4" plate on the rack. Flashed back to the new beetle commercials talking about how strong arches are, so landed on keeping it round for now. 1 Quote Link to comment
Rustbin Posted February 24 Report Share Posted February 24 "Overkill is underrated" at least that's what the World of Warcraft goblins would say. Something else is going to give before that part bends. Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted February 25 Author Report Share Posted February 25 Once I have it all wrapped up I've got an idea to test it with on some 0.120 wall 1.5" round tube. As far as I know round really shouldn't stress it too much, but it'll probably be a bit until I have the square dies made. I did start playing with the material for the dies. Actually wasn't nearly as bad to cut as I was expecting. Then took some time to get it trued up on the lathe. Got it down to 0.0005 of run out, and based on my previous experience turning steel the surface finish by the time I'm done will have have more variation than that. On the car front just a little trimming and massaging of flange. Need to decide if I'm going to keep with the early Shelby style and leave the little flat under the flange or if I want to shape it up to smooth the lines across the front. Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted February 26 Author Report Share Posted February 26 Pulled the valance for easier fiddling and got everything trimmed up and ready to tack. Opting to leave the flat area flat at least until I get it welded up, then I may try to wheel it up a little. Little bit of the carnage from last night's attempt at facing the bar. Definitely going to need to make a carriage lock and get probably going to get plenty of practice sharpening tools. 1 Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted February 27 Author Report Share Posted February 27 Got the flange all welded up. Wear your respirators kids, or don't, I'm not your mama. But seriously, this old galvi hangs on pretty good. 2 Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted February 28 Author Report Share Posted February 28 Got the weld mostly plannished and blended out. I could leave it here, I may well fully finish it out. Still need to wrap up the top corners anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted March 3 Author Report Share Posted March 3 Short shop weekend. Got the frame of the tubing roller welded up. Still need to add a base to the extensions, but the hard part is done. Funny thing about adding 1/2" to the width of the main section of the frame. Pins don't exactly fit in the inner holes. I'll probably just go ahead and order some 20mm rod to make longer idler pins. The drive axle I can just turn the shoulder down a bit farther. Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted March 4 Author Report Share Posted March 4 Top corners are welded up and the rest of the weld finished to as far as I think I'm going to take it. 1 Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted March 5 Author Report Share Posted March 5 Front end back together, and this time actually bolted the hood and hinges in. Next up I think shall be getting the driver fender lined out. The mounting nuts for the headlight bucket are less than perfectly positioned. Coupled with a bit of a banged up bucket makes for a pretty shitty fit of the forward extension. I don't have enough material around one of the 3 remaining bucket bolts to fudge it by slotting. 1 of the mounting tabs is broken off on each side because they all do that. Since the buckets are presumably pot metal fixing them should be a treat. 1 Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted March 6 Author Report Share Posted March 6 Turns out after re-drilling the hole for the alignment pin on the bucket it didn't take much filing if the holes to get everything lined up. It isn't 100% but better than some factory fitment, and as good as it'll get until I get them both blasted and work on fixing up the cracks. I would have started blasting them today, but... I'm pretty sure capacitors aren't supposed to have holes in them. I actually have a few big capacitors in stock, none of which are correct for this motor. Oh well, turned attention to a start on a carriage lock for the lathe. Nothing special, a piece of 1/2" in a bit of a wedge. Still needs some filing to get it to sit flush across the top. It'll get two bolts horizontally into the carriage and have one vertically into a t nut under the bed. 1 Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted March 7 Author Report Share Posted March 7 Carriage lock wrapped up. Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted March 9 Author Report Share Posted March 9 Tested the carriage lock and made a mess. Surface finish is expectedly terrible, but I was able to actually face and bore the first roller. Actually touched the Datsun today, but just doing maintenance so nothing exciting. 1 Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted March 12 Author Report Share Posted March 12 Riding season is fast approaching, so I should probably get to this season's bike project. Didn't strictly need to strip it this far down, but it's so quick and will be much easier to clean everything. The primary objective here is to update the electrical system and replace broken switches. Clicked the easy button for this project, but it's quickly become the standard for re-wiring old bikes. Planning to stick with original switches, although I'll need to source a replacement for the right side. Otherwise I'd like to get the headlight mount and front signals swapped out and probably call it good there for this go around. 1 Quote Link to comment
UnderControl Posted March 13 Author Report Share Posted March 13 Got the bike sprayed down so it's nicer to work on. Then on to laying out the electronics tray. I'm sticking with the original battery box for now. I'm fairly partial to the side covers so no real reason to relocate it, but there's a pretty clean spot just to the rear of this tray for a battery tray. 1 Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.