Duncan Posted November 26, 2021 Report Share Posted November 26, 2021 13 minutes ago, datsunfreak said: They all do, unless you never take them off. 😁 Oddly, never seen this problem with Japanese cars. Their T-tops seem to be mostly leak free... I've only had Corvettes with T-tops. Even with the tops on, the fiberglass bodies are not terribly rigid. When you go over train tracks and other bumpy surfaces, you can actually see the body twist a bit... When the tops are off, even more so 😲 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted December 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2021 Was mostly futzing around. Did decide to see just how grubby the glass was, though... Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted December 6, 2021 Report Share Posted December 6, 2021 5 hours ago, datsunfreak said: Was mostly futzing around. Did decide to see just how grubby the glass was, though... How bad was it? Does it just need a cleaning, or is it just hazy, pitted, etc, etc... I've always wondered if glass could be polished without damaging it... Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted December 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2021 1 hour ago, Duncan said: How bad was it? Does it just need a cleaning, or is it just hazy, pitted It's actually fine, there's just 40 years of grime stuck to it. Is is coming off, though. Only thing that saved this car was that it had good glass. 😄 There is a faint wiper scratch in the front, but it's not too bad... 1 hour ago, Duncan said: I've always wondered if glass could be polished without damaging it... It depends on how you define "polish", but yes. This was just #0000 steel wool and a lot of elbow grease. I have in the past polished them with this compound. Didn't want to do that here because it would just be too messy. I still might at some point get some compound to see if I can take that wiper scratch out, though... 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted December 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2021 1 hour ago, Duncan said: How bad was it? Also, can you tell from the photo that the left is clean and the right is not? I wasn't sure if it comes through in the photo... 😋 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted December 6, 2021 Report Share Posted December 6, 2021 14 minutes ago, datsunfreak said: if glass could be polished Don't know if it would work on glass, but on my Jeep I used Lemon Pledge furniture polish on the vinyl windows - not only did it clean the vinyl but the wax also filled in pits. Windows were easier to keep clean and the wax kept the vinyl more supple and less prone to getting damaged. Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted December 6, 2021 Report Share Posted December 6, 2021 33 minutes ago, datsunfreak said: Also, can you tell from the photo that the left is clean and the right is not? I wasn't sure if it comes through in the photo... 😋 After you mentioned it, I took a closer look and yes, it does show. But I had to look closely. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted December 6, 2021 Report Share Posted December 6, 2021 1 hour ago, datsunfreak said: Also, can you tell from the photo that the left is clean and the right is not? I wasn't sure if it comes through in the photo... 😋 You have to really grok the picture to see the difference. So much so that I had trouble seeing it, and I've seen the actual window in person!🤣 2 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted December 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2021 Decided to finally try and make some dash progress. Got the carbon fiber piece for the gauges drilled for mounting holes... Transferred those to the aluminium plate and drilled holes in it... Put in some rivnuts... Took a moment to mock everything up... Marked off areas of material to remove for clearance... I was considering where would be a good place to mount the starter button and "ignition switch", and was mildly annoyed with the extra blank space on the left side, so I decided to fix both issues in one go... Hoping to get all the excess material cut out on Wednesday so I can start on actually assembling/painting things... 👍 3 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted December 16, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2021 Starter switch panel done(ish)... Still have more cutting of the aluminium to do, but I like how it's shaping up... 3 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted December 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 Got the other two holes cut. Gauge panel hole will need trimming a bit... And obviously, I will need to remove some material from the stock piece for better clearance. Right switch panel may work as is, but not the speedo and master kill... Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted December 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 Yes, my cuts are ugly, but I will clean them up when it's done... 😄 Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted December 18, 2021 Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 4 minutes ago, datsunfreak said: Yes, my cuts are ugly, but I will clean them up when it's done... 😄 They're not too bad, really. That's why there are files and various abrasives available. 🙂 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted December 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 5 minutes ago, Duncan said: That's why there are files and various abrasives available. 🙂 And black wrinkle paint. That hides a lot. 😁 1 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted December 18, 2021 Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 Perhaps a couple of button head bolts for the kill switch, since your knuckles are going to make contact a time or two 😇 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted December 18, 2021 Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 On 12/16/2021 at 2:57 PM, datsunfreak said: Switching to "Dr. Check" is NOT the same as "Cutting Out Dr. Pepper" by the way!😝🤣 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted December 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 5 hours ago, dimlight65 said: Switching to "Dr. Check" is NOT the same as "Cutting Out Dr. Pepper" by the way!😝🤣 That's Coke Zero. 😄 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted December 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 Got the clearance cuts done on the stock gauge mounting panel... Next step is figuring out how to attach these two panels to each other, and I have a few ideas on that... Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted December 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2021 17 hours ago, EDM620 said: Perhaps a couple of button head bolts for the kill switch, since your knuckles are going to make contact a time or two 😇 I thought about it, but that gap is a lot bigger than it looks from this angle. 😁 May do it anyway, just because I love stainless button heads... 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted January 3, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2022 After trimming the new gauge face panel out enough to clear the gauges, I realized I needed to remove more material from the stock gauge panel. Unfortunately, what I needed to remove is structural, so Tim suggested adding a brace to it before cutting it. A piece of scrap aluminum and a few rivets later... Then cut out the offending material... Now clearance is better, and you can see the brace I added is invisible once it's together... Now, on to how to attach the two pieces to each other. There are these holes in the top and side edges of the stock panel... These are locating pin holes for the stock speedo, and will be unused. Problem is, I cannot access the back side of them, so out came the cutter again... Now that I can access the back side, I installed a bolt and nut to act as a stud to attach the new face panel to... Should hopefully get all of those "studs" installed this week. Then I am stuck until the weather cooperates to paint all this stuff for assembly... 🙄 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted January 4, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2022 21 hours ago, datsunfreak said: Should hopefully get all of those "studs" installed this week. Studs in and holes drilled in face, just waiting on paint now... 1 Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted January 4, 2022 Report Share Posted January 4, 2022 That's coming along nicely. I'm looking forward to seeing it painted and installed. 👍 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted January 4, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, Duncan said: That's coming along nicely. That is kind of you to say, but I think it looks like butt. 😋 However, I am reasonably confident that when it's painted/assembled it will look good. I am showing too many of the "behind the scenes" flaws no one will ever see when it's done, and it bothers me a little bit... 😁 Edited January 4, 2022 by datsunfreak Quote Link to comment
Lockleaf Posted January 4, 2022 Report Share Posted January 4, 2022 I like a lot of "look at this crap" that turns in to pretty sweet looking. It helps remind me to calm the hell down about some things and see that good enough is often pretty great once its wrapped up and finished. 2 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted January 4, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2022 3 minutes ago, Lockleaf said: remind me to calm the hell down about some things and see that good enough is often pretty great once its wrapped up and finished. I need to remind myself of this often. 😁 Sometimes good enough is good enough. 👍 1 Quote Link to comment
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