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1976 Wagoon (710)


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nice progress! really like how you are taking the time to repair original panels and not just replacing them. not somethin you see much these days.

 

on another note. if you were to sell the roof rack, how much would you want for it??? been lookin for a nice rack for my bimmer.....

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nice progress! really like how you are taking the time to repair original panels and not just replacing them. not somethin you see much these days.

 

Thanks!  I have no panels (it is impossible to find stuff here in the rust belt) to replace rusty parts with, so I repair it or make it!

 

PM'd about the roof rack.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Getting the doors ready for body work and the bondo that was on the rear passenger door, well, here was the door as I discovered it.

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Here it is piled up after I took it off. I used heat to soften it and then I scraped it off.

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When I removed the bondo it was quite revealing of what had been done in the past.  There were 5 holes drilled along the wheel well line that were filled with bondo and never welded.  I am not sure why these were there as the damage from some sort of collision was still very apparent and clearly never resolved in terms of reshaping the metal (bondo was the resolution).  At some point the belt line vinyl strip that was riveted to the door had to be re-riveted as well (you can see two holes right beside each other).  These extra holes were also just filled with bondo.  The holes are all now welded and ready for body work.  The door skin also had some "oil canning" as well, likely from the collision and heat from welding the screw holes.  Using heat, compressed air to cool the heat spots and a body hammer,  I was able to shrink most of the "oil canning" out of the door.

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The drivers door had rust under the trim and it was enough that I though replacing it would be the prudent thing to do.

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The patch moved a little resulting in the uneven line that you see in the following patch.  It will mostly be hidden by the trim and a little massaging from the back side should move it a little closer to straight.

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All of the doors have had the glass removed and the door handles removed to get ready for body work and paint.

 

Although this car continues to be challenging at many turns, prepping the car for body work has been a nice change of pace.

 

Thanks for looking in!

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"Sun Dogs" on a -30C (-22F) January morning out my front door!

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And then there is the ``sunshine`` that I found on the bottom of the liftgate.  

 

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The skin peeled back, and the lift gate frame with enough rust that cannot be ignored.

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And so it continues........

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  • 8 months later...

Holy hell it's been a while and sadly, there hasn't been a ton of progress.  I'm back to getting motivated and have started cleaning up the shop to get at it.  It seems as though keeping things running and driving is always a priority and then there is the grass that I swear I could hear grow this summer!

 

Here are a couple of pictures that I uploaded a while ago.  I had more on my iPhone (and not backed up as well as I should have) but had an unfortunate mishap with a 6' wide deck mower that I tow behind a Ford 8N tractor.  Let's just say that iPhones are NO match for that piece of machinery!  Catastrophic damage is what the Apple Store called it.  Life goes on.

 

So, where were we?  The rust on the bottom of the liftgate was cut out and a new piece welded in.

 

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I'll get a some more pictures with it hammer and dollied into place tomorrow.  That was one of the pics on my other phone.

 

Then it was on to removing the decals on the back.  Got wood?  Removing this was a pain in the ass (turned out some heat was the best way) and the glue it left behind was awful.

 

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So, a small reminder (for me) of where I'm at and I will get a few more pictures tomorrow to further motivate myself to get in the shop and get this car done.  It's long overdue.

 

So, if there is anyone still looking in, thanks!  More progress coming your way!

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Ok, a couple more pictures.  I apologize for the quality of the pictures, this Nexus phone does not take the same quality pictures that my iPhone did.

 

The screw holes from the roof rack have been hammered flat and are ready to be welded shut.

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The liftgate with the wood decals removed and ready to be sanded and prepped.  When I hammered the sheet metal back around the patch on the frame, it left a small crease (if you look carefully at the bottom of the liftgate you can see it) that will have to be filled with filler.  I tried my damnedest to get it flat with no luck!

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And finally for now, I removed the headliner.  I am going to sew my own.....one more thing to learn.  Thank god my wife is a whiz with the sewing machine and can show me the ropes.

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I have been cleaning up tools and moving stuff around in the shop to encourage me to get out there without being discouraged with the mess.  It's actually kinda working, it's much nicer to be in a space where I am not tripping over stuff all of the time.

 

Until next time.....

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  • 5 months later...

Well, it has been awhile since my last update....again.  Between losing momentum and gumption, settling into a new job, an ongoing Kubota repair and a LandCruiser alternator mishap, I finally have some time and desire to get back at the car.

 

I recently picked up a small Kubota B7200D tractor.  It's a 0.9 litre 3 cylinder diesel with 17hp.  A short time after I got it home it starting making a pretty gnarly grinding sound when I pushed the clutch pedal in.  I figured it was either the release bearing or a clutch problem of some sort.  Anyhow, it turns out that it was the pilot bushing that was pooched.  Someone took a shortcut and put a slice with a hacksaw in the side of the bushing to squeeze it into the crank without taking the flywheel off.  I removed everything replaced the bushing and found that the clutch and pressure plate were in good shape so I left them.  I also replaced the input shaft (it was quite worn on the end) and the release bearing as well.  Here are a couple of pictures of the tractor split in half to get at the parts that needed replacing.  Splitting the tractor in two is WAY easier than putting it back together.  It is a bitch to line up!

 

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Now onto the LandCruiser (HJ61 from Japan) alternator mishap.  I do not have any pictures of the nonsense that happened to me with this.  So, I checked the brushes as the alternator wasn't charging at full voltage.  When I out the brushes back in, I somehow created a dead short and burned the fusible link and who knows what else.  So, figuring the alternator was damaged, I tracked down a brand new one in Edmonton (not easy to find parts locally) and had it shipped.  I installed it and it wasn't charging again!  So I read, reread and researched some more to see what could be the problem when there is a power surge.  I checked the wiring harness behind the dash for burnt wires or diodes, under the hood, replaced the voltage regulator and still nothing positive was happening.  I finally took the alternator out and had it shipped back to where I got it.  Turns out that there was a bad diode in the alternator that wouldn't allow it to charge. I installed the repaired alternator and voila, it runs!  All of this took a month!  Yikes.

 

So, the reason I share these stories is this.  Finishing some things has got the juices flowing again and now it's time to get on with the car!

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Now, back to the car.

 

I am getting ready for primer and paint and started on the driver's side fender.  Prepping the surface for primer not only takes time, it can reveal some hidden issues.  So, as I was wire wheeling the bottom of the fender on the outside and inside and found more rust.....shocker!  So, I cut it out...again...and made patches.  Here they are, I'll weld them in tomorrow and then move to the other fender for prep work.  (I have already done the rust on that one, thank God!)

 

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I tried to keep it one piece and I managed to do so.  It fits and will be functional, but it won't be pretty.

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Here's the bottom of the fender removed.

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And the patch. (The white spot in the corner is a sticker.)

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I hope to have more regular updates from now on.  Stay tuned for the rear passenger door that will prove to be somewhat of a challenge....

 

Thanks for looking in!

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So, after working on the everyday car today (replaced the sway bar end links) I got the patches welded into the fender.  The frame patch isn't all that pretty but it is strong and hidden so I don't really care.  I have a couple of coats of Zero Rust on the patch to seal it up and it should be good.

 

Here are the photos.

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I think there is a little tweaking to do yet to straighten out some lines, but I think it will look just fine when it is all said and done.

 

I plan to tackle the other fender for prep work tomorrow and then onto the rear passenger door.

 

Thanks again for looking in!

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  • 3 weeks later...

So, I've been preparing the rear passenger door to get ready for levelling the mess that that door is.  No picture yet, but that will be along shortly.  So, I finally got new glass for my sand blast cabinet, and put it in so I could see into the damn thing.  It works a treat!

 

I started working on cleaning up the transmission crossmember.  It's not the fastest tool (the sandblaster I have) but it works well in cleaning up the rust nicely.

 

Here are a couple of pictures of what it looks like.  The first one just shows the contrast between the cleaned up part vs the rusty part. 

 

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More work this weekend is planned! 

 

Thanks for looking in!

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Just found this thread and it is inspirational. You just keep trucking on it. You see something bad and you fix it. Kudos. Look forward to following along.

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Thanks Fisch!

 

Momentum hasn't always been easy to maintain, but posting what I am doing on this site motivates me to keep on keeping on, even if there are long spells between meaningful progress.  I refuse to be one of the "got in over my head and now I'm gonna sell/scrap it" statistics.  I enjoy the car and process (from planning to coming up with a vision to executing it all) too much for that.  It is as rewarding a hobby as there is (and thank goodness, nothing like what I do for a living), even though many won't see much of the work that has been put into the car behind the paint and finish.  

 

So, again, I say thank you very much for your encouragement and kind words, it's why I come here.  There is no better place to come for the common love of all things Datsun!

 

Thanks to all who stop by and have a look!

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Thanks Fisch!

 

Momentum hasn't always been easy to maintain, but posting what I am doing on this site motivates me to keep on keeping on, even if there are long spells between meaningful progress.  I refuse to be one of the "got in over my head and now I'm gonna sell/scrap it" statistics.  

your already so far past that man. Good work.
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  • 2 weeks later...

Got these in the mail this week.  They look really good!  I'm using them as one of the carrots to get this car back together!

 

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I can't wait to see them in action!  If you want great customer service with a quality product, you won't go wrong with these guys!

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  • 2 months later...

Hello all, summer is here in Manitoba and I'm on holidays until September (a perk of being an educator) and progress on the car has started moving in earnest again. I am currently working on the body work. Certainly not my favourite thing to do!

 

I'm not sure how many hours I am into the rear passenger door which was not straight at all! I made it better and I'm sure it's not perfect! Good thing I'm aiming for a "20 footer" in terms of how it looks when it's done. Ha!

 

I've finished the rear passenger door, the two fenders and the doors. I have a good deal of work on the lift gate before I move onto the body of the car.

 

There will be more than a few hours of work to do on the body but not so bad that it'll discourage me.

 

I'll post a bunch of pictures when the hosting site I use is back up and functional.

 

Thanks for looking in!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Still plugging away on the body work.  Ha!  Time consuming even for a 20 footer!  Not to mention that you can watch and hear the grass grow here and it seems to need cutting every other day!  Cutting 4 acres or so is also time consuming!  Oh, and picking enough blueberries to make 20 litres of wine.....ha!

 

No pictures to this point, as datsun510.com will be undergoing a major change over the next while.  Once it's back, I will dump the pictures there unless I can find a simple hosting site.  

 

Thanks for reading along!

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So, I finished up the body work tonight on the liftgate. It took far more hours than I'd hoped. I knew it was gonna be a pain, it's got more than one curve on the damned thing. Not to mention that when I repaired the bottom it lost the curve that goes from one side of the car to the other. I think I've got it kind of close, but not perfect. I also discovered that it had been hit at some point so I had to smooth that out too.

 

Then it was on to the front valance. It's straight and in great shape. It had a couple of dings that had some rust and when I removed the paint there was that that runs and looks like spider webs. So, I decided to paint strip the whole thing. Paint stripper is nasty stuff! But it works really well.

 

So, time for some glazing putty on the doors, fenders, hood and liftgate. Once that's done, the body of the car is next. The rockers need attention and there are a couple of dents that need fixing on the roof.

 

Getting closer to paint......

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So, I rolled the car out of the shop today to wash the layer of dust that had accumulated on the car. I found blue paint under the dirt! Awesome!

 

Next, it's onto the body work on the car.

 

Closer still to paint!

 

Thanks for looking in.....

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  • 2 weeks later...

Spent about 7 hours in the shop yesterday prepping the rockers for a coat of filler, welded the 3 pin holes up for the rear quarter badges and took care of a few rust bubbles that popped up.  I was feeling good about it all then I discovered that the driver's side rocker, at the front where the fender attaches, needs replacing.  I guess I didn't pay as much attention to it as I should have the first time I was working there.  It's a setback for time, but I'm happier know that It'll be fixed now instead of later after it's painted.

 

I've also started working on the 280zx snowflake wheels.  I've got them almost entirely stripped of clear coat (that stuff is a bugger to get off even with a chemical).  I will have to turn them a little to smooth the curb rash on two of them.

 

It's all small progress, but progress nonetheless.

 

Thanks for looking in!

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Thanks for the advice. I think I might actually have a

Flickr account that I made years ago.

 

Dereks working on Datsun510.com now. I get the progress updates through the Bluebird list. I'll wait a little longer to see how it goes for the upgrade to new software.

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