opalbeetle Posted July 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2017 Good morning! I've been plugging away, albeit slowly. Here are some pictures of the doors and panels that I have ready for priming. I will have more pictures through the next couple of days as I have more work done. Sanding sucks. These need to be cleaned and then they are ready for priming. Getting the lower valance ready was work with all the nooks and crannies in it. Putting a scuff on the car so the primer will stick. This car has had some significant work done in its life. Lots of trouble hidden under filler and paint as I stripped it away. But, I'm feeling like I've started to ove downhill instead of uphill! Ha! I will post a few more pics later today. So much work, so little time! Thank goodness for summer holidays! I have to say that I am super glad I didn't use Photobucket. As always, thanks for looking in! 1 Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted July 11, 2017 Report Share Posted July 11, 2017 Nice work.... I feel one could spend months or years on body work.... drives me crazy and I hate it.... I love the wall.. such a simple solution to store them ... Quote Link to comment
INDY510 Posted July 11, 2017 Report Share Posted July 11, 2017 When I painted my 710 coupe doors / fenders I hung them from the ceiling so I could walk around each panel. On the wall will be fine for primer, but it's easier to get all the edges if you can walk around them. Sawhorses work great for the fenders. Too bad 710 doors are so damn heavy ... :lol: Quote Link to comment
Crashtd420 Posted July 11, 2017 Report Share Posted July 11, 2017 I saw a pic somewhere the guy used an aframe ladder secured 2 2x4s across it and put a door on each side... And ya it's nice to get both sides in one spray.... keep up the good work... Quote Link to comment
opalbeetle Posted July 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2017 I only put the doors on the wall to get them out of the way. I got tired of moving them around. Ha! (Heavy is an understatement even WITHOUT the glass in them!) I plan to put the fenders on sawhorses or the like, and figure out a way to hang the doors when I paint. So, like Indy says, I will be able to walk around them. I plan to paint the inside of the door across the top as well. I will make door panels that expose the top of the door, like a 510. I don't really like the way the factory 710 ones wrap over the top to the window. Quote Link to comment
opalbeetle Posted July 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2017 Here are a few more pictures of what's been going on. I used aircraft stripper to get the paint off this. It was amazingly straight considering parts of the rest of the car. Here is the cowl vent. What a pain in the ass to get the paint stripped out of those grooves even using paint stripper! Here is the work being done on the driver's side. The area around the wheel well needed smoothing out. Also (I didn't take a good picture of it) the area behind the wheel well is also being worked on as there was a piece welded in there as well. It came out fairly straight and smooth oddly enough. Here is the other side. This side was hit at some point rather hard. There is a fair amount of work to make this smooth again. The spot under the side window was challenging to shape and make fit the profile of the metal here. A patch has been welded in and the filler finished it off to level (I hope). Body work sure takes time! Here are a couple of pictures of the lift gate. Wavy would best describe this piece of metal. Ha! The bottom section was challenging to make straight with the multiple curves. It's close enough! I'm off to build a deck (to make money to spend on this car!) and do a little fishing for the rest of the week. I'll be back at it next week! Thanks for checking it out! Quote Link to comment
opalbeetle Posted July 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2017 In between sanding and levelling in the tricky areas around the wheel wells and behind the left rear wheels, I spent some time with the blasting cabinet and a couple of door hinges. This is a comparison between what it looked like before and after. All of the hinges need cleaning up, then I will paint them. Everything takes so much time, but moving forward. Until next time. Quote Link to comment
opalbeetle Posted July 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2017 All blasted and ready to paint! I took the time to do this now as I need to hang the front doors to figure out how to best deal with the rockers. The stainless rocker strip that runs the length of the rocker is pooched. Someone in their infinite wisdom screwed them with wood screws to the car. Add the dents, rust and everything else, they are pretty much beyond salvaging. They do fill a gap that exists from the bottom of the door to the rocker and without them there it will look odd to me. I will hopefully get pictures tonight to better explain what I am talking about. Thanks for looking in! Quote Link to comment
opalbeetle Posted July 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2017 Here is the door gap that I am talking about. (I hope the picture makes sense, it's a tough angle to show.) The door curves back toward the car and there is a good 3/8" span from the rocker to the outside of the door. I am not a fan of the way that looks. It looks "unfinished" to me. The rocker trim was the transition from the door to the rocker. Other than sourcing new trim, I'm not sure how I will deal with this yet. This guy likes to keep me company in the shop....Sam the Standard Poodle (he never minds getting dirty). Until next time! Quote Link to comment
opalbeetle Posted August 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2017 Well, after hanging the doors to help look for a solution for the gap at the bottom of the doors, I put the fenders on to line it all up. The driver's side fender fits perfect! Can't say the same for the other side. Crap! I made the bottom of the fender from scratch and when I welded everything back together, I figure I locked in a twist in the fender. Only one way to fix that, sadly. I had to cut the repair out and I will remake it. Not the easiest thing to decide to do, but there was no getting that twist out of the fender any other way. I will make the step in the bottom of the fender better this time too. I guess I should have been more mindful of the fitment when I made the damned patch. Lesson learned. I haven't taken a picture yet, but will post some up in the next couple of days. Quote Link to comment
opalbeetle Posted August 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2017 Here are a couple of pictures. First, the first repair I cut out and set on the fender. I'm not really sure how I buggered it all up, but I'm doing my damnedest to get it lined up. PAIN IN THE ASS! Here is the first cut of the new repair. I still have to fold the fender lip along the green lines that you see on the side. I'll spend some more time fitting and sorting tomorrow! Until next time... 2 Quote Link to comment
opalbeetle Posted August 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2017 The fender lines up now with some modifications to the fender and the way it mounts. When I fixed the rusty fender frame, I think I changed the shape and length of it. The backside looks rather rough, but it's solid and it fits! You can't see that part anyhow when it's all painted! I'm working on the body work now and will post pics of that later. Even though I feel like it was a step back, I'm finally moving forward again! Quote Link to comment
opalbeetle Posted March 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2018 Been awhile....but, I have been figuring and tinkering. As usual, work, being a dad and life slow things down. I'd like to have more time on weekends, but driving my son to Special Olympics and swimming lessons every Saturday pretty much wipes out a day to tinker. Not complaining, just the way it is! So, I have had some "false" (cosmetic is what my biddy calls them) rockers made to deal with the way the door hangs past the rockers without the rocker trim. I posted this before. I had some "false" rockers bent up. Trimmed. I folded the wheel well end to wrap into the wheel well to be welded there. Clamped them down to have a look at the alignment. The door skins line up and there is no gap! There is a little of fiddling to do with lining up the fenders and doors but after it's all primed and ready for paint, I will do that. Drivers side tacked in. I'll cut and weld in a piece to fill the opening at the front. Passenger side tacked in. Until next time. 1 Quote Link to comment
datsuntech Posted March 12, 2018 Report Share Posted March 12, 2018 Well look at you, getting things done... 10 more years and she'll be on the road. :poke: I know, pot and kettle and all that. Seriously though the rockers look good. Where did you get them bent up? Quote Link to comment
opalbeetle Posted March 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2018 Thanks for the back handed compliment! Ha! I got them done at a sheet metal place in Beausejour. I can’t remeber the name. I gave them a profile, some sheet metal, 80$ and voila! 1 Quote Link to comment
datsuntech Posted March 12, 2018 Report Share Posted March 12, 2018 Always good to make friends with sheet metal places. The more you do the cheaper it typically gets. Quote Link to comment
opalbeetle Posted April 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2018 Hello! After the false rocker was welded in, there is still the gap between the original rocker and the new one. So, I cut a patch out of sheet metal and made a patch to weld it in. This is it welded in. It's always a bit of a challenge welding 22 gauge metal in. Once it's welded in, grinding and sanding through the metal is quite easy, leaving a hole that needs filling again! On to the passenger side. Thanks for looking in! 2 Quote Link to comment
opalbeetle Posted April 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2018 Finally got the front patch on the rocker done. Here is the gap that needed filling. Here is the patch ready to weld in. I made tabs that slip under the rocker to make gaps to spot weld it in and hold it in place. Tacked in! You'll notice the extra material of the tab that needs removing. I used a flapper wheel on my die grinder to smooth it done to match the rocker and many spot welds later....it's in! I will use seam sealer between the body and the patch instead of welding along the whole seam. There was also some rust inside the tailight housing. I treated the rust and removed the bracket with a spot weld cutter. I attached it to a homemade bracket for relocation. I hope it ends up in the right spot! As always, thanks for looking in! 2 Quote Link to comment
opalbeetle Posted May 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2018 Good morning! Anyone know if a 510 front sway bar would fit the front of a 710. I know that ADDCO has different part numbers but wondering if anyone has had experience using the 510 sway bar. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted May 8, 2018 Report Share Posted May 8, 2018 I am no help, but the body work in here is outstanding :) Quote Link to comment
opalbeetle Posted May 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2018 Thanks for the feedback! Quote Link to comment
opalbeetle Posted May 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2018 The mounting tab is welded back in. I used Picklex on the bare metal before adding weld-through primer before welding. I will seal it up again and hope that the surface rust in there stays put. Have a great Tuesday! Quote Link to comment
opalbeetle Posted June 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 Hello to those who look in! It's not much (been busy with the end of the school year, cutting the acres of grass around here and my son is swapping an H6 into an RS2.5....yup, he spun a bearing!) but I cleaned up the rear valance. There was quite a bit of surface rust caused by rocks on this. They would hit the bumper and bounce back against the car. I will be on summer holidays in a week and I am ready for some big next steps when time frees up. I cannot wait! Thanks for looking in! 4 Quote Link to comment
opalbeetle Posted August 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 Here we go.....it's happening. I had to do some infrastructure for the "paint booth" . The poly drop sheets roll up and are stored near the ceiling. I used ABS plumbing pipes for the rollers (no pictures of that for some reason). Then I used string to pull it from the ceiling and it rolls right up! A few "eyes" threaded into the ceiling so I can hang the doors. Works awesome! Taped and almost ready for primer. Of course I ran out of tape on the paper in the hatch opening and had to wait til morning to get more. Sorry if the pics come big. I used to be able to choose smaller pictures, but I can't figure it out on Datsun510.com Until next time.... 3 Quote Link to comment
opalbeetle Posted August 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 All the infrastructure work to make a "booth" led to this.....(it's frigging hard to get everything into the picture). It's all primed with two-part high build primer. Time to sand....and sand....and sand some more. Yay! ? 6 Quote Link to comment
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