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Paul's 69 2 Door project


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So going back in time a little here. Now that I have picture hosting figured out, I can post some updates on the build. 

 

Time to tackle the heater box.  Looks pretty nasty here

 

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Heater hose has seen better days too.  Just waiting to spring a leak

 

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inside doesn't look much better

 

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Heater core passed the pressure test!

 

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Heater core after dis assembly.  Some worn out bits here. This is a 69 valve. It is different than the one featured elsewhere here on Ratsun that was rebuilt using o rings from NAPA. The seal is shot here.

 

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Good thing I had another valve in my stash of parts. It turned out to be the design that could be rebuilt with a few o rings.

 

Heater core after clean up and paint

 

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Blower motor resistor checks out ok!

 

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Assembly after blasting and painting the case

 

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Since I am doing a KA24DE swap, I wanted to be able to move the engine back as far as possible. It seemed like a good idea to put the heater hose connections to the passenger side and clean up the engine bay. Time to route things across to the other side. I think it turned out pretty good.

 

 

 

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Here is the hole for the hose connections

 

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And the grommet for the heater hoses

 

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That should do nicely

 

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The elbows are copper plumbing fittings from the hardware store that I soldered together. The idea started when I set out to repair the hose connection from the RH side of the heater box. The pipe had cracked away from the mounting bracket as you can see here:

 

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After taking it all apart and blasting it in the cabinet, I found that it was soldered together during manufacture. Since plumbing solder fixed the bracket really well, why not see if the pipe size would fit some plumbing pieces I had laying around? Well they do so there you go. I did feel the need to add the brace you see to the pipe that leads to the heater valve. I did not want any vibration issues.

 

The grommet is a common part on Toyota/Lexus vehicles. I got that Idea at work when I had to remove the climate box on a customer car. If you cant find one at the junk yard, they are not that expensive.

 

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  • 1 month later...

I noticed that you took apart, cleaned and repainted the quarter windows. Have you found the replacement seal/gasket/weatherstripping for those? If yes, can you share that information? 

 

I don't know what Paul used but you can get them from Datsport.  http://www.datsport.com/rubbers-510-2door.html

 

Nicest people you'll ever talk to.  Exchange rate is favorable too.

 

--carter

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Well since the holiday for my family is going to happen tomorrow, I thought I would spend some time on the Datsun and cross something off the list. First things first tho, it is a white Christmas this year. Feeling pretty grateful for that. Hoping you all have a great holiday!

 

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On to the Datsun. The new Futo Fab fenders need to have the lips rolled for tire clearance.  My buddy Carter was kind enough to lend me his fender roller. (Thanks again Carter!!!!!) Having never done this before I watched the video and realized that this is a simple thing to do. I guess I have it a little easier than some since the car has not yet been painted.

 

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  • 3 months later...

Some things have been happening so it is time to update the thread. I was working to send the car off for paint, so I finished the rear fender lips that a previous owner had "rolled". I think they used a hammer or baseball bat because it was not a smooth job at all.

 

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Had the SSR's polished up so I could paint the centers. Made me feel good to have some tires mounted up on them.

 

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So off to the body shop it went! Or so I thought...

 

I have been working with this shop for over 15 years professionally. I had a lot of trust in them to do good work. Towed it down there for evaluation and what I thought was going to be the end of the paint phase of my project. Turns out they have a business model that works well with insurance companies, but not restoration projects (at least from my perspective). So many hours to do this panel and that panel ect. The final estimate for the job was double what I had allowed to "have a pro do it". If it was $1100, and I was thinking $500 that would be one thing. Add another zero and you get the idea. I cant fling money around like that so tow it home and re group. That was a sad day for sure.

 

Timing for sending the car off to paint was good though since I had a new arrival to my garage space within a week. You may have already read about it here...

 

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/73437-the-bluebird-from-japan/

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I figured I would wait and see what I could find for painting options. The few friends I know that I would trust to do it had other projects going. Wait some more and keep putting feelers out there.

 

I got a referral to a long time Datsun guy who is an estimator for a body shop. Well connected in this community. He came by and checked out the car. He told me I got the "we don't want to do the job price" at the other shop. Yeah I figured that too. The estimate is where I was expecting all along so time to get the car ready for paint again.

 

My wife asked me... Wasn't it ready to go before??? Why all the prep work now? I have decided to put the suspension from the 2 door on the Bluebird so I can use it until the 2 door is ready. Plan is to drive the Bluebird while the 2 door gets finished. Makes sense to me anyway ha ha.

 

Shop rollers and drum brake struts for the trip to the body shop

 

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Loaded up for the trip again. This time for sure! Check out the rally ride height. Sure makes the car look different

 

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

Ok so maybe not in paint yet, but more progress shots from the body shop. Considering how long I have been messing around with this car, I have no problem with the rate of progress. Almost there!

 

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If I do this right, I will be able to drive the Bluebird out of the garage before the 2 door comes home all shiny and new looking. :thumbup:

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  • 5 years later...

A few minutes later...

 

Ok so it has been 5 1/2 years. So much has happened in that time. Life has ups and downs as we all know. I haven't done a thing to the car in that time except move it to my new house. The good news is I still have this car and a place to keep it so lets get started again.

 

I recently made a list of things to get going on the car. I thought I would start by assembling with the parts I have on hand before I get too carried away buying more. Well that doesn't work in the real world so here we go, I picked up a headliner and all the rubber weather strip I need to start assembly. Datsport has the best option for rubber components at fair prices, but the shipping is another matter. Since that can't be helped I spent my bonus at the Datsport store.

 

Headliner first before glass installation. I decided to go with a black headliner as I really don't like white interior anything. It may be because i work on cars all day and have to keep them clean. We checked for photos of the removal phase of the project to see which holes the bows go into. I posted those removal pictures in this thread 10 years ago! Having someone who has done this many times before was soooo helpful. Thanks for spending the day with me Jeff!

First we put the headliner in with the bows in correct order.

 

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I stocked up on binder clips from Amazon. Between that and Jeff's stash we had a ton of them. Based on how things went today, I recommend the large clips as they seem to be stronger. Stretch and clip. Stretch and clip etc. Glue in place as best as possible and call it a day.

 

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Since I could only get 2 photos to attach without rotating them this will have to do for now. More progress soon I hope.

 

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