Paul's 69 2 Door project

[Trophy24]

Steady progress this week.  Started crossing things off my list so it can move again for the paint booth.  Lets start with the pedal box that will support the steering column.  It was installed in the car when I had it blasted, so it had been cleaned up partially already. 

 

Here is a before picture showing a partially sand blasted unit

 

I took everything apart, blasted stuff in my blast cabinet, painted everything and assembled it again for a much better look.

[carterb]

^^ Put some shoes on Paul!

 

:rofl:

[housew]

just read the whole thread and am amazed with the amount and quality of the work. NICE job!

 

 

Air powered flange tool from harbor freight. It also punches holes for spot welding as well.
The overlap on the flange allows some fudging of the panel fit when aligning things and can save you some time trimming to fit. The repair is visible from inside the trunk, but I am not going for a perfect restoration here. I will probably be covering that area with sound deadening anyway.

 is this the tool?

http://www.harborfreight.com/air-punch-flange-tool-1110.html

 

any way to set the depth of the flange? Looks like it take the existing metal and makes 2x 90 degree bends so you have a parallel surface stepped down, is there a way to control the depth of the step so you can set it to the thickness of your new panel? Or do you just bend the flange unparallel till it contacts the back of the new panel to set the depth?

 

sorry for all the questions, thats just a VERY cool way to patch a panel, and i have a patch or 2 to make in my future, unless a pussy out and have the shop do it.

[Trophy24]

^^ Put some shoes on Paul!

 

Sock feet are where it's at when you are on vacation!

 

That is the flange tool. It was something my body guy picked up. I think it allows the use of panel adhesive if you want instead of welding. Not sure if it was adjustable or not. Does not look like it.

 

I was reluctant to replace the panel myself since I don't have enough experience with body work to be happy with my results on this car. I have a higher expectation than I can achieve right now I guess. I have learned many things in the process that I may put to use next time. Maybe on a "race car" type project like someone I know. : )

[Trophy24]

Something is about to change....

 

[carterb]

^^ looks expensive!  :thumbup:

[Trophy24]

Mmm ya it was. This is the single stage. Still have to buy clear for the exterior. : P

[Trophy24]

More stuff off the list.

 

Steering column painted and ready to go.

 

Time for some seam sealer. I had a hard time with this stuff. Sort of like caulking for your house, only you can't use water to smooth it out. After several solvents were tried, I found one that worked.

 

Here is one of the doors getting sealed up.

 

A before shot of the door skin seam.

 

And after sealer

[Trophy24]

The time has come for real change on this car. 

 

Looking  back on this project, I have realized how much time has been put into the body work.  It was a bigger job than I thought at the beginning for sure.  Strip, sand blast, metal prep, body filler, primer, block sanding, primer etc.  There have been many days I have just wanted to drive the darn thing already.  Body work is not my thing.

 

On to the pictures to catch up on what has been happening at my place.

 

Primer going onto the window frames

 

 

Final sealer coat before color was applied.  That's right, COLOR!

 

Here it is getting mixed for the spray gun.

 

Small stuff first. All the hinges and window frames.

 

Onto the engine bay

 

Oh ya, that's more like it!

 

Interior next

 

 

Trunk view

 

 

Some sealer on the inside of the big panels

 

More color!

 

 

So after a weekend of work, here is how she sits.

 

A little before and after fun.

Before it went out to be blasted

 

After today.  The color is off due to some shadow and phone camera action, but there is a noticeable difference here LOL

 

Next step is to assemble the panels to allow exterior color application in one step.

 

How do I feel right now?

[Josh K.]

Lovin it!

[Trophy24]

I find myself with some extra time on my hands. Time to assemble the car right? Wrong!!!

I now have a weight restriction to 10lbs max for the next 6 weeks or so. Work related injury surgery went well so that is a blessing for sure.

I will have to be content to line up parts I need and plan for some progress when I am able.

On that note, I had a package arrive today from down under!


I needed some bits for my Datsport set up that were worn by the PO. Time to sort this stuff out.

Lower control arm bushings fell victim of some large amounts of castor.  Since there were some chunks missing, it seemed like a good idea to replace them.


I searched for some alternative replacements but Energy Suspension options would have required cutting to fit. Since I wanted the correct bushing stiffness for the radius rods, I placed an order to get everything I needed from the company who did the engineering in the first place.

Replacement bushings for control arms (on the Left) and radius rods (on the Right).


When Installing the new crossmember, Datsport recommends adding some crush washers for 2 additional mounting points on the frame. I know others have skipped this step, but it Seems like a good idea to me. I will be drilling some holes when I am able.



One of my sway bar end links fell victim to some aggressive removal techniques in the past.


I know. Sure is dusty. My house had become a body shop as of late

Replacement link



Making a list of bolts now for the eventual assembly process.

[Trophy24]

Ok so I have waited the required 6 weeks and can now lift more than 10 lbs. My recovery has gone as planned thank goodness. Time for more Datsun fun!

I ordered a bunch of hardware for the assembly of doors and fenders. Good thing I did this when I was my lifting vacation, the order fell to the wayside at my local Fastenal store. Finally sorted out.

I made a template from the old steering column gasket.

 

 

Did some arts and crafts and came up with a new gasket made from some closed cell foam I bought in bulk online. I think it turned out pretty good.

 

Steering column and pedal box installed

[edekalil]

Man this is a killer build.

[MicroMachinery]

The color is fantastic. I wish I was where you are with my build.

[Trophy24]

Thanks guys. It has taken 3 years to get this far. Think it will drive to Canby?

[MicroMachinery]

I've seen a complete basket case prepped and made drivable to Canby from Nor. Cal in under a month.

[carterb]

Great to see you back at it Paul!

[Trophy24]

The view from the other side

 

More pieces in place

 

[Trophy24]

More updates.  Slowly cleaning the shelves off in my garage of the parts I have been painting and storing.  It feels good to have this stuff on the car.

 

I am at the point where parts are being inspected as they come out of the bag or box. My hood latch pieces will be pretty visible and must function properly to prevent disaster.  My lower latch just needed some clean up, but the upper was rusted pretty bad at the center adjustment screw.  It would take alot of effort to free it up, and the return spring was toast.  Since I can predict that I will have to adjust my closed hood height, this needed to be replaced.  As I posted on another thread, I took a risk on a hood latch set on ebay from Mexico.  The price was tempting enough to see what I could get.  The pieces were pretty good quality with exception of the pivot points being a little more sloppy than the originals.  After installing the lower hood latch, it became apparent that the listing should not have included the 510.  I think I can use the top portion, but the bottom release arm is a little too long for my appplication.  Here is a pic of it installed.  You can just see how it interferes with the radiator support.  

 

 

If I had closed my hood on this, I would have been in a bind.  The release arm will not move.  Here is the difference in length with the original.

 

 

I thought about slotting the mounting holes on the rad support to make it work.  If I had done this before painting the rad support, that might have done it.  Since the original lower was usable, I just blasted and painted it up.  Here it is on the car.  Much better.

 

[Trophy24]

So lets add some suspension to this thing.  After replacing some worn bushings, my setup was ready to install.  The cross member will come back out when it is time for the KA install, but I need it to roll the car to the spray booth so in it goes.

 

 

 

 

Time for steering.  My center link had worn dust boots so I found some from Energy Suspension.  Just measure what you have and pick the right universal boots.

 

 

Like a glove!

 

 

I salvaged some of these cool cotter pins at work.  They work the same, but a fun detail.

 

 

I think this will clear the KA oil pan pretty well.

 

 

 

And on to the front struts.  

From what I have read, the 280ZX struts will not work with the Datsport set up as it is designed for S12 struts.  This was confirmed by Icehouse recently so I will probably sell the ZX stuff off.  I did plan for this by picking up some 85 S12 struts from Pick and Pull a year or so ago.  This may lead to some challenges with wheel fitment, but I will cross that bridge later.  I have some ZX six spoke wheels that will do for a while.  

 

I picked up some Koni Red adjustable struts a few years ago.  The Konis worked for me back in the day on my 68 Mustang Shelby clone.  I realize there are better options now that make adjustment a lot easier.  These will do for now until I have driven the car a bit and am ready for phase 2 (upgrade time!)

 

 

So here are the struts with new rotors and T3 Coilovers with 8" 250# springs.

 

 

 

Check out the ride height adjustment!  I wanted it as high as possible for painting down low on the rockers.  I will bring it down for sure after paint.  I want it LOW!

 

 

Stock top hats for now.  I need to see if I have to change camber before I am willing to give up a quiet ride for adjustability.

 

[carterb]

Paul, it is looking awesome!  If the rest of the build is done to this level of perfection, you are not going to want to drive it and risk getting it dusty!

I can bring over some rusty nuts and bolts and scratch a few of your panels for you so you'll feel better about driving it if you like...

--carter

[housew]

Haha ^^^^ Comingled along stellar sir.

[Trophy24]

Noooo scratches please. HaHa

 

That will happen on its own I'm sure.

[banzai510(hainz)]

nothing wrong with them KONIS I prefer them as you can get them to MATCH the spring rate. that means soft to locking them up where they wont move.

 

I did mine about 1/8 of a turn to 1/4 turn off the softest setting.

 

just with T3 stiff you got to get a fitting up top for the KONIS

[jeph]

Looks Great!

 

Are you interested in selling your set of 280zx struts?