1200 autocross project Texas

[datsunfreak]

And that looks awesome.  :thumbup:

[KiloTango1200]

And to cross your fingers and hope they aren't plastic.   B)

The seller says they are metal. :confused:

[KiloTango1200]

The rear package tray finally surrendered. 76 spot welds. What a pain in the ass. At least when I get finished I will have a very good knowledge of how these things are put together.

 

 

 

A couple more pieces of supporting structure an I will have a clear view of the back of the seam.

 

[KiloTango1200]

A new yellow Camero provides the background for the powder coated badge. Been wanting to see what the badges look like with a yellow background. A little brighter yellow than what I want. This one was on the hood and in the shade. Looks really good.

 

 

 

This one was on the trunk and got a lot more sunlight, but not direct sunlight. It looks kick ass. It looks as close to black chrome as I think I am going to get. This car is going to rock.

 

 

[KiloTango1200]

Got a couple more cheap batteries for my cheap Harbor Freight cordless drill. Now I can get some work done. Drilled out the left support bracket for the rear package tray.

20 spot welds cut out.

 

 

 

 

 

2nd support bracket located at the lower left rear corner of the rear windshield. 2 more spot welds.

 

 

 

Rear seat back cross braces. Another 14 spot welds.

 

 

Rear seat back cross braces out. 24 spot welds.

 

[KiloTango1200]

Cut out 5 spot welds and got the left trunk hinge support to let go,

 

 

15 spot welds later, the left C pillar support bracket comes out.

 

 

It appears that the top row of spot welds on the right package tray support missed some welds and is pulled away from the side panel about 1/16".

It is the only place I have found on the whole rear clip that wasn't attached properly.

 

 

Right trunk hinge bracket, 5 spot welds.

 

[KiloTango1200]

Finally pulled out the wiring harness and fuel tank for more working room. The fuel tank appears to be in really good shape with minor surface rust. Going to pull the fuel gauge sending unit plate and see what it looks like inside.

 

[KiloTango1200]

Right package tray support bracket. 20 more spot welds.

 

[Kirden]

I got lost somewhere along the way and have no idea what you are doing, but I like it :thumbup:

 

Looks like a how to for disassembling a 1200 :P

[datsunfreak]

I got lost somewhere along the way and have no idea what you are doing, but I like it :thumbup:

 

Looks like a how to for disassembling a 1200 :P

 

His car is a bit rusty in the trunk area. I found him a rear clip that wasn't rusty, so he's removing all the pieces from that clip to patch his car.   :thumbup:

[Kirden]

Oh very nice. Maybe you can find and send me peices to patch the B210 :ninja:

 

I'm a complete beginner when it comes to body work, but I'm loving the attention to detail here. Will you end up using most of the supports that you have been or just the actual shell of the rear clip?

[datsunfreak]

Oh very nice. Maybe you can find and send me peices to patch the B210

 

But that would mean finding a non-rusty B210. I'm good, but not that good.   :rofl:

[KiloTango1200]

I don't know that much about bodywork either, so I decided to disassemble the rear clip and learn on it so I wouldn't screw up my car when I repair it. There is a body and restoration shop about 100 yards away from my shop, and the owner showed me how to disassemble the clip. It's all spot welds and a little bit of brazing at some of the body exterior seam lines and a lot of caulking of the seam lines inside. I am really documenting it here in case I forget how it goes back together. I have labeled all the parts with a magic marker and I plan on keeping all the parts "just in case". The clip will also take up much less space disassembled.

[Kirden]

If it comes out looking like a giraffe, you better share pics :poke:

 

But seriously though, the documentation so far looks great. Even without knowing exactly why you were taking it apart I could tell what was going on, just thought you might have went all izzo and turned a 1200 into yard art.

 

 

But that would mean finding a non-rusty B210. I'm good, but not that good.   :rofl:

 

Tell me about it. I have rot on all 4 doors and can't find replacements for the life of me. Let alone the passenger dog leg.

[KiloTango1200]

Left vertical rear seat support. 17 spot welds.

 

 

Attachment point.

 

[KiloTango1200]

I finally got things taken apart enough to get a good look at the back side of the rear window valance.

 

 

I removed all the paint off the seams where the valance attaches to the rear quarter panels and there is absolutely no sign of a spot weld on the top of the seam. This is what had me puzzled.

 

 

 

Sure enough, there are 3 spot welds on the bottom of the seam. I am going to have to try only cut through the bottom layer of metal so I don't have 3 big-ass holes in the top of the valance. Think I will talk to the body guy before I try it.

 

[thisismatt]

Why haven't you bought a spot weld cutter instead of drilling holes all the way through?

[KiloTango1200]

I have a spot weld cutter but I can't seem to be able to only cut one side. Maybe I should read some instructions.

[KiloTango1200]

A hah, after a brief search on you tube I discovered you don't go all the way through and you need a panel separator. Off to the hardware store for a small chisel. Thanks for allowing me to fix my own ignorance. This makes me feel much better. I still have a lot of welds to practice on before I get to the money panels.

[thisismatt]

There are at least a few different types as well.  But you should be able to get one like a mini hole saw that won't cut all the way through both panels, eg the kind with a spring loaded centering point where you just center punch a small divot for it to register on.  :thumbup:

[KiloTango1200]

I have the right equipment, just lacked the knowledge to use them correctly. That's another reason for posting all this stuff. If you are screwing up, someone will let you know in time to recover.

 

[KiloTango1200]

First try with the correct method of cutting out spot welds. This is the row of welds on the C pillar at the rear windscreen. Used a center punch to dent the center of the weld then used a 7/64" drill bit to make a shallow recess for the spot weld cutter's center rod.

 

 

 

Cut through one panel and only blew through one weld. I'm calling this a success.

[KiloTango1200]

Right rear upper seat back support.

 

 

All the welds cut out of the bracket but still held in place by the caulking. A little removal and cutting of the caulking and it broke free.

 

 

Rt rear seat support bracket removed.

 

 

 

Rt. rear seat support bracket attachment point.

 

[KiloTango1200]

This is a very revealing photo. It shows a bracket that ties the C pillar, the right rear quarter panel, and the rear windscreen valance all together. The Nissan engineers placed a large open oval in the middle of the bracket that exposed 3 spot welds that connected the rear window valance to the rear quarter panel. This enabled a technician to replace the rear windscreen valance without blowing the entire back half of the car apart.

 

 

 

 

Rt. C pillar bracket removed. 14 spot welds.

 

[KiloTango1200]

Here are the welds I was most worried about. I had no idea what I was doing when I started and thisismatt made me figure out what I was doing wrong. Thanks Matt. I took things slow and easy this time. Took about 3 to 4 minutes per weld and only cut through 1 panel and did so little damage to the outer panel that you can't tell anything from the outside. This is not easy because 1200 sheet metal is VERY thin.