U20 (Jan 2012)

I have put about 20 hours of run time on the engine and had a slight 'tick' that was bothering me (I feared a loose valve seat), but also knew the valves needed to be adjusted to a true hot clearance. This is the engine running after the head re-torque and setting the valve hot lash. I have good oil pressure 22 psi at warm idle and I have the idle down around 800 with decent numbers on the AF gauge. Also note the electric fan is in and operational...so different without my old 7 blade fan.

Clutch Slave (3 Jan 2012)

I took the month of Dec off to enjoy retirement and took the family to Snowshoe for some skiing (sad snow conditions), anyway time to get back to the Roadster. I bought a new clutch slave cyl from Dean and installed it while I had easy access to the tranny.

Installed (3 Jan 2012)

Complete!

Speedo adapter (3 Jan 2012)

This adapter allows the speedo cable to connect to the tranny without a crazy bend...this adapter was frozen solid with crust and rust.

Adapter Disassembled (3 Jan 2012)

The adapter has brass plugs that can be removed...once out I was able to clean both gears and re-lube the internals..

All Clean (3 Jan 2012)

Back together and turning smooth...I installed a new zerk fitting and installed on the tranny..

Overflow Tank (4 Jan 2012)

Now that the engine is running good I decided to put new radiator and overflow caps on to keep the correct pressure. Since I would eventually have to clean this part I went ahead and cleaned up an overflow tank for the restoration..

Blasted (4 Jan 2012 2012)

I blasted the tank with walnuts on a low setting.

Ready to Install (4 Jan 2012)

I painted with high temp paint and it turned out great...on the engine it goes!

Heater Box (5 Jan 2012)

The heater box looks rough to say the least (will need new bullhorn).

Heater Core (5 Jan 2012)

The heater core looks pretty solid. I removed all of the insulation foam and will run cleaner through the core as well as clean the fins..

Heater Box Doors (5 Jan 2012)

Lots of rust and worn paint on the box. The doors also do not close properly.

Problem Found (5 Jan 2012)

One of the doors is not completely closing because the operating mechanism is slightly out of alignment. To correct I needed to remove a small keeper and the nylon insert that controls the doors.

Centered the Rod (5 Jan 2012)

I simply bent the rod slightly and now it is centered in the slot on the opposite door...off to the blast cabinet.

Primed (5 Jan 2012)

I thought I took a photo after the blast cabinet, but I guess not. The doors cleaned up nicely and are now etched/primed and waiting for the rest of the box to get some paint..

Fender Time (6 Jan 2012)

I'm starting to move along with the body...I started to sand/strip today thinking the fender would be easy, but I discovered filler (poorly done at that).

Thick @#% (6 Jan 2012)

The bondo is so thick I am actually chipping it off in chunks! I've removed lots and I still haven't found the actual damage?.

Seriously (6 Jan 2012)

I'm not a bodyman, but I know you can't throw bondo over untreated areas or on top of paint and expect great results. This is thick bondo over the paint...it was chipping off in two inch sections (still haven't found the damage).

Strip the thing! (7 Jan 2012)

Well in an attempt to find why there is so much filler up front I've pulled the fender and started to strip the inside and out.

Rust! (7 Jan 2012)

This is a great example of why many have moved to epoxy primers before filler...these 'air' bubbles were deep in the bondo and the surface under this repair is rusty (just a horrible repair job by someone).

Heat and Scrape (8 Jan 2012)

Using the heat gun and scraper just like I did on the inside of the tub...man this is for the birds!

The Worst (8 Jan 2012)

This has got to be one of the worse things I've been doing on this resto and that's removing the 1967 undercoating...If I had the money I certainly would have had a pro blast this stuff off....ohhh to dream.

Small Weld (8 Jan 2012)

There was lots of small waves at the bottom lip of the fender and the areas around the bumper hole...just below the bumper hole the lip had torn (wavy area at top of photo)...a quick shot with the MIG and some grinding and the tear was gone.

Mount Dent (10 Jan 2012)

Small dent along mounting surface...easy fix with flat dolly.

Undercoating Gone (10 Jan 2012)

Removing the old undercoating is a pain, but worth it to get the metal underneath clean...you can see areas around the edges with rust...that if left unchecked/untreated would over time eventually surface.

Final Wipedown (10 Jan 2012)

To complete the inside of the fender I cleaned the entire area with Marine Clean and then soaked the fender with Metal Ready.

Small Dent (13 Jan 2012)

As I was stripping the fender I found a small dent and decided to try my first attempt at a dent repair with a slap spoon.

First Dent Attempt (13 Jan 2012)

It worked! I can't believe the PO's solution was to use bondo...I placed a small curved dolly behind the fender and a few taps on the outside ridge of the dent and the metal was even..

Etching (14 Jan 2012)

The bondo caused rust damage under it...so I soaked the area with metal ready to etch the area until I sand/grind away to clean metal.

Deep Crease (14 Jan 2012)

There is a pretty deep crease and an extended dent around the crease in this area...the PO must have just decided the easiest thing to do was fill the whole area in...That's why the bondo was so thick.

Ridge (14 Jan 2012)

I'm working the dent, but this is a tricky area as the Roadster has a (style line) ridge running at the top of the fender...the dent and bondo rust damage run on both sides of this ridge.

Guide Coat (15 Jan 2012)

I kept beating away with the hammer and dolly but the metal was so wavy I couldn't tell if I was pushing the dents out so I shot primer over the area so I could work the low areas.

It Worked! (15 Jan 2012)

After using a long board to identify high/low spots, I was able to dolly out the low areas (all of the light grey marks around the big silver area are the hammer marks)...this really helped get rid of the waves .

Grind and Heat (15 Jan 2012)

After getting the fender as close as possible with the dolly, I used a grinder to rough up the area and then a shrinking disk to heat the area and finished with a wet rag to 'pull' the metal back in...a few cycles and I was close as I was going to get for a first time bodyman..

Rolled Fender (16 Jan 2012)

I'm not even sure this is needed with my rim/tire combo, but since I was working the fender I went ahead and POR15'd inside the lip and then rolled the fender lip flat.

POR 15 and Primer (17 Jan 2012)

After I completed as much of the rough body work as I could, I POR 15'd the inside of the fender and after it set I dusted it with primer so I could cover the area later.

Original Damaged Area (18 Jan 2012)

This was the final results of my hammer and dolly time, plus some heat/quench cycles and grinding...It's hard to believe someone had that much filler on this area (and over the paint at that).

Final Sanding (18 Jan 2012)

I sanded the entire fender with 80 grit to give the primer some bite.

Epoxy Primer (19 Jan 2012)

After reading up on body repair and seeing the rust damage under the bondo on this fender I decided to go with an epoxy primer then do any finish body work...2k...sealer...paint. This was my first attempt and I'm very pleased with how smooth the fender really is. I will use filler for any flaws, but it will be very thin...on to the other fender (I won't cover that with photos as it will just be a repeat of steps).

Hood Problems (21 Jan 2012)

The hood that goes with this body has damage at both front corners. The metal is rusted thru and sections are missing.

Filled In (21 Jan 2012)

The previous owner (or someone) filled in the Datsun logo holes...the hood scoop is also not open on this model, but the replacement hood does have an open scoop.

67.5 Hood Prop Location (21 Jan 2012)

Another 67.5 item is the hood prop...on the 67.5 the hood prop is attached at the hood and slides along a receiver on the body...opposite of the other models that had the prop slide on the hood.

Replacement Hood (21 Jan 2012)

This is the hood prop location on the replacement hood. The opposite side is an exact match to my original hood and this hood has indents for the brake master cyl...the only real difference is the top three holes are not cut in this hood. I will remove the prop bracket and weld it to this hood and probably drill the matching holes.

Great Shape (21 Jan 2012)

The replacement hood is in really great shape...there is one small dent that will need to be worked and someone just cut the hinge bolts to remove this (so I will be drilling those out).

Removing Floor Coating (23 Jan 2012)

I'm trying to work the bottom of the tub so I can drop it on a dolly and start the rest of the body work, but to get there I knew I had to remove the inside floor coating because if I clean, paint, and undercoat the car and then work the floor I will damage the undercoat...so I started to scrape the coating.

Dry Ice (24 Jan 2012)

Well after spending yesterday trying to melt the floor coating I went to my local Publix grocery store and bought 6 lbs of dry ice...I spread the ice over an area of the floor, covered it with plastic and a bag of insulation and after about 10-15 minutes the coating came off in large sections (much faster than the heat gun).

Drivers Side Frozen (24 Jan 2012)

The ice was melting fast, but I was able to complete the pass side and move the ice over and finish the drivers floorboard as well.

Rust Thru (24 Jan 2012)

This is why I'm taking all of the car down to bare metal...underneath the floor coating and above the undersides coating, the floor had rusted at one of the lower points that obviously held water. This will be an easy fix with some POR patch.

Seam Sealer Problem (24 Jan 2012)

Small rust thru at the front of the pass footwell, this was actually under the seam sealer that I scraped out...again, this will be treated and POR patched, primed, seam sealed, painted.

Etched (24 Jan 2012)

I need to complete the undercarriage before I treat the floor; again I am using a heat gun under the car so anything I put on the floor now will be ruined by other work...to keep this ready I used some Metal Ready to etch the metal until I'm ready to clean it and treat it properly (after I undercoat the car).

Final Sanding (25 Jan 2012)

Removing undercoating on pass side...I have the entire pass side done, now I'm moving on to the drivers side before final cleaning and undercoating/paint.