Friday, June 24, 2011

ONE DAY AT A TIME...


Finally picked up smaller wire for the welder. Should have done this long ago...

 

UNDER CONSTRUCTION


With Wekfest coming to Dallas at the end of August, I wonder at what point the car will be in. If it's anywhere near where the above Star Road car is in then I might just trailer it up there.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

BIG BIRD

CLEANING UP

Wanted to go home at reasonable time today so didn't get much done on the car. Finished grinding down the bumper hole patches and threw on some primer for the time being. 


Mocked up the rear bumper to see how it would look. Need to figure out exactly where it suppose to be but this is kind of close.... I think.

Monday, June 20, 2011

FOR DUSTIN


Can't wait to ride shotgun!

CLEANING UP

Got the rear bumper holes all welded up. Let my cousin do most of the welding. He's getting pretty good at this stuff and having an extra hand is always a plus. 


 And I couldn't take it anymore, so I taped the air dam on to see how it's going to look.




 

Saturday, June 18, 2011

LONGCHAMPS

Off to Houston, TX to pick up these for a pretty fair price.



After searching for wheels to fit the Z with no luck, I decided that it would actually be cheaper to buy a cheap set and have them custom built to the sizes I need. I'm thinking 15x9 -25 and 15x10 -40 should be right. Any suggestions please comment!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

PATCHES O'HOULIHAN

To weld up the firewall I needed to cut out some patches to fill the bigger holes. Figured I might as well cut out all the patches I was going to need for the car. Along with the firewall there were other spots I needed patches for including the holes for the old diving board bumpers.


MSA has oem Nissan cowls still in stock so considering the condition of mine I'll be buying one soon. So I figured might as well recycle the sheet metal back into the car. I also purchased an air nibbler to cut the metal. This is one of those tools that once you own one you can't believe how you lived with out it.


They all fit pretty well, a little grinding here and there and they should all be ready to be welded in.


Tuesday, June 14, 2011

YEP...

A plan has been set in motion, this plan involves putting these wheels in these sizes:


Under these fenders:



REMOVING SPOT WELDS

In nearly every car, body panels and brackets are attached using spot welds. Removing them takes the right tools and a bit of patience. Here's what I used:


Most importantly is the spot weld remover tool. It's basically a small hole saw with an adjustable guide in the center to keep you from drilling into panel underneath. Use a punch to serve as a guide to center the tool then drill away the weld, careful not to drill to deep.


Once the spot welds have been drilled the bracket should just fall off, if not a chisel and hammer will come in handy. Even with the tool it's easy to drill to deep in that case a little welding will be needed to fix the hole.

 

Monday, June 13, 2011

IF I WASN'T GOING FLARES


Fs on club4ag

SLOW PROGRESS

It's been over 100 degrees just about everyday for the last few weeks over here in South Texas. Work has been slow but I haven't been completing neglecting the car. 

Saturday, June 11, 2011

TRIUMPH TERRORS

So the Triumph is still down from the spring fling ride last month. 


After elimination other possibilities I'm starting to fear the worst. All the low speed riding along with high temperatures may have cause the engine to run hot and seized a piston. 


I guess it could have been worst.

Friday, June 10, 2011

HARDER THAN IT LOOKS

If I said "I'm getting better as I go" regarding body work I would be lying. For such simple sounding tasks, being good at this trade is quite an art.



The hatch was pretty warped, probably from the sandblasting and hammering on it was making things any better. So decided to try a technique where you make relief cuts on the metal allowing it room to expand and return to its original place. 


Although it took the warp out it gave the panel an interesting shape, that I feel just doesn't look right. I think at this point I'm better off sourcing a clean hatch from the junkyard. Maybe I'll be better off getting some help and letting someone else tackle the more technical repairs.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

TIME TO LEARN

Whenever some one sees my Datsun in its current state they always asked me who is going to do the body work. I usually reply that the plan is to do it myself. Then I really throw them a curve ball and let them know I have no idea what I'm doing but I still expect nothing shy of perfection.



Sunday, June 5, 2011

NEW ADDITION

My old man and me made a little business investment. She's no trailer queen, drove it home 60 miles from the previous owner's with no issues. After a little love she'll be up for sale at our store.




Anyone interested in the truck can contact me at cas@rockclimbing.com



 

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

THINKING AHEAD

I don't know what it is about 67-72 Chevy C10's that I have always loved. It's the perfect truck; simple lines, straight forward interior, and a bench seat. I need one in my life, as much as I like my tacoma driving a truck everyday is pointless. Much rather sell the tacoma and buy a cheap C10 for when I need a truck, and have extra cash to buy another motorcycle.