LittleRedSpirit

Extension to create the right line of the body Repairing the rusted inside screen panel Freshly fixed windscreen opening.

Bought the efi hose I need to modify the fuel system. Worked out the finer points of mounting the lift pump, should just be able to use a longer piece of 3/8 efi hose to connect the hp pump and then it should be fine. Also picked up a litre of white and a litre of black paint so I can mix a light grey for the interior. Was tempted by an ex demo 4 channel amplifier from JVC for $59 so i snapped it up, I'm looking forwards to some tunes that I can hear over the car.

Screen opening is now welded fully, sealed, trimmed, and I have installed the panel inside that I removed after welding up a couple of holes it had in it. At the rear arches I have welded a whole extra piece that I made in 2 folded sections to realign the edge of the arch better at the fuel filler, did some trimming, re-welding and got it in place. Welded up the tabs inside the arch to stiffen it all up then hammered it flat, made 2 pieces of better steel with square holes in them for the plastic screw retainers that the rear bumper screws to, drilled small holes in them, then plug welded them up in place. Welded up the folded corners so I had strong points to shape. Did a bit more work on the floor just being fussy, ground everything back, found some rust on the outer layer of the left sill, ground it back, welded up a couple of pin holes, rust converted and sealed it with zinc primer. Decided to fit the new lift pump since the car was all apart anyhow. The whole point of all this work is to give the car some more manners, so a quieter lift pump will take care of 1/3 annoying noises (the other two are the pull-up relay to make the Tacho work that ticks and buzzes, and the next is the road noise). I knew I was pushing shit uphill space wise, so I ended up making a very sweet little bracket that bolts in on 2 captive threads, clears the fuel tank strap, and holds the pump in a nice spot just in front of the surge tank. Ill rubber line the back of it in the morning, and together with the stock rubber mounts, it will be double rubber mounted. Tomorrow looking at grinding back and tidying up anything that remains, sanding, priming, cleaning and guiding the shell, and starting with some filler and sanding. Might even use this nice can of acrylic primer filler I have that I can put in the gun now the whole body is good to go for primer filler. Ill have to find some paint for the interior too. And then paint the shuts out and inside the hatch.

Wow very good progress!

Been doing odd jobs all morning. Fixed the melted exhaust tip cutout on the rear bar. Painted the rear bar mounts and straightened one out. Filed the bumper mount holes oval so the bar sits square. Had another go at stripping the guards, much more bare this time. Used the flexible grinding wheel to knock back 90 percent of the rust in the front screen edge. Ground the zinc off the repair piece, and did a bit more fine tuning of how it fits in the recess, very happy with it now. Ill go out after lunch and begin to weld. Had a conversation with the neighbour 2 doors up, hes been doing a car up in his shed, just found out its a 70s era datsun, and not the typical torana or wb that I expected.

Thanks Dave. Spent a half hour pressure washing the rear bar to clean old paint and grime off of it, I've been trying to get it in the right spot so I can finish off the arches 100% but the right bumper mount holes are a bit off, not just because I've got do do filler yet, but because they were unequal to the other side by measurement (12mm at first). I got it down to 4 mm different so far by using up the adjustment in the bar mounts and slightly ovaling out the holes, but it will be better perfect. I've still got a slightly larger gap at the rear where my repairs are with the spacing from the body so I will file a bit more tomorrow. Didn't get onto the screen, I want to finish the arches first, and get in all the practice I can first. Dunno how or why but a bunch more sand came out of the left sill again, same spot as before, I swear this car was rallied around the desert, jumped onto the floor, and just generally treated like an ae86.

Yeah and yet still not good enough for coastal life. I fabricated the patches for the boot seal, Had to notch the new seam to clear the bumper. Tidied the floor. Made a 20mm drain hole.

So today I made a plate to seal up the rusty area around the drivers floor, and another little one at the side where the rust also occurred. Got into welding up the little imperfections I could see and after a while it was all solid. Fixed some old screw holes and also some pinholes in the old welding that someone has done in the drivers floor, and then ground back some old resin and found more defects, and just did all the little 5 minute jobs. All that remains is to grind her back and double check for pinholes, then to weld the screen opening, and the two small spots under the boot seal that had rust starting. Getting there. Got a random zenki trueno mudflap, Ill be using it until I can swap someone for a zenki levin type.

I asked about oil level because I once bought a ke that had a wierd knock described by the seller. I checked the oil, and realised the knock was the crank slapping the oil around. Let a litre out and it was perfect. The noise sounded like a wierd ping/knock.

Did you overfill it?

Its more necessary for the front so that the spring doesn't come out of the strut. For 30mm its not super important to get shorter shocks either end, if you were going 60mm Id say definite, but 30mm, not much need.

Made a custom sanding block for the rear seam. Got some more black for another guide coat. half stripped the front gaurds, ready for a bit of prep.

Have now welded up the rear arches and most of the floor, barring the drivers foot well. Still to do, above the wind screen too. Some detailing required to complete but working out good.

Holy shit mate going all out. :clover: I like your plans, the thing will be great.

Rear end is all done, but Ive run out of gas. Ill have to sort that out somehow. Motherʞ©$ɟer christmas eve.

Yes very paintful. :yes: I've been welding. Need to do a bit more under the rear floor to reinforce the floor join but got it spotted back together for the most part. Repaired a lot of holes in the floor in different spots. Reinforced one weak looking spot where the fuel tank strap attached to the floor. The tunnel had a crack at the handbrake so i welded that up too. Was a little hole in the a pillar where it meets the vent box. Patched it up too. Still to weld rear 1/4 panels.

Will be welding today, I had another go at rust in the rear ahead of the welding yesterday. I tidied up the seam, ground down any remaining spot welds, packed the seam open and chipped all the rust out that was converted the other day, then I had another go with the rust converter and made some final adjustments o the steel piece that fits in so its all as tight and tidy as possible. I decided to get the best contact for welding the piece I would rivet it in place, so I drilled 7 or 8 rivets through it and pulled the two pieces of metal tightly together. I made a couple of tweaks to the floor patch and its riveted in too now. I got the grinder out and cleaned up the fuel tank strap holders as they still had junk metal attached to them. Hoping to get the rear end welded up today, and prepared and primed if my wife can stop bothering me for long enough to let me accomplish anything. I also rubbed off the guide coat all around the hatch, and painted the tank from spare paints I had lying around, and now its silver underneath, black on top and has a gold filler, lol.

Very Nice David. Great economy.

It really makes a big difference to how you feel about the car if what you look at from the drivers seat is in good order. :2thumbs:

Went back out last night and removed the fuel tank, plugged the hose and clamped em shut. I cleaned the tank, I will be painting it as it was getting a tiny bit of surface rust on the lower side. Will also look at installing my new carter lift pump so I don't have to listen to the facet pump ticking away. Also got the roof primed it came up great. Looks like I can begin welding this weekend, so hopefully its not too long before the car is going back together. Also found about a litre of 147 original silver metallic paint, and I have plenty of clear so I will at least be able to do inside the shuts, roof and doors with it.

No filler needed on the roof, just rubbed out the guide. The best product for sanding the car after the speedfile. The Fabricated pieces all blacksmithed into shape and clearanced around the tail panel reinforcing. Outside view: Firewall re-enforcing at the booster/pedal mount. Want the stiffest pedal feel. Close up