Forgotten Dreams: Restoration of a 1964 Datsun 1500 Roadster

[ttyR2]

Ppeters, the thing about any blasting process is that you can't get into every nook and cranny like dipping can. Browse the FAQ at the metaldipping.com website and they talk about it. Media blasting is good for small spots like patch work.

[spriso]

The body rebuild continues! This is the glamorous part of auto restoration (if you like coughing up black crud like you have been smoking 50 packs-a-day for the last 41 years!)

I have been making patch panels like crazy to patch up all the pin holes in the floors. Here was the worst section that required a bigger panel:

Before, the area is marked out where I want to cut all the rusty metal to get to good, clean material:



The plasma cutter makes short work of these kind of sheet metal cuts-- it allows you to cut cleanly and accurately:



With the old part out, I used it as a pattern and made a new patch panel on my sheet metal brake:



And mocked into position:



Enjoy,

Michael

[spriso]

Rocker Panel and A-Pillar Rebuild

The rocker panels were junk on this car. We cut them out before going to the dipper, and it was a good thing too, as they were full of crud and rust. 95% of the rocker was cut out of the passenger side and fortunately, the sheet metal was good on the rocker backing plate.



The entire panel was cleaned off, and the rebuild starts! Unfortunately, the rebuild also extended into the A-pillar as the top of the rocker panel where the A-pillar overlaps was also rotten out. To make matters worse, the hinge backing plate was damaged as well as the captive nuts were all broken on the original A-pillar. Rather than try to patch it, the entire A-pillar was also cut off to make things a bit easier to repair. Oh this is fun!

The replacement rocker panel was saved off a parts car, like nearly all roadster rockers it had rust in the normal spots, but nothing that could not be easily rebuilt. The unfortunate thing was it had also been cut in two at some point in its life, so I am going to have to re-skin it. At least the end caps were way better than the original 64 parts!

The rear section was clean on the top side, it just needed to have the old quarter panel seam ground off of it:



The underside is where the problem was. The quarter panel overlays this section, and the inevitable rust had started. Time to start cutting it all out:



If you notice the red marks, they show the two profiles that the underside of the rocker have. These were repaired in two different sections so when the replacement quarter panel is installed, it will sit flush with the rocker panel:



On the front section of the rocker panel, the donor panel also had rust where the A-pillar overlaps it:



This was carefully cut out (spot welds on the reinforcement plate were cut out:





A new piece was fabricated and welded in.

The underside of the rocker panel had rust damage from where the front fender overlaps the rocker panel-- you can see the exterior rust damage here:



The inside of the panel was clean, with just minor rust... all the rust was cut out and replaced with new sheet metal, which was also painted before being installed:



As I mentioned earlier, the original A-pillar was cut off and a donor 68 and later A-pillar was sourced. If you ever need to replace the A-pillar, get one from a high-windshield car as they have a reinforcement plate welded into them for better hinge support:



And here it is being mocked up using clecos to hold it into position as it is being welded:



Upon the advice from Dave B. the transmission tunnel was also modified to clear the SR gearbox. Here is the original profile before the sheet metal was moved over to provide clearance:





Once that was moved over, we did a test fit with a transmission with a SR bellhousing on it to see how things cleared. One of the nice things about having the body on a rotisserie is that it is easy to do this!





And last, but not least, a NOS quarter panel has been found! Thanks to Ross at Sports Imports and Mitch for bringing it down from Canada! It is now at the dippers getting the surface rust off of it so everything is nice and clean again!





That is all from here!

Michael

[notoptoy]

Beautiful work. thanks for all the pictures. I wish I had the metal working skills that you have!

[dbrick]

Nice Work, Michael! Can't believe you found an NOS qtr panel. The tunnel cut inspired me, I think I can do that on mine on a smaller scale to make a pocket for the bellhousing, remove a crescent shaped piece and bump the metal back into the cut. Also found out that the 5 speed speedometer cable needs a pocket cut in the trans tunnel even to fit the right angle drive! I guess I learn to weld this year!

BTW, are you using the Mazda rear or the stocker?

[spriso]

Quarter Panel Removal

Work continues on the "birthday present"... The car is off the rotisserie and has been mounted onto the frame which has been welded to a body cart. This will keep everything square and happy when the quarter panel is cut off of the car and it will make sure that the panels fit correctly when the body is mounted on the frame after coming back from paint.

Guy Byrd, a local panel fitter and vintage sheet metal wiz, came over today to help make sure that everything fits correctly-- we want to make sure that the new quarter panel fits correctly and the gaps are all correct-- I can't order a new one from Nissan if I screw this up!

We mounted the door, fender and trunk lid to make sure that the panel gaps were correct before cutting off the old quarter panel. Guy went to work, and soon the gaps were like they should be, and we were sure that the car was sitting square and straight on the frame.

Guy went to work with his die grinder and started cutting out spot welds:



The top edge then was lifted off:



I worked on the inner panel where the quarter panel is welded to the recess in the floor. You can see the previous brazing that was done to attach the old quarter panel during it's previous repair who knows how long ago... all of that will be ground off and smoothed out with a hammer and dolly before the new quarter panel is installed:



And here is how the car looks tonight. A bit naked without the quarter panel!







And the NOS quarter panel after coming back from Metalworks http://www.metaldipping.com-- all surface rust gone, everything clean and ready to install!



That is all from here!

Michael

[spriso]

Quarter Panel Installation

Today Guy and I installed the new quarter panel on the car. Last week we got everything stripped off, but we still needed to clean up the existing sheet metal and prep the areas for paint on the inside of the panels. This is the perfect time to seal all of this up with some paint before the new panel is welded on.

The edges were masked off and Zero Rust http://www.zero-rust.com was painted on the inside of the quarter panel structure:





The inside of the quarter panel was masked and painted on the front half (where the paint gun won't easily reach when the car is in color:



Then the panel was very carefully installed. This took several hours of fitting to get all the gaps and profiles right. Guy is an expert at this and I was really impressed with his methodical work.

A few hours later, this is what it looks like:





And the inside of the trunk:



Everything needs to be finish ground, but at last the major hurdle body wise is handled. A couple more weekends of metal work and the car will be ready to go to paint!

Michael

[notoptoy]

Once again stunning work. This car is really getting the top shelf treatment. I really appreciate the time you take to post this, and the great pictures and explanations!
Tom

[fixitman04]

mike , how did you get to the front side of the wheelwell? through the 3 circular holes?

[spriso]

mike , how did you get to the front side of the wheelwell? through the 3 circular holes?

The inside structure was drilled all the way through so we could plug weld the flange from the back side:



The quarter panel flange was left solid so when it was clamped together we could weld to the flange through the inner quarter panel (below the 3 holes):



We used a variety of vice grips through the 3 holes in the inner fender and were able to get everything nice and tight on the flange. It turned out great, with a nice and tight seam. It will get a little seam sealer when the car goes to paint and it should be good to go:

[George H]

Excellent build thread. I really enjoy reading and seeing the step by step procedure of a restoration like this. I frequent a few sites that show restorations but I like it better if it's a roadster.

[datsun1500]

I know you are a swap guy but if my 1500 ever goes in for a body restoration I want to drop it off to you...

[spriso]

Driver's Rocker Panel Rebuild, Part 1

When we originally got this car, the driver's rocker panel was looking a bit thin, and we cut access holes so we could flush out the dirt and rust, and so it could flush out what was left.

When we got the car back from dipping, there was lots of evidence that there was advanced corrosion on the inside of the panel working its way from the inside out. To do the job right, all of this needed to be cut off...

A shot of the inside of the rocker panel-- you can see how thin things were:



The green is converted rust, there was no way that I could get to the inside of the rocker to get all of that out:



The top of the sill plate also was rusting from the inside out -- see the extra holes:



And the rear of the rocker where the quarter panel overlaps the rocker panel was also very thin (with rust holes):



So, out came the plasma cutter and a few minutes later, the rocker panel was off the car so I could figure out what I have to deal with (you can see the dirt level on the rocker panel backing plate):



Looking back at the rear of the rocker, you can see how packed with dirt/rust this area was as well:



The wire wheel made short work of the crusty remains (though the shop is a terrible mess!)

Here is where we are as of tonight. The rocker panel is off the car. I still need to get the remains on the inside of the quarter panel, but that should not be too big of a deal. I have a rebuilt rocker panel to put back on the car and I will get that process documented when it occurs:



Thanks to everyone for their kind words-- I have been trying to slow down and take more images to share of the body rebuild-- it can be hard to stop the work (and the shop is a disaster with all the dust and crud in the air!) but I figure this is important stuff for people who might not have been down this road before...

Michael

[fixitman04]

as a experianced badyman, i dread starting on my body repairs. your photos are inspirational, keep them coming!

[notoptoy]

As an IN-experienced body man, I really appreciate the time you take to document and post all of this. Your step by step break-down makes it seem much less daunting. (Daunting nonetheless, just less-so!!)

This is GOOD Stuff, thanks!