So I worked on the differential brace some more.

I finally got the 3/8" steel from the machine shop a couple of weeks ago. He gave it to me free because it took so long.

The sides had some beveling to them so I had to do some clean up first

I checked a little more and then let Cody MIG it up for me. He was gonna TIG it but the MIG was close by so we went that route

n it

Cody wasn't pleased with the welds because the feed was being a little erratic, probably because the wire was dirty. I will do a little clean up on it and make it black.Should be fine for what I'm trying to do. I can post up the CAD file for the plate if anyone is interested

 

So I ordered some badges a little while back because, you know it's yellow now. Why not?

I bought them out of the UK

I think the hood badge looks ok?

The hatch emblems are different. They use double sided tape. I'm not sure how I feel about that. The vendor said there were a number of reasons they felt this was better and I could call. I didn't want to do that at a $1 or 2 a minute. If somebody potentially in the UK is interested I can provide the number.

I'm pretty pleased with the qtr emblems. They seem correct?

The fender emblems were a disappointment. They look nice but they are way too small! Also doubled sided tape...

13 hours ago, Patcon said:

The hatch emblems are different. They use double sided tape. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Personally i like the double tape emblems as the holes in the panels always are a rust risk..  My own resto 280zx has not a single emblem as i like to let the people guess what it is .. (in europe these cars are much less around.)  But i do have the complete set for the car in a extra booklet! (that way they stay nice haha as the car is used through all year..)

Differential link

Tried to locate parts in the shop today. I found the correct dash. Some of the rubber parts and some misc stuff. I also put some small rubber parts on.

I predrilled these with a 0.140" bit first

I might need to clarify, I installed the little rubber gas door bumpers

I also installed the throttle boot, choke cable boot and heater hose grommets

I also ran these under hot water to separate them.

\

I have to figure out the best way to get the yellow goop off the lenses. What have other people used to reassemble the lens to the case?

Once I get them clean, I will buff them and buy new trim pieces for the middle of the lens

These are original JDM lights and they appear to have a black strip down the center. I am assuming this is paint and not integral to the lens?? It appears to be on the inside of the lens. Anyone know?

Edited December 18, 20222 yr by Patcon

5 hours ago, Patcon said:

Tried to locate parts in the shop today. I found the correct dash. Some of the rubber parts and some misc stuff. I also put some small rubber parts on.

I predrilled these with a 0.140" bit first

I might need to clarify, I installed the little rubber gas door bumpers

I also installed the throttle boot, choke cable boot and heater hose grommets

I also ran these under hot water to separate them.

\

I have to figure out the best way to get the yellow goop off the lenses. What have other people used to reassemble the lens to the case?

Once I get them clean, I will buff them and buy new trim pieces for the middle of the lens

These are original JDM lights and they appear to have a black strip down the center. I am assuming this is paint and not integral to the lens?? It appears to be on the inside of the lens. Anyone know?

Hi Patcon, I checked mine and yes it seems painted flat black on center from inside. This set of the tail light is used ones so I cleaned and polished. I have isobutylene-isoprene rubber, it is sticky so I will try using it for docking the lens and the case.

Kats

How is the firewall pad mounted? Some metal tabs and a couple of screws? No adhesive??

I would suggest you use glazier's mastic 'rope' as the sealant between the tail light lens and housing.  It'll provide all the seal that you need and it's not so sticky as to make future disassembly a problem.  The alternative is liquid window caulking.  There is a 'strippable' version (clear) that would probably be a better bet than the more permanent types.

Don't overlook the little drain holes at the bottom of each lens.  Each drain hole should be fitted with a small rectangle of felt (cut to shape from a sheet of 1/8" thickness, purchasable from a crafts store like Michael's).   The purpose of the felt is to keep small, uninvited visitors (spiders, etc.) from setting up house inside your tail light assembly. 

The lenses will come up nicely with buffing.  Try not to buff away the raised manufacturer's info.  You'll need to leave that area as-is.

2 hours ago, Namerow said:

I would suggest you use glazier's mastic 'rope' as the sealant between the tail light lens and housing.  It'll provide all the seal that you need and it's not so sticky as to make future disassembly a problem.  The alternative is liquid window caulking.  There is a 'strippable' version (clear) that would probably be a better bet than the more permanent types.

Don't overlook the little drain holes at the bottom of each lens.  Each drain hole should be fitted with a small rectangle of felt (cut to shape from a sheet of 1/8" thickness, purchasable from a crafts store like Michael's).   The purpose of the felt is to keep small, uninvited visitors (spiders, etc.) from setting up house inside your tail light assembly. 

The lenses will come up nicely with buffing.  Try not to buff away the raised manufacturer's info.  You'll need to leave that area as-is.

Good ideas, I will use the "rope" sealant method on my tail light housings whenever I get to that point on the resto of my 1970. Thanks for posting!

12 hours ago, Patcon said:

How is the firewall pad mounted? Some metal tabs and a couple of screws? No adhesive??

No screws that I recall, except for the components that attach to the firewall. When I took the insulation off the firewall of my 7/70 I found that there was some adhesive, but not as much as was attaching the insulation to the transmission tunnel. I did notice that the cutouts in the firewall insulation were a tight fit to the firewall metal protrusions for attaching components, which aids in holding the insulation in place. Here are a few pics of mine, I am lucky in that I can reuse my insulation as it came off in decent shape.

Edited December 22, 20222 yr by CanTechZ

Somebody made a jig recently to flatten warped tail lights. Does anyone know where that thread is?

23 hours ago, CanTechZ said:

When I took the insulation off the firewall of my 7/70 I found that there was some adhesive, but not as much as was attaching the insulation to the transmission tunnel. I did notice that the cutouts in the firewall insulation were a tight fit to the firewall metal protrusions for attaching components, which aids in holding the insulation in place.

This is the same as what I found when removing the insulator pads from my 5/70 -- light, patchy use of adhesive but most relying on the mechanical support from those square tabs.  I think the adhesive is used to prevent bagging, while the tabs provide the main vertical support.

If your insulator pad(s) are shot, I can provide you with some notes on how I made new ones from scratch.  I was quite happy with the end result.

Edited December 23, 20222 yr by Namerow
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