13 minutes ago, w3wilkes said:

If you still want the bumper installed picks here's 3 shots of the bumper/valance spacing on my series 1 car, both sides and center. Looks like it's about 3/8's all the way across.

Thank you for that! It's nice to see it's consistent with the bumper curve. I had roughly 3/8" on the ends and 3/4" in the middle. I suspected it was 3/8" all the way across.

Merry Christmas

So 4 hours spent stripping panels on Satuday

the epoxy primer was really difficult to get off. Also I don't know what Nissan used a s seam sealer, it's sort of beige, but it's really tough stuff even 50 years later

Also "Lizard Skin" takes some work to get off too. It is basically a rubber type product when it dries

You can see where I worked on the center section in the past. That must have been my old welder because the new welder makes better welds than that. It's hard to see in the pictures but the panel has a lot of dents and warping

I worked on the sub frame some on Sunday afternoon

So this is where I am starting at

I had already pulled the floor pan back out at this point

We got one side pulled out but the drivers side, that took most of the impact, wouldn't come all the way out

The drivers side bumper mount had been pushed back and no amount of slamming on that hammer was going to move it. So more spot weld cutting!

the results

It will take some dolly work now, but I will wait on the new bumper before I refine it.

The new problem is after several hours of dolly work on the rear panel it looks much better. But it needs some shrinking and where I welded in my patch I set the curve in the incorrect shape. I will probably have to slit it and reshape it so it will fit the car properly

Pretty awesome work!  Clearly time-consuming and often frustrating.

1 hour ago, jfa.series1 said:

Pretty awesome work!  Clearly time-consuming and often frustrating.

Thanks!

Yes, it can be frustrating.

Here is the latest frustration.

The car got wider above and below the floor!!!!

I don't see how that's possible

The slam panel aught to go all the way to the yellow line, it's about 1/16" short now

The lower valance aught to cover all the rust and there is a small tear that aught to fit into the corresponding rip

This is probably off by an 1/8"

The car doesn't really flex. I don't know if I can pull it back together. I also don't see how the car could have gotten wider from the pulling. If anything it should have gotten narrower. ?

 

I'm not a body guy but it might be that when you removed the rear panels it released some tension that resulted from the collision.

2 hours ago, jfa.series1 said:

I'm not a body guy but it might be that when you removed the rear panels it released some tension that resulted from the collision.

I considered that.

I got the top pulled together with out too much trouble

The bottom, not so much. I got a lot of it back, but not all of it. There is a good bit of tension on that chain

I need to figure out a solution for these clips

The little clips that hold the tail light finisher are actually a loose piece. They are just clipped onto the brackets.

Anybody got any ideas?

I would think someone could find a suitable replacement. @240260280 Hoover??

I also worked on the rear finisher trim. I wanted to get the trim off so I could strip the panels and paint them. I did manage to get it off. So I can clean it and polish it. Then I will reinstall it, I hope.

My two big concerns are, can I get it back on and will it scrape the paint off when it goes back on. We'll see...

 

Edited January 1, 20196 yr by Patcon

Watch out for the tail width and the bumpers.  A 240z I restored had fibreglass quarters installed many years ago and they were wider than stock. The bumper fit very close:

I'll have a look for clips.

Maybe a call to this company: https://www.stanleyengineeredfastening.com/fasteners/metal-clips

I wondered about width as an issue. I am waiting on the bumpers to come in to verify everything is correct.

That rear valance is looking a bit like FrankenZ with all that stitching!   I've always been too chicken to try and remove the stainless trim on the rear finisher.  I choose to blue tape it for my refinish work.  Two sets completed and on the shelf now.

Edited January 2, 20196 yr by jfa.series1

14 minutes ago, jfa.series1 said:

That rear valance is looking a bit like FrankenZ with all that stitching!   I've always been too chicken to try and remove the stainless trim on the rear finisher.  I choose to blue tape it for my refinish work.  Two sets completed and on the shelf now.

I thought about that, but they was some rust near by and I was concerned it was underneath the trim. Hoping if I go this route and remove all the rust. What did you use for refinishing the panels?

Also, as an aside, these panels are EASILY bent. They can also be straightened by hand if needed.