Cody's Goon

[Patcon]

I am 99% that Z trim won't work. The 510 windshield has a lot less curvature at the bottom.

24 minutes ago, Terrapin Z said:

I have a bunch of Z stainless if that will work for you. I might have a source for 510 stainless I can check with if needed. 

Please, if it's not a major problem

[Terrapin Z]

12 hours ago, Patcon said:

I am 99% that Z trim won't work. The 510 windshield has a lot less curvature at the bottom.

Please, if it's not a major problem

My friend has the trim, he wants $200.00 for the full set. About par with most 240 trim I see on eBay.

He is not very far from me. Shipping will be interesting, kind of a wide flat box. I'm sure they would call oversize. 

Let me know if you are interested. You might want to find something more local.

[Patcon]

Thanks, I will let you know

[Patcon]

So I should've taken pictures first!! Sometimes I get "tunnel vision"...

The lower windshield trim on Cody's car was bashed in about 8" or 9" wide right in the middle of the windshield. It was so caved it it was concave instead of convex. So I had reached out to the forum to source this trim. @Terrapin Zhad responded with a good source for it, but we may have a lead on a parts car and I hate the idea of buying a new set of trim and then ending up with a parts car on top of that! So I figured I didn't have anything to lose by trying to straighten what I had...

So off to YouTube

All the videos on YouTube are pretty much dealing with vintage American cars. The trim on these cars is so much thicker and heavier than our Datsun trim. I wasn't really very hopeful..

So out came the tools

So an assortment of punches, a body hammer and a flat file. A finer file would have been a plus.

So I started dollying the dents out of the back of the trim. The main tool I used was the brass punch that I shaved the edges off of. I used it from the back of the trim on a piece of leather and chucked up into the vise as an anvil. I made pretty good progress but could get the convex shape back in the trim. So I shaped a little diviot in a 1x4 and used that as a buck and dollied the trim against the divot with the brass punch. Lot's of little light strikes, hundreds...

So at this point the shape is pretty close but not smooth. So here comes the file. Now our trim is super thin! So you are very limited on how much filing you can do. If you cut through it, the trim is pretty much ruined. I filed till it was pretty smooth and then I used a sharpie to mark the backside of the spots that needed more work. Then a little more filing. Then I started sanding the front to try to get rid of the filing marks. A finer file would have made this easier. I used the end of the 1x4 to rest the trim on while sanding. I had to have a helper hold the trim while I sanded and you have to use a good bit of pressure because the trim is really hard.

So then I buffed it a low speed with a first and second cut

You have to be really careful buffing this stuff, because the buffer will take it away from you in a heartbeat.

 

So I was really pleased with the results. There are still some file scratches in the piece that I could probably remove with more sanding work but they are only visible if you get really close. So I buffed it at low speed with a first and second buff.

 

It's hard to see the flaws in the trim with the cell phone camera but it is very presentable

Here is the damaged area from the back, and yes it is that rough

and a pristine rear section

Overall really pleased!!

Once it's in the weatherstrip, only about half of it shows so it should serve the purpose for now and we can keep moving forward

Edited April 18, 2021 by Patcon

[Patcon]

Yesterday we put the rear quarter windows in.

They can be quite interesting. The seals came from Datsport in Aus, Baz is the only supplier as far as I know.

They can vary some in length because the accute corner angles are made by hand.

We finally figured out it works best to start with the really sharp upper corner. Work your way down and around the bottom. Get the top in from the upper corner about 6". Then finish on the rounder upper rear corner. it would be really easy to break a corner off of these.

 

[Patcon]

Today we did the windshield now that I have all the stainless ready

It's always surprising how much encouragement rubber seals take to get into the right place

such a fine balance between force and broken glass!

 

[S30Driver]

Did you start the string at the bottom and work around to the top?    Did you have thee Lisle tool to put the trim in?   Looks great, by the way! 

[Patcon]

Yes, we started in the middle bottom and finished on top near my hands in those pics. We just did the trim by hand before we set the glass. Wasn't really a problem

[S30Driver]

Definitely the way to go with the trim installed before setting the glass in the body.   That little trim tool is a great investment for under 10 bucks.  Eliminates the chance of nicking or tearing the rubber seal.   Glad you had no issues.

Will be a big hit in Colo at Zcon if you and Cody bring it .... 

[Patcon]

I need to find some parts...

Defrost boots

Also need fresh air vents

Need the inner glove box too

Thanks, C

[Patcon]

So Cody was tinkering with his car some today. I have a question now. When the left rear window is rolled all the way up you can see the metal bracket that holds the glass. Is this correct? On the front drivers side it doesn't look like that.

Left rear

Front left

 

[grannyknot]

Unfortunately, yes. The inside rubber wiper strip actually rides up on the window bracket when the window is rolled all the way up.  You have to clean out the recess on the top of the inside door so the lip of the rubber wiper can seat in there but if you don't run a bead of cement in the recess the window bracket can lift the wiper completely out. Not great design but it was their lowest price car at the time.