I pulled off the wipers and that grill in front of the windshield.  It very rusty in there around the wiper motor but looks like its not rusted thru so if I can remove the rust  and paint I can save that area.  I was thinking to power wash and sand blast but then I got to wondering where would all that water go?  So before I fill up some area with water and grungy stuff can someone tell me, will it flow thru to below firewall and out?   It must flow thru since those louvers would have let water in on a heavy rain.

The plenum below the cowl has a large drain hose at each end the empties into the inner fender area behind the splash shield and ahead of the door pillar.  Without the fender off you cannot see this outlet..  If the car has spent a lot of time outdoors there is always some chance that debris has collected at these drains and might be partially/completely blocking them.  Consider going in with something less powerful than a power wash to make sure the drains are open - an ordinary hose will do.   FYI - these L-shaped drains are routed thru the cabin.  Look up under the dash at the base of the windshield to spot them.  Here's a pic of my car during tear-down, the large hole in front of the door is where the drain pops out.

I found another pic that shows the drain hoses inside the cabin

great!  tks for that photo.  Its going to be tricky as it is to scrub off the rust but at least I know now that it can be drained away.  I'm thinking about stripping that area  down and going back with POR15.  That would make the area black, but it should be bullet proof then if not authentic.  It amazing that little plastic pocket that contains the wiper motor seems to be ok.  The car  sat around for about 3 years outside so its taken some abuse.  My bad.

Your color was not very common.  Is it a bronze?

Glad the explanation helps.  The color is Nissan 920 - Safari Gold, used in 1970-71.  it was also used on Datsun vehicles other than Z's.

looks great. in that photo it looks like the 918 oragne, but it could be my monitor not being accurate.

 

Those cowl drain lines can crack with age. Also the area around the fresh air intake on the passenger side is prone to rust. Sometimes all the way through. Take the floor mats out if you can so you can tell if water is coming into the car from the cowl area. Don't get too much water into the cowl before you are sure it is draining the direction you want it to

Floor mats are definitely out.  I'm going to have to replace portions of the floor pan if not the whole pan due to rust.  That may be a source of some of the water leading to rust.  I have almost concluded that I can replace portions of the floor pan with the tranny and engine in.  I'm anxious to get them in so the car can move around under its own power but I was reluctant to do that if the rust went over to the tunnel which it doesn't seem to.

Love that color man.. looks good!

I looked again and just noticed that bumper.  Is that a painted bumper or is it some kind of plastic bumper?  I know restoration is cool but I really like that bumper and air dam except I'm afraid I'd break it on a parking space divider.  I have to admit that the color looks better than the 918.  Perhaps its more current these days.

18 minutes ago, hls3073z said:

I looked again and just noticed that bumper.  Is that a painted bumper or is it some kind of plastic bumper?  I know restoration is cool but I really like that bumper and air dam except I'm afraid I'd break it on a parking space divider.  I have to admit that the color looks better than the 918.  Perhaps its more current these days.

Jim is the original owner of that car. It is immaculate and has the trophy to prove it! It now has new shiny bumpers in lieu of the painted ones.

11 hours ago, hls3073z said:

I looked again and just noticed that bumper.  Is that a painted bumper or is it some kind of plastic bumper?  I know restoration is cool but I really like that bumper and air dam except I'm afraid I'd break it on a parking space divider.  I have to admit that the color looks better than the 918.  Perhaps its more current these days.

The bumpers are my OE units that I had shaved and painted body color during my resto some years ago, swapped out recently as @Patcon says.  The front dam is a 1st generation BRE Spook used by BRE only in 1970 before being replaced by the design now commonly seen.  This one was installed by my selling dealer before I bought the car and I've been told it may be the last in existence.  I've heard the color being described in several different ways but 918 Orange is a first.   Tweak your monitor settings to get the car to look more like a butterscotch candy and you'll be close.   Good luck with your project.