Spend much of the weekend continuing with my tar mat template project. Almost finished with the preliminary test fitting of the transmission tunnel templates. Hopefully just have to do one more round of adjustments to my cad file and then plot full size in one piece to do a final test fit. Actually two pieces, there is a front section and rear section that overlap. This has definitely proven to be the most time consuming part of the job.

Luckily my drafting table and computer are in my office that is directly connected to the garage. As you can see I'm using all available space for parts.

I just finished up the last of the tar mat templates and uploaded them to our cad files section in downloads.

Today I started removing decals in the engine bay. The emissions decal under the hood and the paint code decal from the upper rad support. So far I have removed the paint code decal successfully in one piece. Has anyone reused these decals, I was surprised that this first one came off so good. Before I started I took a couple of pics to document the size and original position.

 

To remove the paint code decal I used a razor blade and a heat gun (on low). First lightly heating the whole decal and then carefully using the razor blade to lift one corner. Then applied more heat and used the blade to continue lifting until I could hold the corner by hand to apply light tension and use the blade to aid in lifting. I stopped every few minutes to re heat and in about a half hour it was off.

 

 Hopefully the emissions decal will come off this nice as well. Even if I don't end up using them, they will be good for reference.

Happy to report that the emissions decal also came off with no damage.

While reviewing the pictures I took of my decals on my computer using Google Photos, I noticed a button on the screen reading "Copy text from image". It's only there if the picture has text. So I clicked the button and found that it uses Google Lens to select and copy the image text to your clipboard. I was very surprised at how well it worked on an image that had glare on it. I will have to learn what else Google Lens can do.

 

This would be very useful to extract the text if you were creating your own decals.

Last weekend prompted by @inline6's topic about preventing rust in Z's lower front fenders I decided to remove mine to do some investigating. here is a link to that thread:

https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/66010-preventing-rust-in-the-zs-lower-front-fenders/#comments

In addition to looking at the fenders, I did this to inspect areas that are hidden by the fenders, like the upper frame rails, AKA air horns, and get a good look at the firewall to frame rail area. And also the inner fender above the T/C box that very common for rust. Yesterday I removed the patches that had been installed on my first resto in 1982. My body guy back then did a quick and dirty job in that area, as I was on a very tight budget being a student, however didn't think it would be as shoddy as I have found. It's still fixable but will be a few more $$$. On the plus side the OE fenders I put on in 1982 are still in great condition. Here are a few pictures of what I found. I must caution you that some of the images are disturbing. Lol

+

Last year I purchased a pair of these repair parts for this area from Auto Panel Solutions in the UK,

However I noticed that KF Vintage JDM now offers a full length repair option for this area that includes the pocket and reinforcement at the crossmember mount, which I need as well. Decisions, decisions?

https://kfvintagejdm.com/shop/datsun/front-inner-fender-lower-repair-section-6-inches-right-side/

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 21, 20213 yr by CanTechZ

Ouch mike... 

yes I saw these from KF, going to get them for mine, but your APS ones should be of high quality too. 

dare say your handling might be improved once you add some chassis rigidity! 😜

1 hour ago, 240ZBUILTBYME said:

Ouch mike... 

yes I saw these from KF, going to get them for mine, but your APS ones should be of high quality too. 

dare say your handling might be improved once you add some chassis rigidity! 😜

Thanks Ryan, I definitely agree with you about chassis rigidity I'm sure that whether I go with APS or KF it will make a big difference.

Cheers, Mike

Just received the funky green parts I ordered from Klassic Fab on Black Friday. Thanks to Gerson of @kfvintagejdm, for offering us these awesome parts. They will go a long way to fix the issues in the posts above.

 

Here's one more reason why I need them.....

 

 

Edited December 8, 20213 yr by CanTechZ

I struggle to get embedded videos to play but rails that look like that are normally really bad on the inside

55 minutes ago, Patcon said:

I struggle to get embedded videos to play but rails that look like that are normally really bad on the inside

They definitely are bad. I was still surprised at how easily an awl poked through. 

12 hours ago, CanTechZ said:

Just received the funky green parts I ordered from Klassic Fab on Black Friday. Thanks to Gerson of @kfvintagejdm, for offering us these awesome parts. They will go a long way to fix the issues in the posts above.

 

Here's one more reason why I need them.....

 

 

The late Colin Chapman would have referred to this as 'adding lightness'.  So, a good thing 🙂