geezer

Randy, I thought the damage would have been much lower than that. If that is the extent of it, you should not have a problem fabricating a single piece to repair this. You will probably find that the battery tray will need to be removed. All other spot welds on the piece being replaced must be seperated also. Plan it out and make a template out of stiff cardboard or bristol board from a craftshop, allowing you to test fit until perfect. It would be best to replace the metal all the way to the cowl, so to not have a seam to hide on that end. You should be able to form a piece that is virtually invisible after being welded in if planned out properly.

The emblem seen on this prototype with the steep windscreen rake doesn't show up very well. I always thought it said NISSAN. Is that the same as the one in your S30 prototype pic Chris? I think this was possibly the earliest, even before the body design was finalized.

Can you draw the hole to be repaired on this pic? It may be easier to form in more than one piece and you could possibly do it yourself. The metal is stretched thinner in this area left of the battery tray because of the stamping process. When I removed the haphazard repair made by a previous owner mine looked like swiss cheese and what was left was paper thin. Is this a car you are considering buying, or did buy?

Congrats! That's pretty cool! Later on, if you can, post some pics. You are right; the quality of the paper & print in the magazines I have from Japan is second to none. Sounds like they did you proud.

Randy, You have been around the block a few times now and know exactly where to look for rust, so I'm assuming you just need help with this large hole. Other than having someone cut out the corresponding piece from a solid donor, there is no other source for a replacement panel that I'm aware of. I would suggest bringing the car to a local tin knocker who would be able to custom form a replacement piece. It is a tricky panel to form in one piece because the metal has to be worked in opposing directions, but can be done.

It looks like all we can see of Dad is a substantial beer gut. Makes sense; make a wise money saving car purchase = more beer! This picture reminds me of a New Car Show of the day, with the plastic sample bags and brochures, but you would have seen the same at a dealership. It just looks like a high traffic area because of the debris on the floor and the trash filled ashtray.

Good find Mike! The woman wearing the fur reminds me of my mother in 1966. She doesn't look out of place in a Datsun dealership to me. Even though, women in 1966 were very frugal, well off or not. They made a great deal of the major purchase decisions, including cars back then. "Cute" probably factored in moreso than other model specific information. That doesn't look to be the Service Garage area of the dealership, if it is indeed a dealership. It looks to be a young fella looking under the hood. The assembly poster is interesting and appears to be depicting the body drop, where the bodies merge with and drop onto the engine assemblies, before continuing on the flat line.

Kats, I would guess that only a limited number of these early emblems were produced initially because a final design decision had not yet been made. Another thought that comes to mind, would be the transition of production of the emblems, from a design studio to a mass production vendor. I'm sure that there will be a different explanation for each emblem, complete with a personal flair. I look forward to the answer.

Will, I had the same concerns about light damage when it came to putting my guitars on display. The glass shop recommended a slightly tinted glass that really doesn't seem to impair the viewing but protects against damaging light. Kind of a crummy pic but it does have Z content. I'm a bad one to give advise; all my posters are in tubes:(

It would be interesting to see the process used to punch these parts out. On some pieces I noticed evidence of hand forming also, indicating the equipment is most likely very old and additional work is needed for final shaping. I mentioned in an earlier post, the difference in the crispness of detail from a genuine Nissan piece. It's doubtful anyone else would ever make the capital investment to compete for such a small market. We are just lucky to still have an outfit such as Tabco and guys like Charlie Osborne and John from Baddog. Now if we could get someone to replicate pieces to take care of the rusted areas such as lower rear hatch opening, area of battery tray & cowl etc. it would help save a few more Zs.

Studying a sketch is not as good as studying a photo, but these sketches don't seem to have any "window dressing" for the sake of art but leave you wanting to see what has not been drawn. Carl: There very well may have been more than just the 2 lifting points that are depicted. I have seen quite a few of these hoists and most have 4. Tomo: That is a novel idea, but the original brochures/pamphlets where these originated are probably rarer than hen's teeth and Im not sure how much resolution you could get from scans. Will: The body/shell being built in sections and then being brought together is what I'm trying to nail down. Precisely, the sequence of assembly/events. Some of it is obvious, some not so clear. Not important, but fun to do. I think that there are way too many misconceptions about VINs and if anyone wants to discuss that, it would take a seperate thread, because I will talk your ears off and possibly make you a believer. Alan: I assumed that was one of your photos, but not sure. It is a great shot of a rare piece most of us will never see in person. Thanks for the link to the caged nut discussion. I have never read that thread in it's entirety before, and found myself nodding in agreement, while reading your explanation. Any and all photos, are sure to be appreciated by myself and everyone else. This site is the best on the planet, and the quality and volumne of the photos has much to do with that fact. Chris: We don't hear from Dan much, but when you do, be sure to thank him on our behalf for such great photos and material, and thank you for your work enhancing them and sharing. Steve: I have never seen "sail panel" used in any official Nissan literature or parts lists. It must be a term that just caught on? It is actually just a part of the quarter panel. I would think it relates to the shape. PS Steve: What you took to be a brake rotor and hub assembly (kinda looks like it) is actually one of the two drive motors for the hoist. And that is better than just a guess on my part.

It could only be better if we could place bets on the outcome.:laugh:

Very nice! I like the subtle color combination. Tasteful but not overstated,,,no wait,,,that's the wine I'm drinking.:lick: Good luck with the reassembly!

Hi Luis, very nice looking ride! It looks to be a well preserved survivor and not a restoration. Thanks for sharing the pics and don't wait another 3 years to post again.

Simple Green is a great choice for removing what does not belong, but I would like to warn you of the mistake I once made. I had a number of small parts soaking in a very strong solution of Simple Green (concentrated form) and didn't get back to them till the next day. They were void of all the original paint that I didn't intend on removing. Ahh..live and learn. Good stuff though.

For the sake of clarity, the picture of the factory roll bar was posted just to illustrate it's mounting points. Maybe I should have found a pic of just the captured nuts minus the roll bar. Other than the quarter glass and framing there is no B-post on an S30; just an A-post and a C-post (better known as a sail panel). A brake rotor would be highly out of place. I think you are right about the balance point.

I take great pleasure studying and analyzing old file photos, sketches, illustrations etc. of all the different models of the S30 in the production, testing, shipping, or just new and still in the unmolested state, when I come across them, as I know many others on this board do. For the purpose of discussion I didn’t know where to put this, thus the new thread. I would like to hear the thoughts of others, to help us better understand. Recently 26thZ (Chris) posted some very interesting photos & sketches that warrant some careful study. Some of them seem to create more questions than answers. I am going to touch on a few of these, and would love to hear other opinions. First up: This sketch captured my imagination for a number of reasons. Keep in mind this is only opinion and may not stand up in court. The first thing I noticed is, this sketch was depicting an offline metal shop repair station. The body/shell is suspended by an electric powered hoist which is used to lift the body/shell out of sequence, off of the assembly line and place it into a metal repair stall. It is situated over a large safety stand. There is a control box for the hoist shown with 4 buttons on it. Up, down, forward & back. The hoist control box cable is suspended on a balancer, so you can reach up and easily pull it down to waist level to operate. A few different capacity welding gas bottles are shown. From my inspection of the wire welds on my Z, I would venture the guess that CO2 was used, and not an argon mix. It creates a harder weld with less flexibility. Can’t tell what is on the floor on the right. OK, this is what I think I know. Now, for what I am puzzled by. In the sketch the front frame rails are not shown. Do you suppose this can be written off as artistic license, given the style of the sketch or do you think at this point in the build, when the body/shell was taken out of sequence, off the line, the front frame rails and all other pieces forward of the cowl, actually have not been added yet? I’m trying to guess where the lifting balance point would be without anything yet fastened ahead of the cowl. I have an opinion on this, but no evidence to support it. Next up, is the controversial question of the factory roll bar mounting points that are present on all cars, even if a roll bar was not called for. Some believe these mounting points must have had another purpose, possibly being used as an assembly aid or frame-up set point. On first look at this sketch, I thought…ahh!...looks like a spreader bar mounted to this location, but I’m not convinced. Could this just be the luggage riser depicted or..? I look forward to your best guesses even if they are more “off the wall” than mine. I’m sorry but I don’t know who to credit for the photo.

These tips will not be as quiet as the stock muffler. What is pleasing to us guys, just doesn't cut it with the "better half" though. The upstream pre-muffler and it's location is what controls the undesireable drone at certain RPM,s. I don't think it'll be much louder and cause you to end up in divorce court. They do have a provision for gas expansion built into them, just not as much as a stock muffler.

That's awesome Mike! You have accumilated some real Z treasure as well as primo BRE memorabilia. And to get it directly from the source, priceless. Memories that will last a lifetime!

Good points Zak. Also as JimmyZ mentioned in your other thread Bob, sandblasting is not a good method of paint removal on a Z. It is best to spend a day with some good quality "skull & crossbone" stripper and a respirator. Don't worry about removing every little bit of paint in corners or tight spots. The metal is better reinforced in these areas, so it is safe and much easier to sandblast these areas. Rust removal is where a sandblaster rules. The guy doing your sandblasting probably knows all this, unless he's new at it. What kind of facility and equipment is he using?

Bob, I learned a long time ago that white sandblasted sheet metal doesn't need any further chemical etching to promote adhesion. I do agree on the need for a clean surface before coating. PPG has never steered me wrong yet.

My first choice for removing as you describe "light overspray" is WD40 and one of those kitchen scrubbing pads, like a scotch brite but not as abrasive. Even get one out of the kitchen your already using if you want even less abrasiveness. I get no name brand ones at the dollar store. Follow up with a soap & water solution. Like E says, try the soap & water first though.

Zak: Is that the beautiful pristine early '71 dash you showed me at the swap meet last year? You haven't sold it yet? Alan: Your observations fit exactly with what I am familiar with. Right up to my retirement almost 8 years ago, the same type of overhead line, supporting a fixture was used to convey the instrument panels during their build. I have seen both the ones used by GM and Chrysler. They are the same design. I will try to describe them and how they work. The IP skeletons came from the Vendor in large racks holding more than a hundred, hanging lengthwise and nestled together. They were seperated by various protector strips which were removed and returned to the vendor for reuse. There were as many as a dozen different IPs so that made for a lot of racks taking up a lot of space. As I mentioned before, these IP lines were circular or oval. so once an IP was removed from the carrier jig and installed into a car it continued on and was reloaded with a new IP blank to be built. The carrier jigs consisted of no more than 2" square tube frames with locating pins at either end. There were 3 fixed camlock design hand clamps used to lock down the IPs. When loaded onto the carrier jig and clamped they were in the same natural, horizontal position, as if they were mounted in a car. On the ends of these square tube frames the fixtures were equipt with bearings so that the complete fixture and IP could be easily rotated while suspended by the uprights at either end. There was a spring tension cog & pin mechanism operated by a hand lever at one end, to release and lock into the desired position. This made it possible to place the IP safely in about a dozen positions on the horizontal axis for ease of assembly. In an overhead view you would see all these carriers in many different positions. So in conclusion, I can see how writing on the panels could be awkward and strained as it wasn't feasible to position the panel just for the purpose of writing on it. There could be someone else working on it while someone else is trying to write on it. I will comment on the steering columns later.

I can only generalize the use of these various markings. I am not knowledgable in the ways of Nissan. These cars were built long before the inception of ISO, so each manufacturer more or less had their own methods of verification. Basically, in an assembly operation such as the S30, where there are a number of model variances, vitually every part that had a counterpart for use in another market or every part that had an optional replacement for it, a method of ease of identification was nessesary. Picture a vehicle assembly line with work stations spaced along it. The stock needed for each and every possible build requirement was on hand. To aid in the proper part selection a variety of methods were used. It could be code stickers, paper tags, paint dabs, chalk marks, grease pencil, markers etc. Whatever method was used, it was meant to be highly visable and recognizable by all other workers stationed downstream from this operation. A mistake or wrong part installed doesn't usually get by without being noticed. Most of these markings came into the plant from the vendors. It was a design specification. This didn't address your question Chris but I thought it would help to point out some of the reasons for various markings. All auto assembly operations I have seen or have been a part of, used a method of marking the underbody/chassis components in a somewhat permanent manner. I have sandblasted my share of chassis components in my own restorations and some of these markings, paint dabs/slashes are still there after blasting. For the most part, other than part identification, the majority of underbody/chassis markings are used for torque verifications. I really don't recall any other reasons. All we can do is continue to share & compare what we find.