Build thread 444: In rust we trust

[datsun-s30]

Right on man, thank you. It's a rust bucket for sure. I've heard people say buy a car with the least repairs possible, and you'll save time and money. Which I agree with, except that I'm having way too much fun fixing this car, learning a new skill and getting intimately acquainted with one of the best cars made in my opinion. That and I'm putting a car that would otherwise have probably ended up as a parts car or worse, back on the road. The only thing that could make it better, would be to work on it with my dad, as you and your son are doing. That's just awesome.

Alright, back to work...

So in one of the last pictures you can see that I put a flange the metal that I cut above the frame rail. I did this because I thought with such a large panel in such an important place, that a butt weld may not be as structurally sound, especially with my welding skills at this time. So I opted for an overlap and thought that I should flange the steel with this tool I made for a couple bucks. Super simple, super cheap.




The replacement panel I fabricated welded in place nice too.




And as I'm sure you've noticed, the suspension mounting bracket isn't the one that came on the car. Well, the original was so bad...




That I had to fabricate a new one. I actually made a wooden mold and hammered one into shape. Which looked the part and probably would have worked, but I decided in favor of this one instead. It took me about three days to make these because of that.






I spot welded it to keep the distortion down, and even though it's solid, it could look better.




Now I just got to fill the gaping hole where the battery would go.

[AZhitman]

LOVE it!

Determination will win all day long.

[datsun-s30]

Thanks man. For the most part I'm happy with the way it's turning out too.

So repairing this huge hole where the battery sat was one of my biggest fears from the beginning. I'd seen a few others attempt to fix it, and in my opinion, not exactly succeed. So what chance did I have at making this turn out right.




The idea was to cover as much area with a single piece of steel and go from there. This is how I've approached the floor pan and firewall, so maybe I'll get lucky here too.




Once I had the rough shape, I took it to my bench and bent it where I had previously indicated. I didn't use any tools for this, I just bent it over the edge of the bench by hand. Excuse the messy garage.




For the most part, this actually worked out pretty good. Here it is after a little bit of work.




Once I had it fitting right, I filled in the smaller open spots, ground down my welds and sprayed a coat of epoxy primer. I've got to say, I think I got lucky. Aside from he welds in the corners, I'm really pleased with the way this turned out. I've still got some fine tuning to do, but once the battery tray is welded back in, I don't think you 'll be able to tell that it's been repaired at all... from either side.




You can also see where the overlap weld took place near the frame rail, and how the flange allowed the steel to tuck under the wheel well. And to be honest, I really don't like it. I may attempt to fix it, but as of right now, I'm just going to keep plugging away.

[datsun-s30]

OleKnees got me thinking. Since I regularly make or repair tools to get the job done, I thought I'd try to cover that as well during this build.

Here's my 18" bending brake I bought from Harbor Freight for about 30 bucks. It's made to bend sheet steel up to 16 gauge. As with most Harbor Freight tools, they're a little optimistic when they describe their tools abilities.

(Stock photo from Harbor Freight)




While I was bending the bottom lip of the steel where the battery tray goes, I cracked one of the welds on the brake. This was a little surprising because it was only 18 gauge, but once I investigated further, it wasn't surprising at all. The brake only had a weld on the bottom of each side and it was a poor weld at that. So I broke them off the rest of the way and cleaned each side where the hinge mounted, then welded the bottom and the top with a nice, solid weld.

While I was at it, I cut a piece of 11 gauge (stolen from the Datsuns old floor board repair) and welded it in the middle as a gusset, to keep it from flexing during a bend.




Turned out pretty good if I say so myself.




I had to take it for a test drive, so I grabbed a piece of 16 gauge and it bent it without a problem.




Since I was trying to address all of the brakes issues at the same time, I thought I'd take care of the the handles as well. They were just placed in the hinge without anything to keep them there, and they would often fall out.

So I bought a couple of metric allen wrench set screws for 50 cents each, drilled and tapped the hinges and now I've got arms that are solidly in place but removable when I want to take the brake off the bench.




Result, as Edd China would say.

[OleKnees]

This thread has inspired me to take a Mig welding class.

[datsun-s30]

That's awesome man, are you taking the classes at a community college or is there a specialized welding class put on by a shop?

Personally, I've learned on my own and can now say that, after about 5 months of trial and error, I can consistently MIG weld thin gauge steel without blowing holes in it. I probably should have taken a class like you're doing though, it would have been less frustrating for sure.

Speaking of frustrating...




The drivers side floor board was a bit harder to remove than the passengers side. In addition to the multiple layers of steel and bondo like the other side, this side had a nice, thick, 11 gauge plate near the front which was used in place of the rusted out frame rail. You can see it in the sequence below. Keep in mind, I'm cutting this out with an angle grinder.




Just like the passenger side, once the seat brackets were out, I set about trying to salvage them.




I'll focus on the worst one and spare you guys the details. Removed, cleaned, chopped up, replaced bits, cleaned again and had the underside coated with a rust converter.




Once I'd cleaned them all up, I placed them on the pre-primed floor board I was test fitting into the car to see how they looked.

[datsun-s30]

Now that the seat brackets are done, I can work on the floor board. But first, I needed to patch up a few rusted out spots. And if you haven't guessed it by now, tedious rust repairs are the name of the game. On one hand I want to show every aspect of what it takes for me to bring a 40+ year old car back to life, but on the other hand, I don't want to bore the five people who are following this thread. Which is why I've cut out a lot of what I've done, and have now started putting together picture sequences in an effort to make them more appealing. So I guess I'm sorry if I'm boring you guys, but this is just what it takes.

First up, seat belt pocket. Big rusted out hole... apologies for the bad "before" picture.




Next, the rust in the footwell. Which I had to remove a portion of the drivers side frame rail to get access to. It just blows my mind that whoever repaired the car last, thought that this was an acceptable repair of something structural on an automobile. Each time I see this picture, I shake my head in disbelief.




Now, the rust in the footwell. For some reason, I actually like repairing these spots. Sure, some of them get frustrating or it becomes mundane, but this one for instance, was fun to do. At least for me.




Alright, now I can replace the floor board. After a bunch of test fitting, I began to weld it in place.




Once the floor board was in, I welded in smaller pieces in the corners to fill in the gaps. I followed this up with cleaning up the interior a bit.




Then, just like the passenger side, I mounted the seat to the seat brackets, placed it in the car and tacked the brackets in place.




Now that I know they're in the right spot, I welded them in place for good.

[evildky]

Certainly not boring, I'm loving this thread, I find it inspiring! Also that's one fo the best battery tray rot repairs I've ever seen, most people try to simplify the panel and move ti up to reduce the amount of shaping needed, very well done.

I do have your TC rod repair beat, I saw one once, it had a piece of angle wedging the tc pocket in place and wrapped up with bailing wire, scary to think what people drive on the street.

[datsun-s30]

Right on man, I'm glad you're enjoying the thread, cause everyone is so quiet out there, I feel like I'm putting folks to sleep. And yeah, there are some fabricators who just shouldn't be let loose around a car. I mean, this is all new to me, but I know better than to use bailing wire on a structural car repair. Now duct tape on the other hand, hahaha.

Speaking of tension/compression rod brackets though, I opted to try and remove mine for later use. The passenger side bracket wasn't all that bad, I just had to drill out the spot welds...




Weld up the holes...




And grind the welds smooth and spray it with primer. Straight forward and easy.






The drivers side bracket though, that was a whole 'nother story. Cutting it free of the frame rail and grinding it smooth, although time consuming, wasn't that bad. It was the cups that held the bushings in place that were pretty rusted.




One of them cleaned up alright and I was able to re-use it, but the other one needed to be reconstructed from scratch.






Once welded back on the bracket though, it was good as new and both t/c rod brackets were ready to be welded back onto the new frame rails once I got to that point.

[OleKnees]

I wouldn't worry too much about "boring" us. It seems to me those who are following this thread closely are really enjoying the details you are providing. Personally I think this is the type of build thread that should ultimately end up in a magazine feature. Keep up the great work and anything you post i'll be reading!

And to respond to your question. There is a local metal works shop that does specialty jobs and training. I happened to come across their website and noticed they have these Mig welding training classes so I signed up. Its something I've always wanted to try and this thread pushed me over the edge. We'll see how it goes!

[datsun-s30]

That's cool man, I hope the shop teaches you what you want to know. Ironically, there's a shop around the corner from my house that's hiring mig welders. I'm tempted to apply since I was recently laid off due to a lack of work at my job. I'm sure I'm not qualified enough to work there though and I don't think a mig welders salary would cut it. But it'd be fun to do.

Alright, so now that the floor board and brackets are done, I cut out a piece of steel to cover the opening at the end of the floorboard. I also found a pair of sheet metal shears I've had forever. While not a miracle tool, they're a welcome addition. I bought a cheap set of "Auto Body Hammers" from Harbor Freight too. If I weren't on such a tight budget I'd pick up some quality tools. That said, they're not that bad.




Floorboard / firewall completed.




Before I get into the frame rail repair... Here's a reminder of what it used to look like.




Cutting out the old frame rail was pretty straight forward, until I got to the core support. It fought me a little.




With some work I was able to clean it up and fit the new frame rail.




Once welded into place, I fabricated a piece to cover the inside wheel well.




In the middle of welding and grinding the welds smooth. I'm happy with the way it turned out




I'm proud to say that the new frame rails are 100% level, parallel to one another, perpendicular to the car and within 1/32 of an inch of where they're supposed to be in all directions, including the mounting holes for the suspension.

[gmac708]

Nice work! Enjoying the updates.
Gord

[evildky]

So what's with the bolts with all the nuts on the core support?

[datsun-s30]

Thanks Gord, it's coming along.

And to answer your question evildky, the frame rail had two threaded nuts welded inside, so I drilled two holes into the core support base, just large enough to fit the only two bolts I had, that would thread into those nuts (which happened to be 4 inches too long - the other nuts are just spacers) and used them to hold the rail in place while I welded it secure. Good catch.

[djwarner]

Has anyone mentioned in the last photos that the cross member is facing backwards?

Great work BTW.

[datsun-s30]

Hahaha, no, you're the first. I was wondering if anyone was going to see that... look real close (and I mean real close) on the bottom left side of the suspension mounting assembly. Again, good catch.

[datsun-s30]

Next up, those torsion / control rod brackets.

But first, I needed unrestricted access to the underside of the car. When it dawned on me... just strap it to the rafters.




Placement of the brackets are critical so I spent way too much time measuring and remeasuring. At first I had some conflicting information which made it a bit tricky, and is why they're far from in the right place in the picture below.




But once I got them sorted, I welded them permanently in place.




When I started this project a few months ago and purchased the replacement floor boards, they came with frame rail supports that emulated the original. I had always wondered why the original frame rail supports ended abruptly in the middle of the floor board. To me, it just seemed natural for these to run from the front suspension to the rear suspension. So that was the plan.

I began fabricating the frame rail supports out of 1" by 3" steel tubing, which was cut and bent to form the angle I needed on each end. This way it would be a single length of tubing that ran from the front to the back, tying both ends of the car together.






After I had the ends bent and welded in the desired shape, I made cardboard templates which I then transferred to 14ga steel plate.




I tacked the 14ga onto the steel tubing and once I had the fit just right, I welded the whole assembly together forming a solid length of steel.




Here's the finished product on the car. Still need to finish welding in some spots, but this gives you an idea of what I'm going for, and I think it turned out pretty decent.

[evildky]

Front end is crazy light, amazing how far back the cog is on the bare chassis. Just in front of the rear wheel arch. That passenger pan looks a little pinched at the trans mount?

[datsun-s30]

It's the angle of the dangle. In other pictures (and in person) the "pinch" isn't as severe... although instead of cutting off floorboard material, I formed it into place. And yeah, I remember when I first had everything out of the car, I needed to lift the front end, and found out I could do it by hand. I was amazed.

[TheRock3tBunny]

Nice build man that front end is a world of difference better. I just started my own build as well and will definitely be referencing this one when i am stumped.. Good Work

[datsun-s30]

Thank you. It's not perfect, but way better than it was and I'm happy with the way it's turning out. Good luck on your build as well, I took a look at it and I've got to say, I envy your cars condition, haha

[datsun-s30]

Now that most of the structural fabrication has been taken care of, I turned my attention to cleaning the transmission tunnel and wire brushed the undercoating off. This took forever and I was glad when it was done.




After I'd finished that, I sprayed the underside of the car in epoxy primer for the last time. Once it had cured, I sealed all the seams with seam sealer.






At this point I was probably making more work for myself than was necessary, but I wanted to smooth out the spots where my fabrication skills weren't the greatest, so I added a little bondo.




Sprayed on some primer and it turned out alright.

[evildky]

Looking great. So you used a wire wheel to remove all the undercoat? I've tried a number of methods, scraping, air scraper, oscillating tool, aircraft remover, dry ice and have considered the wire wheel. What tool did you use the wheel in? Cup or wheel? strands or knots?

[gmac708]

looks real good!

[datsun-s30]

Thanks guys.

And to answer your question evildky, I actually simplified my explanation of how I cleaned the transmission tunnel. The full process consisted of, scraping and chipping the undercoating away with a chisel and putty knife, then coming back in with an angle grinder and a set of twisted knot wire wheels to get what was left. After that, I broke out my cordless drill with wire wheels and got anything that remained and gave the steel a nice smooth finish. Hell of a process for sure, all while being jammed in a transmission tunnel for a week in 20 degree weather, but it worked well.

I still can't believe you resorted to dry ice though, hahaha... I thought I was the crazy for going through my process, but I have yet to do that.

[datsun-s30]

Now that the structural work is complete, I decided to cover the bottom of the car in a do it yourself bedliner called Hurculiner. But before I got started, I needed a way to stir the stuff up.

So I cut up a few pieces of 18ga, drilled some holes in them, then welded them to a stick of threaded rod. It worked well... except for when I first started mixing it. Apparently I was overzealous with my drill and a wave of bedliner paint volcano'd out of the can, and all over my garage floor, and shoes. Good times.

No pictures of the mess... I was too busy sopping it all up with handfuls of paper towels.




With the bedliner fully stirred up (and the mess fully cleaned up), I began to coat the wheel wells and underside of the car.




It took two coats and two days (I let the first coat dry overnight), and I'm genuinely pleased with the way it turned out. It took a few days for me to feel that way though, I had to get over the feeling that I spent all this time removing an undercoating, just to put another one right back on.






My original plan was to paint the engine compartment before I did the undercoating, but the paint I bought from an online company made claims that it was a particular Krylon paint that I wanted and when I got it, it was not. So I went ahead and did the undercoating first while I firgured out what I was going to use in the place of the Krylon paint I couldn't seem to source.

A week or so after the undercoating had cured, I finally found a product I was happy enough with to paint the engine compartment. Here's coat (or dusting) number one...




The product is called Matte Black Underhood Paint by Eastwood, comes in a rattle can and sprays out real thin. Almost like a paint gun, the spray is atomized so well it's more like a cloud. The engine compartment took almost 4 cans of paint and looks much better in person than in photos.




And that's it for now. You guys are almost caught up to where I'm actually at in the progress of rebuilding my Datsun and up next are the suspension components.

[Toyojay]

Spectacular progress man! Very cool car! Subb'd can't wait for more updates

[evildky]

Good use of bedliner, an idea worth stealing.

[OleKnees]

Still keeping up with your progress. Great job and keep it up.

[datsun-s30]

Thanks everybody, I appreciate the support.

I've also been meaning to post an update on my progress but have been busy with other things. I'll try to get that on here this week sometime, so stay tuned!