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Mostly I was just wondering if replacing the hardlines was a common thing with a car that has been sitting for so long. I guess since the fuel shouldn't ever be sitting in them if they are parked for a while, there isn't a big reason they would be rotted out. Maybe just gunky and in need of a good cleaning. Good to know. I was planning to pump some aerosol injector cleaner through the hard lines to get the process moving along quicker, and of course keeping an eye on the filter once it's running again.

I believe the answers are yes and yes. You could try painting the pointer silver and then mist some gold over it and then top it with clear. Chuck

Yes, I used a dolly and hammer to roll the seam but I did kind of a sloppy job. ...I've gone through about 10 cans of the Eastwood frame sealer. I've sprayed it inside everything including the doors (after welding).

Mine just arrived, first impression, they look very nice and correct. I ordered mine black w/ black stitching. Gonna do the reupholstry during the next months while the car is parked for the Winter.

Onward with the big posts! State of the car: For a short duration before my purchase, some friends of the original owner were helping to get some life back into the car to help in selling it. So a few parts have already been purchased, and while I will make use of them where I can... I do not plan to use anything that will not be a smart part choice in the long run. While the engine is in good health to the best of my knowledge, a lot of the other mechanics need work. It's difficult to start it now because of the fuel pump and carb issues, so that is why i want to start by addressing those areas. Since I will be replacing so many filters, hoses, and other connecting bits, any general advice on where to find all these little pieces would be greatly appreciated. Fuel system: Everything is original in the car, and likely been sitting for a long time with gas in the tank. The owner kept good care of things, but I have no idea of the status of the fuel tank at the moment or if there was fuel stabilizer in it while stored. I plan to replace all of the hosing with new and current fuel compatible replacements. Additionally, the fuel filters and anything else you guys suggest. The original mechanical fuel pump has a diaphram leak, and I have a carter mechanical fuel pump replacement ready. I have to dismantle the A/C system to install the new one, but that is in the future. Useful advice would be appreciated about where to source the replacment hoses, and bits I need to get things flowing smoothly. Also any tips about fuel pumps (I do not want to move to electric right now, and if I ever do... I will want one that is not obnoxiously loud.) Carburetors: Things are pretty sticky right now, so I will have to break them down and clean and lube everything up. I plan to get the Just SU's DVD to learn my way around as I try to free everything up and get them tuned decently. Since I ultimately want to obtain Ztherapy carbs (TBD next 1-2 years), I want to limit the amount of money i spend to rebuild the stockers if possible. Ignition: Really want to move to an electronic ignition in the near future, probably the PerTronix one. I will obviously replace all the plugs and wires along the way. Clutch: Recently the Clutch slave and master were replaced. I have yet to troubleshoot it all, but hopefully not much is required besides bleeding everything. Tranny/Engine: Hoping not to touch these for a while, maybe some tune up valve clearance checks on the engine. Compression tests pre-purchase were solid across the board. Cooling: Probably need to investigate the status of the water pump and seal, probably replacing both. Hoses as well I would imagine. Radiator is original, not sure how it is currently performing or if there was damage from sitting so long. It doesn't appear to leak when its running. Suspension: No idea, seems okay for now but because of the other issues I haven't had a real test drive. Appears very stock, but again... only 29k original miles. Wheels/Tires: Stock 14" steel rims with hubcaps. Tires are from the 80's and rotted and badly flat spotted. Will be replacing with 15 or 16 panasport and new rubber. Brakes: I think I will need to do a lot of work to get the brakes in order. A new master cylinder was installed, and from what I understand many future replacements require some repiping for front/back brakes. New front pads and calipers were purchased and installed, but I think i need to deeply investigate the status of the rear cylinders and drums. I expect to be rebuilding everything and replacing the hoses and such along the way. AC System: We'll see what I can do about this later, for the moment I just need to get it out of the way so I can work on other things more easily. That's all for now I think. I plan to start fully removing everything and thoroughly documenting it as I go. Then starts the slow replacement/installation of everything. Hopefully I can get this thing all squared away by summer 2016. Thanks all -Dave

One more post for today. This is a rust repair on the passenger door. I have started to slip and didn't take as many pictures as I meant to. I used a lot of filler before I primed the door. Nothing too thick just a lot of fill, sand, fill sand, until I felt like I have covered most of the door. That one was a little rough. By contrast the driver's door which I am working on now is almost perfect.

Ok, I am going to post some more pictures. I'm getting real close to current so the rate of posting is going to slow down soon. I did some work today and should have an interesting future post that I will probably title "The Cost of doing things Wrong!" In my haste today I did something wrong that will need to be reworked -sigh. I hope that post will serve as a reminder that sometimes it's best to walk away and rethink your approach before you compound a problem. Anyway, here are some pictures of front fender work. Both front fenders were in very good condition and required very little help except taking off the ugly dealer trim strips and welding the holes closed. Here's the finished product. Don't worry about the flare. It's on wrong and I have corrected the problem.

Like the Porsche 911, Nissan would have been far better off staying with the original design success and kept refining it to something like that shown. Not a fan of that nose but close.

The Caswell is a Constant Current Rectifier... Once you get the hang of how your kit works best, you can get very nice results. It took me a lot of trial and error(month or so) to get results that I liked with my setup. What other people were doing did not work for me. The one thing that I did do, was to write down what I did for each step as far as prep work, plating time, bath temp, amps while plating, amp per SQ. Acid dip time, chromate dip time, chromate bath temp, etc. This helped my figure out what worked for my setup. What works for some will not work for others. A few pictures of some of the last things I plated.