Namerow

Graphic illustration of why flatheads aren't very efficient.

If you are willing to cross the border, there is a gentleman in the west Montreal region who has a significant collection of S30 body panels. I do not know if he is set up to ship (or is interested). PM me if you want contact details.

I don't think the Z seats ever got the credit they really deserved for their styling. Maybe not so excellent from a functional or comfort perspective, but really great to look at and perfectly in tune with the exterior styling.

The 5000-lb unit is available in Canada from either Costco (Cdn $1350) or Canadian Tire (Cdn $1500). Unfortunately, no retailer seems to want to stock the 3500-lb unit. It should sell for about $150 less than the 5000-lb unit. The Canadian distributor for QuickJack is located in Mississauga, with a secondary outlet in Surrey, BC.

Nice shot. Don't forget to take a matching, 'After' picture when the car is finished.

I always figured this came from using the window frame ('sash') as the pull (or push) point for closing the door. Maybe, though, it's just because of the impact loads when window frame meets weatherstrip at high speed.

I've been doing a bit of research on recip saws and came across a review of a (relatively) new product entry by Ingersoll-Rand. It's a cordless mini (0.55" stroke) targeted specifically for the auto body repair industry... One of its primary attractions is the ability to make relatively tight-radius curved cuts. It comes with a six 'extra-coarse' 4" blades (3 x 14 tpi + 3 x 18 tpi), rated for thick-ish sheet metal gauges, along with with two 12V Li-ion batteries and a charger stand. The blades may use a proprietary locking design (I've found conflicting reports on this) but, in any case, I-R offers a variety of replacement blade sets, including a 6-pack of 32tpi blades. This looks a lot more versatile than a die grinder or a standard-size recip. It also makes it unnecessary to have a power-tool-sized compressed-air system. A possible drawback, compared with a mini air saw, is that it measures about 12" in length. Weight is 2 lb. Batteries are said to be good for about '1 hour' of use. The manufacturer's webpage can be found here: https://www.ingersollrandproducts.com/en-us/power-tools/products/air-cutting-tools/12v-recip-saw.html A very informative independent review by a restoration shop owner (including a nice video of the saw in action) can be found here: https://shoptoolreviews.com/woodworking/handheld-tools/12v-ingersoll-rand-cordless-reciprocating-saw/ The kit (saw, batteries & charger, carry case) goes for ~ US $220. For my Canadian friends, I've found it available from an authorized Toronto supplier for Cdn $250. Comments welcomed.

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You're probably right.

Please explain your process (steps) for getting the whole car up on axle stands when using the pinchweld strips as the jacking point.

The plastic nuts are spacers, used to 'adjust' the height of the seat. The one on the top in your picture is in use for this purpose. The one on the bottom is a spare that could -- if you wanted -- be moved to the top and doubled up with the one already there so as to raise the seat higher. The actual retaining nuts are pretty fiddly to remove (there's not much space available for wrench swing). If you've got one, a short ratcheting box-end wrench is the way to go.

Electric impact wrench worked first time for me. And the harmonic balancer/pulley slid off easily afterwards (no need to use a puller). Elsewhere: Although this may be too late to help you now, I had good luck with both the timing cover (and water pump) bolts by using a non-power impact tool (the type that you hit with a hammer). Worth considering if you have yet to start on the timing cover bolts.

Very nice work... but very pricey work. I visited Bradford many years ago for a meeting with the now-vanished Marsden Radiator Co. (swallowed up by Calsonic in the 1990's IIRC). Got lost afterwards while attempting to drive across the moors in the dark (cue Heathcliff).

Nice car. However, given that it's been repainted and refreshed (i.e. it's not 100% original), it will be interesting to see whether the bidding goes much higher than the current $60K. It's my impression that the extreme ($100K +) values are reserved for #1 condition, 100% original cars.

Your hand-scribbled notes in photo #1 say: 2" hole >> 2-1/2" male + 2-3/4" female. So, a few questions: It looks like the 2-3/4" die has a smaller wall thickness (1/16"?) than the other dies (1/8"?), so am I correct in assuming that this pair (2-3/4" with 2-1/2") was used -- after the 2" hole had been cut -- to roll the edge? What are the diameters for the the other two pairs of dies? It would seem that you would need only one additional die set (to punch the 2"hole). So why are there two other die sets? For the punch set, did you put any kind of bevel on the cutting surface of the male (or female) die? For the roll set, did you put any kind of contour on the contact surface of the male (or female) die? It appears that the straps welded across one face of each die were used so that a centering hole could be drilled. Even so, how did you centre the male die over the female die in the press?

If I may ask, what were you charged by the shop for the powder-coating of the Diff? Also: You say that you own your vapor-blasting system. Is this an over-the-counter unit or did you build it yourself?

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Considering the difficulties others have reported in accurately duplicating the horizontal 'crease' in the outer panel, these will probably same a lot of hours in final fitting. Are you planning to use them in the current project or will you save them for something else down the road? The photos of these pieces expose some details that are normally hidden from view and rarely seen in restoration photos. For example, what is the purpose of the tacked on stamping(s) located at the peak of the wheel arch on the driver-side panel? Interesting, too, that Nissan went to the expense of painting that circular black disc on the inside of the panel so the body colour wouldn't peek through the vent holes in the plastic trim panel. I guess they thought that looked cheap.

Thanks. That was at the low end of what I was expecting, so learning that they're available for only $0.56 is good news. Out of curiosity, I checked out the Eastwood Tools site. They offer a kit consisting of 10 clecos, 2 side clamps, and one set of pliers for $44. PAT's price (not even bundled as a kit) comes out to just $16.00 so this is definitely a supplier that I'll be adding to my 'preferred' list.

Out of curiosity (I've never looked this up), how much does a Cleco cost? (Cdn $ please). How many do you have in your shop? (I see 13 in use in your most recent picture, with possibly 6 - 12 more hidden from view). What are the advantages of a Cleco over a sheet-metal screw?

If it's a 20mm hole, Banzai Motorsports were the only source when I last checked a couple of years ago. Things may have changed since then. Check the usual suppliers. If it's a 25mm hole, both Banzai and Motorsport Auto (and probably others) can help you out.

Somewhat (but not completely) off topic, here's an interesting video that shows how the Volvo P1800ES sportwagon's structure was put together in the day. Offers some good insights into lay-up jigs, spotwelding equipment, etc. These cars were not built to the dimensional standards of the Z and used assembly techniques that were somewhere between custom-build and volume-build (note the use of tin snips), but were very much of the same era. The lead-seam-filling sequences really caught my eye. https://binged.it/2UdwaNG or,

There's that, too. Even at an occupant crash decel rate of just 3g, the forces generated by a strapped-in 200-pounder through the seat belt attachment points are compelling. And the resulting stresses in the sheet metal can jump even higher if the local panel(s) starts to deform.

I can never resist a good structural engineering puzzle. Of course, unibody structures are not simple affairs to analyze as the load points and paths are complicated. And automotive design decisions can also be influenced (if not, dictated) by manufacturability and cost. From a structural perspective, we're looking at a long closed-box section that acts as an outboard rib for the floor panel. The floor panel has an equally strong inner rib, in the form of the open-box section created by the transmission tunnel. The rocker structure connections to the A and B-posts have to transfer/resist both axial loads and torques (and not just in simple bending mode, but also torsion, such as when a single wheel hits a pothole or a ridge). After staring at diagrams and photos of the rockers and the (very complicated) dogleg area, think the design solution used by Nissan at the ends of the rocker structures reflects all three considerations: 1. Structural: I think the structural decision was premised on a desire to have all of the loads from the rocker structure to the A and B posts transferred/resisted in shear through a single plane (vertical-longitudinal in this case). It's elegant and simple. It also means that... 2. Manufacturability: The spot welds all occur in that same plane and can be accomplished without the need to rotate the welder electrodes, and... 3. Cost: The inner rocker can be stamped with a single-shot (not need to fold flanges are the rear end to allow joining with the wheel housing. This might also assist in stacking the parts for shipment and storage. This is all just educated guessing, offered by an engineer who should be retired but still needs the money. To assist in further speculation, here are a couple of photos for your consideration (as usual, with apologies to the original posters whose names I failed to record)...