Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

Roadster Update!!!!!!!!!
I have been continuing to work hard on it, I got my doner quarter panels!!!


Both quarters made entirely of bondo, started to cut them out


bought a spotweld drill and removed both quarters, lots of work!!



Removed the skins from the doner quarter panels I bought


Attaching the new skins, using my cheap mig welder to plug weld all the spot weld locations

New doner quarter has more rust than I thought it would....it was cheap tho


At least its the passenger side I'm telling myself
I had to make a small patch panel and separate the inner fender on the new doner quarter and make a new inner fender.


Tack welded on


Final welded , planished, sealed with EPOXY PRIMER


Sealed and ready for bodywork!!

I’m continually amazed by the ability of some to turn rust into art.
Bodywork is my nemesis, but I admire the skill of those who can.
Well done.

Very nice work... labor of love.

Looks like you're taking the time to do it right. I'll be following this one for sure!

Bwk2000 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 26, 2022 11:07 pm Bodywork is my nemesis, but I admire the skill of those who can.

Ditto. I even took a body & paint class many years ago at SF City College. It is not my superpower.

You are doing amazing work. What a transformation. Plus, think about how much lighter your roadster is now without all that Bondo.

Great work! Looks amazing.

New Year update!
Got real busy during the holidays so progress slowed, but I've been working on the car a little bit each day as time allows.
Took some photos of the bodywork process..its dusty boring work...some good music helps the job get done.
First I start with a dry guide coat powder that I rub on the whole car


Then I block sand with 80 to find all the low spots, it looks worse than it is, the bulk of the dents are hammered out already before this stage.


The car had a rough life, theres only so much I can do ,but Im sure I can do a lot better job with a lot less filler than the last guy who worked on this thing.


I repeat this process about 3x unless im happy with how the guide coat turns out after blocking with 240, then I shoot filler primer over the car, and then more guide coat, and blocking with 400 grit...


Time to check the panel fitup...it not much good being flat if the panels dont fit together how I like.


Some adjustments here and there...


I always hated how the hood lettering was crooked, it looks like it was placed with no care.


Crazy thickness of old paint on the cowling...
This was a job for paint stripper!
Put it under some plastic and walk away...

Fresh seam sealer applied to all where needed, fenders, quarters, inside trunk, floors, inside cowling, etc!


Finished at 400g ready for basecoat.

Still following: Great progress!

Great work "akara"

1/4’s are a lot of work! Excellent job!

Where are you located? J

Thanks for the encouragement everyone!
I am in Seattle where its been cold and wet but I managed to paint the car during one of the random 50 degree days we had here recently.

I thought about it a lot and I really dont like how the later years cars become more and more cluttered with trim and lights and emblems, getting in the way of the original design.

When I replaced the quarters I just so happen to get 68 ones with no sidemarkers, I decided not to add them back, and I decided to remove the rear license plate lights, I also removed the fender emblems.
Some may also notice that I filled in the quarter panel seam when I was doing the bodywork, because when I got this car it had stick on cowles style trim, and thats what I initially planned on installing back on the car because I couldnt find a good set of original trim and figured the adhesive stuff would stick better to a flat surface. Anyway after all that I found the reproduction trim from Vietnam and went and drilled the mounting holes back out in the quarter
So yes, its not correct and the filler shouldnt in the groove, but it doesnt bother me really.
I also bought a 68 style rear bumper from them and got the license plate light there now.


I'm pretty happy with how it turned out for a garage paint job, This is only my 2nd overall paintjob on a car I've ever done, and I knew that as a novice I'd need some room for error so I layed down 6 coats of a high solids clear from SPI. It took all day! There is some spots that look like glass, some spots with a little orange peel, and some spots with a little urethane wave, some dirt nibs. Really happy with how the jambs turned out, it looks great on camera but Ill be doing a cut and buff later to even out the car.


Dash is out now to give me lots of "fun" stuff to work on while the paint cures in the garage.

Paint looks very nice, and while a cut and buff is a LOT of work it’s well worth the effort. As for the rear panel, I kind of like the license plate lights IF you leave off the bumper over riders.

Looking great! The cut and buff will be a game changer!

Great job, you should be very proud of your work!

Very Impressive!
Please keep us up to date.