It's been a bit over a year since I posted a story about the way Nan's 1967 1/2 Datsun Roadster found its way back to our garage. . . .
Since then we have done some restoration work to it.
We had the original windshield frame, headlight rings, and grill rechromed in April, and new rubber installed between the windshield glass and frame and also new rubber between the windshield frame and the cowling. Don Kingery (and Nan) helped reinstall these parts.
While the windshield was off, a local upholstery shop recovered the dash.
The original VIN plate confirms that this is a "matching numbers" car with the correct frame and original engine numbers, but the plate had aged so much that it was unreadable. So we purchased a new VIN plate and stamped the numbers onto it. We put the new plate over top of the original plate on the car (to preserve the originality).
We next turned to the interior. We ordered a complete set of carpets and other interior components from DatsunParts.com. When we removed the original carpets there was some light surface rust on the floor pan, so Don and I scraped off all the original insulation, sanded the floor to bare metal, treated it with rust preventive paint, and applied new sound deadening / heat protection material. I was surprised to discover that all the openings in the floor to attach items such as seat belts, the center console, etc, had threaded "receivers", so we took the time to tap the threads of every part at this stage.
Next we installed all the carpeting, and the upholstery for the rear ledge, back panel, side panels, and kick panels (the front seat upholstery had been replaced by Denny Sullivan while the car was in his capable custody -- thank you Denny!).
The seat belts were cleaned up and secured, and the front seats reinstalled. We even recarpeted the trunk!
The car never had sun visors, but with the help of Mike Young of Datsun Sports, we secured a set of original hardware necessary to attach the sun visors that we purchased from DatsunParts.com.
Two things motivated us to restore the center console area -- the "wrinkle" paint was chipped in a few areas, and, more importantly, Nan wanted a modern radio that could connect to her iPhone via bluetooth. So we removed all the components (which also made the carpet installation easier), and I cut a larger opening in the lower dash to accommodate the new radio.
With valuable help, and advice, from the Datsun Roadster Forum, we located a good product for restoring the "wrinkle" paint finish for these areas.
A local upholstery shop recovered the glove box between the seats for us.
Nan loves her "tunes" while driving, and with a fancy new radio, we needed to figure out a way to install speakers into the tight quarters of the Datsun interior. After searching unsuccessfully online for quality speaker holders, I gave up and decided to make my own speaker "cans" sized to fit the car. John Elder came to our rescue by crafting custom round wooden cores on his fancy wood-working lathe.
I covered the outer surfaces and the bottom of each can with carbon fiber material.
After I drilled wire access and mounting holes and they were ready to install -- two under the dash and two behind the seats.
Along the way we replaced the rubber seals on the doors, windshield, trunk lid, the gasoline filler tube, all four gaskets between the tail lights and the body -- so the car has pretty much all new rubber.
I also recovered the cardboard glove box (in the dash)
with carbon fiber material to cover a few holes and reinforce the worn
edges.
We also replaced the rear wheel brake cylinder rubber (one side was leaking) and had our local auto repair shop, Master Tech, Oceanside, California, perform a complete lube / oil / filter / fluids service.
You might ask, "What else could you possibly do to this car?" The photo below provides a hint -- and I'll write a post about that project once it is completed!
Special thanks to Nan and Don for always helping at every step along the way, and for John Elder's wood-working magic. I've listed below the various vendors who provided such great service and support -- we want to thank each of them!
Happy Holidays from Nan and Cary!
ARG Quality Glass, San Marcos CA (Chris Deglmann) ~ installing windshield into frame
DatsunParts.com (Dean Apostal) ~ for all the interior and many other parts
Datsun Sports (Mike Young) ~ original sun visor hardware
Decorative Metal Coatings, Vista CA (Hugo) ~ chrome plating
Jordan Upholstery, Oceanside, CA (Andrew) ~ interior upholstery
Sin City Datsuns (Brian Zana) ~ brake cylinder repair kit
MasterTech Automotive (Rick Sing) ~ excellent auto service
