Hey guys,

I thought it was time to throw up a few photos & a bit of info about my current project. It's a 1972 Datsun 1600.

I bought the car from QLD in a pretty dismal state. No engine, gearbox held in by fencing wire, filthy interior and a lot of rust in the quarters, sills, boot channels and drivers foot-well. It was rough.

As it stands now, the shell is 50% completed. The rear end has been replaced with new lower quarters, various rust holes fixed up and boot channels fixed. The boot lid is on and the back half has been filled, sanded and is sitting in primer. Right now the sills are being cut out and new sections welded in. Once the sills are done, its pretty straight forward as all there is are a few small holes to fill and some seam welding to take place.

Plans for the car:

Engine, gearbox & diff - some form of L, leaning towards L18. 5 speed box. R160 to begin with, upgrade if the need arises.

Suspension/brakes - fairly standard and unimpressive. Drum rear, lowered springs, new shocks etc. Coilover front, not sure what I'll do yet in terms of strut/caliper combo.

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Build Thread: http://ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=27840

Picking the car up after a 15 hour drive. Stayed the night at my sisters place and drove home the next morning


Got home and began stripping the car straight away. Keen? Hell yeah! (that bird sh*t is one nights worth, they have since been taken care of )


With a bit of help from the old man...


It slowly turned from this


To this...

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Build Thread: http://ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=27840

So I spent a while paint stripping, starting with the rear quarters. That's when I started to get scared! Who knew there could ever be literally 2 inches of bog holding up a layer of paint... Then I got sick of paint stripping, so thought bugger this its getting blasted. We welded up a stand for the shell to be bolted onto..


And off to the blasters it went


And came home looking like this...

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Build Thread: http://ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=27840

So basically it has been a fair bit of work to remove rust and replace with new metal, but I want this to be solid for years to come. No more stuffing around with rust repairs and so on, so its getting done once and done properly. My panel beater is old school - fitter & turner, painter, welder, fabrications and everything in between. If panels can't be sourced new, he bends them up from scratch.

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Build Thread: http://ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=27840

good to see your starting a build thread Ben

There has been a good amount of progress made on the shell. Starting from the back, the quarters and boot lid have been finished in primer after doing a lot of work with rust cut out, new metal welded in and so on..

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Build Thread: http://ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=27840

Yeah mate, I've got all these photos so I thought why not..!

Wait until you see that cross member & struts - you won't recognise them

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Build Thread: http://ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=27840

Bit more rust repair done to the sills and pillars, next on the list is fixing the holes along the roof line above the doors and getting started on the engine bay. Going to remove the battery tray to relocate the battery to the boot. Also need to spend a weekend stripping the doors of all internals and getting them sanded and primed

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Build Thread: http://ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=27840

Small update.. Haven't had much time due to work lately, however there has been some more progress. I'll upload the newest pics in a few weeks when I remember to go back to where the car is (NSW) and pick up my camera. Hope its still sitting on the bootlid!

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Build Thread: http://ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=27840

Yup. I remember doing exactly all of that. I actually didn't mind all the welding and cutting etc. I learned so much from it. Give some of it a go yourself if you are up for it?

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Ongoing Project: 1972 Datsun 510 S13 SR20Det. http://ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=17898
New Daily: D22 Navara (The new workhorse)
Retired 12/2016: MY98 Subaru Impreza RX
Previous Car: Restored Green 1972 Datsun 510, Hot L18

Yeah I agree with you - its good to learn how to do this stuff. I couldn't do the whole thing by myself, but I've picked up how to weld different metals, braising, the panel prep side of stuff etc.. Just wish I had all of the gear needed to do a job like this!

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Build Thread: http://ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=27840

Hey mate,

Just take your time and experiment. Ask lots of questions and you will be fine. Lots of help here from everyone.

The rust doesn't look that bad, similar to mine.

Cheers,

Trent

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1600 Build: http://ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=22694

doing a great job
exactly the same areas as my 1600 also, rust is a pain in the arse to do but hopefully wont ever need doing again for a long time!

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1971 B110
1971 P510
1974 H230
1974 B120

Floor section has been welded in along with the inner sill section too. Slowly getting there. The drivers side chassis rail was a bit rusted near the foot-well area so that was cut out and new section welded in.

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Build Thread: http://ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=27840

More progress has been made. Slowly. But she's getting there

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Build Thread: http://ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=27840