3/4/2024 – Lap one down, Progress is blissful.
Hayden V -
This week, I have been spending more time on the rear end of the car, slowly buttoning everything up. I started with drilling and finally putting in the taillights and their panels. Datsuns are notorious for having horrible exhaust fumes inside the car, usually because the taillight gaskets do not seal fully. I have installed brand new taillight gaskets, so I hope that fixes the problem. Additionally, I created brackets to center the license plate because it just looks much better than the stock location.
During some downtime between returning home from Turnstyle and heading out for other errands, I reassembled the AC/heating system. This mainly involved reconnecting some hoses, swapping a bracket, and, most importantly, reinstalling the fan, as it comprises about one-third of the entire system. I suspect the fan failed during the previous owner’s ownership because when I acquired the car, the fan motor was completely absent. I replaced the motor with one salvaged from a previous vehicle, but I’m uncertain if it functions properly.
For one of the most labor-intensive tasks I’ve tackled since painting, I built the base for the trunk setup. I began with a large piece of Medium-density fiberboard (MDF), which is essentially sawdust and glue compressed into a board. It’s incredibly flat and dense, which will aid in sound deadening and enhance the overall appearance in the end.
I measured the trunk and sketched it out on wood to create a template for cutting out the larger piece. The dimensions of the piece were 52 1/2 inches by 29 1/2 inches, giving scale to the board. Initially, I planned to construct the trunk in three main pieces—a front, back, and a cut-out board for the spare tire. However, in practice, the back piece proved too large to fit into the car, so we divided it into four individual pieces: a front, left, right, and spare tire piece. This adjustment will actually make setting up the air ride system much easier, though I’ll delve deeper into that when I install the entire air ride system.
I did install the air tank and a custom light-up license plate I acquired four years ago, just to preview the look, and I’m absolutely thrilled with the result.
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