The Project Dixie thread!

[tyroguru]

Love that Rotisserie Derrick!

Richie - probably 'cause I'm super lazy but I found that it's sometimes really convenient to be able to have the car "on its back". That rotisserie easily tolerates that range of movement especially with our light cars. It's also a great way of flushing out tools and other things you've left in there .

 

[richiep]

The amount of noise of stuff tumbling around inside, and all sorts of detritus pouring out onto the floor has been illuminating!

 

[richiep]

Quick update; despite assorted distractions - the latest being the Celica acquisition- I have still been busy with Dixie. Indeed, the shell is almost finished. All fabrication and repairs are complete, it’s all had at least one or more coats of epoxy primer, the only fiddling left is to drill a hole for the rerouted engine bay loom to enter the RH air tube behind the bulkhead, drill three broken bolts/machine screws out from the centre console and hatch bumper mounting points, and then a bunch of panel skimming and sanding, more primer, etc.

However, most recent development- I’ve almost finished the replication of the factory style sound deadening, using the modern OEM stuff I discussed in that other thread. I’ve got one piece to make and fit at the front of the trans tunnel, but here’s the rest:

pleased with the results. This will be epoxied over and ultimately overpainted, giving the original look, but undoubtedly with improved performance (I doubt Nissan’s sound deadening formulation hasn’t changed since 1972!).

 

[Rob Gaskin]

Excellent work Rich, it looks top quality.

 

[IbanezDan51]

Stunning

 

[candy red]

Quick update; despite assorted distractions - the latest being the Celica acquisition- I have still been busy with Dixie. Indeed, the shell is almost finished. All fabrication and repairs are complete, it’s all had at least one or more coats of epoxy primer, the only fiddling left is to drill a hole for the rerouted engine bay loom to enter the RH air tube behind the bulkhead, drill three broken bolts/machine screws out from the centre console and hatch bumper mounting points, and then a bunch of panel skimming and sanding, more primer, etc.

However, most recent development- I’ve almost finished the replication of the factory style sound deadening, using the modern OEM stuff I discussed in that other thread. I’ve got one piece to make and fit at the front of the trans tunnel, but here’s the rest:

pleased with the results. This will be epoxied over and ultimately overpainted, giving the original look, but undoubtedly with improved performance (I doubt Nissan’s sound deadening formulation hasn’t changed since 1972!).

That looks an awesome job Richie did you make templates ?

 

[tyroguru]

Agree with the others - this looks absolutely fantastic. It seems such a shame to cover it up and paint it!

 

[richiep]

That looks an awesome job Richie did you make templates ?

I did - well, I drew around all the finished pieces after tweaks to fit, etc. I will refine those designs and figure out the best way to share them at some point. They will only be correct (or close enough to correct) for mid-71 to 73 cars, and might require individual tweaks, e.g. I think the under-seat drain holes in the floorpans made by Andy (APS) are slightly further back than factory, meaning adjusting the cutouts. However, they can be a starting point for other years’ variants.

They also work for both left and right hand drive. If you look in the photos above, you can see the floor and toe board pieces have the same features up front, including the cutouts where a JDM-style foot rest could be bolted to the floors on either side.

 

[Mr.G]

Rich, that's really good of you to share your template, it does look spot on.

Are you going to be putting any closed cell foam on top as a second layer of sound deadening, apologies if you already covered this and I missed it.

I will be sound deadening my Citroen DS soon, and will be using Dynamat Xtreme and a thermal, closed cell acoustic layer on top, very excited to hear how it turns out, pardon the pun!

 

[richiep]

Rich, that's really good of you to share your template, it does look spot on.

Are you going to be putting any closed cell foam on top as a second layer of sound deadening, apologies if you already covered this and I missed it.

I will be sound deadening my Citroen DS soon, and will be using Dynamat Xtreme and a thermal, closed cell acoustic layer on top, very excited to hear how it turns out, pardon the pun!

I haven't got that far yet in my thinking George tbh! I do plan to have some form of removable underlay on the floors beneath the carpets, so a close cell foam might be a good call. I know some offer the closed cell with an adhesive layer as an alternative to the bitumen-type products, but I don't plan to stick anything else down, with the exception of what will go on the trans tunnel. For my red Z when I retrimmed that, I laid a traditional-style jute type material under the diamond vinyl to bulk it up and give it the smooth shape and softness. I've always been happy with how that turned out, but the only downside would be if it needed to be removed. Messy. Very messy. If I could replicate that thickness and feel but without turning the tunnel into a hairy bastard should I ever need to remove it, that would be preferable!

 

[uk66fastback]

That original jute stuff does tend to become very ‘loose’ given its age. That interior looks great with the new/old sound deadening on it.

 

[richiep]

That original jute stuff does tend to become very ‘loose’ given its age. That interior looks great with the new/old sound deadening on it.

Yeah, it's a case of "details matter" for me on things like this. Even though the car is going to be packing a 3.1 with ITBs, and will have the overfenders, hidden engine bay wiring, etc., I still want it to be "correct" in many aspects. It's finished look will be in line with how Zs have been modded in Japan since the 70s, with accurate ZG arches, Sports Option-style front lip spoiler, chrome-rim headlight covers, 432-style rear spoiler, etc. That extends to details inside that most will never see, like the insulation, or the way I will do the hand painted blackouts on areas where they were done at the factory (seat mount ends, etc.).

Post-Dixie, I'd actually like to do a near standard restoration on a 240Z or early 260Z. Really detail focussed. Yeah, an upgraded exhaust and some internal engine tweaks might creep in, but otherwise something predominantly authentic. This project has been practice and given me the skills to do more in the future - something which I intend to do.

Of course, as of later today, I also have the rolling project that will be the Celica LB to add to the mix! My eBay and YAJ surfing has been almost exclusively Toyota-driven for the last week or two! Parts incoming from all over - and I've not even given the car a full going over and made my full to-do list yet!

 

[richiep]

Finished the sound deadening:

Just got to drill out a couple of broken trim bolts and then all that is left to do on the shell is final skimming and related bodywork to the rear quarters, roof and sills to get everything just perfect. Before I do that I may skip over to doing the rear hatch repairs and bonnet strip and prime.

 

[richiep]

Update time: slow progress due to work, tiredness, and Celica distractions, plus a bit of hooning in the Fairlady Z, but I’ve repaired the rear hatch. The hatch was very straight and clean with the exception of the twin skinned area around the lock hole, which had clearly absorbed moisture and rotted out.

So, new skin needed. I got this a couple of years back from Mike Feeney. The maker is U.K. based but I don’t know anything more than that, as he seems to be a bit elusive based on what Mike told me! Excellent quality and fit though:

Carefully cut and peel off original skin. It’s actually only welded at the screen opening; the outside edges are just crimped over.

Another example of what you find when you peel the layers back on Zs. This all got cleaned out, wire brushed/strip disc’ed, and rust converted.

New skin offered up:

The hatch skins are reinforced at the centre to account for the usage stresses on the lock, so I mad a plate to replicate this:

Welding in progress:

Tidied up, epoxy primer:

Since then, I’ve done some skimming and sanding to perfect the surface, but it’s getting there now. Once done to my satisfaction, I’ll do the bonnet. That doesn’t need any metal work, just stripping back again and skimming, sanding, etc.

 

[Bazzateer]

Nice work

 

[Rob Gaskin]

Brilliant. You are becoming quite a 'metal worker'. I wouldn't hesitate buying a car from you Rich.

 

[richiep]

Been ages since I updated this thread, but I have dropped a few updates into the general “what have you done this week” thread. In general, things have moved forward and I’m hoping that during Spring I will be ready to have the shell and panels painted. My intention is that I will do all the primer stages and also paint the underside with tinted Raptor, and then outsource professionally for the exterior, cabin, and engine bay, etc. I’d like to do it all myself, but even with my plan to construct a temporary booth around the car in the garage, there’s too much residual dust from all the sanding and grinding to make it as clean as possible for a proper job. Not unless I gut the place and clean it out item by item, which isn’t going to happen!

Anyway, recent work since that summer update on the hatch began primarily with final coats of epoxy on the shell and perfecting skimming, body lines, etc.

After that, it got covered over and attention switched to the front wings and now door shells too, which are the current work in progress. Oh, did the scuttle first, which needed bare metal stripping, primer, skim, more primer etc. Came out perfect.

Front left wing:

Needed some work due to having been crunched a little at the front. You can see in the above some creasing around the indicator hole, which had further work done on it after the pic.
Right wing was a little more needy due to the bottom having a bend caused by sloppy jacking in its previous life, and some small perforations. Cue hammer, dolly, and ultimately grinder and welder to get the bottom to be perfectly straight...

Grind, epoxy, and fibreglass to waterproof the repair:

Then filler, clouds of dust and more epoxy. Also, finally took some measurements and drilled some new holes for something a bit different. Being a 72 car with a JDM theme, I decided a long time ago that I would be badging the car as an HS30 Fairlady 240Z , the non-G nose 2.4l variant in Japan:

Pleased with that!

Wing now sitting nice and aligned on the car:

Next post upcoming on door progress...

 

[richiep]

The doors...

The driver’s door is overall in good condition with minimal rust. It just needed a small repair at the front bottom, a couple of holes welding up from a previous dent pull at some point in its life, and the door mirror holes welding up.

strip disc time:

After that, treated it with Rustbuster Phos-Kleen B rust protectant, Chlor-X salt remover, and got a couple of coats of epoxy down:

Looked and felt lovely, but looks can be deceiving, as some guide cost shows plenty of scope for more hammer tapping and skimming...

That crease below the handle escutcheon almost looks like someone booted it with a bare foot! Or did a Jackie Chan-style palm hit on it. Will be sorting this over the next few days.

The left door will need more work, given the issues I did work on a bunch of pages back!

 

[candy red]

Great work Richie ,but I wouldn’t expect anything else from you

 

[richiep]

More door work the last couple of weeks. Drivers door above had all the skimming and sanding done and is now waiting for a new sealer coat of epoxy over the weekend. Once done, I’ll probably end up doing a bit more skimming etc., as undoubtedly flaws will become apparent when it’s all a uniform colour again.

Moved on to the LH door, which had more issues. Very early on, one of the first things I did panel work on before I got properly into the welding was pulling a significant dent out of this door. During storage, I think the car had been pushed over and hit a support post in the barn, which hit the door handle and shoved the escutcheon in a bit. It was a devil to get anywhere near straight again due to the strength of the escutcheon pressing. Anyway, I got it close after much stud welding and slide hammer, and dolly work.

The door also had a rusty front bottom corner, with perforations of the outer and inner skins. If you look back, you’ll see I created a wooden former to replicate the inner front corner section. Unfortunately, I succeeded in losing the piece I made in the chaos of my garage and parts boxes. So, now ready to do the door properly, I had to bust the former out again...

Finished piece clamped on:

Welded on:

Outer skin piece at the ready:

Welding under way:

Grinded down and ready for fibreglass and skimming!

pleased with the outcome. I also welded up some door mirror holes and this weekend will be bare-metalling the whole outer skin, before rust converting and then epoxy. Before those last two steps though, I will be lead loading the area around the handle escutcheon. I don’t want to just hit the area with filler alone to get the shape perfected; leading seems more appropriate to help sharpen the swage line and deal with any low spots and ripples from all the bashing and pulling that area suffered getting the dent out. I actually considered replacing the door with a new one, but if I can save this it will be a win. The car will have all its factory panels with the exception of the RHD scuttle panel and the bonnet (a replacement due to the original having had a shunt on the tip and a ton of filler in it!).