That sure is a lovely little truck.

I was after something just like that before we went for a Datsun thinking we wouldn't find anything.

that's a neat little ride, wish it were coming to my place.

Cheers

Ed

HEllo,
Just recently I was lucky enough to see and chat with the owner about his road rego'd V6 Datsun ute.

it was running a Ford Capri V6 and built many years ago. the car is very tidy and from the outside looks remarkably standard.

The owner even remarked the V6 wouldnt be the ideal swap today however it does have certain driving characteristics which he preferred over say a CA18DET etc (not to say a CA18 is bad)

I am not really a purist and wouldn't hesitate dropping a V6 of any different make into a Datsun ute... I like the Datsun, I don't see it as de-valuing the car. I have friends who are dropping RB26DETT's and RB30's into their FC Holdens, so it goes both ways.

I always admire the engineering it takes to make these conversions happen.


Cheers Ed

Hey Unfamilia,

Just have a go, and practice, practice.
that's how I got started, have no formal training, don't even work in the industry.
My first car project took 10 years, and I was lucky enough to win a few trophies with it.. don't get me wrong.. Im no trophy hunter, but it's a nice feeling.



Shoota,

I have found a product which looks decent and is called "UPol Raptor",, It's spray on bedliner which looks quite sturdy. I may try it out on my rodeo and also the Datsun.

IF you do short cut I was thinking try encapsulate any rust using POR15 or similar then spray on this stuff.

Cheers

Ed

I wouldn't waste your $$ on a cheap welder.. it's a false economy, you will end up buying another better quality unit to replace it after it fails. A mistake I made years ago.

Now I use a MigoMag 195 and argoshield light gas. works great, good looking welds.

It has paid for itself over and over again.. a good quality welder should last a life time, so it's a relatively small outlay for long return.


Cheers

Ed

I have thought about cheap versus good and figured I will spend the time to do it right.

The rust in these cars I have worked out it caused by deterioration of seam sealer and leaking seams.

the water gets in behind the outer panels and effectively rusts from the inside out.

the previous owner of my ute has done the quarter repairs but neglected to finish the job properly, leaving a small home open at the top behind the pillar vent... the result was major rust in a very short time.. which negated all his hard work!

what has this got to do with the tub?

The seams around the edges are probably cactus and leaky already with rust. A quick fix wont address this problem.

water will enter between the tub liner and eventually work it's way thru the seams and behind all those nice new sill areas you have painstakingly rebuilt.

so..

I am planning to replace the seam from tub to cabin with a piece of RHS... this will get rid of the rust and allow me to put in anchor points for cargo.

the wheel tubs will either be rebuilt or fabbed from scratch.

the tub edges will be re-built.

a big job but I think it's necessary for longevity.. for me.. (oops my stepson) and whoever may own this ute in the future (nothing is forever).

actually I have already told my step son I have first dibs on the ute and I want to put a CA18det in it...


Cheers

Ed

Cheers Shoota,

I contemplated Wayne's panels but since I had to replace alot more figured I could fab up the area at the same time. Where the floor meets the kick panel area wasn't too bad and is next on the list with a replacement floor. I will make one up to match the passenger side now.

slowly crossing jobs off the "to do " list.

need to get cracking on the tub next *groan*

Cheers

Ed

Another update.

drivers side inner sill, bracing and outer was cactus. I have fabbed up the inners and bracing and now tacked the outer sill back on. The floor pan still needs to be replaced.

here are some pics of progress.

inner sill rusty.



cutting out all the rusty bits.



fabbed up an inner sill



inner sill from the inside



inner sill and rear wheel arch repair



inner sill bracing.. ready for outer sill which I have tacked in but no pic yet.




Hope this is helpful to others who are doing the same jobs with rust.

I have certainly been enjoying reading other's threads, just need more time to read them all!

Cheers

Ed

Again, thanks Andy.

Much appreciated.

Cheers

Ed

If you didn't sand your primer coat smooth you have an increased risk of rubbing through your colour coat.

I normally wet sand with soapy water with 1500 followed by 2000 then buff with a coarse grit and then a fine grit like 3M "perfect it" on a foam buff.

sanding takes the "orange peel" out, and buffing shines it up... buffed 2K looks great.

Top work Shoota good workmanship!

I just completed my inner sill replacement last night, will complete the outer before moving back to the floor now, will post pics shortly in my thread.

Are your original floors bumped up in the front corners at all?? I was wondering what could have caused mine to be before realising that probably some tyre shops had placed the hoist arms under the floor pans... did yours suffer this?

So it got me thinking of actually reinforcing the "floor beam" by plating over it with 2-3mm steel to act as a hoist point. would be easy if the beam was out like yours.

Any merit to this idea??

Cheers

Ed