I do appreciate this build in many ways, fundamentally there are 2 areas only that can be changed to make it a much more balanced datsun 1200 showcar & timeless custom 1200.
I know the mazda comparisons are a bit harsh but really theres no other way but to say those tailights spoil an otherwise fine build. They do not match anything on the car and sometimes you have to say I failed there and admit it. After all its not as if you cant make anything new for it.
Dont get me wrong I love your work, the grille is amazing but the rear lights dont the grille any justice. With your skills and ability you could do some stainless of the original or just put the originals with led inserts, the originals are designed by master artists to match the rest of the car. Go against their original shape at least and it fails every time.
This forum is not filled with antique members that are full of hate for the new, most of love new or modernised custom work if balanced well and not just leb cliche. The stereotype every bogon does it wannabe american hot rod zombies that spoil old classics end up as 80/90s outback Oz custom rods.
its just that when peeps try to apply modern incarnations of an old car some things just dont work on it, in this case its the rear lights and the dash.
That dash is really a leb glare tanning booth, any experienced car designer learnt in the 40s,50s,60s,70s before those real designers retired and let the new gen destroy the car industry. There used to be designers that worked on different styling areas especifically the tailights and dash for example that had to follow the rest of the brief, judgement by other designers and overall design theme.
There is a rule that the grille and dash should be cousins. Like most parts of the car this area is one of the hardest to come up with but you can easily with your fab efforts incorporate into the dash guages panel/facia on a smooth rounded same purple dash that will be balanced by white guages already. The purple dash will eliminate a big white ghost on your windscreen day and night. A white dash makes driving a real pain every leb eventually knows this but not before squinting so hard that a. looks like they are constipated and b. end up with permanent angry wrinkles.
Heres a link to the type of rounded edged dash layout but should be straighter horizontally for the datsun 1200 also this sample doenst have the stainless grille inserts across the dash that end on the chrome surrounded guages with white faces. However its the closest colour I could find to illustrate the rounded edged finish that would match the 1200s coke bottle lines.
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4077/4888884184_8571737d2f_o.jpg
Transfer
