Yeah, welding is the only permanent cure for this problem, but be sure to cut out the rust first! Do you get "Waxoyl" there? If so after welding pump a load of it(get it hot so
it thins first) down the scuttle vents and it will never rust again. I have yet to find a decent rust treatment (aside from hydrocloric acid!) so there's no point in trying that
really.

Good luck!
Eddie

I was hitchhiking to California and a guy picked me up in a 2000 roadster. It was missing at times. The guy said it needed carb work. He had a broken leg so he let me drive. I didn't think it
was the carbs. I found a loose wire going to the distrubitor and that fixed that one. One thing that drove me nuts on my first 1200. It would drive fine but at times it would just start
misfiring. It took me a while to find the problem. In the distributor, the plate advances when the vacuum pulls it. The plate has three ball bearings that are held in place by a thin plastic
frame. The frame broke and one of the three balls had shifted and that made the plate sit sort of over to one side and sometimes cause the rotor to hit the stator. Most of the time it worked
ok. Good luck finding the cause of your delima. I will try to remembeer all of the problems that I had from my 1200. I had it for over 300,000 miles. 90,000 on the turboed motor. 121,000 on
the stock setup. At one time or another, I think I have run across most of the tricks a 1200 can play on a diligent driver. That takes a lot of memory for this old hippy. Someplace I have all
of my log books on the first 1200(Mareo Speedwagon) but they are in storage in one of the many boxes. I bought that car new in September 1972 and kept a perfect log on the car. I recorded all
expenses and repairs and changes and placed all of the receipts in the taped up back pages of the logs. I haven't done that to anyother car but it was the only car I have bought new.

the $300 is really good, for the amount of work he is going to do. after dropping my car in today he said he would fix the rust aswell (not cut it out thought) and stop the leaks.
to get my coupe totally resprayed, revoming all dents and scratches cost me $1200, a bloody bargain in anyones language. the only catch was that is wasnt stripped back to bare metal (i didnt
and still dont care about that) and that it was done at mates rates.
i recommended my friend take his 70-something celica to him and he quoted him $2000. thats still good as the celica needs dents out and a lot of sanding back. his also said that to add pearl
(you all know that effect im sure) would cost another $500.
his work is top quality. His workshop has a computer colour mixer (pick any colour you want, believe me its hard!) and i think he bakes the paint with these big lights. it is a three car
garage transformed into a workshop.
his business is called Summerleas Road Finnishing Service, and is located in Fern Tree.

If you need to know anything more just ask me as i am happy to help

Simon

welding in panel steel is a great idea except you have to weld it in from the inside and thats about the only way to get to the rust. that will give it strength but wont stop the
water leaking in because the factory seal has gone on the otherside (ie inside those little scoops below the windscreen). the water will still (i think) pool in the foot well unless
the rust is sealed off from above so it has no way down except through the drain hole.

Simon, Sorry to take so long to get back to you. I just posted photos (Water Box Rust) of what happens when you let this problem get worse. You said that you don't think the rust has broken
through. I would suggest that you have a good look under your guard. Check the Chassis rail for rust or signs that the steel behind it may have rusted through. The problem appears to stem
from the intersection of about six different steel sections that meet at the back corner of the firewall. The rust in your interior indicates that the rust on the other side of that steel
will be much worse(Sorry!) After any repair has been made the entire area needs to be well sealed with "DripCheck" where possible and a thin rust proving that will soak into any porous
sections that may have been missed, due to lack of access. I hope this helps!

Paul, those pictures are great, well i mean they show exactly what i am on about, the rust in that car is shocking however.
I am just hoping that the rust in mine isnt that bad, although I havent taken off the chassis rail so i wouldnt know. Anyway I have taken the car to the spray painter so he can
fix the panel damage and i asked him to fix the rust by putting some rust converter through then he is going to put that stuff through that you put under the car and under the
guards (black thick stuff).
This should stop the water leaking through, he may also drill some more drain holes to help get rid of any water.
Thanks again for the photos, they show exactly the problem, and I think anyone who has a datsun to check this area for rust

Okay, I took my distributor cap off and checked the air gap on the reluctor. (This is an electronic ignition off of a 1982 A15). The reluctor should be somewhat centered at all 4 points on
it....it wasn't. The gap is supposed to be .012"-.020", one gap was way too big, and the opposite side was way too small. So I tried to adjust it, and didn't get much luck. I pulled it off
all the way and found that the magnet on it was cracked, and saw that one of those little ball bearings was floating around inside the distributor. I took the distributor out and apart, and
the advance springs/weights were so sticky I could hardly even move them. So could all of these things been the reason my car would misfire at about 5500 rpm???

I basically replaced/checked everything else I could think of. New wires, alternator, fuel filter, plugs, intake gaskets, timing, idle/mixture, cap, rotor, everything I could think of to
fix the problem hasn't fixed it.

So now I need a new distributor, how would a Mallory Dual Point distributor do versus an electronic/magnetic pickup one???

-Andy

Andy - if you're in the market for a new distributor, Nissan motorsports
has brand-new GX
distributors for about $35-40 in stock. Your local
dealer should be able to order one for you...Hope this helps.
Roland

Roland, what country are you in? I'd certainly be interested in a new distributer if you are
talking Australian dollars.

Hi, Slim! Unfortunately, I live in the U.S. so that amount would be in USD. The Fax #
is (310)
538-1462. Make it attention to Ron Johnson - he's
their resident 1200 expert (won several SCCA championships!) and a real nice guy! Good
luck!
Roland