Ok guys,

I have started on the hidden / tray mounted tailgate hinges and mounting the washer wiper motor in the cab.

Tailgate Hinges: I don't like the how standard tailgate hinges are exposed and started working on a tidier solution years ago. Original I had tried some normal hinges mounted just a little further in but the tailgate would only open about 60 degrees. I doubt I'll ever use my tray but it just didn't look right that the tailgate didn't open properly. These one should have the tailgate open to level with the tray. I just need to look for some better clevis pins as I think it has just a little to much slope at the moment. The nuts and bolts in these pics are just to hold it together for the pics.

Washer wiper motor: This is the S13 motor that I had already fitted in the engine bay but i'm sure you could use the same process with the original datsun one. I used M6 threaded rod in the original mounting nuts - just into the cab instead of into the engine bay. It will need stand offs and a brace as the threaded rod has a fair bit of flex to it. I found that the original wiper arm still attaches but it may need about 15mm taken out of its length as I couldn't get the wiper motor to do a full revolution without binding. I'm also going to put a kink in it to push it back up a little higher.

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I have finished the hinges now and they are all mounted up. I still need to brace the mount on the body as it has some flex but it is all operational.

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Nice- be nice to see a full write up of the s13 wiper conversion

Cheers mate.
There isn't to much to the S13 wiper conversion as i'm already installing a CA18 and decided at the start that I wanted to use the S13's wiper & indicator stalks. When I had Kev Rowley start on the wiring harness I just asked that he didn't strip out the wiring for the this gear. The wiper motor bolts straight into the 1200's wiper position with 2 of the legs lining up with the original three bolt holes/nuts. I just drilled out for a third nut and bolt and then cut the forth leg off the wiper motor - most of that can be seen in the pics though. The 1200's wiper mechinism fits straight onto the S13 wiper motor but I don't think the wipers will "park" in the correct spot with out drilling this out a re-welding the keys/blockouts. I still haven't hooked up a battery to see if this works but I don't see any reason for it not to.

Are you thinking of making up a few sets of the tailgate hinges to sell. Must admit I was never a fan of the factory hinges.

Also, I notice that you are using a latching mechanism on the tailgate from something else too...whats the setup there?

Nah I wasn't thinking of selling them. I had all the parts machined up and in the end I was a lot more expensive then I expected. I'm happy to share supplier details and my design files etc once I'm back a work on Tuesday.

The latches are out of a Toyota hilux. I picked up a complete tailgate and the bits that fix to the body for a reasonable price. I made up some 20mm spacers to bridge the gap between the datsun tailgate and body.

thats a awsome idea for a hinge but they are not very "hidden" was that the inital concept?

Cheers wards, the main idea was that it wasn't on the outside like the original hinge and that the tailgate at least opened to a position flat with the tray floor. I also have one of maddat's hard lids so it will be hidden with that on.