DATSUN ROADSTER Fender Information, Additional

Datsun Roadster Parts from Rallye Enterprises, Ltd.

FRONT FENDER INFO PICS

PARK LIGHT HOLES
The 63-69 fender hole can be enlarged to take the 70 style lamp. Wiring is identical.

1963 - 1969

1970

MARKER LIGHT HOLES
The hole on a 69 can be enlarged to take the 70 lamp, however, the original 70 hole placement is lower on the fender.

1969

1970

FRONT FENDER SHAPE NEAR WINDSHIELD

1965 - 1967 1/2

1966 fender pictured so we were sure it wasn't actually a later fender on an earlier car.

1968-70

The gaps and the fit vary tremendously depending on exactly how the doors and fender are hung.

1963-64

.......

1600/2000
The last time we did a warehouse reshuffling I pulled a large number of new fenders and doors out and had a couple of people try to find differences. We also recently hung a few on undamaged cars. We found far more variance in the SAME part than we did from one year's part to another year's. We compared new parts to new parts, new to used and used to used. If you look at a bunch of 65 and 66 cars that all would have the "older" point shape, they vary also.
Hanging the same fender on multiple same year undamaged cars gives different results also. The way body panels fit on the roadster isn't that precise. There are what I could see as different "point shapes" on the rear upper part of the fender, (different angles, curves), but I found all these different "shapes" on 68-70 fenders and all of them on 63-67 1/2 fenders. For each year we found some that were more blunt, or more "pointed", and some that more of a two step curve as the fender heads down the door line. I almost wonder if the rearmost upper "tip" of the fender was hand formed after pulling the fender out of the forming tool, with the variances we found. All of the fenders are the exact same length from rear most upper point tip to the headlight edge. The mounting position of the fender is a tad bit different though. Starting on the 68 models, when the cowl and windshield were changed, the upper rear most hanging bracket was altered. Unlike the nut on the older cars, which was fixed, the nut on the 68-70 cars was made to float in it's receptacle to allow a little fender position adjustment. At it's maximum "outward-mounting" position though, it still forces the fender inward 1/4 inch from the 67 1/2's. The change in the nut location may be the only consistant difference between a 67 1/2 fender and a 68.

So right off the bat, all other things being equal, hanging a 68-70 fender on an older car will give an decreased gap. Hanging an older fender on a 68-70 will give an increased gap. But things are never equal and these cars and their parts seem to vary A LOT. You can compensate for this regardless of the problem by slotting the mounting hole on the car or redoing the bracket. Body shops sometimes have to do far worse than this repairing accident damage.

Most of this is moot anyway as only some of the different fenders are available in a new part, and used parts may have far more problems than just a tiny edge shape difference (if there ever was one!)

1500
The "original" style fenders that came on the 63-64 cars also had a different shape near the windshield from the 65 1500. The angle break at the point where the cowl meets the area below the windshield is much more pronounced and flat. I originally did not acknowledge that on this page because I was looking at "NEW" fenders. (thanks Ross!) You may not see this on your car either as the fenders that Nissan has sold as replacements, as early as 1972, had the same shape as the typical 65-67 1/2. We have 2 different styles of NOS Nissan 63-64 fenders, and they both have the "later" style design. These fenders are probably converted 65 fenders, as the flare area has been welded on as separate piece, although you wouldn't notice it unless you looked at the back side. One production run has a slotted hole for the upper "to-the-cowl" screw, the other run just has a round hole. This slotted hole probably allows you to adjust the fender a titch and still have the inner fender holes lined up.

What does all of this mean? Plan on the body shop doing a bit of modification in a lot of cases!

.......

Back to Sheet Metal Info


	1965 - 1967 1/2 1966 fender pictured so we were sure it wasn't actually a later fender on an earlier car.	1968-70 The gaps and the fit vary tremendously depending on exactly how the doors and fender are hung.

	1963-64
.......	1600/2000 The last time we did a warehouse reshuffling I pulled a large number of new fenders and doors out and had a couple of people try to find differences. We also recently hung a few on undamaged cars. We found far more variance in the SAME part than we did from one year's part to another year's. We compared new parts to new parts, new to used and used to used. If you look at a bunch of 65 and 66 cars that all would have the "older" point shape, they vary also. Hanging the same fender on multiple same year undamaged cars gives different results also. The way body panels fit on the roadster isn't that precise. There are what I could see as different "point shapes" on the rear upper part of the fender, (different angles, curves), but I found all these different "shapes" on 68-70 fenders and all of them on 63-67 1/2 fenders. For each year we found some that were more blunt, or more "pointed", and some that more of a two step curve as the fender heads down the door line. I almost wonder if the rearmost upper "tip" of the fender was hand formed after pulling the fender out of the forming tool, with the variances we found. All of the fenders are the exact same length from rear most upper point tip to the headlight edge. The mounting position of the fender is a tad bit different though. Starting on the 68 models, when the cowl and windshield were changed, the upper rear most hanging bracket was altered. Unlike the nut on the older cars, which was fixed, the nut on the 68-70 cars was made to float in it's receptacle to allow a little fender position adjustment. At it's maximum "outward-mounting" position though, it still forces the fender inward 1/4 inch from the 67 1/2's. The change in the nut location may be the only consistant difference between a 67 1/2 fender and a 68. So right off the bat, all other things being equal, hanging a 68-70 fender on an older car will give an decreased gap. Hanging an older fender on a 68-70 will give an increased gap. But things are never equal and these cars and their parts seem to vary A LOT. You can compensate for this regardless of the problem by slotting the mounting hole on the car or redoing the bracket. Body shops sometimes have to do far worse than this repairing accident damage. Most of this is moot anyway as only some of the different fenders are available in a new part, and used parts may have far more problems than just a tiny edge shape difference (if there ever was one!) 1500 The "original" style fenders that came on the 63-64 cars also had a different shape near the windshield from the 65 1500. The angle break at the point where the cowl meets the area below the windshield is much more pronounced and flat. I originally did not acknowledge that on this page because I was looking at "NEW" fenders. (thanks Ross!) You may not see this on your car either as the fenders that Nissan has sold as replacements, as early as 1972, had the same shape as the typical 65-67 1/2. We have 2 different styles of NOS Nissan 63-64 fenders, and they both have the "later" style design. These fenders are probably converted 65 fenders, as the flare area has been welded on as separate piece, although you wouldn't notice it unless you looked at the back side. One production run has a slotted hole for the upper "to-the-cowl" screw, the other run just has a round hole. This slotted hole probably allows you to adjust the fender a titch and still have the inner fender holes lined up. What does all of this mean? Plan on the body shop doing a bit of modification in a lot of cases!		.......