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. Our
sheet metal parts with the exception of the patch
panels are from Nissan unless specified otherwise.
Sheet metal components from most car manufacturers are
not usually "bolt-on-and-paint". Nissan parts from the
60's are far more "finished" than some other
manufacturers I have seen, but there is still lots of
finish work to be done on seams, getting the headlight
scoops to fit properly etc. I have also noticed
differences in where the mounting holes in the front
fenders are drilled. Since the new inner fenders do
not come drilled I don' t think they considered this a
problem as when the fender was mounted you'd just
drill through wherever the fender hole was. A little
bit more work when you are installing a new fender on
to an inner fender that is ALREADY installed on a
car! Sheet
metal parts on the New Sheet Metal Page
are the best of the bunch. and would only have small
dings and creases which seem to be present on almost
every sheet metal part. These are the parts we used to
call "Condition 0" or "Condition 1". The parts listed
in the "Odds and Ends" sections have what we consider
to be damage. In the past we had to rely on sending
you a general description of damage conditions and how
we judge and price the fenders. We tried to if
anything overstate the damage to avoid people being
unhappy. This scared some people off unless they were
in the local area and could view the part. We very
rarely lost a sale when someone saw the part. With the
advent of email and this online catalog we will begin
taking detailed photographs of some of the parts and
putting the parts and photos up on the "Odds and Ends"
pages and/or emailing the photos to you directly. You
can then see the defects that we see. This is somewhat
of a time consuming endeavor, but it seems to making
things easier for our customers and
ourselves. Front
fenders were stored stacked on top of each other as
they "nest" together pretty well. What happens is that
the vertical brace on the rear inside of the fender
rests on the outside of another fender. After you get
6-7 of them and start bouncing them around during
movement, a crease develops on the underside fender.
Rear
center panels (the panel between the taillights) were
stored stacked on top of each other so that the
support for the trunk latch from the panel above
rested on the panel below. This makes an indentation
behind where the license plate is. Almost all of the
panels have this to some extent. Click on the part
number to see example pictures. Hoods
are stronger then front fenders when "loose" so they
are pretty good. They still can have a ding or small
dent where the next hood hit them during their early
life.
Sheet
metal parts may come with grey, black or red (ruddy
brown) primer. Whatever we have is what we will ship.
Unless part number starts with DU or DN the picture is
generic (just a sample of any one of the parts we have
or had in stock) Although these parts were all primer
coated by the factory, primer wasn't intended to be a
45 year preservative. What this means is that the
panels show rust discoloration or surface rust. On
most fenders there isn't much of a problem yet, it
seems to be present on hoods to a much greater degree.
A lot of the hoods have some amount of surface rust.
The 65-67 hoods many times have a lot of surface rust;
not as much on most of the 67.5-70 hoods. A lot of the
65-67 hood; because of the age and primer technology
available in 1965 have surface rust over most of their
surfaces. The Nissan parts were made just too far in
the past to not have this be the case. ANY
PART CAN HAVE SURFACE RUST ON IT!!! Any area not
sandable should be reshot with something current that
stops the rust process. Regardless of what does or
does not show, I'd recommend you sand these down
COMPLETELY anyway. Primer quality has improved in the
last 45 years and old primer can hide rust underneath.
Primer is not preservative and I'm quite sure Nissan
didn't think these parts or cars would be around 40-50
years later. Having the parts dipped in a stripping
solution does the best job; but that also can remove
filler that was applied at the factory and will have
to be reapplied. Discuss this with your Auto Body
Shop. Before
we get to what year's parts "fit" on what year's cars;
and how you can use one year's parts for another
years; I'd like to discuss the fit situation in
general. First
off; although these are original NISSAN parts; they
are not MACHINED parts that go on another MACHINED
part. They also are not "stamped" parts; at least not
by today's standards. Yes they were "stamped" but a
bit more crudely than modern parts are. In addition
most of the panels, fenders, doors, hoods are composed
of many panels that were then spot welded or seam
welded together to make what you see as the completed
panel. I
do not think Nissan's tooling jigs were all that
accurate either; or maybe not maintained. I've seen a
lot variances in parts. New inner front fenders were
not pre drilled to hang the fender. Easy when inner
and outer fender are both new on the assembly line;
just hang fender where you want and drill through both
panels. Instant perfect fit! You may find the
situation a little bit off when hanging another "new"
fender. It is not usually much of a problem to
"adjust" the holes in inner fender. (new fenders come
with holes predrilled). The pieces of the front fender
near the headlight are sometimes no where near being
finished. Basically what I am trying to say here is do
not think you are going to take a new fender and just
bolt it on and start shooting the primer and paint!
True I have hung a few where that HAS almost worked
out; but not often. I've seen far worse from some
other vehicle manufacturers; and have heard worse
things from body guys. One told me he wished he could
buy all the PIECES that make a fender for a certain
British car and he'd assemble them
HIMSELF... The
area around the headlights can vary; and the headlight
scoop trims vary; so always fit those pieces BEFORE
painting. Typically
the older production parts are better in this regard;
which is what we have as far as sheet metal parts go.
The worst problems were on the latest production
fenders from about 1980 when Nissan reproduced some
items.
Although
the roadsters were changed fairly often, some of the
differences were subtle, and can be worked around to
use a lower cost part or in some cases the only
available part. A lot of information on "what fits
what" will be covered in our next print catalog, and
somewhat on the individual parts pages for each part.
Not all of the different year parts are available so
many times it's necessary to improvise. Nissan itself
even did this with their parts supply. We have some
fenders that the factory modified by welding up
sidelight holes, or even welding on an entire other
flare. Holes
for side moulding may or may not be present in doors
and fenders. Front
Fenders vary in the size of the flare,
the park light hole,
and what the shape of the side marker light
hole
is, if any. Emblem holes, (if predrilled), may be
different on some years. Some fenders were drilled for
other countries or not drilled at all. Although some
people feel the shape of the rear upper end of the
fenders where they hit the cowl and upper part of the
door is different between 68-70 and older cars, there
seems to be as much difference between one 68 fender
to another 68 or from one 67 1/2 fender to another 67
1/2 as there is between a 67 1/2 and a 68! The rear
most part of the 63-64 and 65 1500 fenders differ,
although NOS replacement fenders have had only one of
the styles for at least 28 years. (Pics
and Info)
Fenders depending on production run also can vary
around headlight area as well. It was not intentional,
they just vary due to inadequate quality control. The
headlight rims themselves can vary a lot. Always fit
the headlight scoop to the fender before painting the
fender. Don't assume the mounting holes (if they are
already there) for the headlight scoop trims are in
the best place. I did have a body shop tell me one
time it was easy to flare the 1500 fender into a
medium flare 65-67 1600 fender than it was to
"deflare" a later fender to work on the earlier 1600.
But that was just one person's opinion. Rear
Fenders vary in the size of the flare,
the type of rear door post
attached (if any) and the undercar
portion that fits against the trunk floor. This last
aspect is not much to worry about as body shops can
deal with the changes without much work. If the fender
is being changed due to rust or accident (instead of
just for the fun of it!), they will have to do much
more work than this. The 69-70 fenders have a hole for
the bumper end rubber that the older cars don't have.
They also have side marker light holes,
round on the 69, rectangular on the 70. As with the
front fenders, the 67 1/2-70 has the larger flare,
65-67 1600 has a smaller one and the 1500 a little
smaller yet. The 68-70 door posts are all the same.
Hoods
vary in the bolt pattern of the latch,
the location and type of mounting bracket
for the hood support, and the shape of the "scoop"
which determines which trim piece fits it. And please
see "surface coating" above. The 1500 can use the 65
1600 hood but the emblem holes will only match the 65
1500 that had the individual letters; you'd have to
fill them if you want to redrill and install your
63-64 emblem. Doors
are tougher to "cheat" with. You can use 65-67 doors
on a 67 1/2 if you modify the door post to accept the
different latch but it can be difficult to get
everything lined up properly. You can however use the
outer skin from a 65-67 on a 67 1/2 and vice
versa. Rear
Center Panels vary by the angle of the license
plate area. Later (68-70) cars had this area modified
so license plate was mounted more vertically. The 69
and 70 panels have the two license light holes in
them. The panel for the 63-64 has no provision to
mount a trunk lock since those cars had the lock in
the trunk handle. In some cases, on 65-67 vs 67 1/2's
the emblem holes may be different. Otherwise, any
panel can be FORCED to work. It is actually quite
common to see this and other "mistakes" on cars, up to
and including mismatched rear flares as in the old
days when a car was hit, a body shop would just call
up a wrecking yard and get a fender, or the Datsun
dealer would order the wrong one. (The Nissan parts
book is somewhat of a disaster sometimes as to what's
what) Apparently no one noticed that the one they were
getting was different. Front
Aprons come in two types, little vent holes and
big vent holes. In an attempt (probably) to increase
cooling, the vent holes were enlarged. Either one of
the two panels can be used on any car. The small vents
are of course much harder to find in a new part
because all of the panels were superceded into the
"improved" version when it became available with the
introduction of the 1969 models. .
Condition
Although the parts are durable when installed on a
car, when they are loose they are easily susceptible
to damage. They were not stored in the best way or the
best environment. I was able to see one original
storage container that came to us via ocean shipment.
The crate itself barely survived. What this translates
to is body panels having some sort of damage. This
ranges from very typical little dings to multiple
small dents, creases, or a major problem. Rear
fenders, doors and hoods survived very well for major
damage, but various dings and creases from meeting a
"sister" are common. Front fenders took a real
beating. Out of a crate of 20 we would classify 5 as
great, 5 as "condition 3's", (major defect) the other
10 in between. You have to remember that these are
"NOS" PARTS (New OLD Stock), they're "NEW" but they
have been in storage for 40 years. If they get to be
$2000 a piece, they will STILL have dings and creases.
If you are replacing a part it should be because yours
is crushed or bondo'd up or rusted out. If you're
looking for a mint ding free new body panel you've
chosen the wrong vehicle manufacturer.
Surface
Coating on New Parts
Fit
What
Fits WhatAs
with everything, if you have any questions about a
part, please ask.
See
DELIVERY INFO
BEFORE ORDERING Overseas
- Canada
& USA
