JoeyM wrote: Here's a mock up of the exhaust
I took two inches off the narrow end of the cone, and a half inch off the wide end. (The goal was to shorten the exhaust just enough to keep it from interfering with the driver's door.) Then I welded it together and rattle canned it with white header paint.
photos ASAP.
photos from last night
Tonight's been busy. I sanded the paint on the exhaust in a few spots, added another coat of paint. Afterwards, I cut and tacked into place some vertical tubes to use for firewall support, scrubbed gunk off of the future firewall, sanded some spots on the inner surface of the cowl, and modified the corner of the hood.
I did some of the welding on those two vertical support tubes for the firewall, and added a horizontal one between them; i.e. above the top of the firewall. My plan is to use those tubes to help me bend the flanges where the firewall meets the transmission tunnel.
Of course, nothing is that easy. To get the firewall sheet metal (from the door of an old upright freezer) into place, I need to pull the entire drive train out (again) first. I already pulled the rear end. While I have it out, tell me how to prep and paint it. Tomorrow, I'll probably get the engine/transmission out.
Any idea what your going to use for the floor pan?
mrhappy wrote: Any idea what your going to use for the floor pan?
I'll be using the hood from the 810 station wagon that is my drive train donor. (Using the donor's hood or roof for that purpose is one of the common cost saving strategies a lot of people use in locost-style builds.) I actually cut the braces out of the hood for this purpose in March, 2009.
The hood skin has been sitting in the corner of my garage since then. (Wow, this has been a much longer process than I want to admit.)
Busy two days. I painted the rear axle and drive shaft. I also pulled the body panels off, took the engine out, stood where the engine was while I welded the firewall support tubes in place, test fit the firewall, and capped the ends of the tubes in the transmission cross member.
still awesome. thanks for the updates
I boxed the ends of the motor mounts and transmission mount, used a grinder to remove the mill scale/rust, and coated them with rustoleum primer.
Unfortunately, I'm beginning to doubt that I will be able to have the car ready by the $2011 challenge....work (i.e. the job) is getting REALLY hectic, and the whole summer will be that way. 
That's only a minor, though, compared to the fact that I have no idea what the heck to do....I'm making a lot of this up as I go, and it feels like "one step forward, two steps back"
One of the common visual themes for traditional and/or rat rods is a solid body color, open sides to the engine bay, and a white firewall.
I just got done using a couple rattle cans to do the same thing with a slight twist. Here's my future firewall:
The WWII battle flag makes sense in light of friedgreencorrado's description of this car as "a Japanese inspired (and sourced) version of an American style 'street rod'."[*] There's some bleed under the masking tape lines in a few spots that I'll need to clean up, but I'm fairly pleased with the results. It should do a rather nice job of drawing the viewer's eye to the datsun/nissan engine.
[*] - I love that quote, and hope you don't mind me repeating it; I expect that I'll use it often in the future.
In reply to JoeyM:
Don't mind one bit. Kinda honored, really. Loving the firewall.. that'll have people saying "..what is it?" instead of "..nice Deuce, dude.." at the car show.
friedgreencorrado wrote: that'll have people saying "..what is it?" instead of "..nice Deuce, dude.." at the car show.
You just read my mind. 
Neat! That's a great idea for the firewall.
Possibly a daft question here, but, what do you do about a driveshaft?
I had one built. It's quite a bit shorter than the stock driveshaft from the station wagon that donated the rest of the drive train:
The guys at Central Florida Driveshaft (in Lakeland) did it. I'll try to take some close ups later.....the welds are gorgeous. I gave them the measurements, and it was fabricated and ready to pick up the next day.
Since those photos, I've painted it red so it matches the rear end.
I've been trying to build the transmission tunnel, but I'm taking a little break. I just backed into a tube that I had been welding on a few minutes earlier, and I have a badly (i.e. skin sloughing off) burned calf.
Yesterday:
Today:
I think you'll need at least 2 locking pliers to keep that driveshaft connected to the rear axle at 55 MPH.
AquaHusky wrote: I think you'll need at least 2 locking pliers to keep that driveshaft connected to the rear axle at 55 MPH.
LOL
I just didn't feel like bolting it in place when I knew I would be taking it apart again.
I tacked together some more of the transmission tunnel, and clamped the gear selector in place so I could check the fit on the linkage for the slushbox. Pics later.
All the tubes on the transmission tunnel are welded solid on their outer surfaces. (I need to pull the engine and transmission and get under the car to access to a few that still need welding.) I also started building the frame for the driver's side door
Whereabouts in Florida are you? I might have to drop by and see this thing next time I'm down!
PM sent.
Oh, and here's a photo from late this morning that shows the frame with the transmission tunnel in.
Since then, I put the cowl back on and started building a frame for the door...
A year ago or so I was at a car show in Daytona. It was the first time - and only time so far - that I saw a Morgan 8 up close and personal. One of the things that struck me was the simplicity of the door design; The rear edge of the door has a lip that rests against the outer surface of the body. That's a lot easier to build than a traditional door jamb. The inner surface of that lip also makes for a nice spot to put a rubber weather strip to keep the rain out.
I decided to imitate the Morgan's door design, using a similar lip. (That's not particularly datsun-like, but it is easy to fabricate.) I'm using angle iron to make the lip. I have to make it follow the curve of the rear fender, but that's not too hard with an angle grinder and a whole mess of clamps.
I can't wait to see this finished! Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate it.
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