Straysshiftco.com A couple of stray cars On my morning walks, I often passed by a pair of ’68 1600’s in InterBay on the way to the Ballard Locks. They were stored in a …
FlipboardIcon version of the Flipboard logo Victimshiftco.com Victim of a swap? There was no engine and from the looks of things someone had attempted a swap. Dual coils make me think a rotary was tried. Note the …
FlipboardIcon version of the Flipboard logo Rattyshiftco.com Ratty The interior of the first car was in rough shape, but more or less complete. It still had the ignition key (no door or trunk keys, however). The …
FlipboardIcon version of the Flipboard logo Curbshiftco.com Kicked out to the curb All-in-all the first car was in fairly good shape. Originally a 665 Yellow car, it has been repainted a generic red. No major …
The Donorshiftco.com The Donor The second car (SPL311-177226) was also a ’68 1600 and this one featured an engine! Rust had really taken hold on this car. The hood and …
FlipboardIcon version of the Flipboard logo The Donor’s engineshiftco.com The Donor’s Engine The donor came with an earlier 3-main bearing R-16 (R 27460). The motor turns over easily by hand. “Ran when parked,” according to …
A new homeshiftco.com A new home Thanks to NWDE I tracked down a guy with a big truck and a trailer with a winch to drag the cars home. They were an immediate hit with my …
Under the hoodshiftco.com Under the hood With the radiator removed you can see a fairly complete motor. Whoever put this engine in the ’68 combined early and later parts. The …
FlipboardIcon version of the Flipboard logo Shag-a-delicshiftco.com Shag-a-delic! The interior of the donor was a throw-back to the 70’s. Early 240z seats surrounded by a sea of black and red tiger-striped shag …
Nagging questionshiftco.com A nagging question With the help of a few friends I got the car up the sloped driveway and into the garage to start the strip-down in earnest. Hardtop …
Tear downshiftco.com Let the tear down begin! The duct tape speaker wiring job contrasts nicely with the shag. I had to cut the mounting bolts to remove the seats. They …
Carnageshiftco.com Ah, the carnage Windshield came out easily with a little help. Made it very easy to remove the dash. I’m thinking of using this steering wheel for the …
FlipboardIcon version of the Flipboard logo Pluckedshiftco.com Engine plucked The engine came out easily with the radiator, grille and hood removed. You can see that this car was originally 664 Spanish Red. A …
Tasty lumpshiftco.com Tasty lump One of the exhaust manifold studs broke off flush with the head. Against my better judgement, a friend persuaded me to try Easy-Outs. Of …
Next victimshiftco.com Next victim The donor was rolled back outside and covered with a tarp. Next under the knife - the rat. The idea is to leave the outside alone and just …
FlipboardIcon version of the Flipboard logo Guttedshiftco.com Gutted Everything came out easily – I’m getting pretty good at this! A few surprises - rust holes in the floor of the foot wells on both sides right …
Eastwoodedshiftco.com Eastwooded Note to self: next time use the Eastwood Rust Convertor that comes in the spray can. Brushing this stuff on took weeks!
FlipboardIcon version of the Flipboard logo Insulatedshiftco.com Insulated Another note to self: next time use thinner insulation. I tried some aluminum-backed insulation from Home Depot. It went in nicely, but …
FlipboardIcon version of the Flipboard logo Vinylshiftco.com Mmmmm, vinyl A black interior vinyl kit from Stan made it begin to look like a car again! I had to trim the padding using the original jute as a …
Carpetshiftco.com Ooooh, carpet On a whim I decided to go with a red carpet kit. It is actually a little more maroon than it appears in the picture, but it looks pretty …
FlipboardIcon version of the Flipboard logo Snowshiftco.com Gratuitous snow shot While the work continued in the garage, this is what it was like outside! I’m originally from southern New Mexico, and lived for …
Might as wellshiftco.com Might as well With part of the interior dealt with, it was time to get the car ready for the engine. The more I looked at the various colors under the …
More Eastwoodshiftco.com More Eastwood This time I used the rust convertor in a spray can. Much easier! It takes a while to mask everything off, but the paint goes on in 30 …
Rattle-cannedshiftco.com Rattle-canned Three coats of rattle-can red were sprayed on the body after a long time spent masking. The color is not an exact match. Next time I’ll …
Pipes, hoses and cablesshiftco.com Pipes, hoses and cables Here’s a few tips for replacing all the spaghetti: 1. Take lots of pictures when you take things apart. You’ll need them to …
Center consoleshiftco.com Center console Combining bits and pieces from the two cars, I was able to cobble together a center console. A bit of SEM Landau Black vinyl dye and …
FlipboardIcon version of the Flipboard logo Radio wiringshiftco.com Radio wiring This is an early 80’s Datsun Hitachi A-1551. I’m desperately trying to figure out the hook-ups! The 2 leads on the right on the top row …
Smilingshiftco.com Smiling The rat seems happy to have her R-16 back in place! I’ve pulled and placed this motor about 4 times now. Each time it gets easier. Next the …
Wiringshiftco.com Fun with wiring Work on the Rat has been slow this summer - it’s been too nice to spend time in the garage. A top-down drive in the Miata is much …
