A lot of progress...

A long time has gone since last update...

Last year, we gave the Cherry a ride on a trailer to my new garage and plan was to get some work done faster that earlier, but that didn't go as planned.

I had a few newer projects on the way and only lately I've had some time to focus on my N10. Also, the Covid-19 has been "kind enough" to give me some spare time.

So what has been done?

1) Paintjob. It might not be perfect, but it's ok for first timer...

2) Radiator swap from Honda Civic. Fits and works like a charm, but it needed some imagination to screw it in and hold it there.

... More to follow... :-)

Brakes: Done.

The car is progressing slowly, but the main goal is right there, you can almost see it - soon it is able to be driven to my own garage! :-)

I'm currently able to use around 3-4 days per month (5-8 hours a day) to this project, so it takes a bit longer to get there than I expected.

Anyways, I replaced front brakes (calipers, cylinders, pads, pipes and hoses) around three weeks ago. After that, a week later, I moved to rear brakes. Brakes were cleaned and tested and some adjustment done also - we'll see later if that was enough or not. One of the rear cylinders was rusted and it didn't move at all. So we had to fix that and put it back together. After done, it was time to bleed the brakes - and now the car moves and stops ;-)

Last weekend, it was time to put wheels under it and take it down from jack stands - drove it out of the garage and gave it a little bath to remove all the sanding dust.

Now, it is waiting for couple of things: front end repair (basically removing some spot welds and replacing needed part(s) with new welds), indicator fix (maybe a bad relay), coolant temp gauge fix (maybe a bad sensor), sanding & painting, cleaning, hood/bonnet repair/replacement. Also, alignment should be done at some point.

After everything - or most of - is done, I'll drive it to take the MOT inspection or move it to my new garage and do the MOT later.

I'll update the status, when something new comes along :-)

Hidden problems

 

My plan was to remove all the wheels, so I could remove those old tires and also repaint them. However, while removing right hand side wheel, this is what happened:

Very nice, indeed. Well, now I'm out for the hunt for that broken "plate" piece and hopefully will get it in within few weeks. The whole suspension seems to be in quite rough condition, even though operational. It is very hard to find springs or absorbers for the front, so I might need to get creative in the future, when I wish to change them all.

I'm also looking for some parts here and there, like those license plate lights for example. I managed to find "DATSUN CHERRY" emblem from Denmark (New Old Stock) and check this it out, it looks so good that I can't wait to see it on the car! Unfortunately I'm still one short :-(

I also ordered some body patches from the USA, as I was unable to find them from Finland or even from Europe. Well, from Europe I found one seller, but the price was outrageous. I'm testing, if I can fix at least one of the rear fenders with this and some nice metallic bondo, without welding. If that doesn't work out, then I'm just going to weld it, as I have new fenders/panels to do that, but this is something I wish to try out and see how it turns out.

I'm also going to change both front fenders as they were both welded on. My plan is to repair the front end as good as I can, so I can attach those new fenders on with bolts like they're meant to. There is quite a lot to do and I doubt it will be in driving condition for the summer, but I hope it can be in "moving" condition before winter though. We are moving to a new house later this year, which means I can take my Cherry with me and work on it more often.

A little bit of progress

I started to change the gearstick bushings last week, but it all ended when it got so stuck that it was impossible to get in place :-)

On Saturday, I continued with it and we managed to get it back out - showed a bit of drilling and sanding, lubed up and managed to get it in place. Sorry, no pictures available for that though. Not it feels a hundred times better, still sloppy, but not nearly as bad as before.

Anyway, "unwelded" a few welds - registration plate "mountings" were welded and it had to come off. Also the front fender(s) were welded.  As you can see from the picture, maybe it's not the nicest quality, but what I've heard from the previous owner - it was meant to be a temporary solution ;-)

So I took away the driver's side front fender - we'll see if I need to take out the other one too. There was also a screw stuck, where the fender should attach to the body - and that was welded in. Ah well, we managed to get it out, so now we can use the original mounting points later on.

The car is on jack stands at the moment, so I have easy access underneath the car. I will continue working on it as soon as possible.

I'm also looking for some parts: registration plate lights, "DATSUN CHERRY" -emblems at least.

Here's a picture without the front fender:

New parts from Asia

Howdy,

There's not much to report from this project as I've been busy with work and life in general.

A little bit of bodywork (sanding) started and planning to continue as soon as possible. I'm also going to fetch some parts from a NCF member as soon as I have time to do so - new mirrors etc.

Something that is related to this project though, is a group order that I arranged for NCF members - we ordered some weatherstrippings for 100A, KB110 etc. I ordered one for N10 rear window and for all the doors, even though I don't have plans on replacing them yet. These came from Malaysia.

I also received handbrake cables and some "bushings" for the transmission, which should fix its huge sloppyness. These parts came from Japan.

Eternity Project: Windshield Replacement

Windshield replacement would be a relatively simple operation, but when it comes to old cars, surprises and obstacles cannot be avoided.

The first problem is, of course, finding a windshield, but there are still some available ones - and I got the glass with the car itself.

The second and third problem is finding a new seal and decorative strips (list, moulding). Both are "sold", but when you "buy" one or send an inquiry, they don't actually have them anymore.

I started the project in the summer with a windshield replacement, but the old seal with the listings was in so bad condition that I found the only sensible alternative to find either a new seal + strips or some used ones that would be as good as possible.

I asked for the seal around the world, but nothing was found.

The last ace in my sleeve: I asked from a manufacturer whose catalog included N10's rubber seals (catalog was from many years ago though).

I got an answer in a few days:

 - There is none available, because we don't manufacture these anymore.

Well, I guessed this, just asking...

It took four hours when the friendly customer service officer replied again:

- I checked the stocks and found five of these!

Awsome! I bought all of them.

This was in October-November 2018, and it was early of December when they finally arrived to Finland, after all the import taxes etc:

Finally, on Saturday 29th December I finally had the time to get the windshield installed - the mouldings are still missing, but they are fortunately also available.

Windshield installation is a relatively simple operation, but requires precision and a lot of patience. A few corners seemed to be unlikely to go in place, but it finally it did :)

Of course, "smaller" things been made, but no major things before finishing the windshield project.

Next, rear registration plate "holders" will probably be repaired, and then I will think about repairing the rear fenders and other metal / paintwork too.

As long as the cosmetic aspects have been dealt with, then the technical / mechanical side is considered - at least the brakes must be fixed and maybe something is done under the hood too.


-- Ilkka

Prologue

Hello everyone,


I have a Datsun Cherry N10 (1980) restoration project going on and I thought it would be best start a blog about it. This way it is easier to share pictures and info about the process, for those who are interested.

As daily drivers, I've had few Nissan Primera's, one Nissan Qashqai and currently a Nissan X-Trail. Even though I have been "misguided" and had a few other brands as well, I've always been a Nissan guy and now I' finally "home".

For a long time, I had been thinking about getting an older Nissan (Datsun) and finally in the summer of 2018, the pieces were put together and I headed with my family from Kerava to Hämeenlinna. One member of the NCF had been selling HB Cherry 1980 for a long time and the whole seemed be "doable" for an IT-engineer like me.

The car had been parked for years, but it was moved with its own "horses" from one place to another, so the "restoration" could finally start. Let's see how far the "restoration" eventually goes, or whether we have to make some compromises with it.

I got a lot of spare parts, but it was quickly revealed that some parts are really difficult, if not impossible to find.

I started the project in the summer with a windshield replacement, and I hoped that with the old seal the new glass could be installed, but a few cracks in the seal were too much for myself and I wanted to look for an intact seal, as well as a list (moulding) for the seal.

Finding a seal was challenging because they are simply available in Finland... or anywhere.  I was stuck with this situation to these days, but now I probably have the last seals in the world (or at least almost). I'll tell you more about this in the next "episode" shortly.

Here are some photos where everything started from:

-- Ilkka