Texlenin

Strange you should ask. I'm using a rubber pick-up bed liner in place of carpet. Nice & thick (reduces NVH/heat), very cheap, doesn't need backing; easy to clean & doesn't pro mote rust.And,it's ribbed for my protection! Did I mention it's cheap?

@Tony D : I have searched for the post regarding "deadheading" aftermarket rails, and have never seemed to locate it. Any way you could point me in the right direction? I installed an ebay one-off fuel rail(approx 23mm OD) in the following manner: stock filter==2 port(stock)FPR (in on side, out on bottom, per FSM)====rear of new rail. Return line blocked off. It doesn't seem to like that very much, but several other problems could also be influencing that. Would it not be more important to meter the fuel going into the rail, as opposed to trying to control it on the far end? Hopelessly clueless as usual....

GorillaFart (why?) Dood, you live in Southern California. The birthplace of car customization, hellloooo? That's like living in a whorehouse and saying you can't get laid.... (I'm kidding!!!) Bike shops- classic restoration houses- low rider shops- etc. Find one nearby and offer to take their metal man out to lunch. Pick his brain, get more contacts. Drag a junker in the back yard, buy some tools, Practice! Take an Auto body class at a local school (my route). Find everything you can read on the subject. Watch youtube videos. I'm sure palosfv3 will tell ya, it's dirty, noisy, dangerous work. But the reward of looking at a rusted-out shell that you brought back from ferrous oxide hell, ready for paint...ain't much better than that. Best of luck to ya!

T-roy, they're doing what's called a "skim coat." The idea is to lay down the thinnest possible layer of Bondo to fill and level all the depressions/waves/dimples. Then sand that down as far as possible, rinse, repeat. The start all over again with high-fill primer to fill in the sanding scratches. Then "block sand" to get a smooth surface. You might ask them if they are using "plastic" (styrene, I think) or "metal' bondo. A weakness of Bondo is that if water gets in from behind, it can loosen the bond and make it crack or fall off. The thicker the Bondo layer is, the more likely that will be to happen. The "metal" has aluminum particles in that are less likely to let that happen. "Skim coating' is a commom practice on older cars were panel replacement may not be an viable option. It's not what you'd do with a hail-damaged car; chassis flex would shake little cones of bondo all over the road.... Hope this helps some. Remember, as Bill Reagan said, " Rust Never Sleeps! "

Not a pro, Randy; but I did get a degree in that ol' black magic known as AutoBody Engineering in community college. Done a couple of projects for friends and some on my own. Whatcha need?

75, just out of curiosity, what did you use, machinery wise, to weld that up? What settings? And more pics, of course...

75zcar- Interesting idea. Were you looking to increase headroom (ala double-bubble ) or was it just cosmetic? I like how it matches the existing curvature.

And fix that damn crack on the lower lip!! lol

75zcar, have you added something to the roof?

Howdy, comrades! Braap, excellent write-up as usual- lots of usable info, concisely written. I recently converted to a aftermarket rail (ebay one-off), rigged "dead-end" style. But my stock pressure regulator only has two ports- in at side, out at bottom. with standard vac fitting on top. I've got the fuel return line plugged/clamped off, but is this messing with anything? Too much fuel? The tubes 16mm OD. It runs rough and smokes, but that may be indicative of a laundry list of other problems. Bessie's always been a sickly child.... Any thoughts?

Oh sweet roller-skatin' Jesus! Have to change pants now; thanks... They did excellent work, M. You should be proud. I have had limited experience with Bells Auto Trim (recovered my door panels). Great to work with, fast, cheap(?c-note for two doors?) I plan to have him do all my custom interior work when I get it done. http://bellsautotrim.com/default.aspx Great lookin' ride. Thanks again for reminding me how much of a loser I am. I keed!

Datsundriver87, If you ever find anybody who has fitted this, or just bought it, let me know. I'd like to get the dimensions of the front airdam for a project of my own. I called MSA just an hour ago, and they didn't have one in-house at the moment. I would like to get as many dimensions as possible to make a fitment decision. Thanks.

Not exactly new- I have a copy of the original patent I printed off of rexresearch.com about four years ago. As stated in the video, they are still developing applications/ versions, so one specifically for automotive use is probably in the works. I would love to have some mounted out back, if for nothing else but coolness factor. I'm still waiting for Michelin & Energy Return Systems to offer airless "tweels" to the general public as well, along with those freaky hubless wheels with the perimeter brakes. Hmmmm...gets me thinking. Off-topic, everybody needs to check out the website of a fellow Texan- multimachine.org. How cool would it be to have a 10-in-one machine shop built outta L-series blocks? We could all do all our own custom work and put Pallnet outta bizness! Just kidding, man... Put those thinkin' caps back on and let's change the world.

Or you could do like I did and put one of these baby's in.... http://alanwatch.homestead.com/migclock.html Love it! Big and easy to read, trip/stop functions, needs no power(except a couple of twists to the stem winder every two days or so), mucho coolness. No, you don't need to run 27v to for any reason- that's for Angels 45 & -40c! No, it won't fit in the hole without some kind of adapter- my dash was already shot ta hell anyway. I just used a bigger hammer....and sickle. Oh, I crack myself up somedays..

Well, the interior is meant to be grey/black when completed, so charcoal was ahead by a nose anyway. Custom center console and rear deck surround covered in grey pleather with black rubber cargo floor and footwells. You should see it now- a ladyfriend called it "purply". The PO had greyish silver shot Earl Schieves' style over original Nissan 317 blue and it bled thru. Ah well; it keeps the rust in where it belongs! I'll finally use all that autobody learnin' and do all the bodywork/prep myself, then tremclad the hell outta it and wetsand till my shoulders dislocate. Maybe a bit o' flip-flop crystals added to the mix, when clearcoat. This is of course assuming that I ever get it back from the mechanic and get MsnS installed.....