Project second car

Thought I’d document this project and lean on the community, because ill probably need it [emoji51]

I was a member 10 odd years ago and only signed in here and there over the past while. I actually thought the forum was dead but realised tonight it was just because I was using Tapatalk and wasn’t a member [emoji85].

My second ever car was an S14a that I bought from one of my best mates which I drove daily for 3 years and never sold....It was costing me too much to run so I just bought a daily and parked the S14a in my dads shed 10 years ago, moved an hour away and forced it from my mind. The friend that I bought the car off tried to buy it back for her wedding day on NYE 2020 but I couldn’t sell it.

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These were before I parked it up

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It lived behind this door for 10 years and was only uncovered for a photo on my wedding day.

I always intended to do something with the car but was avoiding it. A few years ago I set up an account and started putting away bits and pieces into a “Nissan fund” which kept getting raided (mostly to keep other shit-but-fun cars running). My mate trying to buy it back stirred something and then, just before Christmas this year, I was having a drunken chat with my dad. He told me to; “get that piece of jap shite out of my shed or do something with it” and my wife backed him up .... so bought a lift.

With the lift installed, the project started on jan 1st and the final aim is a full tear down and restoration.

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How it looked on jan 1st, day 1 of the project.

The car spent a lot of its pervious life at the coast in Northern Ireland so it’s pretty rotten. I paid to have the passengers sill “replaced” 11 years ago or so but it looks like it was done almost entirely with fillers. There will be plenty welding required; Both inner and outer sills, front tubs and a few floor patches. Other than those areas (some of which are really bad), it isn’t actually too bad.

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Some of the scabbyness that was previously “repaired”

I have worked on cars before but have never attempted something like this. Nothing even approaching this before actually. I live away from the car and have had no access to it since Christmas due to what’s going on at the moment... but I took a week off work at Easter and so far, it is stripped to a shell with the exception of dash, loom and glass.


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During the tear down my other piece of shit broke down

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Twice (because it’s French)

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And this is how it currently sits.


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Sod the car, I have outrageous levels of garage envy.

All the best with the refurb.

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Originally Posted by Clouder_sx

Sod the car, I have outrageous levels of garage envy.

All the best with the refurb.

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It’s not mine and I live an hour away. But I spent Christmas clearing it out, installing the lift and moving my tools into it .... so I was in too deep to turn back before I knew it.

I’ll only get to work at the car on the odd weekend when we are actually allowed to travel again but I intend to spend the time between reacquainting myself with nissans and sourcing parts.

It’s certainly not going to be a fast moving project.


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Lovely to see another rescued from a slow death in in storage. There's definitely been a shift in community attitude, gone are the days of track builds being the most popular as people recognise these cars are reaching the point of needing a full overhaul.

I'm in the middle of a very similar piece of work myself, let me know if you want to compare notes.

I look forward to more posts on this

Reminds me of mine (albeit not as bad as your) burying my head in the sand. I didn't know how to weld but my arm was forced. Some would say I still don't lol!

Have a look at my project thread. I rebuilt some of the boomerang section and the sills. Not hard per say. Just super time consuming. Did it over the span of about 5 weekends working late into the evenings.

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Originally Posted by CrazySx

Reminds me of mine (albeit not as bad as your) burying my head in the sand. I didn't know how to weld but my arm was forced. Some would say I still don't lol!

Have a look at my project thread. I rebuilt some of the boomerang section and the sills. Not hard per say. Just super time consuming. Did it over the span of about 5 weekends working late into the evenings.

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Thanks, I’ll certainly have a look.

Unfortunately, I can’t weld or do any metalwork really. I would like to learn, but I don’t think this is the car to learn on for a few reasons. The main one being I will butcher it, second one is that I live away from the car.

A family friend who lives just across the road from where the car is stored restores/paints/welds/fabricates parts for old cars for a living, so the plan is for me to take it to a bare shell, have it blasted and he will then be tasked with the fabwork and bodywork.

It won’t be cheap, but it’s better than me butchering it.


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Originally Posted by davecoupe

Thanks, I’ll certainly have a look.

Unfortunately, I can’t weld or do any metalwork really. I would like to learn, but I don’t think this is the car to learn on for a few reasons. The main one being I will butcher it, second one is that I live away from the car.

A family friend who lives just across the road from where the car is stored restores/paints/welds/fabricates parts for old cars for a living, so the plan is for me to take it to a bare shell, have it blasted and he will then be tasked with the fabwork and bodywork.

It won’t be cheap, but it’s better than me butchering it.


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Wow! Ur lucky to have someone like that. My only options were to have it bodged or have it professionally restored for ALOT of money. So I did it myself. I enjoyed it actually. Plus I know exactly what's gone into it and the products used :)

Make sure you get plenty of shots up of the work.

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my old one had a kfc plate, there was a few of us. When its finished If you dress up as the colonel and go through the drive through, you get free chicken....(some of this post is definitley true). Good luck with it.

Brilliant post, well done and good luck!

Current status:

Attachment 85133


It’s only taken a year and a half to get this far……it’s now been blasted and a light coat of primer thrown at it.

And now I need to get my welder/fabricator/miracle worker free to start welding. There is lots needs done ��

Wow bare shell refurb