New from Sunny South Africa

[Heinrich]

small update.
the car is still with the panel beaters, and they are making progress it is just very very slow.

also opened the big end bearings on the SR to check condition and they look basically new.
then completely assembled the motor, added oil and got oil pressure without much hassle.

the ecu destined for this car is proving to be difficult, have not been able to get communication between ecu and pc at all.
so i am exploring a different option now witch unfortunately means no more e throttle.

where would be a good place in your/other peoples experience to mount the ecu on the inside of the car(mine is a RHD) keeping in mind the loom comes through the fire wall where the old handbrake cable use to go through.

the fuel pump unit and tank is also finished, together with the new filler neck and pipes using a newer nissan filler cap.
will try and finish the xmember with the R200 setup and prepare the pieces for the prop shaft before i get the car back.
also still a small interference issue with the rivits on the clutch and the flywheel bolts, but that should be a simple fix .

[Heinrich]

quarantine update

put the fuel tank together .
moved the guage output wire to the pump housing and blocked off the hole where the terminal used to be.
this is my in-tank surge tank solution.











this is something i am building for someone else(to fund my datto)
basically a cut up quad bike extended with 2 pieces of tube at the bottom only, i built the rest.
working to get this done and out om space before the datsun returns from the panel beaters.

[Heinrich]

a little updated(it seems they are bi annual)

i started the GTIR engine on a stand, had a hard time getting it started, and after correcting cam timing it started just fine.
turns out cylinder 1 was down on compression and the reason was an open inlet valve.seems someone before met did not know that all the shims were different and assembled the head wrong, must be the same person responsible for cam timing.

decided the effort to get it shimmed right is not worth it, so i decided to go VVL. that is in the process, slight concern about clearance for the VVL relocation block, but will deal with that when i get there.
parts /shims for the GTIR head is not available in south Africa ,but there is a big VVL following and spares are plentiful although not from Nissan.



got the car back from the panel beaters last week, i am not very happy with the work but took it to be able to start assembling the drive train. we decided that whatever i am not happy with will be sorted next year .



once the car was home, i installed the R200 into the rear sub frame , cut both R200 and R160 mustache bar up , installed the sub frame with R200 in the car and tacked the mustache bar together once i was happy with fitment, it is quite a tight fit.
took the whole sub frame with diff installed to have the side shafts sorted, hope it turns out ok, S13 inner cv's with ( i think ) R30 outer cv's, same car i sourced the R200 from.i have an S13 Viscous diff n the R200 casing, that is why the S13 inner cv's and stub axle's




once the rear was off i started looking into brakes.

the front brakes are off a P11 primera, 280mm x 22mm vented disc with standard caliper.
had to machine the hub diameter down a bit too fit the rotor over it, but now i can replace pads and rotors without any modification once they need replacing.



the rear from the same donor as diff and outer cv's, i bought maxima pads that fit the calipers.




measured up the bracket and drew some hand sketches , a friend will redraw in cad and hopefully have it laser cut during the week.

[greenthumb]

Nice progress. Hard to see from the one pic, but shiny paint always looks good. What’s the issue there? That swirl pot looks cool too. Not sure how I missed that when you posted it earlier

[icehouse]

My buddy Sam has a P11 VE+T in his 510. He just scooted the motor forward an 1" and ran the single VE solenoid. The VE's are over an 1" shorter then the DE's which are shorter than the L series.

[icehouse]

Also I don't understand the fuel system. Why does the high-pressure pump fill the internal can? I don't see another pump in the internal surge can.

[Heinrich]

My buddy Sam has a P11 VE+T in his 510. He just scooted the motor forward an 1" and ran the single VE solenoid. The VE's are over an 1" shorter then the DE's which are shorter than the L series.

Good info, thank you.
the single VE solenoid head/solenoid is not available here(not as much as the double solenoid heads/solenoids)
head comes with relocation block so not much of an issue.
out of interest , did Sam drop compression on the VE before adding the turbo?

Regarding the fuel system, the pictures are a bit misleading, there are 2 pumps, one inside the internal can feeding the engine and one outside of it in the "cut away" that fills the can.

the paint is shiny but there are a lot uneven-ness one can see against a light that reflects in the paint.
some places the paint have been polished away and some places that have not been prepped properly, especially on the under/bottom side of things. almost seems that the person doing the prep never bothered to bend down to have a look.

all and all it does not look horrible, in fact good enough to live with for a while.

[icehouse]

My buddy Sam chopped the two valve solenoid down cross drilled it and I tig welded the ends of the crossdrilled holes for him. He runs stock compression and about 10lbs of boost on a RB25 turbo. It rips!!! It's also still no a FWD bock with an adapter to a 71B out of a 720, the stubby trans, which hasn't broken yet! it's in his goon. So loads of traction with a solid axle, actually it's a H165 out of a later 210 with a rare LSD, which he broke and we found out the internal clutch plates were identical to a early subi R160 disks.

Here is a link to the tread. Ton's of interesting stuff.

https://ratsun.net/topic/58566-freebird ... /#comments

[Heinrich]

Thank you.
have some spare time waiting at airport, this will help kill the time.

[Heinrich]

Some more progress.

i had to find a replacement front hub as mine was ( i think) in an accident at some point in the past.
got one from a fellow 510 owner , but was very rusted .
was unable to bolt the disc off.had to cut the disc off, then cut the Allen bolts off, pry the disc center off and finally removed the leftover pieces of bolts with a vice grip.



The front caliper bracket in the making, both front and rear are finished , will post pictures later



enlarged the hole through the rear cross member , i knew it was not going to be an easy task but man, had to weld the holesaw to its "holder" to stop it from oscillating.also slotted the cross member for some rear adjustment, will save up for the proper adjustment kits.i have a 2nd rear sub frame that i can modify and swap out in future



finally, i was lucky to get someone to sandblast the rear sub frame, suspension , gearbox mount and front cross member so that i can paint them.
but that is also done




sourced new wheel bearings all around, hoping to assemble the rear very soon.


i am having a very hard time sourcing rear shock for the car.does anybody have the extended and compressed length of what shock is needed for a 50mm suspension drop?
or even better, a part number for monroe, gabriel , billstein schocks.(these are the brands common here in south africa.

[Heinrich]

had time to work on the car over the weekend.

assembled the sub frame , new bearings , sandblasted and painted the calipers and installed into the car.
the first time in a very long time that the car is standing on (some of) it's own wheels.

it seems that there is a bit of "run out" on the wheels/hubs, will have to have a look at that.

the wheels fit without any spacer, although i had to grind a very small notch into the y arm.they do seem a bit small .
also cut one coil off the rear springs, will see how it looks once the car is assembled, and still could not find rear shocks.

[greenthumb]

Getting there! Nice work

[Heinrich]

a little more progress.
i sandblasted /wire wheeled all the front suspension components.

fitted the coilover sleeves to my struts after removing some of the length

then i painted everything



then everything was assembled and installed.
the car is on its own wheels with steering for the first time in ( i think) seven years.


the springs i got with the coil-over sleeve kit is too short, was able to get springs that should let me drive the car(truck cab suspension springs off of a mercedes truck )

measured up the rear brake lines and had them made, i can pick up this afternoon.i really hope i have time to install them over the weekend.
i am re using the front lines.

i tested my brake booster for leaks (by sucking on it and closing the pipe off with my tongue, it does not hold vacuum.
i then dis assembled it to see if i can find something wrong with it, but the inside looks very nice.
is a little bit of a leak acceptable?

i have 2 of the same boosters that does exactly the same thing.
should the master be bolted on before attempting to test it?

[Heinrich]

some more progress.was not able to find a new or suitable booster, so i decided i have nothing to lose by attempting it myself, so i took it apart.
the rubbers looks to be in good condition, so i sandblasted and painted it, lubed everything up and put it all back together.holds vacuum and feels nice and smooth. here it is before blasting/paint



also assembled the sideshafts, and installed them.




hope to bleed the brakes this evening.

[greenthumb]

Getting close for its maiden voyage!
Carry on