Five-Hundred and Ten

[Byron510]

I’ve always placed the trim in afterwards, usually because you need to manipulate the rubber to seat the glass properly. If the trim was in the rubber, this would be tough to do.

I’ve heard of people outing the trim in the rubber first, but I’ve never watching it happen successfully.

Byron

[MarkReidHRC]

Working on Datsuns declared an essential service!

Over the Christmas holiday I picked up a used 2 post lift. Got it from FB marketplace for $800. It has a 3 phase motor so I had to buy a converter box for $150. The 3hp motor output is cut down by 1/3 because the motor only runs on 2 phases. Seems to work fine but I may eventually get a single phase motor.
I Love it! Saves the neck, back, and all the other parts of the body you get reminded of after being under a car for a few hours. I would have to say that a lift is above the 10mm socket on the list of necessary tools,mainly because it is easier to find.



Here it is installed.



Lifts the car just over 6' . Easy for working under the car.

[MarkReidHRC]

To keep the Stock look I got a set of 15" x 6" steel rims with the 4x114 bolt pattern. Took them to a wheel shop and had the centers bored out to the 73mm for the Datsun. Then ground off the welds from rims off and adjusted the offset. I set the offset to be 1/4" from the inside of the rim to the front strut. Spent quite a bit of time before welding the rims back to the centers to ensure the rims run true. I welded a 3/4" sheet metal band on the front spoke part of the wheel for the stock hub caps to fit into. The fit is very tight and had to ease the edge over a bit to get the hub caps to fit in.



The 165/55 R15 tires fit inside the fenders front and back. Not a very common size tire but easy enough to find online.



Tight clearances between the rim and strut and also the front brake callipers.

[iceman510]

Interesting project on the wheels and tires. Good to see you posting progress on the car again.

I found a used Rotary on Craigslist a few years back. Best purchase ever for this +50 mechanic!

I refurbished it and it works great. A little cramped by my 10.5' ceiling, but I make it work.

lift received small.jpg (276.74 KiB) Viewed 3725 times

lift with car small.jpg (296.7 KiB) Viewed 3725 times

[datsuntech]

Same here. I bought a used MaxJax and it has been a godsend to my old aching back. It doesn't go as high as a standard two post hoist, but a creeper chair ( I use an old student chair) makes it nice to sit with back support while I work. The best part is that it fits in a 8FT ceiling garage.

IMG_20180527_013834358.jpg (231.42 KiB) Viewed 3719 times

[MarkReidHRC]

Rear battery installed and cable run up to the engine bay. Installed a 60A breaker and a trickle charger/maintainer.



Used a copper welding cable and ran it under the rear seat. Then out under the floor thru one of the factory holes.



It runs under the floor then into the passenger floor support.



From the floor support into the front clip frame and out the factory hole in the side of the frame.



This should make for a tidy connection to the starter.

[MarkReidHRC]

R180 LSD 3.9 installed with clip in axles. Very easy install and no stub axles to deal with.



Original jack, crank handle, and chalks. Trunk also has original gas tank cover and spare tire cover including the rubber mat for the floor.



Brakes are in and working. Electrical is all back in.





Dash and interior is almost all in.



Original seats.

[datsuntech]

Love the work. Car is coming along beautifully. One concern.
Am I seeing the battery cable zip tied to the fuel line?

[MarkReidHRC]

Changed all the lights to LED's. The 2 old flashers that run the signal lights and the hazard's will not work so you have to switch them to LED flasher module. These plug right in like the old ones. The wires in plug the are the wrong polarity and be to be swapped. A small jewelry screw driver will release the connector out of the plug. Make note of which wire was in which side of the plug so you don't put them back the same way they came out. The LED flasher unit must be grounded. I used the old mounting screw.



You can find the small instrument panel lights on line. T-10 and BA9S. LED's will not work unless they are in the correct polarity. Test all the panel LED panel lights before you put the dash together. If a light is not working turn it 180 deg. The 2 L and R signal lights (BA9S) will require a load resistors to be run in parallel, for the flashers to work.


Made my own BA9S from T-10's before I fount them online

[MarkReidHRC]

The motor I am getting built is not ready yet but the rest of the car is. I talked to Byron and asked if he had a runner. He had a couple, a 1.8 running when it came out and a 2.0 l that he didn't know the history of. I said I would try the 2 l as it will be the same size as the motor I am having built. Got the 2 l home and pulled the oil pan, valve cover, and front cover off. The rumor was the motor had been rebuilt but wouldn't run. After checking the timing chain was too loose and out a tooth. Replaced it with one I had, lined everything up and it all looked good. Put the 48 year old carb I had from the original 1.6 on and, what do you know she fired up.



After disassembling the carb and cleaning it out the motor runs great! Next was to get the exhaust system installed. I have a header for the new motor being built. I got the header and 2.25 pre bent pipe from Troy Ermish. I wanted it to bolt up to the exhaust manifold I had for the runner I am putting in now.
First I made 4 flanges to weld to the pipe so I could bolt it together. Then welded one of the flanges to the header that will eventually be installed with the new motor. Took a second flange and welded that to a piece of pipe and then welded it to the test stand.



Removed the header and bolted on the stock manifold. Made a flange plate for the manifold and proceeded to make a custom Y pipe.





Once I had it all tacked up I had my son weld it up as he is much a much better welder than I am. It all fit in perfect and eventually the new motor with the header will bolt right in. The pre bent exhaust from Troy Ermish fit great. I recommend it if you want to take all the guess work out of your exhaust pipe.

[MarkReidHRC]

After getting the motor running good and the Y pipe done it was time to install the motor. We took Jordan's advice and put the motor in from the bottom. Bolted the cross member to the motor and the trany mount to the transmission.



Put the motor on a work table and moved it into place with a pallet jack. What a great way to install a motor!





Motor is in. Didn't take long to get all the wires, hoses, and exhaust connected. She ain't pretty but she runs!

[MarkReidHRC]

The car is on the road! Aligned it as best as we could. Scheduled for alignment next week. Ready for 5 10 Day! Great to be on the Road.

[greenthumb]

Congrats Mark! It looks great. Nice work

[Byron510]

It was really cool to have you drop by on Monday evening - great surprise to have - even at a distance. The car looks great, and the amount of work that you and your sons have put into the car, it must feel great to drive it.
Your put a lot of little details in the car that make it a little more enjoyable. Being that you came by around dusk, I was able to see the effectiveness of the LED light upgrades including the instrument panel which you could actually see, and the marker and license plate lights that stand out well.
Fitting the 14 hub caps to the 15” wheels is a nice touch. It makes your car unique while allowing a much better tire selection.
Looks really good, and I’ll enjoy seeing your family project car at the local events - when they finally get going!
The motor was a total crap shoot. I bought it from Chad, a member here on the realm- basically as a core as there was no real history on it. So it was certainly a gamble on your side to put in the effort. Glad it paid off and runs well, and will get you by until the ‘new’ motor get finished.
Great job, and thanks for coming by. It was great to see you, your son and your car running.

Byron

[MarkReidHRC]

Out and about. Got a few odds and ends from Robbin. Took the opportunity to get a couple photos.