Blue '71 Project

[cwd240z]

Well I got the car registered and insured so I've been able to put a few more miles on it. I think the front seal is leaking a slightly, so I'll need to replace that. Now I'm working on installing carpet and just got some gauges for the center dash piece I got from Gilson Design. I had to enlarge the holes very slightly to fit the gauges, but I think the piece looks really nice. I just need to install the sending units and finish wiring them up.

[RONSLYCHUK]

Dime is looking good. Gauges look very nice.

[cwd240z]

Finished wiring up and installing the center gauges, all I need to do now is change out the water temp sensor in the thermostat housing. Also got a cheap, temporary tach to use until I figure out a permanent solution, so I wired that up and mounted it to the column for now.

My fresh air vent tubes were brittle and cracked to pieces, so I removed them and blocked off the holes in the cowl with some aluminum. That left me with a decent spot for speakers, so I got some 3.5" Kickers and mounted them behind the dash vents. I like that they are hidden and I didn't have to cut anything up, just a couple drilled holes in the dash frame. They actually don't sound too bad just by themselves, but I'm planning to also mount some 6x9's in the package tray later on.

[cwd240z]

The original shift knob from the car was pretty rough and missing some pieces of itself, so I had been looking around for a new one. Many of the nice looking knobs I found felt relatively pricey to me so I decided to try something different with the one I had. Seeing as it was already pretty much ruined, there wasn't much to lose. My sister makes a lot of custom decorated stainless steel mugs using different colors/flakes/decals and then coated with a clear gloss epoxy, so I asked her if she could do something with my shift knob.

I started out by sanding the original knob down a little bit and knocking any loose bits off. I then applied some body filler to fill the low spots. I stuck a pencil in the end of the knob and the other end into a drill so I could sand it down to a nice symmetrical, round shape. I don't have a lathe, so this was the next best thing. Once I got it sanded down, I shot some black spray paint on it for the base of what the design would be. I wanted to try something a little different and funky...and I think I ended up with that. I think it turned out really nice, and it now has the correct shift pattern on it as well.

[RONSLYCHUK]

Looks great!

[Stu]

very cool bit of flair without being a gigantic gaudy shift knob/stick

[cwd240z]

Thanks guys!

I bought a pair of SU carburetors nearly two years ago but they've just been sitting in a box in my shop waiting to go on, well I finally got around to installing them last weekend. They are 38mm SU's that were rebuilt by Z Therapy several years ago. The intake manifold and fuel rail had been chromed at some point, which isn't necessarily my cup of tea, but it looks alright. Fortunately they came with everything I would need; manifold, fuel rail, heat shield, insulator blocks, choke cables, linkage, and two different sets of air filters. They came with a fuel pump and fuel pressure gauge as well, so I went ahead and swapped that on so I could monitor fuel pressure as I get them tuned. I got the old carb/intake removed, put on a new intake/exhaust gasket, then mounted the new carbs. I haven't done any tuning or adjusting yet, but I did get the car running with them, seems to run pretty decent so far. I'm looking forward to tinkering with them.

Once I get it running well on these carburetors, I've got electronic ignition to install on it. Then I can clean up all that ugly ignition wiring.

[loungin112]

Consider using modern clamps on your fuel lines. Those older styled ones can be finicky and the newer ones are solid...I went with this style https://www.amazon.com/Swpeet-Assortmen ... 162&sr=8-3

I used a brake line to extend the overflow tubes below the manifold. Never had an issue.

[loungin112]

On a side note, rejuvenating the intended setup - fuel feed, fuel pump, return line, throttle linkage setup, etc - looks great.

[Pjackb]

Why not tune right away with the electronic distributor? Seems like doubling the work no?

[Pjackb]

I’m installing the same Gilson console in mine
If you give it a light mist of SEM trim black it will match the rest of the dash, if you don’t want to spend on SEM the Duplicolor vinyl paint is also close

[cwd240z]

Consider using modern clamps on your fuel lines. Those older styled ones can be finicky and the newer ones are solid

I used a brake line to extend the overflow tubes below the manifold. Never had an issue.

On a side note, rejuvenating the intended setup - fuel feed, fuel pump, return line, throttle linkage setup, etc - looks great.

In this application, I prefer the OEM look of the double wire hose clamps, and I've never had any issues with them leaking or anything on this car or my other Datsun.

Not a bad idea for the overflow tubes. Thanks!

Why not tune right away with the electronic distributor? Seems like doubling the work no?

I’m installing the same Gilson console in mine
If you give it a light mist of SEM trim black it will match the rest of the dash

I just didn't want to introduce too many variables at once in case there were any problems, which is why I'm installing them independently. Shouldn't be any more work. It runs well enough as it is that I may go ahead and install the ignition anyway.

Good idea for the dash. I actually have a can of the SEM trim black on the shelf that I bought for that purpose and a few other pieces, but I just haven't taken the time to remove it and paint it. It's not nearly as noticeable when the shop light isn't inside the car.

[Pjackb]

Cool one more question, what did you do with the cigarette lighter plug? Move it or canceled it altogether?

[cwd240z]

The cigarette lighter in my car was already missing, so at the moment I still don't have one. I do plan to add one, though.

[cwd240z]

I got the carbs synced up and running well. I pulled it out of the shop, wiped the thick layer of dust off it (we're currently doing bodywork on a 58 corvette, so sanding dust gets everywhere) and took it around the block a couple times.

There were a few small places I had left in primer from a while back after repairing some rust...bottom of the fenders, a door, and rockers. Well I got tired of looking at the primered spots, so I mixed up some of the blue paint I had leftover in a small airbrush and sprayed those areas so they blended in better with the rest of the car.