"datsun"

How can I tell if a car is an authentic 1967 model? Although it is very uncommon, some have converted their 1967 1600’s to 2000’s in an attempt to scam potential buyers. One way to spot a fake is by examining the ID tag. 2000’s will have a chassis code beginning with SLR311. Insure both the chassis and engine begins with this, instead of SPL311, which was for 1600’s. A very obvious way would be to examine the dash. 1600’s had 120mph speedometers and 7000rpm tachometers instead of the 2000’s, which had 160mph speedometers and an 8000rpm tachometer. In 1968, the roadsters were changed. The DOT mandated that there be a certain area swept by the windshield wipers. Therefore, the windshield was raised two inches to meet this requirement, as well as to resolve complaints about lack of head room in larger Americans. The dash was changed to meet passenger safety regulations, which also led to the disappearance of toggle switches. The door handles were recessed due to complaints of pedestrians being injured in low speed accidents by the 1967 door handles. Additional changes included a windshield mounted rear view mirror that replaced a dash mounted mirror, new body panels, floor, and cowl. Also, the fuse box was now placed in the glove compartment instead of under the hood. Specs for the 1969 Datsun 2000 roadster: Engine Location: Front Drive type: Rear wheel Weight: 1980 lbs. Combined MPG: 22 0-60 mph: 8.4 seconds Top speed: 108 mph Engine: I-4 Model: U20 Solid Valve lifters Aspiration/Induction: Natural Displacement: 1982.00 cc Valvetrain: SOHC HP: 135 HP @ 6000.00 RPM Torque: 132 ft-lbs @4400.00 RPM HP to weight: 14.7 LB/HP HP / Liter: 67.5 BHP / Liter Bore: 87.1 mm Stroke: 83.1 mm Compression Ration: 9.5:1 Electronics: 12-volt electrical Fuel type: Gasoline – Petrol Fuel feed: Two SU-type carburetors Block: Cast-iron Head: Aluminum Transmission: 5-Speed Manual with synchromesh gears Final Drive: 3.70:1 Length: 155.701 inches Width: 58.901 inches Height: 52.201 inches Wheelbase: 89.901 in

[post_title] => The History of the 1967 Datsun 2000 Roadster [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1967-datsun-roadster-article [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2010-02-11 00:18:38 [post_modified_gmt] => 2010-02-11 07:18:38 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [1] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 1562 [post_author] => 39 [post_date] => 2009-12-10 19:38:11 [post_date_gmt] => 2009-12-11 02:38:11 [post_content] => Many people tend to be curious as to the lowering of their pickups when they get them. This is the simple process to lower a Nissan or Datsun truck. It covers models all the way from back in the Datsun days through the hardbody days. The process uses lowering blocks in the rear and adjusting the torsion bars in the front. Skill Level: 2 of 5 Time Required: 1 to 3 hours depending on your skill. Tools Required: You will only need a socket wrench and an open end wrench. The size socket and open end will likely depend on the year your truck was produced so it is best to check what size you will need before starting. Parts Required You will need a set of lowering blocks which can be found at many local parts stores such as checker. You simply go up to an employee and tell them what you're looking for as they are typically in the back. They come generally in 2" 2.5" and 3" blocks and will lower the truck accordingly. Longer u-bolts will also be needed; your best bet is to take the old ones off once you get going to check out the size as different model pickups may have different sizes. The length will need to be extended in respect to the size block you purchase. New nuts and washers are typically included with the u-bolts. Lastly you will need new "drop shocks". These are shocks specifically made for the change in ride height that your block is giving you. For the front, of earlier model Datsun truck you may also need longer bolts in place of the stock torsion bar anchors as well. Make sure these bolts are grade 8!!!! Procedure Rear I. With wheel chucks around your front tires jack up the rear and put jackstands under the vehicle. Once the truck is up, release the jack so the springs will drop to full extension, but once full extension is reached use the jack as support for the axle while working. II. Unbolt all four nuts from the u-bolts (see pic 1). The typical socket size is a 19mm deep dish though it should always be checked as your truck may be different. Also unbolt both the top and bottom bolts of the shock and remove it. The top is typically 18mm and the bottom a 16mm. Once the shock is removed, the u-bolts can be removed from the lower plate and the whole assembly can be removed from the axle. III. Repeat on other side of the truck. IV. Jack the axle back up as to separate the axle from the leaf springs. V. Slide the lowering block into place in between the axle and leaf springs. There is a tab on the block and that will face down into a hole in the leaf spring. The stock tab on the axle will fit into a hole found on the opposite side of the tab on the block. VI. Repeat on the other side of the truck. A partner may be helpful for this step as the other side may be unseated while putting in the second side's block. The bet way is for one person to set in the blocks and then align the axle while a second person then lowers the jack back to full extension. Leave jack under for support. VII. Put the new u-bolts around the axle. VIII. Reattach the lower plate and torque the new nuts to the u-bolts at 75-85 ft lbs. Re-torque after 100 miles! IX. Repeat on other side. X. Reattach new shocks. Attach the lower end of the new shocks in to both sides. You may need to jack the axle up a couple inches in order to attach the tops of the shocks. Once attached and everything is tight, remove the jack stands and lower the truck. Here is a picture of the leaf springs with the blocks, and new shocks installed.

Front I. With the e-brake on and wheel chucks around rear tires, jack the front end of the truck up and put it on jack stands. II. Proceed to the torsion bar anchor bolts which are shown in picture 2. If you are having trouble finding them refer to picture 3. Picture 3 shows the path the torsion bar takes back to the anchor bolts from the front suspension. III. Put your socket wrench (typically 17mm) on the bolt itself and the open end wrench (typically 15mm) on the nut on top of the bolt. IV. Turn the bolt left (loosen) to lower the front end. You will need to choose your own ride height when doing this as there is not a 1:1 ratio for bolt movement to lowering height. This means you may end up jacking the truck up and down several times before you get it completely right. Each time you should let the shocks settle before measuring height. With older model trucks keep in mind you may need longer bolts to achieve your desired drop. V. Remove jack stands and drop the truck. VI. Go get a front end alignment because both your toe and camber will be out severely. You may find that if you have frame damage your camber may not be able to be fully readjusted due to the new drop.It took me about an hour by myself to lower the rear and you can bet on about 5 minutes for the front if you get the ride height right the first try... otherwise jacking up again and so on will take a bit longer. Here is a picture of the torsion bar adjustment bolts, notice the clean areas showing where the bolts were adjusted.

Here is a shot of the torsion bar itself, where it connects to the control arm.

This is what the truck will look like once finished. It could be slightly higher/lower depending on what size blocks you use. This article was written by Anthony Perez (PEZi303) [post_title] => DIY guide to lowering a Nissan/Datsun pickup truck [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => diy-guide-to-lowering-a-nissan-datsun-pickup-truck [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2019-03-25 21:31:18 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-03-26 04:31:18 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [2] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 1635 [post_author] => 39 [post_date] => 2009-12-10 19:38:11 [post_date_gmt] => 2009-12-11 02:38:11 [post_content] =>

They say you never forget your First Time. You'll always remember the short beat of the heart when you first saw her, the anticipation you felt when you realized that she was yours, the dreamy sensuality that overcame you as you gently washed her body, feeling every curve and contour for the first time.There's that dull, distant, thud in the back of your head as you realize that you are really INTO her, and as you get a grip and prepare to make her squirm and squeal beneath you, when you realize how wise you are, what a great decision you made to let her into your life...and, as she delivers pleasure after pleasure...well, there's the promise of payoff, and when you strap her on and let her make her moves, nothing's better. ...It's like that with a woman too, only I'm not writing about a woman... All of the above was about meeting my first Japanese car, my first time with a car that nobody knows anything about and the subsequent times that totally endeared me to it. It's about a mystery car that traveled below most driver's radar but was a descendant of Japanese royalty and a precursor to a lot of little sporty rear-drive Datsuns/Nissans to come, evolving eventually into the 240SX.I bought it because it was cheap (under $3,000 in 1974 money), new and exotic. Hardly anybody had Japanese cars then, and NOBODY in the wilds of SW Florida had a little yellow coupe like mine. My First Time with a Japanese car, I'll never forget her. It was a 1974 Datsun 610 (To purists, it's the Bluebird), and it was a nifty little yellow 2-door pillar less hardtop with a 2-litre 4-banger eager to make 100 HP, 4 speeds, Independent Rear Suspension, radials, a radio and Air. A surprisingly swift 8/10ths BMW 320i imitation, it went like stink and was bags of fun. The 610 was built upon the bones of the legendary 510. It was a little heavier, a bit slower, but it was a pocket performer just like its rally-winning ancestor. I got it because we needed a new Family Car. Our '63 Chrysler 300J had bitten some expensive dust, and we needed Car fast. There was room for both my kids and my wife, there was a pretty good-sized trunk for carrying around a ton of kid stuff, it got amazing gas mileage (high 20s) and it ran sweet, like a genuine sportscar. The Wife and I immediately left Florida and took off for New York City, from whence my seeds sprang. We drove up the East Coast, staying as close to the Atlantic as paved roads would allow; we did things like crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel at midnight and getting lost a dozen times while exploring the wild reaches of Brooklyn; we poked around Manhattan for a week and we came back home through DC and the mountains of The Blue Ridge Parkway. The 610 broke down only once, and it is still the most memorable breakdown I had in any of my cars, to date. A perfect trip. We took dozens of weekend trips in the 610. Later, I had a job in The Keys and I put thousands of miles on it, doing a long-distance commute for six months. We took it all over Florida and it was very dependable. We drove the car around for five years, paid it off then the head gasket blew and the little Coupe got pushed into the garage where it became a convenient resting place for all the things that we didn't want in the house. It had 86, 000 miles on it. I bought a Z-car and my wife got a Tercel. The 610 lay ignored under layers of family junk. We stored clothes inside, guns in the trunk, plywood on the roof. There it stayed for seven years. Cars came and went. Kids grew up. Gas reached a dollar. Like the sun fading from sight in a coastal fogbank, the marriage that once seemed sound was eventually eclipsed by the smoky problems that no one anticipated, and the sun finally, permanently set in a blood-red goodbye. Of the "shared" possessions, I got the 610, my wife's way of punishing me. She got the Oldsmobile. I had it towed to a small shop that specialized in Datsuns and sportscars. The owner was a real enthusiast, and he suggested that we mod the car. He bored out the cylinders, did a 510 racing treatment to the motor. It was now a 2.2 liters and his dyno eventually showed 145 HP. We put on a set of racing headers, got aluminum pistons and a larger carb, put in a truck clutch, and suddenly my little 610 was reborn. We did a lot of suspension mods too, and tinted the windows a limousine black. A set of Minilite Mags and Michelin radials finished it off well. I was back in the saddle again... Except...the car looked shabby, so off it went to a body shop where a little bodywork and a fresh coat of Sun Yellow made her sparkle in the Florida sun once again. Then I got a mail-order upholstery kit and redid the interior, installing seats from a 260Z and a killer Kenwood at the same time. The car was a winner, a true Beemer-Beater. Nobody expected this 12-year old to perform, but when I pushed with my right foot, she screamed and looked good doing it. Ultimately, my wife and I reconciled, but for only a couple of years. She was making payments on a BMW then and she was endlessly irritated by the 610's ability to beat her Beemer. We finally split for good, for reasons more complicated than car jealousy, but at the end, she wanted the 610 as part of our community settlement!!! No way. I drove it for about six more months. It ran fine, I was really proud of it, and then, one morning on my way to work, I turned up an Interstate ramp and saw a car coming DOWN my ramp, rapidly and in reverse. A woman from Ohio, drunk at 10 AM, in a rental Chrysler that the rental agency knew nothing about, as it turned out. She nailed me, butt-on, and I watched my yellow hood crumple into the shattered windshield. She fled the scene moments after totaling my Sun Yellow Coupe. The cops got her, the insurance paid off and the 610, with 145,000 on the clock and a million stories under it's belt was junkyard bound. Adios to one of the best cars I'll ever own. I saved the Kenwood and installed it into my next car, a '77 Cadillac Eldorado which I loathingly refer to as "The Green Piece Of Chit", and have since the day I got it. Worst car I EVER owned. But that's another story.... Additional articles may be viewed via Jerry's SkidMarks main page [post_title] => My First Time in a Datsun 610 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => my-first-time-in-a-datsun-610 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2019-11-22 22:01:08 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-11-23 05:01:08 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [3] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 1745 [post_author] => 39 [post_date] => 2009-12-10 19:38:11 [post_date_gmt] => 2009-12-11 02:38:11 [post_content] =>

1976 Datsun 280Z - Owned by : oneway

I bought this 1976 Datsun 280Z about 5 years ago. I found it in my neighbor’s barn. It had been parked for over 10 years andhadn’t run in that time. My brother had just bought an 83 280ZX and my neighbor saw it and told me he had one in the barn.I asked if he would sell it and he said I could look at it once he dug it out. A week later he was finally able to get it outand it was beautiful a bone stock untouched 280Z. He said once I got it running we would talk about price. It took me 3 daysto figure out how to get it running. The first thing I found wrong was the fuel pump had frozen up. The fuel tarnished sobadly that it had frozen the pump. After replacing it still would run by it’s self, it had no power to it. He had put a newbattery in it about 5 years earlier and he hooked up the main computer wires wrong. After beating my head against the wall Ifinally got a wiring diagram and found the wire that was hooked up wrong. With-in minutes of hooking it up I had it running.I bought the car for $2000. My first mod to the car was the suspension. From there I did the turbo motor swap. I bought a 82 280ZX donor car from Ohio for $500. I did the swap and drove the car that way for sometime. I did little stuff like the aero bumper and and side skirts to keep me busy. My next major project was the Mega-squirt computer. Man what a difference it made. For any of the NICO guys that have seen her you now that I’m not afraid to open her up. ONEWAY 1976 Datsun 280Z 2+2. Mods:
82 L28ET (turbo) swap
Engine bored 1/2mm over
Side mount, remote oil cooler
Garrett T3/T04B 50 trim
Open waste gate
3in exhaust from turbo back, with flow master muffler
HKS blow-off valve
Front mount intercooler (conquest)
Mega-Squirt and spark fuel injection computer. Stand alone, fully programmable Blitz SBC boost controller
450cc injectors
Electric fan
60mm throttle body and JSK adaptor plate
Upgraded clutch
5 speed transmission swap (was 4 speed)
KYB gas struts
Motorsport auto performance lowering springs
4 piston (Toyota 4-runner) front calipers
84 Z31 vented front rotors
15X8 mesh wheels painted to match color of car
Dunlap Qualifers 225/50-R15 all the way around
MSA front aero bumper
MSA side skirts
MSA tinted headlight covers
Shaved rear bumper
[post_title] => 1976 Datsun 280Z: NICOclub Ride of the Month | oneway [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1976-datsun-280z-nicoclub-ride-of-the-month-oneway [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2015-06-15 21:57:27 [post_modified_gmt] => 2015-06-16 04:57:27 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [4] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 1751 [post_author] => 39 [post_date] => 2009-12-10 19:38:11 [post_date_gmt] => 2009-12-11 02:38:11 [post_content] =>

1981 Datsun 280sx owned by Isaac Supnet (icice9)

I’ve owned my 280ZX for over 18 years now and when I first bought it I didn’t think I would ever get it to be the way it is now. It's been 5 years now and counting from when I first started to do my restore on the car. Before I started working on her again she pretty much looked like a 20 year old car. Paint faded suspension soft and a bunch of little things that’s was either broken or missing. I’ve always had a picture in my head on how I wanted my Z to look like when I was finished rebuilding it but I never imagined it to come out so beautiful. Even when I had the car before the restoration she was an eye catcher, she had a body kit and a replica 280ZXR rear wing and painted IROC teal blue. But after a few years the look was dated and the paint was flaking off. I did most of the work myself except for the paint and body and the stitching of the interior, pretty much all of the mechanical parts of the car was done by me. It took a little over 3 years to finally get her the way she is now. I still have future plans for her but what I’ve got planed requires a lot more money then what I’ve already invested in her and so far I’m very pleased with what I’ve created.

Engine

L28E

Bored to 3.0 but other than that its stock

Suspension

Tokico springs

Tokico Blue Struts

Cusco Strut Brace

Energy suspension polyurethane bushings

42mm Modern Motorsports wheel spacers

17” Tenzo SHU 4

Yokahama AVS ES100

Interior

Momo comando steering wheel

Momo Shift knob

Recaro seats (reupholstered)

Reupholstered door panels and rear quarter panes

Car Audio

Kenwood Excelon 969 head unit

Kenwood Excelon 1200 wat amp

JL audio 12W6

MB Quart component speakers

[post_title] => 1981 Datsun 280zx : NICOclub Ride of the Month | icice9 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1981-datsun-280zx-nicoclub-ride-of-the-month-icice9 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2015-06-15 21:58:23 [post_modified_gmt] => 2015-06-16 04:58:23 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [5] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 1767 [post_author] => 39 [post_date] => 2009-12-10 19:38:11 [post_date_gmt] => 2009-12-11 02:38:11 [post_content] =>

October 2008: Jonathan Buhler's Classic Datsun 240Z

With the vast import scene growing in Atlanta, a young kid in Dacula, Georgia had a dream to build a nostalgic car from the ground up, along with having the pride of driving something he built himself. For this month's Ride of the month, we bring you Jonathan Buhler's 1973 Datsun 240Z. This 240z started out in California, but after Jonathan's father brought it to Georgia in the 80s, it has truly become a part of his family. With its combination of old and new, this Z car was a special project for both Jonathan and his father Ed.
"I am a musician; this was something that I did without prior experience. I learned a lot about how every part works. Not being mechanically inclined, this was all new to me. And this was mainly a backyard build; almost everything was done in my garage with the help of my dad and friends.

After receiving the car for his fifteenth birthday, Jonathan knew that it was going to take a lot to get this car going. Spending weeks stripping it down to bare bones, the Z was ready to start its transformation. Soda blasting and body work were the first things that needed addressing for Jonathan's Z. Then after a month of bodywork and prep, the car was glazed over with the 350z La Mans Sunset Orange paint. A dash of flake and the car was now on it's way to becoming the stunning image Jonathan had envisioned.

Getting it back into the garage, the inside and underside were treated with undercoating to insure no more rust, and dynamat was lined to keep the rattling to a minimum with the large system going in. Besides new carpet and installing a new Auto Power roll bar and carbon/Kevlar-backed High End Performance seats with five point TeamTech harnesses, the interior stayed original. A NR-G quick release and a Nardi steering wheel were also added but the last thing to go into the interior was the sound system. Custom pods were developed to hold the Polk Momo 61/2 mids and tweeters. Then a custom stealth box was built in the trunk to hold the Polk Momo series 10inch sub that is powered by a 1400 watt 4 channel amp with two separate crossovers.

Jonathan then focused on the motor. Pulling the motor before paint, he was able to take the stock L24 block and began working on it while the car was away. Taking the engine apart, Jonathan had help from a good friend who just happened to be the master mechanic at the local Nissan dealership. "The help from Allen helped me better understand the engine and it was great to have him there to help teach and show me a thing or two." Replacing all of the old worn out engine parts, Jonathan had the head ported and polished but decided to keep the bottom end stock for the time being. "Performance was never the main concern with the engine build, but we did manage to pull some horses out." Upgrading the stock SU carbs and going with an anodized 6-1 MSA header to a Tanabe exhaust helped with the horsepower. A new performance radiator, electronic ignition and many polished parts finished out the engine project. The tranny was refreshed with a Fidanza flywheel and CenterForce clutch, and to top it off the rear end was replaced with a R200 LSD.

Keeping the era-specific motor wasn't the only classy or nostalgic thing Jonathan did; on the outside you'll notice the era-specific Rota RB wheels that match the look of the OG Watanabes. Nothing beats having an old school car with old school wheels. Also on the outside you'll notice the true Japanese temporary tag given to Jonathan by a good friend who happens to be the owner of the 71 skyline which graces the NICOclub poster. From the outside in, Jonathan has been very particular in choosing his parts, especially with the suspension. Arizona Z Car billet aluminum front and rear control arms can be seen and felt and the Cusco strut tower defiantly helps with the stiffness. All new bushings, tension rods, and sway bars with the new eibach springs and tokico struts round out the suspension mods.

"I am so thankful for the all the help from my dad, friends, my uncle and High End Performance." Like most of us, his car project has no end and plans on upgrading to ITBs and stroking to a full 3 liters. With all the blood, sweat and tears, Jonathan Buhler's Datsun is one 240Z you can really appreciate. [post_title] => 1973 Datsun 240z - NICOclub Ride of the Month October 2008 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1973-datsun-240z-october-2008 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2015-06-15 22:09:54 [post_modified_gmt] => 2015-06-16 05:09:54 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [6] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 1771 [post_author] => 39 [post_date] => 2009-12-10 19:38:11 [post_date_gmt] => 2009-12-11 02:38:11 [post_content] =>

Greg's (AZhitman) 1967.5 Datsun Fairlady 1600 Roadster A couple years ago, after chasing a trio of Datsun Roadsters which the owner was unwilling to part with, I had the unique opportunity to finally acquire them at an estate sale when the owner passed away. Being a bit of a sentimentalist about cars and their meaningfulness to their owners, I made a promise to complete the journey he had started.

As with most hobbies, occasionally free time is at a premium and life seems to get in the way, so the trio of Roadsters sat awaiting attention. After completing Project Vert, and restoration on the 1972 240Z stalled, I thought I might start in on dismantling and refurbishing one of the three. However, I'm impatient. I started thinking it might be nice to have a completed Roadster to tool around in while I restored the others... It's always motivational to see a "finished product", and it's doubly nice to have a "Chinese Blueprint" to refer to while working on the others. So, when a fairly pristine '67.5 Datsun Fairlady Roadster showed up on ebay, I threw in a bid, thinking it'd be insufficient.I actually forgot about it until the auction ended... So, off I go to pick up my latest find in Beverly Hills, CA. I wrote a thread about the trip here: Buying my 1967.5 Datsun Roadster The Fairlady Roadster traces its lineage back to the 1959 "S211" and continued through 1970 with the "SPL311" and "SRL311" models.Some interesting info about the 67.5 Fairlady... They were an intermediate model, built for only seven months, during some retooling and "major" changes to bring the Fairlady into compliance with ever-stricter Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.Roughly 4300 were built, and were the last of the "low-windshield" cars, which are regarded as more attractive than the high-windshield cars built in 68-70. Adding to the 67.5's positive attributes is the wider flare fenders, which began with its release and continued into 1970. Weighing a little over 2000 lbs, with 96 hp from its 1600-cc engine, the Fairlady was quite a hotrod for its time, outperforming the MG and Sunbeam with ease, with typical Datsun reliability. Interestingly, the first Nissan Silvia coupe shared the SPL311's platform and many chassis components are interchangeable. This particular car is a southern-California native, being bought brand new in 1968 in Riverside. From there, it has had 3 prior owners. The second owner did a basic "refreshing" or rolling restoration in the late 1980's. The tan interior was not an option on these cars, but a modification done somewhere along the line. It remains a "black-plate" car, which makes it a little more valuable... The lacquer paint got a redo and remains in pretty nice shape. There's a spot or two of rust under the battery tray, which I'll address soon, but the undercarriage, door sills and trunk floor are virtually pristine. My 67.5 was fitted with period-correct bias-ply whitewall tires, which are admittedly terrible for anything but sitting still, so I replaced them with a modern set of wide-whitewall radials made specifically for vintage cars.The second owner outfitted the Roadster with electronic ignition, which makes for much quicker starts, smoother acceleration and better mileage.It's also relatively unobtrusive, but can still be seen (I'll remedy that as well). Finally, I added a set of 2005 Miata leather seats, which are much more comfortable (and safe) than the old OEM seats. They've gone into storage for a later date. Driving the Roadster, which has been affectionately nicknamed "Marilyn" by the family, is a blast. For someone my size, driving with shoes on is near impossible. First gear requires moving your right leg a little, and the windshield header is roughly at eye level.It's got great power, and once you get used to the odd driving position, it's very tossable. Flick it into a corner, and you're instantly thinking it's going to roll over on its side... but then, the tail end comes around ever-so-slightly, it settles into the apex of the turn, and feels ready to exit the corner flat, straight and true.Zipping through some curvy backroads is where the Fairlady feels most at home, and it really likes to be driven aggressively. This one will see winter driving duty for a couple years while I complete the 240Z, the other couple Roadsters, and maybe a full restoration on my NL320.By then, I may feel like doing a more thorough restoration on Marilyn... but for now, I'll enjoy the ahead-of-its-time performance and head-turning good looks. Datsuns were made to be driven, so maybe we'll just keep racking up the miles. [post_title] => 1967.5 Datsun 1600 Roadster - NICOclub Ride of the Month September 2008 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1967-datsun-1600-roadster-september-2008 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2015-06-15 22:10:33 [post_modified_gmt] => 2015-06-16 05:10:33 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [7] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 1772 [post_author] => 39 [post_date] => 2009-12-10 19:38:11 [post_date_gmt] => 2009-12-11 02:38:11 [post_content] =>

Exterior:
Custom blended DuPont HotHues HotRod Black satin paint, VHT NightShades on all lights w/custom clear coat
Interior:
Fully stripped, Custom Dash, Gauges, Steering Wheel, Driver Seat and Seat Belt
Engine Mechanical:
Custom Air Box, K&N Filter, K&N Crankcase Breather, Ceramic Coated Pacesetter Headers, Custom Test Pipe, Custom Catback, Magnaflow Resonator, Pulstar Pulse Plugs, Emissions Equipment Removed (Except for PCV)
Autocross Mods:
Headlights Removed For More Airflow to Engine Bay, Wipers and Wiper Motor Removed, Washer Fluid Reservoir Removed, Battery Moved Into Cab In Place of Passenger Seat, K&N Fuel Breather, Rear Bumper and Rear Frame Rail Removed, Tailgate Removed, Spare Tire and Hardware Removed, Heater Core Removed, All A/C and Heater Piping Removed And a Bunch of Other Useless Stuff Removed... Never Been on Scales, But Extremely Light!

Anthony Perez (PEZi720) 1985 Datsun 720 Pickup

This is my '85 720 pickup. I obtained it from a friend of the family after it had been in an accident and it was not very well taken care of mechanically. Overall the body was decent besides the front end where the previous owner rear ended someone, but the first thing I had to do was get an engine flush because the oil would not even drain itself out.
Over the years, I replaced all the parts involved in the accident with OE replacements (driver side fender, lower valance, grill and front bumper. There were also a few panels that needed pulling around the entire truck. After this work it was repainted, however it was painted what I considered a bit too flashy. A little over a year later it was repainted again to the current look it has. It is currently sporting DuPont HotHues HotRod Black, custom blended to be satin rather than matte finish.

Once the appearance of the truck was taken care of, a friend talked me into 'doing something with it.' He talked me into autocrossing the truck. It has been lowered 2.5" in the front and 2" in the rear with KYB MonoMax struts in the front and KYB Gas-A-Just in the rear. I also installed heavy duty sway bar endlinks and better bushings throughout. The interior is fully stripped, with the battery riding where the passenger seat used to be.

Under the hood, it still has the stock Z24 engine, with pacesetter headers and a full custom exhaust. All emissions components have been removed throughout the engine, and everything else unnecessary has been removed (headlights, wipers etc.)

The truck is still in the beginning of its build, with a full autocross specific build to come.

It runs in SCCA Solo class EP against old Corolla AE86's and even our own Datsun 510.
[post_title] => 1985 Datsun 720 Pickup - NICOclub Ride of the Month for September 2009 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1985-datsun-720-september-2009 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2015-06-15 22:10:44 [post_modified_gmt] => 2015-06-16 05:10:44 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [8] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 5181 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2009-03-10 20:53:11 [post_date_gmt] => 2009-03-11 03:53:11 [post_content] => How to: Datsun Roadster Brake Upgrade using Volvo Calipers In our last tech article for the Roadster, I showed you how to rebuild the stock front calipers. Unfortunately, for some reason, the brakes STILL didn't function properly. I couldn't get a good bleed on them, and despite a lack of obvious leaks, it seemed I couldn't get any good pedal pressure. I'm pretty sure the cylinders were pitted worse than what I could repair. SO, back to the drawing board. After considering a lot of options, I decided that the best way to address this problem was to completely replace the entire braking system, from the master cylinder to the calipers. Now, the price of new new pistons for each caliper (four in total) is cost-prohibitive in my opinion. There had to be a swap that would work. First, I went to some of the other cars we have here... 300ZX calipers? Awesome, but too big. 240sx calipers? Also a nice option, but would require spacing out the front wheels too much. Back to the internet, where I found a swap that had been done by several other Roadster owners, and seemed to work well. Now is a good time to say, I did NOT pioneer this swap. My good friends over at 311s.org actually documented it first, but it's likely that it was developed by some guy with access to a junkyard, lots of tools, and lots of time... Someone who doesn't use a computer... Anyhow, the decision was made to convert from the old-style two-piston Datsun Roadster calipers to a more modern four-piston design. This would serve multiple purposes: 1) Easier maintenance. 2) Increased braking performance. 3) Longer brake life. The calipers from a 1975 Volvo 240 happen to fit without too much modification, and will be the centerpieces of our conversion. I purchased mine from RockAuto.com, selecting A-1 Cardone Part #17-630 (left) and Part #17-631 (right). You want the Girling style, for a non-vented (solid) rotor. I believe the pair cost me $130. Next up, I replaced the master cylinder. The one on the car had been rebuilt by me during the front caliper rehabilitation, but I'm not convinced it wasn't part of the problem, so out with the old, and in with the new. Besides, the new 4-piston calipers would need a bigger master cylinder, so a unit from a Datsun 510 was sourced - our local AutoZone had one with no reservoirs for $38. Since we'd have to use the Roadster reservoirs anyway (to keep the height low enough to clear the hood), we grabbed up that deal. Now, the new master cylinder has metric ports, but the Roadster has SAE brake lines. However, adapters are easy to find. You'll want something to transition 10 mm X 1.0 male threads on one end and SAE 3/16-24 female threads on the other. Your local NAPA may have them listed as Weather Head part number 1443. Pegasus Racing also has these. You're going to need a longer set of caliper mounting bolts. I went to Ace Hardware and bought some Grade 8 1/2" -20 x 1-1/2" bolts. You can take one of your caliper mount bolts as an example, and just purchase four that are 1/2" longer. While I was at it, I also purchased new brake hoses and a big bottle of brake fluid. OK, let's get started! I recommend you have a good supply of latex gloves handy, as well as lots of brake cleaner and paper towels. Clean EVERYTHING before you reassemble it. Also, I keep a wire brush handy to clean bolt threads, and a tube of anti-seize for the threads. I like to work in an area with lots of light, and the Nissan / Datsun theme kinda keeps me motivated (and makes for good article pictures).

Get your Roadster up off the ground on some good sturdy jackstands. Even a light car like the 311 can maim or kill you if it falls. Don't be sloppy, do it right.

My wife picked this up for us to use in the garage, and I have to say , it makes ALL the difference! Everything is handy and you can wheel it around as you progress through the project. When you're done, you wheel it back to the toolbox, replace your tools, throw away any garbage, and clean it off with some Simple Green and the hose. Keeps your garage much neater.

Parts, ready to go:

And it never hurts to have a manual! Start by removing the hubcap and wheel, as well as the center dust cap from the hub. Then, remove the cotter pin from the spindle nut and remove that nut. Pull the entire hub / rotor assembly off, being careful not to drop the outer bearing and washer. Here's what it looks like off the car:

Remove the hub from the rotor. This will take some time, but be patient. The 4 bolts that hold them together are easily removed with an impact wrench, but the hub and rotor assembly are an interference fit, and may be snug. Use lots of penetrating oil, place the hub in a vice, and gently tap the rotor away until you get some seperation. Then you can start going all around it with a small wedge-shaped tool and a hammer to split the two apart. Work all the way around, so you don't get the parts crooked - You want it to come straight off.

Now, clean it thoroughly! A parts washer works great, or you can submerge the whole assembly in Purple Power (my preference), or use gasoline... Whatever you prefer. Just get ALL the old grease and gunk out. While you're working on those parts, you can clean up the spindle, too. Make sure you take a scotchbrite pad to the hub / rotor interface, since it's likely got some corrosion. You want the two surfaces to be shiny before reassembly.

Now, we need to make sure the rotor will fit. The Volvo caliper will not clear the Roadster rotor in its stock configuration. However, it's not enough of an interference to warrant making a caliper spacer, either. We're going to actually machine the rotor DOWN to a smaller overall diameter. I used a measurement of 11", which means taking 0.18" off the diameter. Remember, 0.18" means 0.09" off the edge. Just tell your machinist you want the rotor to be 11" in diameter. Fortunately, Jason (rotorimp) has a lathe, and we could do it at his house. Here's the rotor on a lathe getting cut down:

Now would be a good time to resurface the rotor as well, which is an easy task for the machinist. Once the rotors are done, we need to reassemble the hub and rotor. Lay on a thin coat of grease at the interface, and reassemble, being sure to line up the bolt holes perfectly, and tightening the bolts ONE TURN AT A TIME. This will draw the parts together without getting them crooked. Let's move on to the good stuff - Pull out your new calipers. They should look like this:

Look familiar? There's not much difference between these and the 90-96 300ZX calipers we all love so much. The original caliper mounting bolts won't fit through the Volvo caliper holes.

However, they don't require much modification - Open them up with a 1/2" drill bit, or use a carbide grinder bit like I did. Be sure to clean up the caliper of any metal shavings.

Now, let's look at how we're going to make the hydraulic connections. Take a close look at the caliper:

See the dual ports? Well, we don't have two brake lines to go into those ports, we only have one! Now, some guys have bent their own brake lines, using a splitter, but there's an easier way. I chose to plumb the brake line to the caliper with a manifold that bolts to the caliper. The manifold bolts directly to the caliper with 10mm x 1.0 banjo bolts and 10mm crush washers on the top and bottom of the manifold. You can purchase the manifolds directly from Breck Meyer. Currently he sells them for $50.00 a set including shipping. His email address is [email protected] and he accepts PayPal. Here's a couple pictures of the hardware needed:

I recommend securing the caliper to something sturdy to torque the banjo bolts in place. Don't forget to use a copper washer between the manifold and caliper, and one for each banjo bolt. I used a lug wrench between the caliper channel to hold it steady while I torqued the banjo bolts. Hard to describe here, but if you grasp the lug wrench, and your torque wrench and squeeze them parallel to each other, you can really get some good tightening going. Once they line up, ratchet back a couple clicks and squeeze again. Simple and effective. Here's what it looks like all assembled:

Now, attach your brake line. I used TWO 10mm copper gaskets to ensure a good seal, as the OEM line fitting bottoms out in the brass manifold before giving a good tight seal. Re-grease your hub and bearings. I use Mobil 1 full-synthetic grease. A butter knife is helpful for packing grease into the hub. Make sure it's full, with no air pockets, and just enough of an opening for the spindle to fit through. Reassemble the hub and rotor assembly onto the spindle and tighten the castle nut, and finish it off with a new cotter pin. Clean up your dust cap and reinstall it as well. Time to bolt up your new calipers to the spindle. Do a quick test-fit to see how the pads (fully retracted) are centered on the rotor. You want the rotor directly in the center. This may require a couple washers (shims) between the caliper and spindle, where the caliper bolts up. I used two fairly thick washers for each bolt to get it centered like this:

Now, you'll want to take a look at the back of your assembly. My banjo bolts were hitting the steering knuckle, and yours will too. Not to worry - I ground down the tops of the banjo bolts with a grinder (they're plenty tall) and I also ground a little off the back of the steering knuckle where the banjo bolts were hitting. Here's what it looks like:

You can see the shiny area where I took the grinder to it. A close fit is OK, but you don't want your banjo bolts touching the knuckle, or your calipers won't bolt up straight. I took a little off at a time until I could slide a sheet of paper between the banjo bolt heads and the steering knuckle. This will take several tries, installing and removing and grinding and re-installing. Be patient and get it right.

There you can see the new Volvo calipers all bolted up and ready to rock. Re-connect your hard brake line to your new brake hoses and get ready to bleed those brakes. Here's the brake master cylinder installed. I swapped the Roadster brake reservoirs onto the 510 master and bench-bled it on the car before connecting the adapters and reattaching the hard brake lines.

NOTE: The actuator rod for the 510 master cylinder is shorter, and wouldn't give me a full pedal stroke. I remedied this by marking where the clevis pin SHOULD be attached to the pedal assembly, removing the brake pedal and drilling a new hole. After reassembly, the brake pedal lays even with the clutch and throttle pedals almost perfectly, and we still have full pedal stroke. Fill your reservoirs and bleed your brakes. The Volvo calipers have 3 bleeders per caliper, and are simply to get the air out of the cylinders. Finish off with the bleeder at the top of the caliper. This is a good time to check for leaks. I had to re-torque one banjo bolt connection, and once you have bled the brakes, check for good pad-to-rotor alignment. If you did everything right, put the wheels on and test out your new brakes. Be careful, as you'll probably need to re-bleed them after a short drive. You now have a modern brake system that's easy to maintain and should increase your little Roadster's braking performance. Total cost: Less than $250. Total time: Seven hours. Happy motoring! [post_title] => Datsun Roadster Brake Upgrade - Volvo Calipers [post_excerpt] => Upgrade your Datsun Roadster brakes using Volvo calipers and other commonly-available components - Here's how! [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-roadster-brake-upgrade-volvo-calipers [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2018-01-25 20:07:37 [post_modified_gmt] => 2018-01-26 03:07:37 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=5181 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [9] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 5204 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2009-03-11 22:03:26 [post_date_gmt] => 2009-03-12 05:03:26 [post_content] => The Saga of the 510... by: Becky (nissangirl74) What happens when two Datsun enthusiasts get married? One, you get to spend some quality time in the garage and two, the garage and driveway start to get really crowded. Case in point: Greg sends me a link a while back to this bea-u-ti-ful 510 about three hours from the house. We both liked it, so he drives out there to check it out. Unfortunately, it needed a lot more work than we had anticipated, so it was a no-go. A few days later, another one pops up for sale, but still, way too much work was needed to get it going. We were disappointed but truth be told, we didn't really need another project. We are currently in the process of restoring the 411 wagon, the 240Z is still not finished, Project Vert is half-disassembled and needs to be re-tuned, at some point the Roadster is getting a new motor and of course the NL320 is getting a complete frame-off restoration. Plus, we vowed long ago to never buy another car that didn't run. Fast forward to roughly two weeks ago. Greg is sitting at his computer and I hear, "OMG, you have got to see this." A gorgeous '68 Dime....that runs. A '68?!?! I fell in love with it instantly but this time, HE was the one that held back - With good reason. Even though it ran, it needed a few things AND it was in the San Francisco area. How the heck were we gonna find the time to go up there and get it? What happens if we got there and it wasn't what the seller said it would be? Many e-mails, pictures, and assurances later, and the deal was done. We had just rescued another Datsun (4 in all) from the great state of California. A buddy of ours says, "Holy damn, California ain't never gonna fall off into the ocean if y'all keep takin' all the weight off of it!" ROAD TRIP!!!!!! Well, thanks to the broad expanse of NICO's 146K members, we happen to have a very good friend and NICO staff member (Aaron - "Bwana") who lives in SoCal and has family in the bay area. How lucky are we that he happens to know these cars inside and out? Very. Aaron bought our 69 2-door 510 last year, which we delivered to him - it was time for him to return the favor. He graciously agreed to fly up there, check the car out, and drive it down to Vista where Greg and I would meet up with him and take it home. Not ones to waste a trip just doing one thing, we also loaded up the 411's motor and an L20b (which will eventually go in the 510) to take with us. Greg met a guy in Riverside (through our friend Ron who is one of the most knowledgeable of men about all things Roadster) who is super-talented when it comes to building Datsun motors. He agreed to re-build the motors for us - the 411 motor will be transformed from a 90-hp 1600-cc weakling to a 2000-cc high-revving stroker beast! This was a huge step in our restoration process because Greg didn't have time to do it and I willingly admit, I am nowhere near smart enough to try and rebuild a motor. ALSO, Greg's best friend Jason, "rotorimp", bought a 411 for himself from a guy down in Santee, an hour or so south of where we were meeting Aaron. We offered to pick up the car for him while we were out there since we were going to be so close. So, the plan was to: a) fly Aaron to San Francisco to pick up the 510 b) load the motors in the Frontier and head to Riverside c) drop off the motors to be re-built d) pick up U-Haul trailer e) pick up 411 f) meet Aaron in Vista g) call Kenny (maximA32) and have dinner with him and Aaron h) spend the night in Vista, head back to AZ the next day, with me towing the trailer and Greg driving the 510. Getting out of AZ before dawn - It's worth missing an hour of sleep to see the sunrise.

Well........ As usual, things didn't exactly go according to plan. But before we get into all that, here's the obligatory scenery from the trip out there.

Read More: A Dime Makes Nine - Part Two!

[post_title] => A Dime Makes Nine - Part I [post_excerpt] => What happens when two Datsun enthusiasts get married? One, you get to spend some quality time in the garage and two, the garage and driveway start to get really crowded. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1968-datsun-510 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/1968-datsun-510-2.html [post_modified] => 2017-04-28 22:12:40 [post_modified_gmt] => 2017-04-29 05:12:40 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=5204 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [10] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 5213 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2009-03-11 23:29:25 [post_date_gmt] => 2009-03-12 06:29:25 [post_content] => DAY 1 On our way to CA, Greg gets a call from Aaron. The 510 is acting up. He had to change the alternator, the battery boiled over, it has no headlights, no mirrors, no seatbelts, and the synchros in the tranny are SHAGGED. He also can't get much above 60 mph. Greg tells him to do the best he can, be safe, rest assured, the calvary is on the way. So we press on through the desert to get to our first destination. Kevin, the Datsun motor builder, is an awesome guy. He has the fever, just like we all do, except he is primarily into the Roadsters. His specialty is building stroker motors out of the R16's and swapping SR20's into Roadsters. He showed us his gorgeous 2000 Roadster, assured us that our motors would be done soon, and we were on our way. Next stop, the UHaul dealership. First of all, they sent us to the wrong address so we had to derail our plans and change course. I was irritated but did my best not to take it out on the girl behind the counter. She wasn't the one that made my reservation so I was polite and bit my tongue. Flying off the handle wasn't going to help anything anyway... we're both irritable already from the constant rain, ever since we left Arizona. When we go to pick up the 411, we find out that we have ANOTHER wrong address! Once we get that straightened out, find the right location, and get the 411 loaded onto the trailer, we get another call from Aaron. He is still 400 miles away and daylight is fading fast. We ask him for ideas on where we could unload the 411 so we could bring the trailer to come pick him up. Here's Jason's 411 - He's been coveting ours since we got it, so we found him one. His is identical to ours, except it's a manual trans car. Should be a fun project!

Aaron calls his boss who says it is OK for us to drop off the 411 at his shop and leave it overnight so we can go rescue Aaron and the Dime, and come back the next day. We drop off the car, hang out with his boss for a few minutes (that's another cool story I'll tell later), and head north to intercept Aaron. By this time, it is waaay DARK. Aaron has pulled off the road at a Taco Bell about an hour north of Vista. We go pick him up and I felt so sorry for him. He looked completely worn out. He is cool, calm, and collected but I'm pretty sure at this point he could have lit a match and thrown it in the gas tank without thinking twice. We get something to eat, load up the Dime, and head for Vista. We drop Aaron off at his place and head to the hotel. When we get out of the truck, we finally get a chance to relax and take a good look at our newest acquisition... we walked all around it, admiring how beautiful she was and thanking God that she didn't get Aaron killed. We also wondered how the trip the following day was gonna pan out, and if we were going to have to alter our plans for the trip home.

DAY 2 We meet Aaron for breakfast early, and head out to the shop. So, here's the highlight of the trip: Aaron's boss that we mentioned? It's LES CANNADAY, a name well-known to any Datsun aficianado. Yep, THE Les Cannaday of Classic Datsun fame. He let us rummage through his shop, take pictures of his projects, and wander through all of the cool Datsun memorabilia he has. That's an article all to itself, but I just had to mention it here. He had a part we needed for the Dime and also a part for the 411 (that no one else in the continental US seems to have) so that was really awesome. While I'm taking tons of pictures of everything in the shop, Aaron and Greg are working on the Dime. Aaron adjusts the floats on the carb, swaps the shagged radiator, and replaces the thermostat. Somehow, some way, a previous owner decided the little ridge in the water neck wasn't a good enough perch for the thermostat - it had to be mashed up INTO the housing! That thing was so horribly warped and mangled that Les asked if he could keep it and put it up on his wall as a souvenir. Check out THIS carnage!

Greg and I leave the shop around noon, me pulling the 411 and him driving the 510. Definitely turned a few heads in traffic, with a Frontier towing a 411, followed by a 510!

A couple of hours into the trip, I lose sight of him in my mirror. Hoping it was just heavy traffic, I call him. The battery had boiled over from the alternator overcharging, killing the ignition, so he was on the side of the interstate. I swing back a couple exits to get to him. Just luckily, we had thought to bring an extra battery. Her ignition switch was useless at this point, but a screwdriver across the starter posts and we're back on the road. Just as a side note...it is completely unnerving to be working on your car on the side of the interstate with cars zipping past you at 80+ mph. The fact that the car wouldn't go much over 60 mph turned a six hour trip into over eight hours. The darkness fell upon us 2.5 hours outside of Phoenix... You never think about how stressful it is to drive an unfamiliar 43-year old car with no headlights, no seatbelts, and no gauges in pitch darkness. Greg finally relented, and we had no choice but to leave the Dime behind. We parked her at a gas station under a bright light, locked the doors, and prayed no one would try and steal her. We rolled into our driveway just after 11 PM, exhausted and glad to be home.

Read More: A Dime Makes Nine - Part Three!

[post_title] => A Dime Makes Nine - Part II [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1968-datsun-510-2 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/1968-datsun-510-3.html [post_modified] => 2011-08-14 20:07:18 [post_modified_gmt] => 2011-08-15 03:07:18 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=5213 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [11] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 5215 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2009-03-11 23:32:32 [post_date_gmt] => 2009-03-12 06:32:32 [post_content] => DAY 3 After work, Greg and Jason headed out to CA to pick up the car. Greg had called the manager of the station that morning and he assured him that the car was fine and he wasn't gonna have it towed. Later that evening, she was finally home with her new family, safe and sound, at NICO headquarters. Here's her status: She's a fairly rare Datsun, considering there weren't many 68's. She's easily got the straightest body on any 510 we've ever seen... probably straighter and better aligned than she was when she was built. Her perfect body is coated in PPG Satin Black (not primer), and she's wearing another piece of automotive history: Carroll Shelby produced an 8-spoke alloy wheel for Saab in the mid 1980s. They were available in gold (Goldvane), hammered silver (Silvervane) finish, and a black hammered finish. These wheels were available only through Saab dealers and could be fitted to Saab 99 and Saab 900 models manufactured through 1987. They are a sought after accessory for Saab enthusiasts today. Somehow, somewhere along the way, she wound up wearing a set. Get this: They're a 4 x 114.52 mm bolt pattern, or 0.22mm (or 8 one-thousandths of an inch) off from the Datsun fitment, so they fit fine.

Her interior is nicely restored... not completely original, but close - She'll get some minor refreshing, some reassembly, and the interior will be complete.

Her wiring harness is beyond repair. It looks like someone unwrapped it, threw it in a blender, and tossed it back under the hood and dash - How it got that bad is beyond comprehension, but it gives us a chance to do two things: To learn all about rewiring a Datsun (something Greg and I have always avoided), AND to show you guys how it's done! And, of course, the tired L16 won't be sticking around - The L20b that's being built will have a little "extra" done to it, and it'll be a nice healthy powerplant to zip around the Valley... The engine bay will get refurbished before that sexy motor shows up, so it'll be "good-bye" to all of this:

Greg and I have decided that she will be the last addition to our family for a long time. We have a year's worth of projects in the garage to keep us busy. We want to get all of them running and restored so we can drive them to the car shows and share them with everyone. Hopefully we can organize a meet out here soon so everyone can come see the collection. For the record, here's the fleet (by year): 1- 1963 NL320 2- 1967 WRL411 3- 1967.5 Roadster 4- 1968 510 5- 1972 240Z 6- 1993 240sx 7- 2003 G35 8- 2005 Nissan Frontier 9- 2009 Cube Hope you enjoyed the story, and I hope you guys will all consider taking a crack at rescuing and restoring an old Datsun - Their value can only go up, and they're getting harder and harder to come by. Good luck, and thanks for coming along for the ride! By the way, if you want to follow along with the restoration of this 1968 Datsun 510, here's the article series! Restoring a 1968 Datsun 510 - Bex Becky (nissangirl74) is the Business Manager for NICOclub and an avid Datsun fanatic. [post_title] => A Dime Makes Nine - Part III [post_excerpt] => She's a fairly rare Datsun, considering there weren't many 68's. She's easily got the straightest body on any 510 we've ever seen... probably straighter and better aligned than she was when she was built. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1968-datsun-510-3 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-09-26 22:53:44 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-09-27 05:53:44 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=5215 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [12] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 5325 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2010-05-16 08:30:55 [post_date_gmt] => 2010-05-16 15:30:55 [post_content] =>

What do our new 1968 510, Jason’s 1967 411 wagon, and the 1971-72 Trans-Am Champion #46 BRE Datsun 510 have in common? Not much, aside from the fact that they're almost all older then most of us...and the fact that two weeks ago, they were all present at Les Cannaday’s shop. That weekend, Greg and I made a banzai run to California to drop off two motors, pick up a 411 for our friend Jason (rotorimp), and pick up the 510 that we had bought. That Sunday evening, Aaron called Greg and I to let us know that he was going to run out of daylight long before he arrived in Vista. We asked him if there was anywhere we could unload the 411 off the trailer so we could come pick him and the Dime up. He calls his boss who graciously offers to let us use his lot. Enter Les Cannaday. Yeah, that’s right, the Les Cannaday. For those of you familiar with classic Datsuns: Fairlady Roadsters, 510s, and early Zs, Les is the foremost expert authority on restoration, racing history, production, and parts procurement. Les is the owner / operator of Classic Datsun Motorsports in Vista, California. His restorations are out of this world... and once you enter his world, there seems to be no part that is ever obsolete or unobtainable. He has parts in his shop most people gave up looking for twenty years ago, including a part for our 411 that couldn't be found anywhere else in the continental US. He is a friend with some of the most notable names in the Datsun world, including Mr. K himself. He's built cars for Adam Carolla, The Datsun Heritage Museum, Bob Bondurant, Bill Pritchard, and many others... He procured and prepared almost all of the cars for the famous "Dream Garage" poster for Nissan, and is currently prepping the #46 BRE Datsun 510 for an appearance at The Mitty in Atlanta, GA. He is also one of the nicest guys I have ever met. Sunday evening, Greg and I pulled into the lot of Classic Datsun Motorsports headquarters. Les was kind enough to help us unload the 411 and gave us a brief introductory tour of the facility.

Being the legend that he is and having so many priceless and pristine examples of antique Datsun memorabilia, I was really hesitant to even peek through the doorway of the enormous shop. However, he made it very clear that not only could I wander in the shop, I could look around and take as many pictures as I wanted. He is proud of the cars he has built, the things that he has accomplished, and the memorabilia he has collected. The fact that he was willing to share all of that with us just blew me away. It is very low key, kind of obscure, just a comfortable place to hang out... Nothing pretentious, just the way you'd imagine "Datsun Heaven". You’d never guess all of the amazing things that happen behind those walls.

He and Greg continued to talk old Datsuns amongst themselves, but as soon as he told me I could take pictures, I went exploring. The first thing that caught my eye was the trio of 510s in the doorway. When I realized that the #46 car was THE #46 car, I just stood there staring at it. It was like being in the presence of a superstar, I was awestruck. Absolutely gorgeous, as was Adam’s next to it, and Bill’s on the lift above. I was standing in the center of a triangle of historical Datsun significance. Read More - Part 2 [post_title] => Classic Datsun Motorsports - Like Disneyland for Datsun Enthusiasts (part 1) [post_excerpt] => NICOclub staffers Becky, Greg and Aaron spend the day at Classic Datsun Motorsports, also known as Datsun Heaven! Meet the man behind the business as we take you on a virtual tour... [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => classic-datsun-motorsports-1 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/classic-datsun-motorsports-2.html [post_modified] => 2017-07-23 01:08:23 [post_modified_gmt] => 2017-07-23 08:08:23 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=5325 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [13] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 5329 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2009-12-30 23:17:02 [post_date_gmt] => 2009-12-31 06:17:02 [post_content] =>

There were just too many neat cars to describe all of them. I didn’t find a single car that I didn’t like or appreciate but there were a few that really stood out. One was Paul Newman’s IMSA car. Les offered to let me sit in and have my picture taken, but I think it looks best without my mug in it, I used Greg’s instead!

This is the 1969 Mexican 1000 rally car driven by Pete Brock and Bob Lyon. I really wish it had been out of the transporter, but just being able to see it was impressive in and of itself.

The well-preserved truck that holds this 510? Well, it's special too, and is as much a part of Datsun history as the car. BRE’s first transporter, seen here, is a right hand drive Hino. It was part of the BRE inventory going back to the Hino racing days. As with most transporters it was driven many miles most weekends. Parts were hard to come by and the Hino was eventually given an engine transplant. The transplant was carried out by none other than Max Balchowsky. Max, the race driver, race car builder and Hollywood stunt coordinator, dropped a Cadillac V8 into the truck.

Look closely at the 510 and you can see the painted-over outline of Pete Brock's name stenciled on the door...

Here's a couple pictures of it OUT of its transporter:

A kid in a candy store…..

A mid-60s patrol

The very first BRE Roadster race chassis

A priceless, 1961 Roadster, one of 108 SPL213 Fairlady roadsters ever built.

A beautiful Sora Blue ’63 Fairlady

Read More - Page 3 [post_title] => Classic Datsun Motorsports - Like Disneyland for Datsun Enthusiasts (part 2) [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => classic-datsun-motorsports-2 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/classic-datsun-motorsports-3.html [post_modified] => 2017-07-23 01:18:16 [post_modified_gmt] => 2017-07-23 08:18:16 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=5329 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [14] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 5336 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2009-12-30 00:40:41 [post_date_gmt] => 2009-12-30 07:40:41 [post_content] =>

One visit was simply not enough... After we took off to go rescue Aaron and the 510, we came back to the shop early the next day to prep the 510 for the long drive from SoCal to Phoenix. Les gave the old Dime a once-over and proclaimed her, "Very, very straight... would look good in the original white paint... she's well worth restoring." Greg and I just smiled - That's like a blessing from the Pope right there!

While Aaron and Greg wrenched on the Dime, I wandered through and soaked up some more of the sights at the shop. Les showed us a couple rooms filled with documents, ads, manuals and memorabilia... we leafed through letters he'd received throughout the years, old factory documents showing production dates and production numbers, advertisements, bulletins, and posters - All manner of cool goodies. It really is a bit overwhelming... Despite our growing collection and the chunks of knowledge we've acquired through the past several years, to stand there and listen to stories and witness the actual history of some of these cars is something we feel really fortunate to have experienced.

What's even cooler, and really hard to convey in writing, is the ambiance in the building... Certain parts of it look like nothing's been moved since the heyday of the BRE Team... Pete Brock's old-school 70's helmet is sitting on a pile of papers, a faded photo of John Morton tacked to the wall, a stack of magazines from the early 80's are propping up a trophy from some long-forgotten race... As we packed up to head out on the road back to Phoenix, we agreed that we could have easily spent an entire weekend there, just reading, learning, and soaking up the history. We can't wait to make another visit. How fitting that there'd be a rainbow over our pot of Datsun gold...

A special thanks, Les, for all you do for the Datsun enthusiasts and for making our weekend amazing... About the author: Becky (nissangirl74) is NICOclub's Business Manager, owner of several classic Datsuns, a nurse, and a full-time car fanatic. [post_title] => Classic Datsun Motorsports - Like Disneyland for Datsun Enthusiasts (part 3) [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => classic-datsun-motorsports-3 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2017-07-23 01:26:55 [post_modified_gmt] => 2017-07-23 08:26:55 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=5336 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [15] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 5999 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2010-09-06 12:00:32 [post_date_gmt] => 2010-09-06 19:00:32 [post_content] =>

Part One of a 10-part Series... As a classic Datsun fanatic, I've found that it's damn near impossible to pass up certain cars... Sometimes it's because you've always admired them and wonder what it'd be like to drive one (like our Roadster). Other times, it's because you run across a "special" car that's *so* close to being awesome, you've gotta bring it home to finish it (like our 510). For some, it's so rare, you don't want to miss a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own one (like our NL320). For still others, it has some sentimental attraction (like our S30). And then there are the ones where you just *know* that if you don't get it, it'll go to a bad home. That was the case with our 1967 WRL411 SSS Datsun Wagon. In April 2009, I saw the 411 on Bring a Trailer one morning in a two-for-one... The seller had the red wagon and a white sedan, and wanted to sell them both, together.

I've always preferred wagons, old and new. I think an old Country Squire is way cooler than an LTD. I think the Magnum is cooler than the 300. The 5-series BMW wagon turns my head every time, and this deal was no exception... I had no real use for the sedan, so I contacted the seller and asked if he'd sell them separately. After a little negotiation, I made an offer and plans to drive out to south Hollywood to pick up the car. As with all our other Datsuns, they've been bought sight-unseen. Not only that, but I planned to drive it back home to Phoenix, which is similar to jumping out of a plane without a chute and hoping you land on a hay bale. Win some, lose some - it's all part of the hobby. On arrival at a small shop in Hollywood, the 411 was sitting among some other cool old cars. The owner looked awfully familiar (turns out he's an actor). The car was pretty much as described, so I gave it a quick once-over and headed on down the road with it. There's nothing cooler than hopping in a car you're unfamiliar with, not knowing where ANY of the switches or controls are, none of the car's quirks or behavior, and setting out on a 380-mile trip across the CA / AZ desert.

A little back story on the history of the car: I'm the fifth owner, although technically I'm only the third, as it wasn't registered by two of its owners. It was originally owned by an older lady from Europe who bought it new in southern California.

Upon her death, it wound up in Lake Tahoe, and was driven very infrequently, summers only, for several years by the second owner. The third owner bought it to "flip", and sold it within 24 hours to the guy I bought it from, who also never registered it. At any rate, it was reasonably well taken care of, and unmodified, which is something I look for in an old Datsun. It not only wound up on ebay, but it was also featured on Bringatrailer.com ( WRL411 on Bringatrailer.com). Here's an old dealer brochure from late 1966 showing the exact same car.

Read more: What the heck IS a WRL411? Welcoming the latest classic to the garage. [post_title] => 1967 Datsun WRL411 Rescue and Restoration [post_excerpt] => Our 1967 WRL411 SSS Datsun Wagon was just too rare and too complete to pass up. Read all about the rescue and restoration of "Alice" here... We hope you enjoy it. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1967-datsun-wrl411-1 [to_ping] => [pinged] => http://bringatrailer.com/2009/04/24/black-plate-1967-datsun-rl411-sss-wagon/ https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/1967-datsun-wrl411-2.html [post_modified] => 2019-11-20 12:59:26 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-11-20 19:59:26 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=5999 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [16] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6038 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2010-06-17 00:02:33 [post_date_gmt] => 2010-06-17 07:02:33 [post_content] =>

Ever since hot rodding began, the idea was to stuff a larger engine in a small chassis. The standard 411 was powered by a 1.3-liter engine. The SSS version of these cars was equipped with the 1.6-liter engine from the SPL311 Roadster. However, the base wagon body had to be modified by the factory so as to accept the type R roadster engine. The most prominent modification is a hole in the left front fender liner required to allow the exhaust to route out of the cramped engine bay. Here's how it looked (NOTE: air cleaner removed in this pic, but you can see how little space there is on the driver's side of the engine bay):

The cast iron exhaust manifold has a special extension bolted on which combines the 2 exhaust outlets into a single outlet and tilts it toward the new hole in the fender liner. The intake manifold is likewise tilted vertically to provide clearance for the SU air cleaner housing and the RL411 SU carburetors. Because of the tilt, the carbs' fuel float bowl is tilted to the rear to keep the float level so that it doesn't stick. Of note: The majority of these cars had 4-speed manuals, and most were the non-SSS 1.3-liter version. Therefore, a SSS automatic in unmolested condition is a rare bird indeed. More than a few people have mentioned swapping in a manual, but that's a foolish move - Some of its appeal is the old-school bulletproof Borg-Warner automatic. It's a cruiser, and if we want to row gears, we have four other manual-trans Datsuns in the collection. OK, back to the rescue effort. On the way out of Hollywood, we spotted the Peterson Museum and popped in for a visit. If you're ever in southern California, I highly recommend a tour - there's some amazing automotive exhibits and some one-of-a-kind displays on hand. Heading across the California and Arizona desert at midday in early May is a questionable proposition without air conditioning, and even more so in a car that's 43 years old. Hoping for the best, I checked the fluids at every stop, monitored the gauges, and crossed my fingers. She seemed to settle into a nice groove at around 70mph, so that's where she stayed for the whole trip. My partner in crime and fellow Datsun fanatic Jason (rotorimp) was following in the chase vehicle, and he made sure to inform me at every stop that she was running pig-rich... I didn't need to hear it, I could SMELL it. He smelled like stale gasoline! Considering that the R16 engine only made 96 hp at the crank when brand new, and assuming drivetrain losses and 40+ years of wear, it's pretty damn impressive that 40-something horsepower can effortlessly maintain freeway speeds. Definitely a testament to brilliant engineering from Datsun! Here, in this picture, I'm refueling somewhere around the AZ border. Nothing too interesting about that, except that the fuel filler is located behind the license plate - but the plate won't flip up or down! Quite a bit of searching revealed a small release button next to the hatch latch mechanism. Yes, you have to open the rear hatch to release the license plate latch, to access the fuel filler. That one almost stumped me.

Letting my mind wander during the drive, I thought about plans for the wagon - what to repair first, which garage stall to put it in, what parts might cross-reference to it... and I remembered: She needed a name! All of our Datsuns have a name. For some reason, I kept thinking she should have a name that reflected her design and purpose... A plain, hardworking, domestic-type vehicle, probably originally intended for transporting kids and picking up groceries, she needed a name to match. I pictured the housekeeper from The Brady Bunch, what was her name? Oh yeah - Alice. Perfect. Alice was on her way home. Read more: Just a detail, right? And the restoration begins... [post_title] => 1967 Datsun WRL411 Rescue and Restoration (Part 2) [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1967-datsun-wrl411-2 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2019-11-20 13:04:11 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-11-20 20:04:11 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=6038 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [17] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6057 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2010-06-17 00:03:46 [post_date_gmt] => 2010-06-17 07:03:46 [post_content] =>

Whenever I've gotten a new project, the first order of business was to completely clean it up. This applies to parts cars and full restorations alike. You really learn a lot about a vehicle by doing a full "detailing" on it, even if it's not going to be a show car. This is where you find out what it really needs, what it's strengths are, and even learn some history on the car. When I say detailing, I mean the kind that takes a couple days (or more). I'm talking the kind of detailing where you wear out a couple toothbrushes, a green scotchbrite pad, a bottle of 409, and 3 rolls of paper towels... Some "BEFORE" pictures:

The interior turned out remarkable. The headliner and door panels and plastic trim were very well-preserved, just dingy from years of improper cleaning. The greasy buildup in the door jambs preserved the paint on the hinges, and the door weatherstrip was still intact. A good scrubbing and several applications of 303 Protectant and they looked 20 years newer. The carpets were already going to have to be replaced, so those came out, along with the seats, so I could scrub and clean the floor pan. Some photos of the progress:

The original cargo area mat was amazingly salvageable. I spent the better part of a day working on it, with Simple Green, 409, and various scrub brushes, just to get it clean and presentable. Then, I saturated it with 303 Protectant for the next 5 or 6 days to try and restore some of its softness. It turned out great. The seams in the front seats had split, but those were going to have to wait. For now, we'd live with the split vinyl. Seat tracks got disassembled, scrubbed, re-lubricated and re-installed, but not before laying down a layer of GT Mat (similar to Dynamat, but better in my opinion, and cheaper). This makes all the difference in a restoration, keeping road noise and heat to a minimum.

Details make a big difference, and here's just one example: This is the bracket that holds the rear seatback from rattling when it's folded down. I took it apart, knocked out all the dings and dents with a rubber mallet and a block of wood, screwed it down to a piece of wood, and polished it with a green scrubbing pad followed by a buffing wheel. The mechanism was disassembled, polished, re-lubricated and reassembled. Makes a nice difference, doesn't it?

Another little detail - The bell-shaped "stands" that sit under the seat frame rails are cool as hell. I made a jig for my drill out of a spare 12mm bolt and a couple nuts. This way, I could sand down the casting, smooth it, and polish the metal - Check it out!

New carpet finished off the interior work:

Read more: Arizona's coolest Datsun wagon hits the streets - but not for long. [post_title] => 1967 Datsun WRL411 Rescue and Restoration (Part 3) [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1967-datsun-wrl411-3 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/1967-datsun-wrl411-4.html [post_modified] => 2019-11-20 13:40:33 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-11-20 20:40:33 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=6057 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [18] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6085 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2010-06-17 00:04:08 [post_date_gmt] => 2010-06-17 07:04:08 [post_content] =>

With the interior done, we were set to put some miles on our new acquisition. Just for fun, I threw on a set of GAB Sport wheels I sourced from Japan. They were sitting around from an abandoned previous project, and they looked good on the car, and saved me from having to buy new tires right away.

We posted up a few pictures and for a few months, we drove Alice around - short trips to the store, a few Datsun meets here in town, a couple trips here and there. We were amazed at the amount of attention and thumbs-up it got, even in its unrestored state. This car got more attention than our restored Datsun Roadster! A little photoshoot before the restoration started: Unfortunately, on the way home from one of the local Datsun meets, she started spewing fuel from the front carb, and almost at the same time, something went haywire in the steering or front suspension - she was not only a ticking bomb with fuel running down near the exhaust manifold, she was hard to steer and keep on a straight path. Time for some repairs. A compression test revealed the engine was pretty tired. Carbs needed rebuilding, and her transmission was leaking pretty good by now. A good friend "Ron", who is a huge Roadster expert, referred me to a gentleman by the name of Kevin Desirello. Kevin's kind of a big deal in the Roadster community, as he's built several impressive 311's. Most notably, he does SR20 swaps that look factory-built. Not wanting to go that radical, Kevin and I began discussing options for this car. He'd be right at home working on the engine, since it's a 67 Roadster engine with a few tweaks (as mentioned above). I wanted to preserve the originality of the car, due to its rarity, but I also wanted more power and greater reliability. We settled on a plan to build a stroker motor. A stroked 1600 is a fairly common build. Basically, it involves using the U20 crank (from a 2000cc Datsun engine) and different pistons. Ultimately, we decided on a .030 overbore along with the stroker crank and rods, and a custom ground cam (440 Lift / 276 Duration)... These changes effectively make the 1600 into a roughly 135-hp, torquey 2-liter (without sacrificing appearance or reliability). Since the 1967 came with a 3-main block, and we wanted to use a more robust 5-main block, a motor from a 69 Roadster was sourced. I retained the original block (just in case anyone ever wanted to return it to a "numbers matching" car). With a plan in mind, Becky and I scheduled a day to pull the engine to deliver to Kevin (who lives in Riverside, CA). She and I had the engine out in less than two hours, and we dropped the engine and the donor block in the Frontier and set out for CA. The next time we saw the engine, it would be bored, stroked, restored and re-sealed. Sweet. The transmission was delivered to a local shop, on recommendation from one of our local Datsun pickup fanatics (NICO member Charlie69). He'd had a couple automatic transmissions done by this shop, and had good luck with them. Alice was now well on her way to being mechanically sound. Little did we know... Read more: Yes, everything we own DOES have to be taken apart into a thousand pieces. [post_title] => 1967 Datsun WRL411 Rescue and Restoration (Part 4) [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1967-datsun-wrl411-4 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/1967-datsun-wrl411-5.html [post_modified] => 2019-11-20 13:45:30 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-11-20 20:45:30 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=6085 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [19] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6103 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2010-06-17 00:05:03 [post_date_gmt] => 2010-06-17 07:05:03 [post_content] =>

Since we bought the 411, I'd always thought I'd just get her mechanically sound, and leave the "patina" of 40+ years for character. But the more we discussed it, the more we thought she deserved something better. Becky pointed out that I had already restored the interior to near-perfection, why not get the exterior looking good as well? We decided to go ahead and have her bodywork and paint done. The body had a few dings and a dent or two, as well as a couple rusted spots in the rockers - nothing terrible, but enough to warrant some work. Becky and I took to the garage to strip off everything we didn't want painted. Since we're both pretty organized, everything went in a zip-lock bag with a label, and was placed on a shelf in the garage cabinets. The plan was to restore all of the parts OFF the car so that they'd look good being re-attached after paint. Becky handled most of the exterior parts removal:

Strapped on a trailer behind the NICO Frontier and headed for the painter's place.

Two days after we hauled her off to the painter, I was driving home from work and passed an old VW Bus, red with a white top. It really caught my eye, and I immediately called the painter. "Change of plans - she needs to have a white roof." Done. Not only would it give the wagon a little more character, it would keep the car cooler in the summer, and would really set off the wheel / tire combo I had planned. With the engine in Riverside and the shell across town, I started collecting, organizing and cleaning parts that would have to go back on the car. Everything that we had already removed, as well as the parts that would come off during the restoration were cleaned, either with a wire wheel or by hand, and re-painted or powder coated. This would not only make reinstallation more enjoyable and improve the appearance, it also lets you see any unknown damage hiding beneath 44 years of road grime. Some "before and after" pictures of some of the components: Taillights and turn signals BEFORE and AFTER (I was really happy with how these turned out):

By now, Alice had returned from the painter. The red and white was a good choice - I could only imagine how she'd look once her chrome trim went back in place.

I really enjoy the cosmetic restoration, but the mechanicals can't be ignored... That's what's next! Read more: Who says suspension isn't sexy? Check it out! [post_title] => 1967 Datsun WRL411 Rescue and Restoration (Part 5) [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1967-datsun-wrl411-5 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/1967-datsun-wrl411-6.html [post_modified] => 2019-11-20 14:29:44 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-11-20 21:29:44 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=6103 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [20] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6126 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2010-06-17 00:06:53 [post_date_gmt] => 2010-06-17 07:06:53 [post_content] => OK, those of you who have read this far are probably thinking, "Enough already, show us the damn finished product!" Bear with me - While suspension rehab on a '67 Datsun isn't a "sexy" topic, I promise, you'll like the results. Stick with us, this is getting good. The steering on the wagon had gotten notably sloppy over 44 years, and part of the reason for all this suspension work was to make sure we had addressed the right problem. A sixteenth of an inch of "slop" in each part can add up to a quarter-turn in the wheel (and a harrowing driving experience). Aaron (Bwana) was out for the weekend and tweaked the steering box. This is a great starting point to assess how much free play is still left. While the steering box adjustment took up some of the slack, there was a lot left - Ball joints, bushings, tie rod ends, bearings... Everything is suspect on a car this old. One of the first challenges we ran into was the fact that lower ball joints for the 411 have been pretty much non-existent for a decade. Nissan's NOS stuff was sold out long ago, and due to the scarcity of the car, no one's reproducing them. By a simple stroke of luck, while we were in California on vacation at Les's shop, he mentioned he might have a couple laying around. Sure enough, he did. Not cheap, mind you - but when you HAVE to get the car back on the road, you do what you gotta do. The upper ball joints were sourced through a gentleman in Singapore, who I met through an ebay transaction. He turned out to be a pretty valuable source, as he also had inner and outer tie rod ends (great quality stuff from Triple-5, or 555 Parts, a supplier of OEM-quality parts to Nissan for years). Success in finding most of the parts we needed increased our motivation, and Becky and I hit the garage hard on our days off. The JCCS show was only 3 months away, and we wanted her to make her debut there. First order of business was to start dismantling the front suspension. Since this was going to be a messy job, we laid down plastic drop cloths underneath the car, lifted her up on jackstands, and prepped for a long project. While we started disassembly, we enlisted the help of our son, Darian, to start removing all the road grime from the frame rails and underside of the car. Some "disposable" clothes, a pair of safety glasses, a paint scraper and cordless drill with a wire wheel was all he needed to be off and running. I'm pretty sure I swept up a 5-gallon bucket full of grime. We might make a Datsun restorer out of him yet. Have a look at the "starting point":

I'd decided on Roadster front springs for a bit of a drop, but I was wary of too much of a reduction in ride height. All springs sag over time, and I didn't want to put some 40-year-old Roadster springs in there and have it droop beyond a reasonable height. Again, I lucked out and sourced a set of springs that had been removed and thrown in a box decades ago - therefore, less likelihood of drooping. These got the wire wheel treatment to remove surface rust and were powdercoated red to match the car. Shocks were sourced from a NICO vendor, and we went with KYB's. More of the "before" pics - Click on each one for a closer look. It's no fun working in this nasty mess: The 411 SSS had front disc brakes from the factory, and the rotors were still in great shape. The calipers, however, were a different story. In fact, the entire braking system was in such a condition that I can't believe I actually survived the drive from southern California - more on that later. A year ago, I went through the ordeal of trying to rehab my Roadster front calipers, only to find I'd wasted 2 days and a ton of work - the sleeves of the brake cylinders were just too pitted, and I wound up completely retrofitting an upgraded brake system. Not wanting a repeat of THAT hassle, I found a set of new 510 brake cylinders on ebay, verified that they were the same as the 411 brake cylinders, and snatched them up. A new set of pads was sourced from NAPA, as was a set of new brake hoses. Some new brake hardware rounded out the install. The upper and lower control arms were literally buried in nearly a half-inch of greasy, nasty mess. A couple hours with the wire wheel and some degreaser, and they got a fresh coat of black chassis paint. Those super-rare, beautifully-machined ball joints we were lucky enough to score went in cleanly, and all new Grade 8 bolts from my local Ace Hardware finished off the control arms. Read more: In our next installment, the suspension gets finished and work starts on the engine bay! [post_title] => 1967 Datsun WRL411 Rescue and Restoration (Part 6) [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1967-datsun-wrl411-6 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/1967-datsun-wrl411-7.html [post_modified] => 2019-11-20 14:36:28 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-11-20 21:36:28 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=6126 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [21] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6147 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2010-06-17 00:07:49 [post_date_gmt] => 2010-06-17 07:07:49 [post_content] => OK, you're still with us - This is where it gets fun. Bex and I hope you're enjoying reading about our restoration as much as we enjoyed doing it! The front sway bar bushings were virtually nonexistent, as time had taken its toll on them. I wanted to use polyurethane bushings here, but finding the proper center bushings was proving to be futile. Endlinks were easy, they were on the shelf at AutoZone. So, I made my own bushings to mount the sway bar to the frame. Those of you who have been with NICOclub for a while might remember I made my own engine mounts for Project Vert a few years ago, and I looked forward to trying another application. There was JUST enough Flexane remaining in the container to make these two pieces.

I cleaned and polished the brackets, since I'd be pouring the Flexane directly into these (like a mold). I made cardboard "sides" for the mold, sealed with packing tape (which Flexane won't stick to) and used a deep socket (with the same diameter as the sway bar) to suspend in the mold and leave a void for the sway bar to pass through.

An hour later, I had a pair of one-of-a-kind polyurethane sway bar bushings for a Datsun 411.

The spindles were easy - Blast, scrub, de-grease, and paint. The great part about redoing a suspension is, you can use up some of the leftover paint from other projects. Contrast is cool, and it's not a show car, so as long as it's clean, use some different colors! The new tie rod ends were fitted to the old tie rods (after a session on the wire wheel) and adjusted to roughly approximate the original toe settings - this would be good enough to drive her to an alignment shop for a proper adjustment later.

Front wheel bearings still measured within spec, so these were soaked in mineral spirits, degreased, and re-packed with Mobil 1 synthetic grease (great stuff, get some). New seals were sourced from NAPA, and the assembly was complete. The wheelwells were treated to a fresh coat of black rubberized undercoating, which really cleans up the look of even an unrestored car. During this process, we decided to forego the GAB Sport wheels and go with something a little more traditional. I really wanted to emphasize the "vintage" appearance of the wagon, and stick to the old-school flavor. The problem was, I had already sold her original hubcaps to fund the paint job (they're very rare) and the original 13"x5" steel wheels were already fitted to another Datsun across town. Since 13" wheels are hard to find good tires for, and I planned on putting a lot of miles on this car when finished, I decided to step up to a wider 14" steel wheel. A couple phone calls and I had a complete set of 14x6" late Roadster wheels. While these were sent off to the powdercoater, I scoured the Internet for some wide whitewalls. A seller on ebay had a set in the size I wanted, and the price was reasonable. All that was left was to find JUST the right hubcaps for her. Less than a week later, I ran across an ebay ad for a set of Datsun 520 pickup hubcaps in good shape. These would be perfect, but even after a good polishing, they were a little plain. I spent a few hours (and some leftover vinyl) making some center logos for the hubcaps, utilizing the early "D" logo that was found on the early 60's Datsuns. They'll stay until I find something I like better - I'm thinking of having some one-of-a-kind reproductions of the early center caps done in heavy-duty vinyl.

Read more: Glad to be done with that part - Time to get up off the floor and do some stand-up work! [post_title] => 1967 Datsun WRL411 Rescue and Restoration (Part 7) [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1967-datsun-wrl411-7 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/1967-datsun-wrl411-8.html [post_modified] => 2019-11-20 15:03:36 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-11-20 22:03:36 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=6147 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [22] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6157 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2010-06-17 00:08:51 [post_date_gmt] => 2010-06-17 07:08:51 [post_content] =>

With the suspension and rolling stock completed, it was time to prepare the engine bay for installation of the new engine. Again, we wanted to keep things relatively stock in appearance, but since this wasn't a complete frame-off restoration, things would have to be done in stages. I started off at the upper left-hand corner of the firewall and began cleaning 40+ years of funk off the paint, working around the entire perimeter of the bay, and then working downwards to the frame rails. Again, lots of 409, brake cleaner, green Scotchbrite pads, and loads of paper towels.

Everything that could be removed was pulled a piece at a time, restored as a component, and reinstalled, using new hardware where appropriate. This included all the relays, the underhood light, the windshield wiper motor and assembly, wiring harness, the horns, everything.

Removing one part at a time and replacing it immediately after restoration helped ensure that nothing got mis-wired or lost. The underlying engine bay paint was still in good enough condition to refurbish, and I like to use a product called TR3 (it's cheap, and has a lot of solvents to really clean the top layer of old paint).

The radiator was sent to a local shop for re-coring, and new radiator hoses and thermostat were sourced from Rock Auto. We decided early on that we'd like to run electric fans. Since the old 1600's didn't use a clutch fan, the original metal fan is inefficient and hard to balance. It's also always spinning, creating drag and pulling power, even at freeway speeds. A pair of 8" high-volume curved-blade fans were sourced on ebay, along with a Derale mounting and wiring kit (with a relay and an adjustable temp sensor), and it looks clean and tidy. Also, rather than just having the radiator overflow hose dump out onto the ground, I decided I'd like to have a reclamation tank. The theory here is that as the fluid expands, it has to have someplace to go - but once it cools and contracts, it'd be nice to have that coolant go BACK into the radiator, not on the ground. However, these cars didn't come with a dedicated overflow tank, but they DID come with a windshield washer bottle... Personally, I never use windshield washers - if my windshield is THAT dirty, the whole car needs a bath. So, the pristine windshield washer tank is now the radiator overflow tank.

Finally, we cleaned up the underside of the hood, cleaned and masked off the bracing, and re-applied rubberized undercoating directly over the original stuff applied by the factory. The engine bay was finished just in time, as Kevin called and said the engine was ready. He'd already started it up on a test stand in order to perform a proper break-in and set the carb mixture and timing appropriately. The new stroker motor would literally be a drop-in affair. The trans shop had just completed the rebuild on the Borg-Warner 35 Automatic, and it was ready to go as well. Read more: Who wants to help us drop in a stroker motor? Let's do it!!! [post_title] => 1967 Datsun WRL411 Rescue and Restoration (Part 8) [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1967-datsun-wrl411-8 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/1967-datsun-wrl411-9.html [post_modified] => 2019-11-20 15:19:03 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-11-20 22:19:03 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=6157 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [23] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6168 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2010-06-17 00:09:16 [post_date_gmt] => 2010-06-17 07:09:16 [post_content] =>

Becky and I got started early on a Saturday morning, and we had the engine in within an hour. We ran into a couple minor snags - the motor mounts on a 411 are ridiculously hard to line up properly, and I inadvertently left the speedometer drive cable off the transmission until after it was all bolted up. The transmission crossmember has to be off the car to install the cable housing. Ah, well - doing it twice makes sure you commit it to memory, right? Here's the freshly-rebuilt Borg-Warner 35 and the rebuilt (higher stall speed) torque converter, ready to be mated to the fresh stroker motor:

Anyhow, reattaching and adjusting the shifter linkage and throttle linkage was a bit tedious, and re-routing / reconnecting the wiring harness could have been difficult. However, one thing that really helped a lot was the fact that Becky took a TON of pictures of the engine bay from all angles before we started disassembly, and labeled several wires that looked like they might be confusing later. Between those pictures and a wiring diagram I found online, we were good to go.

Fluids were filled, fuel pump was primed (a vacuum pump brake bleeder is a great help here), and fingers were crossed - Fortunately, she fired right up. A little fiddling with the timing and the mixture, and she settled into a nice, lopey idle. The cam is a little more radical than what I'd expected, and it sounds like a MUCH larger engine. The increase in displacement from 1600 cc's to 2000 cc's is nice, but what's REALLY awesome about this engine is the torque it makes. The longer stroke really wakes it up, and she pulls nicely across the entire RPM range. By now, the engine bay was looking much the way it was when it rolled off the assembly line in Japan, some 44 years prior. But it needed a little more visual appeal. In tribute to Nissan's much-loved 2-liter SR20 engine, I decided the valve cover would look good in a wrinkle red powdercoat. A contrasting gloss black was chosen for the OEM oil cap, and a little polishing and buffing of specific bits and fittings really gave the engine a nice, functional appearance. We spent several hours just refurbishing the air cleaner. Fortunately, the paint underneath all that grime and oxidation was in great shape, and it really sets off the engine bay.

A couple issues were to be expected, and the first one we ran into was a colossal pain... First of all, since automatic transmissions are so complicated to me, I was certain that we'd have issues, and I was right. But it wasn't with the rebuild! Actually, the Borg-Warner 35 transmission has a cable-actuated kickdown (to drop the transmission into a lower gear at wide-open throttle). This used to be referred to as "passing gear". Anyway, the cable that was originally on the transmission was shot. 40 years of adjustments had taken their toll on the cable ends, and the plastic casing had split where it enters the transmission - this allowed transmission fluid to force up the cable housing and seem out through the cracks, coating the undercarriage with a layer of grimy road funk (which we scraped off earlier in the article). Obviously, this part is near impossible to obtain, so I decided to figure out how it works and find a new way to address the problem. With some help from Becky, I was able to see that at WOT, the cable (which is attached to the throttle mechanism) is pulled upwards, which actuates a cam in the transmission, which presses a plunger and increases the line pressure, causing a downshift. Great! I'd just make a new cable - Off to the store, where I found a nice set of bike brake cables. I cut them, crimped on new ends, retrofitted the cable and housing onto the old mounts, dropped the trans pan to reconnect the cable to the cam, and re-installed the whole assembly. Adjusting the cable so that it actuates at JUST the right time takes some work. Early indications were promising, as the first test drive revealed the kickdown worked perfectly - she dropped into first and pulled ahead - hard! However, when I released the throttle, she refused to go back into a higher gear. A quick inspection revealed the cable was flexing at the top and the cam wasn't returning to its original position. But, that would mean that something has to PUSH the cam back into position, and it's not spring-loaded... Several more hours of scouring the Internet for information led me to a boating forum in the UK. Apparently, these transmissions were also used in boats?!? Anyway, the clue was found therein: The cable has to be stiff enough to act as a puller AND a pusher, so that when the throttle returns to a closed position, the cable will push the cam back. But who's ever heard of a cable that pulls AND pushes? I mean, that's like pushing a piece of cooked spaghetti across a table, right? Well, not so fast. Lawnmower throttle cables do it all the time. Remember the old "rabbit and turtle" throttle controller on that old mower you used to push? Yep, that cable pulls and pushes. Off to the lawnmower shop! At the time of this article, I actually DID go get a lawnmower throttle cable to modify for my application. Not long thereafter, Aaron (bwana) encouraged me to do it right and order a custom kickdown cable kit from Lokar, so I did. I much prefer making things work without resorting to buying new parts, but I think I'll be glad I got the good stuff. Read more: It runs! Let's get the exterior put back together so we can go to a show! [post_title] => 1967 Datsun WRL411 Rescue and Restoration (Part 9) [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1967-datsun-wrl411-9 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/1967-datsun-wrl411-10.html [post_modified] => 2019-11-20 15:28:11 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-11-20 22:28:11 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=6168 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [24] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6183 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2010-06-17 00:10:07 [post_date_gmt] => 2010-06-17 07:10:07 [post_content] => Holy crap - We're almost to the end! We're glad you've taken the time to read about our restoration, that makes it all worthwhile! With the actual running and driving thing out of the way, it was time to make it presentable. Installing the exterior trim and lights was fun. Cleaning and polishing each individual component before reattaching it to the car ensures that you're not going to be disappointed in the final outcome. The grille was polished by hand several times, front to back. All light bulbs were replaced with new ones, each socket got cleaned with a brass brush attachment on the Dremel, and the sockets got a coating of dielectric grease. Every emblem got refinished at the kitchen table (thanks, honey!) Small jars of Testor's model paint and some model car brushes came in handy here. When restoring something as rare as this, you get used to running across the problem of finding rare parts. A good example is the windshield washer nozzle gaskets. Sure, they're tiny pieces, and no one would really notice if I just threw away the crumbly ones and went without replacements. But overcoming little obstacles is what makes a restoration fun, and when you can come up with a solution out of a box of junk in the garage, it just feels good. So, I disassembled the washer nozzles, polished them on the buffer, and set about finding a solution... Some hard plastic beveled "feet" from the bottom of an old printer were JUST the right size. A quick hit with a drill bit in a Dremel and they look like they belong there:

A few finishing details were added after everything was put together. Any self-respecting cool wagon will have some "custom" touches, and we really wanted to accent her appearance without being obnoxious. A set of chrome vent window wings and some chrome headlight "eyelids" really punch up the appearance. A single chrome round side mirror, mounted high on the side pillar, emphasizes the retro theme. The Finished Product:

I've sourced an original roof rack that was a dealer-installed option on these, but it needs re-chroming before I install it. A few days before finishing this article, I located an old Thermador swamp cooler that looks great hanging on her window, and it should come in handy on those days when it's a little too warm. I'm working on designing a one-of-a-kind solid windshield visor, and maybe I'll even find a set of fuzzy dice to finish off the look.

As of the completion of this article series, the 411 is about as far along as we're going to go with it. Building a car to be a "DRIVER", rather than a showpiece, take some restraint and planning, but it's very rewarding. I won't freak out if she gets a nick in her paint or bugs in her grille - Becky and I plan to put some miles on Alice over the next several years.

She runs beautifully, draws a ton of attention, and is one of those cars that just makes people smile. Only 50 miles into her restoration, and people are taking pictures of her in traffic, giving it the thumbs-up, and asking what it is and who makes it... Just seeing people's reaction makes all the work worthwhile. We'll be introducing "Alice" to the rest of the world this coming weekend when she makes her debut at JCCS 2010. Look for more coverage of that event here on NICO. Until the next article - Be safe and enjoy your Datsuns, Nissans and Infinitis! All the best, Becky and Greg Greg (AZhitman) and Becky (nissangirl74) are the owners of NICOclub.com and die-hard Datsun / Nissan enthusiasts. [post_title] => 1967 Datsun WRL411 Rescue and Restoration (Part 10) [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1967-datsun-wrl411-10 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2019-11-20 15:39:24 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-11-20 22:39:24 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=6183 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [25] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 9757 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-05-24 00:38:47 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-05-24 07:38:47 [post_content] =>

Yet another long-term project from NICOclub HQ... I hope you guys enjoy it! Over the course of managing this forum, I see tons of cars. You guys post up pictures of your daily drivers, your latest projects, your track cars, and things you'd like to build someday. We also go to a lot of events throughout the year, and we see the best of the best - especially at SEMA and the JCCS. So, there's never a shortage of ideas on the "wish list", and that's where this car comes in. Having already modded several more modern Nissan vehicles, I felt like taking a different route. I've always appreciated the history and heritage of the Z cars, and figured maybe I'd do a restoration on one. So, in early 2007, I began the search for a suitable candidate. I knew I wanted something from the 70-73 era. I'm not a big fan of emissions equipment, and Arizona has some of the most stringent emissions standards in the country. Some would say we're even held to a higher standard than California... since all our testing stations are state-run facilities, there's no option of bribing the shop or securing a "homey hookup". Anyhow, I also prefer the clean simplicity of the early cars... no Federally-mandated big bumpers, no fuel injection, no extra electronics. Just pure early Japanese sports car heritage.

As you know, Datsuns are notorious for rusting on the boat on the way to the US. In fact, despite their concentration on the west coast, most of the ones I looked at were badly corroded... Since I wanted to do a restoration, not a complete rotisserie rebuild, I skipped the ones with visible rust perforation. I had a budget in mind, but the more cars I looked at, the more I realized that I might have to lower my standards. So, I expanded my search to non-running examples. Immediately I ran across a small classified ad for a 1972 240Z with a 4-speed and air conditioning, less than 10 miles from home. The asking price was right, so my hopes were lifted - Let's go look at a Z! A quick phone call to my best friend and partner-in-crime, Master Fabricator Jason McCoy (rotorimp) and he showed up with a truck and trailer, ready to go haul the next project. We arrived at the seller's home, and he was a real character. He was a disabled Veteran, and he'd bought the Z in Phoenix at West Valley Datsun after returning home from Vietnam. He'd driven it regularly, and had it serviced by the dealer, until 2003 when his age and injuries conspired against him, and he became unable to steer and shift effectively. He parked her in the back yard and bought a Frontier - my kinda guy. Here's how she looked the day before I arrived: [gallery include="10117,10118,10119" link="file"] Unfortunately, by the time we were done chatting, it had gotten dark. Flashlights in hand, we gave the Z a cursory inspection, saw that it was complete and solid, and shook on the deal. On March 13, 2007, I became a classic Z owner.

I brought the car home, gave it a good cleaning and inspection, and took a lot of pictures. Her original color was a root beer brown metallic, and it was pretty well-worn. Just for fun, I polished up a section of the fender... a pretty color, but not something I'd want to keep. Interior was called "butterscotch", and I'm sure it was awesome in 1972. Lots of spare parts in a box, original spare tire in place, original jack, wheel chocks and tools still in place, and she was still wearing a decal from the original dealer. This would be a cool project.
Before we get into the actual restoration, here's some photos I took as I was examining my purchase... It's not much, but it's a starting point. [gallery exclude="9809,9837,9838,9839,10112,10117,10118,10119" link="file" columns="4"] Little did I know at the time that this car would have an incredible impact on so many people, and completely change the course of my life forever... No kidding. Read more: 240Z restoration and modification - Part 2 Questions? Comments? Just want to discuss the build? Here's where: Building an RB25DET-powered 240Z
[post_title] => NICOclub Build Series - 1972 Datsun 240Z resto-mod: Meet "Bella" [post_excerpt] => Another multi-part build article from NICOclub HQ: The restoration and modification of an RB25-powered 1972 240Z named "Bella". [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1972-datsun-240z-resto-mod-meet-bella [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-2.html [post_modified] => 2016-04-15 21:50:33 [post_modified_gmt] => 2016-04-16 04:50:33 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=9757 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [26] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 9876 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-03-01 22:58:09 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-03-02 05:58:09 [post_content] =>

Welcome back! Hope you enjoyed the introduction to this build. For the first several months, nothing was done on the Z. Life was hectic, and I had plenty on my plate. I'd been reading up on classic Z restorations, bought a few good books off ebay, and found a couple more at the library. The more I learned, the more I thought I'd like to do a full-scale restoration, while keeping budget in mind and not "over-restoring" it. I wanted a driver, not a concours-ready trailer queen. Besides, I *drive* my cars, so I don't mind a rock chip or some road grime. I'd seen the pictures of Mark Rolston's gorgeous 240Z in Super Street, and it always seemed to me to be the "perfect" blend of performance and style for a classic Z... the color, the stance, the wheels, the body modifications - All of it. Of course, I've never been one to try and replicate someone else's work, but it gave me some good ideas.

A few months later, I got motivated to get started. Off to Jason's place, where we gave the car a more thorough inspection. The engine turned over by hand, so we hooked up a new battery, sprayed in some starting fluid, and hit the key... A sputter, a backfire, and a reluctant start... she actually ran for a few minutes! Encouraged by that, it was time to dig in. The first order of business was to remove all the trim, glass, interior, and non-essentials so that the bodywork could be done. Fortunately, it was pretty apparent that she'd never been in an accident, and the only repair to the body was a repaint of the right front wheel arch (for unknown reasons). [gallery include="10121,10122,10123,10124" link="file" columns="4"] Remember how I said I didn't want a car with any rust? Well, I should have known that ALL Datsuns have at least SOME rust, and she was no different. In fact, the paint on her "doglegs" (bottom front of the rear wheel arch) were hiding some pretty substantial corrosion. The more I ground away, the more it became apparent that there was going to be some serious cutting and welding going on. Fortunately, Jason is a whiz with a welder, so we grabbed a busted-up hood from an S13 an started cutting out metal to make patch panels with. A plasma cutter, a grinder, and a wire wheel saved us a ton of work. We spent a lot of time making cardboard templates for the patch panels, and while I cut, shaped and bent the patches, Jason was busy welding in the new metal. Extraneous holes were patched and filled, and leftover spray paint covered the raw metal until I could get it primered properly. The antenna hole, the side emblem holes, and the rear view mirror holes were deleted (I had planned to use fender mirrors - before I realized that they're a colossal pain, and they're virtually useless). [gallery include="10125,10126,10127,10128" link="file" columns="4"] As we dug into the bodywork, we found one more area that was going to pose a problem. Seems the battery had leaked pretty badly somewhere along the line, and the battery tray and entire inner fenderwell were compromised. But, the worst damage was even further down, where the front tension rod meets the frame - the battery acid had run right into that seam, and both the tension rod mount and the frame were weakened by the corrosion. [gallery include="10130,10131,10132,10133" link="file" columns="4"] Jason tackled this part with a vengeance, since it's a critical strength area. He cut out the battery tray, the inner fenderwell, and a section of the frame rail. He fabricated a fenderwell patch, an entirely new battery tray, and beefed up the frame rail while creating a new tension rod mount. Cross-measurements were taken to ensure the frame was square and true, and a set of come-alongs and turnbuckles were employed to make small adjustments while the bracing was welded in. Then, to make sure one side wasn't stiffer than the other, he reinforced the driver's side as well. At the time, it didn't seem important - as the project progressed, it became critical. [gallery include="10134,10135" link="file" columns="2"] All of the rust areas that were repaired were treated to a coat of POR-15. And, since there was quite a bit left, I used it on areas that normally DO rust on a Z. A quick zap with a wire wheel, some sandpaper, and a wipedown with brake parts cleaner, followed by an application of POR-15, and we'd never have to worry about corrosion again. The entire undercarriage got a fresh coat of rubberized undercoating (I had already removed most of the original) - it was time to send her off for paint. I told you this project was being done backwards! Ready to read Part 3? Project 240Z gets paint! Questions? Comments? Just want to discuss the build? Here's where: Building an RB25DET-powered 240Z
[post_title] => Datsun 240Z restoration and modification - Part 2 [post_excerpt] => The more I learned about the 240Z, the more I thought I'd like to do a full-scale restoration, while keeping budget in mind and not "over-restoring" it. I wanted a driver, not a concours-ready trailer queen. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-2 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-3.html [post_modified] => 2011-06-26 18:00:20 [post_modified_gmt] => 2011-06-27 01:00:20 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=9876 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [27] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 9920 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-03-01 23:00:00 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-03-02 06:00:00 [post_content] =>

If you haven't noticed by now, this project was done somewhat backwards - Ordinarily, I'd tear the car down, and restore it in order (engine, drivetrain, suspension, body, paint, interior). But I really needed to be motivated, and I just couldn't wait to see her in her new paint color. Speaking of paint, I've done bodywork and paint ONE time in my life - and hated it. Despite all my restorations and modded cars, it's the one skill I just don't seem to have much luck with. As such, it's one of those things I'll farm out to an expert. A couple hints for anyone following along: I HATE repaints when there's a lot of masking involved. My feeling is, if you're going to do a color change on a car, it had better involve removing the glass, trim, bumpers, interior, etc. A crappy repaint will kill your value if it's obvious, so take your time and do it right. I removed everything including the windshield (had my local windshield installer guy come out and remove that), masked the dash and steering wheel myself, and triple-checked the car for anything I didn't want to be repainted. This not only makes sure you get good paint coverage, but your painter will appreciate not having to be cautious. Now, the paint color becomes important later in the story, but here's the deal on it for now: I was sitting at a stoplight and a vehicle pulled up next to me. It was obviously freshly-washed, and the paint color just jumped out at me... I literally stared at it driving away, caught up to see it again, changed lanes to see the side in the shade - THAT was the color I wanted. I drove straight to a dealership to get the color code: It's from a 2005 Honday Odyssey minivan, Ocean Mist Metallic. A quick trip to our local auto paint supply shop and she's off to the painters!

When it comes to the budget for paint and bodywork, a couple things worked in my favor here: Even though the car had a lot of little dings and imperfections, I made it clear that this wasn't going to be a show car - it's a driver. So, I wanted it smooth but within budget. Having already removed everything that wasn't going to get painted blue, and also not having a deadline in mind, both helped with the cost. This way, the bodywork could be done a little at a time, and the painter could shoot the car, the door jambs, inside the hood and decklid, as well as the extra parts, without worrying about masking for overspray. In preparation for the paint shop visit, I had ordered the MSA front air dam and the replica BRE spoiler. A month later, she was done. Here she is with her new paint: [gallery link="file"] With that completed, I was motivated to press on with the project - But reality had other plans for me, and another huge delay was right around the corner... Part 4 - The Z project screeches to a halt... Questions? Comments? Just want to discuss the build? Here's where: Building an RB25DET-powered 240Z [post_title] => Datsun 240Z restoration and modification - Part 3 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-3 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-4.html [post_modified] => 2015-04-25 19:20:52 [post_modified_gmt] => 2015-04-26 02:20:52 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=9920 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [28] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 10153 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-03-01 23:01:30 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-03-02 06:01:30 [post_content] =>

About two weeks after getting the Z home from the paint shop, our family life changed significantly. The next three months was spent packing up our house and moving across town. The Z restoration was once again put on hold, and everything I'd removed and set aside was now being stuffed in boxes and bags, unlabeled, in order to relocate. I was positive I'd remember where I put everything. While I was gaining a lot more space, I was also doing the ONE thing you're NOT supposed to do in the middle of a restoration, and that's move parts from where you initially put them. This lesson would become painfully obvious in the next two years, as I searched for certain parts to reassemble the car. To make matters more chaotic, right before the move, I acquired another Z. Well, sort of. See, in doing my research on the restoration, I knew I'd want to upgrade the suspension and brakes. The only problem was that it would require sourcing a LOT of individual components, and doing more research to make sure everything would work well together. As is so often the case, I got a call from a buddy whose brother had started a project and abandoned it, and he thought it might be right up my alley. So, off I go across town to look at it. As it turned out, the guy had a '73 Z that he'd started a Velo Rossa conversion on... For those of you unfamiliar with this, a Velo Rossa is a fiberglass re-body kit for the first generation (S30) Datsun Z car. The kit is loosely based on Ferrari’s famed 250GTO from the early 60’s.

The owner had started off right: Brake upgrades were installed front and rear (Toyota 4x4 calipers and discs in front, Maxima calipers and discs in the rear), higher-rate lowering springs, a larger master cylinder and brake booster, a nice Wilwood brake proportioning valve, KYB shocks, bumpsteer spacers, reinforced lower control arms, heavier sway bars and brackets, polyurethane bushings. He'd already done some extra work in laying the foundation for the car, and had over $4000 in receipts for his troubles. He'd also made some progress on reinforcing the chassis after cutting the top and rear hatch area off (in preparation for attaching the Velo Rossa fiberglass body panels). He soon realized, however, that he'd gotten in WAY over his head (the rest of the kit isn't cheap), and that doesn't even take into account all the other Z-specific restoration stuff he still had to buy. With an impending tab upwards of $20,000 staring him in the face, the financial commitment and pressure from his spouse was too much. After talking in the driveway for nearly two hours, we weren't getting anywhere. Negotiations over price had reached a standstill (he was convinced he had installed a rare VLSD, valued at over $1000 - I politely disagreed). He was certain the lack of a clear title wouldn't be an issue, I knew better. Fortunately, his wife joined the discussion as I was about to leave and made up his mind for him - Take my offer of $500 and get it out of HER garage. Ouch. Not one to stick around for the inevitable domestic violence, I paid the cash (to her), gathered the shell and began the long, dangerous tow home (65 miles with a tow bar and steering linkage held together with a ratchet strap was NOT one of my brighter moves). The next morning, I evaluated my haul - Overall, it was well worth the price paid. [gallery link="file" columns="4"] Part 5 - Halfhearted attempts and interruptions... Questions? Comments? Just want to discuss the build? Here's where: Building an RB25DET-powered 240Z
[post_title] => Datsun 240Z restoration and modification - Part 4 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-4 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-5.html [post_modified] => 2011-06-26 18:00:57 [post_modified_gmt] => 2011-06-27 01:00:57 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=10153 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [29] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 10169 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-03-01 23:02:04 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-03-02 06:02:04 [post_content] =>

During the course of getting everyone settled in at the new house, furnishing it, setting up my new garage, having a shed built, putting in landscaping, getting the kids into a new school, the car projects sat idle for quite some time. After a few months, even though there was still a ton of non-car related stuff to do, I was itching to get back into the garage. As soon as time permitted, I started removing useful parts from the shell (the car that was supposed to be converted to a Velo Rossa) and setting them aside for the restoration. A few unneeded parts (doors, headlight buckets, wheels, and some odds and ends) went up for sale on the local boards, and I actually made almost all of the initial $500 back! The non-rolling shell was strapped to a set of rolling dollies so I could move it around, and before long, Jason and I had it cut up into pieces for scrap. Since I wasn't prepared to start assembling the suspension yet, I decided it was time to pull the tired L24 engine out of my Z and get started on the rebuild. So, I had a day off and dug in. Even with careful documentation of connections and placements, the removal only took me a couple hours, and it gave me an opportunity to evaluate the condition of the engine bay. [gallery include="10179,10181,10180,10182,10183,10184" link="file" columns="3"] The original engine went on a stand to await its fate, and another few months would go by before I started back to work on the Z... However, during this hiatus from wrenching on the Z, I learned a lot more about the L24. It was a stout motor, and according to the documents I got from the previous owner, the engine was well-maintained right up until the day he parked it. I remembered that it had turned over and actually started when I tried it... Wonder what would happen if I simply gave it a good refreshing, rather than a full rebuild? Popping off the valve cover and oil pan, I started inspecting the engine. It showed very little wear, and the plugs were even still decent. The tops of the pistons were actually relatively clean, no wear on the cam, and the head was remarkably free of sludge and varnish. So, rather than dumping a pile of money into a performance rebuild, I spent the next two weekends working on the engine. I gave it a good cleaning, flushed the water passages and crankcase, replaced all the seals, rebuilt the carbs, installed all new seals, a thermostat and temp sensor, re-routed some coolant lines, gave it a fresh coat of paint, detailed it cosmetically, and buttoned it up for future installation. [gallery include="10189,10190,10191,10192,10193,10194" link="file" columns="3"]

First project in the new garage... Not only did it help me get a feel for the flow of my workspace (and give me some ideas for how to make it better), I got to thinking that this car might just come together... someday. Part 6 -Project 240Z goes on the back burner... again. Questions? Comments? Just want to discuss the build? Here's where: Building an RB25DET-powered 240Z
[post_title] => Datsun 240Z restoration and modification - Part 5 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-5 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-6.html https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-6.html [post_modified] => 2011-12-27 21:15:42 [post_modified_gmt] => 2011-12-28 04:15:42 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=10169 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [30] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 10199 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-03-01 23:03:39 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-03-02 06:03:39 [post_content] =>

In preparation for loading the engine back in the car, I did some work on the engine bay. Most of the unnecessary holes were filled, seams covered with POR-15 seam sealer, and a fresh coat of flat black covered the metal. I considered shooting it with the body color, but that would have necessitated fender removal, as well as refurbishing the crossmember, steering rack, and a lot of other parts that I wasn't interested in dismantling. [gallery include="10200,10201,10202" link="file" columns="3"] Those of you who have done a build or a restoration know that sometimes, you go through a phase where you just want to do little half-day projects... those small tasks that can be knocked out in three to five hours. That's where I was. I suspected I'd be challenged to make time for reinstalling the engine, so I got a few little jobs done. First, I installed the larger booster and master cylinder that was on the parts car. This, of course, placed the brake lines in a little different position, so there was some re-bending involved... but it came together nicely.

While unpacking some stuff in the garage, I ran across a rebuild kit I had ordered for the front calipers. A quick beadblast made short work of the nasty finish. New seals, hardware, and a fresh coat of gold caliper paint gave them new life - these would definitely outperform the stock brakes! [gallery include="10209,10208,10210" link="file" columns="3"] Around this time, we were all settled into our new house and a new lifestyle. The kids had adjusted to a new school and had made new friends. I was throwing myself into work, both on NICO and my projects. I was attending every local track day I could get to in the G35 Coupe, and had taken on the task of supercharging it. Meanwhile, the Z sat idle for another year, engine on a stand, just waiting for renewed interest. I even entertained the idea of selling it, but that meant putting it back together to some extent... there simply wasn't enough time to do what I wanted to do. I was trying to get out once in a while and resume some semblance of a social life, dating a little, and time seemed to fly by. Life went on while the Z sat patiently under a cover in the garage. Hey, every real car guy has that one project that he never really finishes, right? Right. Well, sort of. In fact, that makes a great title for Part 7: Leave it to a woman to get the project back on track. Questions? Comments? Just want to discuss the build? Here's where: Building an RB25DET-powered 240Z
[post_title] => Datsun 240Z restoration and modification - Part 6 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-6 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-5.html [post_modified] => 2011-06-26 18:01:27 [post_modified_gmt] => 2011-06-27 01:01:27 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=10199 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [31] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 10218 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-03-01 23:04:19 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-03-02 06:04:19 [post_content] =>

Yep. You read that right. It took a woman to get me back into the Z project - this time, with a vengeance. Those of you who are ONLY here to read about rebuilding a classic Z can just skip on to the next page. Or, stick around and find out how this project REALLY came to get completed. Anyone who's been on NICO for a while knows that I occasionally posted up updates of my project here on the forum. I had a few pics of my cars up on MySpace and Facebook, if only to make it clear to potential dates that I'm a car guy. It helped to weed out the flakes... especially if they know ahead of time that I'm a lot happier in the garage, elbow-deep in old car grime. In fact, after a year of dating, I finally decided I wasn't going to date ANYONE who didn't appreciate my hobby. It's just easier that way. And as you guys know, that kinda limits our options. As luck would have it, one evening I got a message from a new forum member, nissangirl74. She complimented me on the color choice for the Z, and asked specifically what color it was... Which was followed by a wisecrack: "I'll be surprised if it ever starts again, considering you painted it a Honda color." Wait, what? Now my interest was piqued. Turns out, her favorite car design is the 70-73 240Z. She's owned four Datsuns, and knows cars pretty well. Is this someone's idea of a cruel joke? A single girl who likes cars? Our online chats grew longer - several nights were spent chatting into the wee hours on AIM (sometimes straight on through to the morning: "CRAP, I gotta leave for work!"). She lived in Tennessee, I lived in Arizona. 1900 miles apart... but I really, really enjoyed our long talks. She'd send me links to ebay auctions for Datsuns, which we'd critique (or drool over). We'd discuss stuff happening on the forums. We talked about our kids, our jobs, our hobbies, our past, and life in general... we covered a lot of ground in those marathon chat sessions. Seemed like we were on the exact same page on everything. I'd find myself hurrying home from work just so I could chat with her longer. Crazy? Yeah... Very. Coincidentally, an upcoming business trip was taking me about a hundred miles from her hometown in a couple months, and I asked if we could catch up for dinner while I'm there? It's a date. No, it's not. Well, sorta. We even laughed at the thought: What if we meet and really like each other in person? Wouldn't that be crazy? And even if we did, then what? Argh, no sense getting your hopes up - there's gotta be a catch. No one gets THAT lucky. Hell, I didn't even have a clue what she even looked like... but no matter how insane it sounded, I couldn't wait to meet this girl. A couple weeks prior to leaving for TN, state budget cuts necessitated a cancellation of the conference. No way! Screw it, I'm going anyway. I messaged her that night, told her what had happened, and asked if I could still come out for a visit. A six-hour flight for a first date? Hey, stranger things have happened - besides, now we'd have more time to hang out. I booked a round-trip flight and a rental car for the weekend, figuring if it doesn't go well, I can always wander around eastern Tennessee or go visit my aunt and uncle in North Carolina. Was I nuts for pursuing this? Stupidest mistake ever? To make a long story quite short, when I arrived at her place to pick her up, I was instantly smitten - she was absolutely gorgeous, and more fun in person than online. We hit it off right away, and spent the whole weekend together touring eastern Tennessee and getting to know each other. I hated coming back home. Another month of online chats and phone calls, and we decided to attend the 2009 Nissan Convention in Savannah together. It was then that I popped the question... Yes, on our second date. With no idea how we were going to make it work, we started making plans. Leaving Savannah (and Becky) for the next two months was the hardest thing I've ever done, but I knew I had to get a lot done before we could merge our schedules, our families, and our lives into one functional unit.

A couple months later, we attended the Carlisle NICOfest meet together (our "coming out" event). Becky fit right in, got to know some of the staff and members, and we had a blast. Yet another month went by filled with long chats and longer phone calls... And that brings us back to the car... Part 8: Project 240Z goes from simple restoration to simply awesome. Questions? Comments? Just want to discuss the build? Here's where: Building an RB25DET-powered 240Z
[post_title] => Datsun 240Z restoration and modification - Part 7 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-7 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2011-06-26 18:01:42 [post_modified_gmt] => 2011-06-27 01:01:42 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=10218 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [32] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 10227 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-03-01 23:05:12 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-03-02 06:05:12 [post_content] =>

This is where the restoration turns into a much bigger project - and really gets rolling. Whenever I had talked to Becky about possibly selling the Z, she'd encourage me to press on and stay the course. She even gave it a name: Bella. So, I thought, what better engagement gift than to build her dream car - the car that was the topic of our first conversation. With renewed motivation, I dug in with every spare moment to get the car as close to completion as possible before it was time to go to Tennessee to finally move her to Arizona.

But now, I had a reason to go above and beyond a simple restoration. No, now it needed to be special. It needed to be something that would make an impact. In short, it needed to be as awesome as her new driver. And, as is always the case, a long talk with Jason about the project sent it in a whole new direction. Bella wouldn't just be a restoration - she'd be a beast. See, it just so happened that he had an engine that would suit her perfectly, and the market was weak for engine swaps - no one wanted to drop the money for a low-mileage, pristine example of one of Japan's finest powerplants. So, I became the owner of an RB25DET, and off the Z went for her heart transplant. Fast-forward a few months... Becky moved to Arizona, we got married and settled into a new awesome life... she took over a lot of the day-to-day operations of NICO, which left me some time to actually complete some of the tasks I'd been putting off. By now, the Z was over at Jason's shop (the same place where we built The Droptop from Hell), and work was underway to fit the RB25 in the engine bay. Here you can see the RB - Not your typical JDM takeout motor! [gallery columns="4"] Becky and I popped in as often as possible to lend a hand, but this was HIS show... The direction was clear: use your imagination and do it your way. Jason's an impressive fabricator (way more talented than he gets credit for), and he took every opportunity to show off his creativity and problem-solving skills. As anyone who's done an S30 RB25 swap will tell you, there's a lot of fabrication and modification involved, especially if you're not buying a bunch of pre-fabbed parts - and neither Jason nor I are real fond of off-the-shelf conversion parts. There's several companies that make custom mount kits to install an RB in an S30, but they're all lacking something... We decided this would be a 100% custom installation, so that everything could be done the way we wanted it. Follow along for Part 9 - Installing the RB25DET into the 240Z! Questions? Comments? Just want to discuss the build? Here's where: Building an RB25DET-powered 240Z
[post_title] => Datsun 240Z restoration and modification - Part 8 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-8 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-6.html https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-9.html [post_modified] => 2011-06-26 18:03:43 [post_modified_gmt] => 2011-06-27 01:03:43 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=10227 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [33] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 10254 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-03-01 23:06:57 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-03-02 06:06:57 [post_content] =>

We left off in the last episode with a discussion of the amount of custom fabrication required to perform this swap. And, like we said, it's been done before, but usually involves off-the-shelf parts. Anyhow, there's a lot that has to be fabricated and modified. For example, the RB oil pan won't fit in the S30 chassis - it's reversed. A lot of people use a RB20 oil pan and external pickup, but that's a huge expense. The L24 engine has a front sump and pickup tube - You need a rear sump oil pan and pickup tube. So, rather than waste time scouring the internet for parts, I sourced a spare L24 oil pan, and Jason sliced off the flange. This was mated to the heavily-modified bottom half of the RB pan (reversed), and the inside of the pan, the baffles, and pickup tube were all modified as well. Custom motor mounts were fabricated to locate the engine in just the right spot - we wanted ample clearance for a large radiator and some good fans and a shroud, but we also wanted some room between the engine and firewall. It needed to clear the hood, but couldn't sit so low as to cause clearance problems. This meant putting the motor in, measuring, making cardboard mockups, removing the engine, test-fitting, re-measuring, and reinstalling the engine a few times until the mounts were just right. [gallery include="10260,10255,10257,10258,10256,10259" link="file" columns="3"]

A transmission mount had to be fabricated as well. Here it is being test-fitted in raw form, and the finished product after being cleaned up, smoothed and powdercoated. [gallery include="10268,10269" link="file" columns="3"] By the way, having your own powdercoating setup at your house is inexpensive and saves a ton of time. Maybe if we pester Jason (rotorimp here on the forums) enough, he'll break down and do a how-to article on building one! A little side note: When doing a project like this, it helps to have a big project board to keep track of things. You can usually find used dry-erase boards at yard sales, on Craigslist, or local government auctions. [gallery include="10285,10284" link="file" columns="2"]

[gallery include="10322" link="file" columns="2"]

During the change in plans, I knew I wanted to do a front-mount intercooler - but I wanted it to look unique, and not disrupt the lines of the front of the car. There wasn't really room for a V-mount setup, but the front end lends itself well to a canted intercooler. I think at some point, I'll redesign the mounting brackets. But for now, they work fine. I really wanted to point out something super-trick that Jason did during the build (probably my favorite little detail). The Griffin radiator we had for the project was pretty large. And, we decided the radiator should be set lower in the chassis, so that it's unobstructed by anything but the bumper. But that presented a problem, as it was too wide to fit between the frame rails. If it was mounted above the frame rails, we lost hood clearance and created interference in the airflow to the intercooler. And, being a budget project, we wanted to work with what we had. So, check out the slick frame notching and reinforcing that was done to accommodate the radiator - even an opening for the draincock: [gallery include="10288,10290,10289" link="file" columns="3"] Jason ran into a bit of a challenge getting the coldpipe to traverse the span between the intercooler and the throttle body without restrictions... so he cut out a convex section of the fenderwell and reversed it, making a concave "bump-out" that allowed for a graceful curve in the piping. It's one of those little details that no one notices, but it makes the install look clean and keeps it functional. Whew! We covered a lot of ground in this episode... Part 10 -Project 240Z and the completion of the RB25 install Questions? Comments? Just want to discuss the build? Here's where: Building an RB25DET-powered 240Z
[post_title] => Datsun 240Z restoration and modification - Part 9 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-9 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-10.html [post_modified] => 2011-06-26 18:03:00 [post_modified_gmt] => 2011-06-27 01:03:00 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=10254 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [34] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 10302 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-03-01 23:07:18 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-03-02 06:07:18 [post_content] =>

While Jason was busy designing, cutting, welding, and assembling, I got to work on the bumpers. The rubber had some cracks and nicks in it, and I just couldn't see replacing rubber strips that I never liked in the first place. So, I removed the bump strips and overriders and began welding in all the holes. Now, this was my first real lesson in welding (aside from some gas welding back in high school shop class), and it turns out that this was a good project to start with. As the holes were filled, the clean lines of the naked bumpers told me I'd made a good choice. I still wasn't sure whether they'd be powercoated or rechromed, so we made sure to fill and smooth each weld thoroughly. Darian (our younger son) got in on the action as well - Jason showed him how to use a grinder to clean up the welds and smooth them flush with the rest of the bumper. [gallery include="10305,10306,10307" link="file" columns="3"] Shaftmasters has always been my "go to" shop for any driveshaft work, and David hooked us up right. We sent him the measurements for the new shaft, and it arrived within the week. It's a beautiful piece, and with the length of the RB transmission and the length of the differential, it makes for a pretty short shaft.

[gallery include="10318" link="file" columns="3"]

Wiring an RB into an S30 isn't an easy task, but again, Jason wanted to tackle this one without any outside help. Each wire pinout was labeled as to its function, and a lot of effort went into retaining as much of the original functionality of the S30 wiring as possible. A lot of people will ditch all the original Datsun gauges and replace them with AutoMeter units, but that wasn't the case here. Everything was modified to function as intended. The clock was removed to make room for a boost gauge, but other than that, the temp sensor, ammeter, fuel gauge, and oil gauge all function with the original gauges. At the time of this writing, we're researching a way to convert the tach signal and speedometer signal to retain those gauges. While the dash was out, we took that opportunity to install a dash cap to cover the unsightly cracks. Here, you can see how we held the whole thing together while the adhesive set up. It's not a perfect solution, but it fits nicely, it's a hell of a lot cheaper than a new dash, and unless you look closely, it's hard to tell it from original. A Walbro 255 fuel pump feeds the refurbished RB injectors, which Deatschwerks cleaned and flow-tested to make sure the RB always gets perfect fuel flow and atomization. A pair of 300ZX fuel filters provide cheap insurance - one at the tank and one after the pump. Once the engine was mounted up and wired, we couldn't resist the temptation to fire it up and hear it run. A clean RB25 running through a 3" open downpipe is a gorgeous sound, and the decision was made to forestall construction of an exhaust until the end of the project... we'll talk more about that later. Now that the running gear was installed, it was time to get rid of the 4x4 stance and make sure she'd handle well enough to make use of all that newfound power! Part 11 - Completing the suspension and rolling stock! Questions? Comments? Just want to discuss the build? Here's where: Building an RB25DET-powered 240Z
[post_title] => Datsun 240Z restoration and modification - Part 10 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-10 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2011-06-26 23:03:37 [post_modified_gmt] => 2011-06-27 06:03:37 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=10302 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [35] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 10340 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-03-01 23:08:37 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-03-02 06:08:37 [post_content] =>

Now that the engine and trans were installed, the Z made its way back to our garage to await completion. Remember the parts car that had all the cool suspension and brake bits? They'd been collecting dust in the garage since the project started, so it was time to clean and paint everything in preparation for installation on the car.

[gallery include="10343,10344" link="file" columns="2"]

Removal and reinstallation of the suspension is pretty straightforward on an S30, so there's not a lot of detail to go into. Pulling the old suspension components wasn't too difficult, considering the car had spent its life in the desert - no rust to speak of, and not a lot of grime and gunk. I was actually surprised at how easily everything came apart (also, a Dewalt 18v cordless impact wrench is the perfect tool for quick disassembly of stuff like this). Removing the old suspension components:
The calipers I'd refurbished early in the restoration went on, and I realized there was another small problem: I couldn't find the stainless steel braided lines that came with the parts car! They were in one of the boxes of stuff, but just like several other small items, they somehow disappeared during the move. What to do? I didn't even know what would fit. I mean, we're going from the hardlines on the chassis (original Z stuff) to a set of late 80's Toyota 4x4 truck calipers and 90's Maxima calipers. Online research didn't yield much info, other than a lot of conversions using AN fittings - but I wanted something simpler. I had access to a local shop (Arizona Tube & Hose), and they've done some custom automotive plumbing for me before. Just for kicks, while at NAPA the next day, I asked if they had any old Datsun rubber brake lines. They had a set for a 520/520 pickup for under $10. I figured, "Well, at that price, even if one end doesn't work, I can have the fittings cut off and used on a custom set." On a whim, I test-fitted them in the Toyota calipers - BINGO. There's no way they'd fit the Maxima calipers, right? Wrong. They fit there too! The only obstacle was that the Maxima calipers have an odd location for the line fitting, and it made the line interfere with the axle shaft as it rotated. So, I went back to NAPA and bought a short extension (with a female end and a male end), bent it 90 degrees, and attached it to the caliper - Perfect fitment. [gallery include="10357,10358,10359" link="file" columns="3"] Added fresh brake fluid, and went to bleed the brakes... but realized I'd forgotten to connect the new master cylinder shaft to the brake pedal. After an hour of fiddling with it, it became apparent that the pedal and master cylinder were going to be incompatible without modification, so I removed the pedal and re-drilled the attachment point. NICO Moderator Aaron (Ace2cool) was out for a visit, and lent a helpful hand (foot?) for bleeding the brakes. Three corners pumped up perfectly... one was still giving us fits - no fluid, no air, nothing. Something had to be blocking the line. I tried pumping fluid into the caliper - no dice. We scratched our heads, neither one wanting to think of the hassle of having to trace a blockage in a brake line (or consider the possibility of bad caliper). After lunch, we came back to give it another try.

Now, in all my years of wrenching, I've done some stupid things. Thankfully, I've only gotten random cuts and burns, puncture wounds, knocked out a tooth, and burned all the hair off my face. I'm a bit more careful now... well, most of the time. Thinking we might just have a slow leak of air someplace, I asked Aaron to give the pedal a good stomp, which he did - with a loud BANG, something shot upwards out of the brake line, missing my face by mere inches, and ricocheted off the inner wheelwell (along with a spray of brake fluid). Once I checked for missing eyes and fingers and my heart rate returned to normal, we found the culprit - Some sort of insect had made the brake line its home. Surprise eviction FTW. With the brakes bled and the wheels put on, it was time to come off the jackstands. However, once everything was put together, I found that the ride height remained obnoxiously high. Now, out of our 12 vehicles, the only one sitting at stock ride height is the Frontier, so this simply would not do... with no identifying numbers or marks on the obviously aftermarket springs, I had no way of knowing what they were or what car they were designed for - but it was clear they weren't going to work out for this build.

[gallery include="10362,10363" link="file" columns="2"]

So, a quick call to Tokico and a set of lowering springs were on the way. The blue "unknown" springs were removed and replaced with the red Tokico units, and a fresh set of KYB strut inserts were added to make sure the ride was well-damped. Replacing the springs and shocks on an S30 isn't a real difficult affair, but having an extra pair of hands to help is a must - thankfully, Becky knows her way around the garage and with her assistance, we made quick work of the task. As soon as we set it back on the ground, we knew we had the stance just right.

The progress we'd made so far was encouraging, and we started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It became clear that the wheels I'd picked up weren't going to go with the "theme", so I asked Becky to pick out something she'd like better. She's always been fond of classically-styled Japanese wheels, and she really likes the Watanabe-look wheels for an old Z, but she also wanted to keep this project within budget. So, during this phase of the build, she ordered a set of XXR 513's in 16x8, zero-offset, with charcoal gray centers. She's got good taste. A set of Kumho 245/45/16 summer tires were ordered... with the power it'd be making, we wanted lots of rubber on the ground, and that's more tread than a Z32 TT originally had. With what we saved on the wheels, we decided to have the euro-style bumpers rechromed, rather than powdercoated, and I think you'll agree that it was the right call. Part 12 - What's left to do? Check out Part 12 and see! Questions? Comments? Just want to discuss the build? Here's where: Building an RB25DET-powered 240Z
[post_title] => Datsun 240Z restoration and modification - Part 11 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-11 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2011-06-26 23:48:26 [post_modified_gmt] => 2011-06-27 06:48:26 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=10340 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [36] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 10389 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-03-01 23:09:58 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-03-02 06:09:58 [post_content] =>

[gallery include="10405" link="file" columns="2"]

During this period of "down time", I realized that I'd been putting off a pretty critical part of the restoration. And it's an important part, but aside from paint and body work, it's easily my least favorite part of the job. The interior. And this one was going to require a complete redo. The butterscotch color was all the rage in 1972, but it had to go. So, I reluctantly started digging in. Now, don't get me wrong - I've never avoided doing an interior restoration... but this was an early Z. While the engineers in Japan did a spectacular job on the body, the running gear, and the suspension, the interior of the S30 was an afterthought. As is the case with all my projects, the first thing I do is scrape and scrub the interior down to the metal. A wire cup brush on a cordless drill made short work of the glue residue that held down the old sound deadening. A quick wipedown with solvent gets the metal ready for new GT Mat sound deadening and heat shielding (amazing stuff - I use it on ALL my restorations). After the sound deadening was in, I bead-blasted the door sill plates. They're aluminum, and had gotten pitted and stained. They're hard to clean, and some people paint or polish them, but I think they look best in a clean, raw metal finish. Afterwards, I hit them with 3 coats of satin clear coat for protection.

[gallery include="10410" link="file" columns="2"]

While getting up the nerve to tackle the interior, I decided to try my hand at restoring the seats. The original vinyl was cracked and torn, and the seat padding was dried out and deteriorating into dust. I had ordered a set of new vinyls and new padding, so I stripped off all the old vinyl and foam. I disassembled all of the latching and reclining mechanism, cleaned it, and had it powder-coated at a local shop. Then I reassembled everything and installed the new vinyl. For those planning to try this, a couple tips I saw on a tv show really helped: The vinyl will be extra-tight, so you'll want to set it out in the sun for a couple hours before trying to stretch it over the new foam. Also, it helps to put a really thin plastic bag over the foam, which will help the vinyl slide over the foam more easily. Lastly, it helps to turn the seatback vinyl inside-out before installing it, position it at the headrest, and roll it down over the seatback. Mine took a few tries, but I had the seats completed in a day... and, as luck would have it, the seat-rebuilding pictures were lost (along with several others from this build) when my PC died during the project. As anyone who's ever done an interior on an S30 knows, they didn't have carpeting. The transmission tunnel is covered in a diamond-embossed vinyl, as are the rear fenderwells. Saying that it's an extreme pain in the butt to replace is probably putting it mildly. The kit I bought looks great, but it simply doesn't fit snugly, no matter how much heating, smoothing, and re-forming I did to it. It's glued down, which is a challenge in the Arizona heat - automotive interior adhesives don't hold up well to 200* temperatures! Here's a look at the sound deadening install, as well as a glimpse at the transmission tunnel vinyl: [gallery include="10413,10416,10414,10415" link="file" columns="4"] Something that became awfully obvious once I installed the seats - The floor and footwells of the passenger compartment are simply floor mats, laid right over the sound deadening - Datsun really didn't put much effort into this. In fact, there's nothing at all on the firewall, under the seats and behind them, unless you got it aftermarket... Once the seats are in, you could see the metal under the seat pan and behind the seat. So, I went out and bought some automotive carpet, made templates for all of those areas, and carpeted them. It's not OEM, but it looks a lot nicer. The window mechanisms and latching hardware had been removed for painting, so all that got bead-blasted, lubricated and reinstalled when I put the door glass back in. The inside of the door shells received a coat of rubberized undercoating. Then, the interior door metal (under the door panels) got a layer of sound deadening. I found a set of nice used door panels on ebay, and traded some S-chassis parts for some of the other interior plastic. The plastic panels that cover the sides of the cargo area, as well as the pieces around the quarter windows, are incredibly hard to find in nice condition. The original butterscotch-colored ones were so brittle, they cracked and crumbled when I tried to remove them. It took a few weeks to scrounge up everything I needed, but seeing it all come together made up for some of the discouragement from the ill-fitting vinyl. Since she wouldn't have a radio anytime soon, I found some material to make a blockoff plate, and made sure to cover the areas of the tunnel left exposed by the missing HVAC components. [gallery include="10418,10419,10420,10421" link="file" columns="4"] The door handles and escutcheons were treated to a good polishing on a buffing wheel, which brought back their shine, and it was time to wipe down the interior, treat everything with 303 Protectant (my favorite), and admire the completed interior... not bad for a low-budget restoration. We'll have some additional "finished" pics of the interior towards the end of the build - Just when you think you're almost done, there's still a TON left to do! Now that the interior's [mostly] completed, we can move on to wrapping up all those pesky details... Part 13 - Drivetrain hassles, exterior details, and Bella finally shows her face to the world.... Questions? Comments? Just want to discuss the build? Here's where: Building an RB25DET-powered 240Z
[post_title] => Datsun 240Z restoration and modification - Part 12 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-12 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-13.html [post_modified] => 2012-08-16 23:08:17 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-08-17 06:08:17 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=10389 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [37] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 10442 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-03-01 23:10:35 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-03-02 06:10:35 [post_content] =>

While awaiting the wheels and tires, I decided to restore the axles for reliability. New u-joints and boots were installed, but this wasn't a project for the faint of heart. If I had to do it again, I'd buy refurbished units or one of the conversion kits that uses CV joint-style axles from a later Z. When the wheels and tires arrived, we ran into another obstacle: The hub bore on the wheels was slightly too small for the front hubs. See, the early Z, just like the Roadster and many other Datsuns, has a small "flare" at the base of the hub. It's not deep, but it's just enough to cause fitment problems if you've got the wrong hub bore. Not to worry - we have a machinist friend who mounted two of the wheels on a lathe and turned out just enough material from the lip of the mounting boss to allow the wheel to fit snugly over the hub. While this will preclude normal tire rotations, it's a small inconvenience. I suppose we could have the two rear wheels machined to match, but it's easier just to replace rear tires as needed. If any part of this project has given me heartburn, it's the damned differential. As any S30 owner knows, the OEM R180 open diff is insufficient for putting any kind of real power on the ground. However, finding a limited-slip replacement unit that will bolt in, and isn't cost-prohibitive, is the challenge. Everyone says, "Oh, just buy a blah blah blah, they're everywhere." Wrong. In fact, the differential we really wanted for the car came only in 87-89 turbo Z's... and even then, things can go haywire. After searching high and low for an appropriate replacement diff, Becky found an ad for an 88 turbo Z that was non-running, and about the same price as a junkyard differential. A long drive across town might be worth it, right? Our thinking was, we could buy the shell, harvest the diff, and sell off the remainder of the parts, resulting in essentially a free rear end. So, I inspect the car, and something told me to check the rear end. I jacked it up, rotated one rear tire, and Becky confirmed that the opposite tire rotated in the other direction... somewhere along the line, the VLSD had gone bad, and an open diff from a junkyard had been installed. Back to the drawing board. As of this writing, the Z is still equipped with an open R200 differential. The search continues. Seemed like everything remaining from here on out was small, half-day projects. My favorite part of any restoration is refurbishing and restoring the individual components that make up a car, no matter how insignificant they might seem. Here's an example: After disassembling an entire taillight housing and restoring the socket, the wiring boot, the contacts, the lens, the trim, and the weatherstrip, it's really rewarding to reinstall that as-new assembly onto a car with fresh paint. So, while we're at it, that was one of the tasks to be done. The old taillights were faded, weather-checked, and severely heat-damaged. The chrome strip is actually plated plastic, and had lost most of its plating. These are difficult to remove without damaging the pins on the rear that hold it to the lens, but I removed them, smoothed the surface, and painted them a semi-gloss black. Here's a little before and after: [gallery include="10454,10455" link="file" columns="2"]

The corner markers and turn signals got the same treatment. If the rubber trim is still somewhat pliable, and you're gentle with it, it can be refurbished without doing any damage. I've had a little success soaking OEM rubber seals for a few days in a Ziploc bag with some 303 vinyl protectant, but this really only works if the rubber isn't completely cracked and crumbly. The rear panel that surrounds the taillights was removed, sanded, primed, and refinished with Eastwood Satin Black rally wheel paint for durability. NOTE: Masking off the tiny strip of metal trim around the taillights, which is crimped onto the rear panel, is a challenge. I used some fresh green masking tape and a new Exacto knife blade and got good results.

[gallery include="10459" link="file" columns="2"]

Early in the project, I decided to do away with the fender emblems (for a cleaner look) as well as the decklid emblems (so I could install the MSA spoiler). The sail panel emblems got restored by removing the original black accent paint with paint stripper. Then they were cleaned with degreaser and a stiff-bristle toothbrush, and I reapplied the black accents (and the white "Z" in the center) with a set of pinstriping brushes. They turned out great, don'tcha think? The original wiper arms were lightly bead-blasted to restore the original aluminum finish, and got a coat of Eastwood Satin Clear paint to protect the metal and keep it looking good. Meanwhile, the UPS guy arrived with a delivery we'd been waiting a LONG time for - Bella's bumpers were back from chrome plating! Never mind getting some sleep that night, I wanted to put them on with the MSA front air dam and see her new "face"...

In Part 14, she finally takes her first trip under her own power! Project 240Z's Maiden Voyage (around the block)... Questions? Comments? Just want to discuss the build? Here's where: Building an RB25DET-powered 240Z
[post_title] => Datsun 240Z restoration and modification - Part 13 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-13 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-14.html [post_modified] => 2011-07-02 19:08:08 [post_modified_gmt] => 2011-07-03 02:08:08 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=10442 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [38] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 10569 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-03-01 23:11:40 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-03-02 06:11:40 [post_content] =>

With a half-day of garage time available one weekend, I got started on restoring the steering wheel. The S30 had a wood-look wheel that was actually a grained plastic of some sort... it's pretty convincing. I started with a light sanding with 400-grit, which really brings out the original color and variations. NOTE: You don't want to sand too far, because the underlying layers are different colors - just take off the layer of wear and finish it off. I took it down to an 800-grit, masked off the spokes, and sprayed the rim with a satin clear coat. After that cured, I masked off the rim, sanded the spokes, and resprayed those in a semi-gloss black paint, just like original. With everything buttoned up, it was time for the Z to take her maiden voyage. Let's ignore the fact that for an engagement gift, it was a year late... So on SuperBowl Sunday, Becky got the keys to Bella and took her for her first drive. Her expression was priceless, and despite the fact that NOTHING had been "sorted" on the car, she was as excited as could be... Never mind the fact that it was built by a couple knuckleheads in a garage, she romped on the throttle and made sure all the neighbors heard it - and the sound of that RB under load through a 3" dump is simply amazing. [gallery include="10572,10573,10571" link="file" columns="3"]

I think she likes it. Side note: Speaking of "sorting", this is kind of an archaic term you'll hear tossed about by restorers and hot rod builders. Simply put, it means the process of making a newly-built car driveable. Even a well-planned project will have bugs and kinks that won't reveal themselves until that first drive. It's important when sorting a vehicle that you take a passenger along with a pad and pen (or a digital voice recorder) to jot down all of your impressions. For example, Becky noticed several things that needed to be addressed: The brakes are overly touchy and engage too high in the pedal travel. Similarly, the clutch engages too early in pedal travel as well. The rear end squats on moderate acceleration, rubbing the rear tires on the fenders. The front tires scrub the air dam on sharp turns, and the seat belt buzzer decided to magically "re-connect" itself halfway through the shakedown run... and, as you heard her mention, it acted like it wanted to die out a couple times. All things that could be addressed. As much fun as the 3" open dump downpipe was, it's pretty uncivilized under load and at high rpm's. Not to mention, it hung dangerously close to the ground (as Becky found on her shakedown run). It was time to give the exhaust the attention it deserved. Once again, we enlisted the services of Jason and his Master Fabricator skills. Lengthy discussions ensued, however. See, the S30 chassis doesn't exactly lend itself to an easy exhaust configuration, especially after you hog up the transmission tunnel area with a larger transmission. Yes, there have been a lot of RB swaps into the early Z, but there's not a simple, universally-accepted "best way" to route the exhaust. Complicating matters further was the fact that this car sits relatively close to the ground, and we wanted to avoid scraping over speed bumps and driveway entrances. This left us few options... split the 3" downpipe into a pair of 2" pipes? Cool, but a lot of work and unnecessary expense. Keep it 3" all the way to the bumper? Simpler, but ground clearance would be problematic. How about oval piping? Slick, but expensive, and the transitions are a fabrication nightmare. We learned from the KA-T build on the Droptop From Hell that a small-displacement turbo engine doesn't always need 3" pipe - it performs quite nicely with a straight, free-flowing mandrel-bent 2.5" system. So, we decided to transition the 3" downpipe into a 2.5" system that hugs the underbody closely, and finished it off with a Magnaflow straight-through muffler. We turned the muffler up on its side, just like the OEM system, powdercoated it black, and polished the 3" tip to a high gloss. So, yeah - it looks awesome... but how does it sound? I can tell you this - it's easily my favorite-sounding car in our fleet. It's VERY quiet at idle, smoother and quieter than our Frontier in fact. Under load, at full throttle, it sounds... well, it sounds like an R33. Absolutely gorgeous. While we set about the task of sorting out all the little issues, there was still something missing. Any guesses? Join us for Part 15, and we'll show you the "finished product": Becky's 240Z is finally finished. Questions? Comments? Just want to discuss the build? Here's where: Building an RB25DET-powered 240Z
[post_title] => Datsun 240Z restoration and modification - Part 14 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-14 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-13.html [post_modified] => 2011-07-02 19:08:33 [post_modified_gmt] => 2011-07-03 02:08:33 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=10569 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [39] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 10585 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-03-01 23:12:11 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-03-02 06:12:11 [post_content] =>

Once Becky drove the car, it really started to settle in - We did it. After all the hassles, the thoughts of giving up and selling it, and the setbacks, it really was totally worth it. Jason took it for a long drive and came back with a satisfied smile - After all, he had put countless hours into the build as well, so it was really rewarding to see him pleased with the way it turned out. But as fun as it is to build and drive a special-interest vehicle, the REAL joy for us is sharing them with other people. There's a local charity car show that happens annually that we've been supporting for a few years, and Becky decided she wanted to debut Bella at the Jennabears Show. But as cool as it was, and as good as it drove, it was missing something - something that would really tell onlookers that there was something special going on here. Stripes? Nah. Too gaudy. Louvers? No, too 70's. Pinstriping? Uhhh, no. Flares? Wait, you're gonna drill holes in those fenders that were so carefully massaged back into shape? Hell yeah, and Becky decided they should be painted gunmetal grey metallic, to match the wheel centers. So, our good friends at Classic Datsun Motorsports in Vista, CA shipped out a set of ZG flares just in time. There's a specialty fastener warehouse here in Phoenix that has a ton of cool hardware, so I purchased a bag of stainless steel allen head bolts and concave recessed washers to secure the flares. [gallery include="10598,10599" link="file" columns="2"] With the assistance of our friend Cody from Desert Datsuns, the necessary sanding, trimming and alignment of the flares was done. By the next day, I had them painted and installed. The result was better than we expected, and I think it really sets off the Z perfectly. The flares were done and installed a couple days before the show, and one more thing needed to be installed. That day, UPS delivered an RB custom coil cover from NICO member and fabricator "bmxarmy". If you haven't checked out his thread, do it - it's awesome! Our local powdercoat shop agreed to do a one-day turnaround on the coil cover, and Becky wanted it to match the wheel centers and flares - I think it turned out awesome. The stock RB coil cover, obviously, is shown in the picture to the left: [gallery include="10601,10602,10603,10604" link="file" columns="4"] We finished buttoning up the car at midnight before the show, and the show was a success. Bella made it there and back (about a 40-mile round-trip in traffic) without incident. Becky had a great time talking to onlookers about her new ride... it's always amusing for me when someone walks up and admires the car, and asks, "Is that yours?" ...and I point to her. (Even more enjoyable is watching them slowly realize she knows her way around a car, and a thing or two about classic Datsuns). Anyway, without further ado, it's time to show you guys how she turned out.

[gallery include="10589,10590,10591, 10592,10593,10594" link="file" columns="3"] Becky and I hope you've enjoyed this article series, and more than that, we hope it inspires you to rescue and restore an old Datsun of your own. Thanks for joining us, and we'll see you on the NICOclub.com forums! Questions? Comments? Just want to discuss the build? Here's where: Building an RB25DET-powered 240Z
[post_title] => Datsun 240Z restoration and modification - Part 15 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-240z-restoration-and-modification-15 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2011-07-02 19:51:50 [post_modified_gmt] => 2011-07-03 02:51:50 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=10585 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [40] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 10630 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-06-27 00:00:03 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-06-27 07:00:03 [post_content] =>

Join us for a look back at an all-but-forgotten entry in the history of Nissan Motorsports... a time when Nissan actually built certain limited-production cars solely for the purpose of complying with racing series' rules, in order to field a competitive entry.

One such example is Bob Burgess's 1980 Datsun 200SX IMSA Turbo GTU, a car that has come full-circle from an underdog entrant in the IMSA Series, to SCCA weekend racer, to HSR/SVRA eligible vintage racer. We caught up with Bob to learn more about the history of this unique car... ORIGINAL CONSTRUCTION This 200sx was built by Don Preston Racing in the early 80’s for Frank Carney, and the initial reported race condition was with a cross-flow twin cam four valve 2.3 liter naturally aspirated Nissan engine. The head configuration was an aftermarket piece by OS Giken of Japan. I got the following photos from Don Preston, which show the car as it was raced in 1983-1985. I'm not sure which track it is, perhaps some of our readers will recognize the venue? [gallery include="10633,10634,10635,10636" link="file" columns="4"] This configuration was not competitive in GTU and the decision was made to convert it to an L18 (1770 cc) turbocharged configuration. The L18 was a SOHC non cross flow engine available in the US in the Datsun (Nissan) 1973-75 PL610 and 710 sedans. A very similar street turbocharged and fuel injected 200SX (Silvia, Bluebird) sedan was built in Japan which allowed the combination to be raced in IMSA as a homologated car under FIA sanctioning rules. In racing series (such as IMSA) that are "production-based" (the vehicles entered in the series are based on production vehicles for sale to the public), homologation requires not only compliance with a racing series' technical guidelines (for example, engine displacement, chassis construction, suspension design and such) but it often includes minimum levels of sales to ensure that vehicles are not designed and produced solely for racing in that series. Since such vehicles are primarily intended for the race track, practical use on public roads is generally a secondary design consideration, so long as government regulations are met. The photo below shows the street version of the race car - Note the "TURBO" badge on the dark hatchback.

While the 200SX was relatively rare in US-based racing series, there was no shortage of them in Japanese racing history. The yellow and white #23 Japanese version of the car has a different front end but the chassis is the same.

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Originally built with a huge IHI turbocharger and a Hilborn fuel injection system, the Hilborn system could not be developed/modified to work as needed for road racing. As a replacement, a BMW boost compensated Bosch Kugelfisher mechanical system was chosen and adapted to the Nissan/Datsun engine. Believe me, this was no small task as is evidenced by the elaborate mounts/brackets that had to be custom fabricated, not to mention the ensuing tuning challenges. This photo shows the BMW engine that the fuel injection system was developed for. A similar set up was used for BMW's Formula 1 effort where the horsepower reported was hard to believe. A special boost modified MSD 7AL2 was also built for the car, probably by Electramotive. The L18 was a surprising power plant for the 200SX, generating 450 HP at the crank at 30 PSI boost. Unfortunately, other surprises showed up as the power resulted in broken rear ends, transmissions, and turbochargers... even destroyed wastegates. This led to many DNF’s (Did Not Finish) early in the car's racing campaign which required the purchase or custom build of very robust components to stand up to this “mouse” motor power. Most notable of these was a stock car style Halibrand quick-change rear end and a custom built Nissan competition 5 speed, modified to accept large dog-style Hewland straight cut gear box internals. The car competed at Road Atlanta, Watkins Glenn, Charlotte, Road America, Daytona, Riverside for several seasons. The final race was at Watkins Glen resulting in a DNF due to a turbocharger failure and small fire. You can see the resultant fire damage below:

Thankfully, the story doesn't end there... The 200sx gets a new lease on life...
[post_title] => Back in Time: 1980 Nissan/Datsun 200SX IMSA Turbo GTU [post_excerpt] => Bob Burgess's 1980 Datsun 200SX IMSA Turbo GTU has come full-circle from an underdog entrant in the IMSA Series, to SCCA weekend racer, to HSR/SVRA eligible vintage racer. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => 1980-datsun-200sx-imsa-turbo-gtu-1 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/back-in-time-1980-nissandatsun-200sx-imsa-turbo-gtu-2.html https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/back-in-time-1980-datsun-200sx-imsa-turbo-gtu-2.html [post_modified] => 2011-07-13 21:55:40 [post_modified_gmt] => 2011-07-14 04:55:40 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=10630 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [41] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 10657 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-03-02 00:01:16 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-03-02 07:01:16 [post_content] => Based on the limited information I have found, the car led some races and finished 2nd in two. This was no small feat in this fiercely competitive IMSA factory-backed arena for an independent team to accomplish. Remember, this is the series that produced the amazing RX 7’s, Roush 700+ hp Merkurs and the dominating Toyota Celicas of Dan Gurney’s All American Racing. So, for an independent team with an as-yet unproven chassis to perform competitively, this really speaks volumes not only about the car, but about the efforts of the builders and drivers. Here is a very interesting IMSA quote regarding a 1985 Road Atlanta race: 1985 : Porsche takes over, part 2 “The next race was held at Road Atlanta, a 500-Miler. A strong fifty-three car field was to take the start of the first continental race. Porsche 962s were the favorites as Al Holbert wound up a new pole position, just ahead of John Paul Jr, who had his beautiful Porsche 934 entered. For sure, the opposition was stronger for the quite unbeatable Mustangs. In the Lights class, while the Argos appeared unbeatable in the previous races, a new car, designed by Dave Klym, and powered by a Porsche flat-six engine, was new to the field: it was called a Fabcar. That Porsche would have the race won, but Al Holbert / Derek Bell lost four laps in the pits, losing the race to the Group 44 Jaguar XJR5s of Winters-Elliot Forbes Robinson, who survived the race. The GTO class was won once again by the Roush Racing Ford Mustang driven by John Jones-Wally Dallenbach. The GTU class saw a new victory by Jack Baldwin who drove solo, but the second place finisher was the astonishing little Nissan 200SX driven by Frank Carney and Dick Davenport who upset everyone in a new Raytown Datsun sponsored entry.” EDITOR'S NOTE: For several years thereafter, the 200SX sat... In such a competitive series, new chassis designs and better technology often relegate perfectly-good race cars to the back of the shop, where they're occasionally never seen again. After all, the S13 chassis had been released by now and was making its own mark in the series, not to mention the extreme dominance of the Z32 chassis in IMSA for several years. It seemed, given the circumstances, that the S12 chassis might not ever compete again. However, thanks to Bob Burgess, the 200SX got a new lease on life...

As you can imagine, I'm a fan of the 200SX. In fact, here's a photo showing my own personal street stock 200SX, which is the same year and model as the race car.

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I purchased the race car sight unseen in 1989 as a partially completed B Sedan/GT2 SCCA race car, with the intent to race the car as a GT3 in SCCA. It arrived as a rolling chassis. Here's a photo of the car coming off of the transport with no engine, transmission, seat, fuel cell, etc. I had to provide the front shocks, calipers, etc and incidental hardware to make it shippable.
The car arrived as a tub car with tube front and rear sections retaining the original car's McPherson front suspension geometry. Here you can see how the front suspension top McPherson strut support is literally cantilevered off the firewall. Adjusting the two round angled struts changed the caster and camber. Final adjustments for caster could be made by shimming the a-frame supports on the firewall. The original firewall was in the car, but heavily reinforced with box tubing and roll cage pick up points; some outstanding fabrication work. Interestingly, a similar layout was used in the BMW factory cars in the 70's and 80's before full tube frame cars were built.

The decision was made to have E. J. Trivette (EJ) modify the car to SCCA GT3 rules leading to the following modifications: o Move the engine back several inches o Remove the rest of the tub (unibody) and tube completely o Modify the front suspension to unequal length A arms o Mount new radiator and oil cooler o Relocate the steering o Bump steer the car to set the handling with the new front suspension geometry New headers were built and an ultra close ratio direct drive Nissan Competition gear box was installed. The engine was an L20B from SCCA national champion Dave Frellsen’s winning HL510 with the old style FIA head offered by Nissan Competition in the 70’s. The engine produced 215 horsepower and was a bit peaky with some annoying flat spots. The huge Halibrand quick change rear end was replaced with a floating rear end based on the PL510 station wagon live axle to reduce weight and mechanical losses. The rear suspension is a 4 link with a lower wish bone, as seen here.

I ran the car this way for 9 years off and on in SCCA with many 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishes but was not happy with the performance and competitiveness. The car was very reliable, fun to drive but not competitive due to its weight and older technology. Significant modifications and money would have to be invested to bring the car up to a performance level making it capable of SCCA National race wins.

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At the April 2000 SCCA National race at Daytona, fate intervened again, and a Camaro in the A/S class took the front end off the car at the Horseshoe. Normally, this would spell the end for a vintage racer... but Bob and the 200SX would be back - Check it out. The 200sx comes back again, better than ever...
[post_title] => Back in Time: 1980 Nissan/Datsun 200SX IMSA Turbo GTU Part 2 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => back-in-time-1980-datsun-200sx-imsa-turbo-gtu-2 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2011-07-05 17:49:20 [post_modified_gmt] => 2011-07-06 00:49:20 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=10657 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [42] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 10699 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-03-02 00:02:05 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-03-02 07:02:05 [post_content] => The car had been hit several times over the past years of competition and I was getting discouraged with SCCA’s rules enforcement of our amateur “no contact sport”. What to do? I had always wondered if I could round up the old turbo parts and restore the car to its original configuration. I had actually gone to Houston and inspected the engines in the late 90’s at the Pro Am race shop. They had purchased the engines for a DSport project. Pricing was too steep so I passed. In July 2000 I got a phone call from Mike Unger regarding selling the car. It turns out he had acquired the turbo engines and parts and was interested in restoring the car to its IMSA configuration. Side Note: Around this same time, the car was featured in the book, "How to Modify Your NISSAN/DATSUN Engine" by Frank Honsowetz. This book has been required reading for any true Datsun / Nissan performance enthusiast since its publication in 2000, and if you don't have it, GET IT.

Long story short, I traded all of my L20B parts for the turbo engines and parts because Mike had several SVRA vintage cars that could use my parts, and the restoration started. It was like putting a puzzle together with several of the pieces missing or able to be used in several different places. I had to describe what I thought a part looked like to Mike on several occasions and he would then find the part in the “spares” he had decided to keep. Eventually after a lot head of scratching, temporary fabricating, bad language, frustration and calls to Don Preston, I got the car to the point that I thought we could get it running and drivable again; but nothing fit the SCCA modified chassis. No one would even attempt to build the headers locally because of how restricted the space had become because we modified the car from McPherson struts to unequal length A arms for SCCA. And, I had specified 29 inch tube length based on Burns Stainless Steel engine computer program recommendations and to reduce the lag as much as possible. The upper control arm support tubing that EJ had installed was just in the way. Turns out the special design and fabricated cantilevered McPherson strut suspension left a very large open space for the turbocharger and headers on the driver’s side of the car. I cut the car up enough to accommodate the original headers and a new ATS turbo and had Don Preston build an extended bell housing adapter (11-12 inches) to mount the Jerico ultra-close ratio 4-speed to the engine and got it about were I wanted it to end up. No front suspension upper pick up points on the drivers side existed now. I had to find a fabricator to continue with the major modifications. I had always intended to do the hydraulics, oil line plumbing, water piping and wiring myself. The alternator is driven off a custom built drive shaft pulley (see below):

A small race car shop (The Race Car Factory) in Stuart, Florida agreed to take on the completion task. Randy, the owner, was a header wizard and lived up to his reputation. The original ARE dry sump pump proved problematic so I had one custom built by Daily Engineering. After several months of consultation the car was modified to a point were we could now start putting it back together in earnest. However, some of the original dimensions and positions for auxiliaries that were chosen, proved to be incorrect, and the car went back to the shop twice as well as to a friends shop once. The car was not finished when it finally came to my garage, but it was far enough along that my limited fabrication skills and garage equipment could complete the restoration. After months of tubing, hose building, brackets, mounting and wiring it was ready to start up. Note the 29 inch SS headers (spaghetti, anyone?) and the ATS turbo.

The 200sx build continues...
[post_title] => Back in Time: 1980 Nissan/Datsun 200SX IMSA Turbo GTU Part 3 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => back-in-time-1980-datsun-200sx-imsa-turbo-gtu-3 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2011-07-05 17:50:08 [post_modified_gmt] => 2011-07-06 00:50:08 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=10699 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [43] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 10718 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-03-02 00:03:08 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-03-02 07:03:08 [post_content] =>

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By now, there had been hundreds of calls and emails to folks asking for information to figure out how to get the fuel injection working again. The fuel delivery system had to be modified to a bypass pressure control configuration to supply the mechanical fuel pump with a constant suction pressure. I chose an Electromotive HPX boost capable multi coil ignition system because no one (not even MSD) could tell me if and how the specially designed and modified boost compensating 7AL2 that came with the car spares worked. Here, you can see the HPX ignition trigger wheel installed.

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Note that the mounting plate for the dry sump also connects to the mounting plate for the fuel injection pump. This is very similar to the original configuration. I had to replicate that location in order for all the linkage to be close enough to establish the tuning for the injection system. Moving the pump, pivot location, link lengths, etc. can make you start literally at zero in order to tune/adjust the fuel curve. This was part of the puzzle that took so long to figure out.
The original car had an aluminum dashboard. The Electromotive ignition can be seen here, mounted atop the gauge panel.

The following images show the engine both before and after the suspension was installed. Note the water to oil cooler just below the upper control arm. The Corvette aluminum radiator handles all water and oil cooling duties. The turbo water cooling circuit comes directly off the water pump discharge via a tapped hole in the front cover. Oil cooling for the turbo and the fuel injection pump utilizes the automatic transmission cooler heat exchanger in the radiator. [gallery include="10733,10734,10735" link="file" columns="3"] The time had come... First start-up! This engine had not run in over fifteen years and literally fired right up. Didn’t run real well... but it ran! FIRST RUN AT THE DYNO

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Transported the car to Pettit Racing here in Palm Beach County to a friend's dyno. After a lot of head scratching, and shot in the dark tuning, we managed to get the car to produce about 300+ Hp at 20 psi boost at the rear wheels and it seemed to be drivable. The A/F curve seemed reasonable for now even though was a little lean condition at 5,000-6,500 RPM. As the boost and RPM increased the A/F was in the 11.5 range which was fine. The Kugelfisher pump had an easy enrichment lever but it affected the entire operating range including idle. Further adjustment in this area was warranted. Subsequent dyno runs and tuning eventually got the system to a reasonable performance level. (Realize this was a BMW-specific system.) The linkage position, angle, travel and link lengths all had to be adjusted to dial the A/F ratio in to a drivable condition. FIRST TIME AT THE TEST TRACK

We took the car to what is now Palm Beach International Raceway which is only 15 miles from my house. The car was fast and relatively well behaved. Only significant problem we encountered was a loose hose to the boost-compensating piston on the injection pump. No boost enrichment leads to an extreme lean condition; not good. Turbo lag was non-existent and as the boost increased you needed to have car aimed were you wanted to go because the acceleration was brisk. Tire spin was an issue even though the car runs 25X13 inch (wide) X16 Goodyear racing slicks. FIRST COMPETITION Off to Sebring for the first HSR race weekend. Disaster struck almost off the trailer. A set of locally modified fuel injection line fittings broke and dumped fuel on the heat shield and intake manifold. No fire, but a very close call. Lesson: Never, ever, ever skimp on anything that carries pressurized fuel. The local Aeroquip hose shop assured me that the fittings would be fine, but that was not the case. We trailered the car home Friday assuming we were done for the weekend. At 2:00 A.M. Saturday I woke up with the thought that with all the Porsches, Mercedes, Ferraris and BMW’s in Palm Beach County, SOMEONE had to have a set of stock fuel lines that would work! That morning I started calling some shops that I knew about and sure enough Gunnar Racing was open and dug through their spares and were kind enough to lend me 4 Porsche Motor Sport fuel lines. Put the car back together, we had had some other issues requiring a little attention. We went back to Sebring and finished second in the last race of the event on Sunday. Subsequently, I had new all metric fitting fuel lines made using Aeroquip domestic braided hose; expensive because they are metric adapter fittings but robust. The 200sx is introduced to a new generation...
[post_title] => Back in Time: 1980 Nissan/Datsun 200SX IMSA Turbo GTU Part 4 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => back-in-time-1980-datsun-200sx-imsa-turbo-gtu-4 [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/back-in-time-1980-datsun-200sx-imsa-turbo-gtu-5.html [post_modified] => 2011-07-05 19:54:31 [post_modified_gmt] => 2011-07-06 02:54:31 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=10718 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [44] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 10747 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-03-02 00:04:09 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-03-02 07:04:09 [post_content] => HSR COMPETITION In Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR), the cars are the stars, and spectators are treated to prior winners of great events such as the 12 Hours of Sebring, 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Daytona. Events are as educational as they are adrenaline-inducing, as fans are exposed to pieces of history at the track. HSR events represent fast-paced, wheel-to-wheel racing. To keep competition close, cars are generally grouped according to type and engine size for racing. The HSR features several separate series, which range from the heart-pumping GTP/Group C Series featuring GTP prototypes to the ROLEX Endurance Challenge, which includes historic GT Porsche and Jaguars We fought several problems with the car mainly concentrated around head gasket sealing. This engine used a special pressurized stainless steel doughnut sealing ring recessed into the top of the block and a separate fabric gasket. I ran the first engine as it had arrived assembled from Mike. It worked very well. The engine was very responsive and seemed reliable.

But the gremlins from the past showed up at Daytona in turn 2 at around 120 MPH; the wastegate failed and instantly smoked the tires, turning the car sideways. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the boost going past 40 psi! I am sure the engine instantly made well over 500 HP; hence the tire spin. Bottom line, I smoked the wastegate diaphragm and resulted in a blown head gasket. I rebuilt the second engine, which came with the head removed and things went south. We had a lot of trouble with head gasket sealing and with the supply of these special sealing ring parts waning, we abandoned that design, sleeved the blocks and O-ringed them with a custom Cometic gasket that has worked well. Over the next several years we went to HSR events not to compete but to drive the car, continue tuning the injection and staying out of everybody’s way. 200sx at the HSR Mitty: [gallery include="10751,10752,10753" link="file" columns="3"] The car was very fast as is shown in the video below. We calculated the car ran well over 170 MPH on the front straight at 8000+ RPM and I lifted because the car felt a little odd coming out of Turn 4 at that speed. Later we found out that the rear tires were rubbing against the body upper fender wells because the car was generating enough downforce at top speed to compress the springs. We later put bump stops on the shocks to reduce suspension travel. Daytona International Speedway, November 2008

All good things must come to an end, and not long after, I retired from my job of 37 years in 2010. This necessitated retiring from racing as well, due to the expense, even though now I had plenty of time. 1980 Nissan/Datsun 200SX IMSA Turbo GTU for sale This unique and historic car, of course, is now for sale for an asking price of $125,000. Interested parties, please contact Bob at [email protected] We hope you've enjoyed spending some time with Bob and his amazing Datsun... Special thanks to Bob Burgess for taking some time to share his story with us. Here's hoping the 200SX sees a lot more track time with a new owner! Questions? Comments? Just want to discuss the 200sx or the article? Here's the spot!
[post_title] => Back in Time: 1980 Nissan/Datsun 200SX IMSA Turbo GTU Part 5 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => back-in-time-1980-datsun-200sx-imsa-turbo-gtu-5 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2011-07-05 17:52:40 [post_modified_gmt] => 2011-07-06 00:52:40 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=10747 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [45] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 13424 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2012-05-29 22:37:26 [post_date_gmt] => 2012-05-30 05:37:26 [post_content] => Over two years ago, Becky (nissangirl74) and I "adopted" a '68 510. We've been busy restoring and maintaining the rest of our old Datsuns, so she's been sitting under a canopy here at NICO Headquarters, patiently awaiting her "makeover." Here's Betty. As in, "bam-a-lam". Anyone under 35 can have fun Googling that.

Here's the article Bex wrote when we first acquired her: "A Dime Makes Nine" Fast-forward to 2012. Basically, this would be a bit of a "backwards" project. The paint and bodywork was already completely done and immaculate, and the interior had been well-attended to. However, her suspension was shot, the engine bay hadn't been touched in 40 years, the L16 engine was tired, and the 4-speed simply would not do, especially here in Arizona. On top of that, the wiring harness was a colossal mess, nothing electrical was working, and the prior owner had done some sketchy work that would need to be addressed. A little backstory - Like all kids who grew up in the 70's, I've always been a huge fan of Smokey & The Bandit, and I've wanted to restore a '77 Trans Am since my very first car. There's just something about that black and gold Pontiac that screams old-school cool. However, 2 problems: One, an old T/A is hard to come by, and parts are pricey. That type of restoration can get expensive real fast. Two, we build Datsuns. Not Pontiacs. What to do?

One night, over dinner, Bex mentioned, "Why not do a 'Bandit'-themed Datsun?" Well, hmmm... we *DO* already have a black 510 with good paint. No screaming chicken on the hood, but maybe some old-school gold mesh wheels, the right stance, great handling, more horsepower... Yeah, I like where this is going! With that, it was decided. The 510 would be our next project, and in order to get me even MORE motivated, we decided to try and get it done in time to debut at JCCS 2012. We debuted "Alice", our '67 411 wagon at JCCS 2010, and then "Sheila", our '63 right-hand-drive Bluebird at JCCS 2011, and the 510 project was *just* challenging enough to be a stretch to finish in 8 months. Let's go for it! Now, another little backstory: Bex and I are at a point in our lives where our future is much more important than our "toys". It's not just the economy that has played havoc with our long-term goals. Three teenagers in the house will strain anyone's budget. Bex is going to school to become an RN, gas prices are up, food prices are up, revenues and salaries are down, and we're wanting to retire while we're still young enough to enjoy this all-too-brief life. All in all, we're finding ourselves being a lot more frugal than we've ever been, and restoring old cars can become a real drain on the wallet if you're not careful. So, I put a cap on the total cash outlay for this restoration: $2000. The rules were simple - We'd do all the work ourselves, buy only the necessities, and trade / barter for anything else needed. Any parts I could sell on ebay would be added to the budget and not count against the total outlay, which would help me clear out some much-needed storage space AND help get this car completed under budget. So, from here on out, maybe we should call this "How to Build a 510 on a Top Ramen Budget"! With Bex taking a full complement of classes, she wouldn't be as heavily involved in this one as she was on the '67 wagon. My schedule is brutal as well - between my full-time job with the State, managing NICO, and handling all the other tasks that come with a house full of teenagers, time would have to be used wisely if we wanted to finish this one by September 2012. Challenge accepted? Hell yeah. Let's rock. Luckily for us, Jason (rotorimp) had some space where we could temporarily store one of the other Datsuns to free up a spot in the garage. Even though we're blessed with a lot of space inside, it's still hard to do a restoration with 4 cars stuffed in a 3-car garage. So, we cleared a space, pushed Betty into the center space, and propped her up on jackstands. This would be her home for the next several months while she got a nearly full-scale makeover.

The super-cool Carroll Shelby wheels had recently gone to a good friend Dale, for use on his pristine 1972 Datsun 1200. I knew we'd want something a little more substantial for the 510, and I knew they were going to a good home, so that was enough to start the project rolling...err, NOT rolling. First order of business was to pull the tired L16, a task that was made far easier by the lack of concern for the wiring, hoses, and peripherals. Everything would be replaced anyway, so this was a junkyard-style slash-and-snatch. Despite the countless hours of body and paint work invested by the prior owner, it appeared the hood hadn't been opened since the 70's. Can't drop a fresh new engine into a nappy engine bay, so everything that wasn't welded in place got removed. Here's what we started with - YUCK!

After a good soaking in Gunk and a pressure wash, it didn't look much better. Odd as it may seem, I started off by restoring the brake lines... sometimes you've just got to pick a starting point, and I knew they'd be way harder to do after the engine bay was completed. So, I sat on the crossmember for 2 days with a green scrubbie pad and some metal polish until the brake lines and distribution block were pristine and shiny. Then, I masked them all off and started filling unnecessary holes in the engine bay. I knew I'd be using a GM single-wire alternator, so the voltage regulator, fuse block, and ballast resistor holes were useless. The wiring would be routed cleanly, so a lot of the clip holes could go away too. The battery tray had seen better days, so it needed to be reshaped with a hammer and dolly, and a coat of POR-15 took care of the rust from a past battery failure. Incidentally, this was the only rust I found on the car - Jackpot! I'd already decided that since the exterior theme would be black and gold, the underhood view should at least partially reflect that. No, we're not going to do a black and gold engine bay - but I decided that everything should be done in metal tones. Since the engine bay wasn't ever going to be completely smooth, and this was going to be a driver - not a show car - I decided to refinish the engine bay with some texture. After masking off the rest of the car, I shot the engine bay with one coat of self-etching primer, followed by two coats of heavy-duty paintable truck bedliner, topped off by three coats of DuPont gunmetal grey metallic.

In the meantime, the L16, transmission, Weber carb, coil, 3-core radiator, and some other stuff went on Craigslist to help offset some of the costs that would be coming soon. Click here for Part 2, where we tackle the SUSPENSION!
[post_title] => Restoring a 1968 Datsun 510 Sedan - Meet "Betty" [post_excerpt] => After more than two years awaiting her turn in the garage, we finally get started restoring our 1968 Datsun 510 4-door, and we show you how we did it on a budget - We hope you enjoy the article! [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => restoring-a-1968-datsun-510-sedan-meet-betty [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/1968-datsun-510.html [post_modified] => 2012-05-31 01:12:25 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-05-31 08:12:25 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=13424 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [46] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 13440 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-05-31 01:09:46 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-05-31 08:09:46 [post_content] => Next order of business? Suspension! Over the past several restorations, this has turned into one of my favorite parts of the process. I'm not sure why I enjoy it so much, but I probably spend way more time and effort on the suspension components than any other phase of the build. When you consider the fact that most of this work will never be seen, it's probably overkill - but *I* know it's there, and that's what's important. Plus, you'll get to see it come together. The ball joints, bushings, bearings and seals on this car were all original - Thankfully, it had spent most of its life in an arid climate, which helped preserve some of the parts - but seeing some of the wear items, I'm amazed that Aaron and I covered over 750 miles driving it from Northern California to Arizona. God looks out for fools and idiots... and Datsun collectors, apparently. It's always a good idea to take lots of pictures of things before you take them apart, just in case you need to refer to them later. Even though I own a Factory Service Manual for almost all Datsuns ever built, I've still got a bad habit of never referring to them. Here's the front suspension before disassembly: [gallery include="13455,13456,13457,13458" link="file" columns="4"] Much like the engine bay, I wanted to keep everything clean and simple, using only "metal-tone" finishes on each part. I also like to keep some contrast between parts, so that I can easily see any misalignment issues or leaks. As an aside, Bex picked me up a really cool new tool for my shop, which I've been using on this build - it's an Eastwood Vibratory Tumbler, and this thing is just awesome. As I'm disassembling components, I toss the hardware in the bucket. By the time I'm done refinishing the big parts, the small parts are perfectly clean, polished, and ready to reassemble. Who wants to build a project car using nasty old greasy, rusted bolts and nuts? I highly recommend adding one of these to your shop - it's definitely worth having around. Check it out: [gallery include="13518,13519,13520" link="file" columns="3"] I took a lot of "before" pictures of the grimy, nasty parts - Like I said earlier, it always helps to have plenty of pics, so that you can refer to them later as you begin to reassemble everything. I won't bore you with most of them, but here's an example of the various stages of "de-funking" the front control arms. The pic on top is after an overnight soak in degreaser (I like a product called "Grez-Off", and sometimes I'll use "Purple Power"). The bottom pic is after spending some time with a wire cup brush and a drill. The old bushings were burned out with a torch and the bushing shells were carefully cut out with a reciprocating saw with a metal blade - NOTE: When cutting the bushing shells, make sure to make your cut on the "big" side of the control arm, not the small. That way, if you slip and nick the actual arm, you're not compromising the integrity of the small-diameter outer area.

You'll notice I use a glass bead blast cabinet to clean a lot of parts, but the cast iron and stamped steel parts usually need something a little more aggressive (plus, you don't want to waste expensive glass media on steel parts that are loaded with gunk, they'll clog up your blaster gun!) Here, you'll see some of the front end components after refinishing. The control arms and idler arm mount are painted with a gold high-heat metallic. The steering center link is painted with a dark graphite metallic wheel paint. The steering arms and tension rods are wire-brushed and clear-coated with Eastwood Bare Metal Coating.

While refinishing suspension components, I took advantage of the down time and removed all the old "stuff" from the wheel wells with a scraper and a wire wheel, wiped it down with acetone, and reapplied fresh rubberized undercoating. The control arms got fresh ball joints from Rock Auto and new urethane bushings from Suspension Techniques, the crossmember got refinished with aluminum paint, all the threaded holes were chased with a tap, and all the hardware got a dab of anti-seize. It's really a joy reassembling things when they're perfectly clean! Here's what it looked like during the reassembly (click the pics to get a better view): [gallery include="13529,13531,13532,13530" link="file" columns="4"] NOTE: As with all projects, some of it you'll improvise as you go along. In this case, the refinished front tension rods were to be assembled with urethane bushings. However, as I was assembling them on the chassis, I noticed they don't allow much movement of the lower control arm (up and down). Even if I put my body weight on the tension rod, it's really, really rigid. Now, I know the tension rod is supposed to prevent fore and aft movement of the strut and wheel assembly, but the suspension needs to be free to move throughout the range of compression and extension, vertically - without any interference from the tension rod. A quick search revealed a couple "horror stories" of tension rods with urethane bushings snapping, which leads to the entire strut assembly folding backwards into the rear of the wheelwell - with catastrophic results. The solution was to use a more purpose-built tension rod assembly, which I found at Techno Toy Tuning. It's got a beefy heim joint and is adjustable for caster. The refurbished OEM rods with fresh bushings were loaded on ebay and sold.

Now, before we move on, remember how I said at the beginning that this was going to be a "build on a budget"? Well, around now, I've spent about $450 in parts, paint, and supplies - At this rate, there's no way I could stay under budget. The next day, the Datsun gods smiled on me. See, a few weeks prior, I responded to a Craigslist ad - A local guy had a colossal stash of 510 parts from a southern California race shop that closed in the late 80's, specializing in 510's. I had bought a few parts from him, and being in the same line of work, we got along great. On my third trip to go scrounge through his trailer full of loot, he said, "I'm tired of dealing with people coming over here and rummaging through my garage and trailer - Why don't you just buy the whole load, keep what you want, and sell the rest?" I really didn't have time to catalog, clean, photograph, list and ship a whole garage full of parts. After some arm-twisting and persuading, he made me a deal, and I couldn't pass it up. Little did I know then that a LOT of those parts would make it onto this project, some would be used as trade-bait, and the sale of the rest would finance the ENTIRE restoration. For the next two months, I sold over 200 items on ebay. With a TON of help from Bex (packing and shipping), the restoration of Betty became, in effect, free. It was hard work, but I learned a ton, made some new friends, and even had a lot of stuff left over to give away to fellow Datsun folks in need. Good times. Part 3 - Ready to tackle the rear suspension? Click here! I hope you're enjoying the build so far...
[post_title] => Restoring a 1968 Datsun 510 Sedan - Part 2 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => restoring-a-1968-datsun-510-sedan-part-2 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-06-05 01:36:31 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-06-05 08:36:31 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=13440 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [47] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 13546 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-06-05 01:33:59 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-06-05 08:33:59 [post_content] => Welcome back! Sorry for the delay, it's 2 am and I'm writing instead of resting! Before we go too much farther, I've got to recognize someone real quick. Throughout this build, I've consulted several times with the local "Godfather of Datsuns", Richard Lowell - also known as Doc510. I've given up counting the number of times Richard has given me some helpful pointers or cautioned me on something that he's already learned from his decades of experience wrenching on 510's. I'd also like to thank Ryan Newman and the team at Desert Datsun. Great group of guys, and Ryan's been another huge help in getting this car put together. I'll mention a few more folks who were instrumental in getting this project done as we go along... Since wrapping up the front suspension, the Arizona summer has arrived, and we've gone from highs in the 80's to triple-digits. Therefore, even though this part of the job is so dirty, we'll be working indoors for the duration of this build. a half-hour covering the rest of the cars will pay off when it comes time to take them out again, because we're gonna be making dust and slinging 40-year-old grease. I won't bore anyone with the disassembly pics - Suffice it to say, my cordless impact wrench got a workout, and I spent way too much time laying on a hard garage floor. Like I said before, anytime you're doing work like this, take a LOT of pictures throughout the process. I don't care HOW good you think your memory is, or HOW many manuals you have to refer to - Nothing beats a set of digital photos if you get stumped later - especially if you run into something that was installed wrong by some mechanic 20 years prior! It's helpful to have an assistant around with a camera, because if you're like me, you'll get in a groove and forget to snap some pics. Anyhow, here's what we're starting with. Note the 45 years of accumulated grime (click to enlarge): [gallery include="13592,13593,13594,13595" link="file" columns="4"] With the rear subframe removed, we can see this rear end wasn't in bad shape. The grime has preserved it really well, and now that it's out, it'll be easier to work on. The 510 subframe is relatively simple to drop: Two front bolts, two rear bolts, the brake lines and the parking brake cable - I dropped mine in less than 10 minutes by myself using 2 jacks.

Have a look at these subframe bushings... Yeah, these weren't doing their job at all!

The next couple days in the garage was spent with a wire wheel, blast cabinet, torch (for burning out the old bushings), a reciprocating saw with metal blade (for removing old bushing shells), and lots of degreaser, green scrubbing pads and paper towels. Since the old drum brakes did a fine job stopping the Dime without drama (when they're adjusted properly), the decision to leave them in place and simply refurbish them was an easy one. Again, make sure you shoot pics of things before you start dismantling them.

Before I dug into the suspension, I wanted to get the replacement differential refurbished, so that I could just attach it to the subframe and reinstall the whole thing as an assembly. I chose a R160 LSD differential with a 3.90 gearset, which should perform nicely with a 5-speed and a built L20b. So, the whole thing got pulled apart and cleaned. Since the diff carrier itself was such a grungy chore, I went back to an old hot rodder's trick of using acid to degrease and prep the metal. After removing the seals and all components, the carrier got dunked in muriatic acid for the better part of a day. NOTE: Pool acid is cheap and effective, but it will burn the living piss out of anything it contacts, will eat right through clothing, gloves and skin, and creates noxious gases that will put you on your ass with a quickness. Unless you've used it before, skip it. Seriously. However, I'm a professional (yeah, right). After sitting in the acid, the carrier was hoisted out with a hook, rinsed thoroughly, dried with an air gun, and painted immediately (to prevent flash rusting). Dispose of the acid PROPERLY (no dumping it in a drain or on the ground)! Here's some before and after photos of the diff carrier restoration: [gallery include="13604,13605,13606,13607" link="file" columns="4"] Some of this stuff is like watching a good cook in the kitchen - When I really get in a groove, I'm getting multiple things done at once - I've got parts soaking in cleaner, parts with fresh paint drying, parts in the tumbler being polished, and, of course, parts on their way - I can hear the UPS truck from a mile away! As with the front suspension, all the hardware got tossed in the tumbler for refinishing while the rest of the parts were being worked on. Here's what they look like after being rinsed and clear-coated, as well as pics of the rear control arms and subframe after getting fresh paint and new polyurethane bushings: [gallery include="13610,13611,13608,13609" link="file" columns="4"] During reassembly, DON'T forget to use the "snot" (silicone-based lubricating grease) on your new bushings - If you don't, you'll have squeaks and it'll all have to come apart again. Take your time and do it right the first time. This stuff is fun, right?! [gallery include="13614,13615,13616,13617" link="file" columns="4"] OK, that's enough for tonight. In the next installment, we'll get the rear brakes upgraded and refurbished, and we'll reunite the subframe assembly with the 510, one step closer to the goal! Click here for Part 4 of the 510 build!
[post_title] => Restoring a 1968 Datsun 510 Sedan - Part 3 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => restoring-a-1968-datsun-510-sedan-part-3 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-08-02 21:52:02 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-08-03 04:52:02 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=13546 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [48] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 13681 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-06-11 00:10:07 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-06-11 07:10:07 [post_content] => Aaaaaand, we're back! Y'know, I've always said - I could get a lot of work done if I didn't have to work. So, with the work on the individual components of the rear subframe completed, and everything reassembled, it was time to mate the entire subframe back to the car. This looks daunting, because it's an awkward (and heavy!) assembly. However, if you use a 2x4, you can do it yourself, if you balance the whole thing on a jack and a pair of jackstands. Just lift it one notch at a time, until the rear differential mount bushings AND the subframe mount bushings are aligned with their respective bolt pins. Don't forget to add some lubricant to the INSIDE of the bushings, to eliminate any chance of squeaking later on. Once the assembly is high enough that the bolt pins start peeking through the bushings, you can reinstall your bushing caps (large washers) and snug it up the rest of the way with a ratchet or air wrench (don't forget to use anti-seize!). NOTE: If you're a real 510 pro, you may have caught my faux pas in the last installment. When assembling the differential to the crossmember, insert the long bolts through the diff and crossmember from the bottom, with the nuts on top. This way, you can easily drop the differential later without removing the entire crossmember assembly. I goofed, and inserted them from the top - but I don't plan on pulling it all apart anytime soon! Here's the rear crossmember assembly bolted up in place:

Next up, the brakes. All of the brake hardware had already been through the tumbler and polisher, and the backing plates were painted. Now, it's time to fit the upgrades. Since the drum brakes were going to be retained, we're going to want everything to work perfectly. No sense spending all this time cleaning things if they're not going to function exactly as they did when brand new. So, I replaced the rear wheel cylinders for good measure. These can be rebuilt, but the price of a rebuild kit and the time spent just doesn't justify messing with them. The adjusters can be refurbished, however. It's a simple matter of removing the assembly, unthreading the adjustment shaft, removing the two wedge-shaped pistons, and cleaning everything in solvent. Once they're spotless, use some good high-temp brake grease (I use the red Hawk grease) on both pistons and the shaft. Assemble it with the adjuster completely retracted, and reinstall on the backing plate. The spring clips can then be reinstalled on the backing plate. Then, I placed a dab of grease on the contact points where the edges of the brake shoes would touch the backing plate. Installing the brake shoes is tricky, but once you've done it a few times, it's simple. A helper, and a couple pair of strong needle-nosed pliers comes in handy here. Here's a look at all those components as they came together: [gallery link="file" order="DESC" columns="4"] Datsun 510 owners have always had problems finding the perfect rear spring setup for their cars. Because the 510 uses a rear coil with a small outside diameter, very few springs will work for this application. Cutting springs is for chumps, and there's not a lot of aftermarket options. However, the 510 seems to sit *just* right in the rear by using a set of Roadster Sport Comp FRONT springs. They fit nicely into the spring pocket, lower the rear perfectly, and have sufficient spring rate to prevent bottoming out (and they match up nicely with the Megan coilovers already installed up front). A set of fresh axles were leftover from the 240Z build (it pays to hang onto extra parts if you're building more than one Datsun), so those were bolted in place. A set of new KYB GR-2 rear shocks and the rear suspension is good to go. Finally, a pair of finned aluminum drums from an early Z would provide a little more cooling, as well as some weight reduction. A half-hour date with the bead blaster, some high-temp clear coat, and they turned out good as new.

Here's a few pics of everything in the rear suspension buttoned up and ready to roll: [gallery include="13854,13855,13856,13857" link="file" columns="4"] I hope everyone had fun watching this phase of the build. In the next episode, we'll test-fit the wheels and tires, get the wiring harness taken care of, and maybe even get the engine and trans ready to install! Click here to read Part 5 of the Datsun 510 build!
[post_title] => Restoring a 1968 Datsun 510 Sedan - Part 4 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => restoring-1968-datsun-510-sedan-part-4 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-08-05 01:08:50 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-08-05 08:08:50 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=13681 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [49] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 13877 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-06-12 01:05:37 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-06-12 08:05:37 [post_content] => Welcome back!

In the last installment, we spent a LOT of time on the floor. Well, my back and knees are tired, so it's time to get "upright" and do some work up top. After working long and hard on the suspension and undercarriage, it's always rewarding to bolt on the wheels and tires to see how the car will sit. With a "best guess" setting on the front coilovers, I didn't anticipate any issues - but fortunately, they were pretty close to spot-on. With the engine in, the front should sit down perfectly. If not, there's still a lot of adjustability left on the front coils.

In keeping with the whole "low-budget build", don't go thinking for a minute that I splurged on the rolling stock. In fact, I was holding out for a set of ratty Enkei 92 meshies to refinish. But when I ran across a smoking deal on these Panasports with fresh tires, that had been test-fitted and then removed, I jumped on it. After shipping, these wheel and tire combo cost me less than the tires would have cost new. So, we're still almost a thousand dollars in the black on this project! Now that I can visualize what it'll look like when completed, there's more motivation to get some of the other tasks completed. From here on out, the project will jump around quite a bit as I work around waiting on parts. As I mentioned in a previous episode, the wiring on the 510 when I got it was a ridiculous mess. Burnt wires, splices made with duct tape, connections made with wire nuts, extensions made with speaker wire... it looked like someone had taken a weedwacker to a bowl of multicolored spaghetti. I'm thankful to the previous owner for doing the stuff I *hate* (bodywork and paint), but I'm pretty sure this was the most backwards restoration ever. Check out this picture, taken when I picked up the car - you can see a little of the tangled mess:

I had access to a really clean OEM 510 engine and body harness. However, as I learned from working on our 240Z and our Roadster, 45-year old Datsun wiring is not great for carrying current. Even on a perfectly intact harness, if you cut a wire near one of the sockets, strip it, and look at the copper strands, they'll be oxidized. Further, the insulation can crack, which can lead to some pretty annoying gremlins, blown fuses, burnt bulbs, or even fire. So, why chance it? I took the good advice of local 510 expert Ryan Newman and bought an aftermarket universal harness. For $125, I got a 12-circuit harness with a REAL fuse box (with modern mini fuses). The kit includes not only a sweet fuse block, but it also includes some other wiring goodies (like wire ties and clips). Each wire is not only color-coded, but it's also labeled every foot! This way, you don't even need to worry about wire colors - it's pretty much impossible to screw this up. This also allows you to do away with a lot of the extra wiring that's not needed, as well as things like voltage regulators and such... this will make a cleaner install. Plus, you can run relays for things like the headlights - something Datsun should have done from the beginning. A big thanks to Ryan and Wayne for their expertise with the wiring - I'd have never gotten far without their knowledge. [gallery include="13887,13888,13889" link="file" columns="3"] Here's some pics - The first pic shows the initial layout (before grouping the wires into three segments - one to the engine bay, one to the dash, one to the rear of the car). It's not as scary as it looks. The second pic is after everything was bundled and routed, awaiting connectors. The third pic shows the gauge cluster getting fresh new bulbs - spend the $5 and replace ALL the bulbs, and save a LOT of hassle later! And, here a photo of the fuse box in its new home. You could put it in the glove box, but I liked the idea of having it close to the driver, and it kept me from having to punch holes in my pristine glove box liner.

Here's the wiring for the engine bay, laid out roughly. Using the 12-circuit universal harness means there's extra wires for things like a third brake light, an electric fuel pump, electric fan, and stereo. Later, once all the wires are routed to their final destination and all the connectors have been installed, the whole thing will be "unclipped" and wrapped.

I'm sure you're wondering by now - if the original harness was so bad, then what about the original connectors? Wouldn't those be shot as well? The quick answer is YES. However, there's very few "Datsun-specific" connectors or plugs that can't be sourced new. For example, most of the dash switches use spade lugs - those are cheap and easy to find in the universal assortments you can buy anywhere. The turn signal and side markers use bullet connectors, which are usually included in those assortments as well. The headlight plugs are also spade lug, so you could simply use individual ones - but if you want to have the plastic plug, they're available through Nissan still, and I even saw them in the "HELP" section of my local AutoZone. In fact, the ONLY socket I wasn't able to replace with new stuff was the taillight bulb sockets. However, mine were still in great shape, so I simply added them to the end of my universal harness wires. They're really common, though, so I wouldn't be surprised if someone's still manufacturing them in Taiwan or Singapore. Bottom line? I'll be replacing the wiring on ALL of our Datsuns with a universal harness from here on out. When we return, we'll break out the engine hoist - I just got a phone call, and our hotted-up L20b is ready to drop in! Click here for Part 6 of Project 510 Build!
[post_title] => Restoring a 1968 Datsun 510 Sedan - Part 5 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => restoring-a-1968-datsun-510-sedan-part-5 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-08-07 00:40:15 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-08-07 07:40:15 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=13877 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [50] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 13909 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-06-13 00:36:10 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-06-13 07:36:10 [post_content] => Welcome back! Spending a while on the wiring and such gave us a chance to get the grease out from under our nails and gave the shop some time to air out (old Datsun fumes will be the death of me!)... While all the wiring was going in, the L20b engine was up the road at my buddy Jason's place, where he was going through it to make sure it's ready for street duty. Meanwhile, the head was at the machine shop getting rebuilt with an Isky street cam, .020 overbore and oversized valves. Once the head was done, we mated the two and it came home, ready to join the Z 5-speed transmission. Here's the cam specs for the Isky cam:

I spent a good two days cleaning the transmission. Found one of those plastic "slabs" (they're used under home A/C units), flipped it upside-down, worked perfect to allow the trans to stand on end and catch all the "funk" as I scrubbed the trans case. A half-bottle of Purple Power, a couple green scrubbies, and a roll of paper towels got it all shiny. A final bath with soap and water, followed by a couple coats of clear Krylon makes sure it doesn't get nasty again for a long time.

With the trans all cleaned up, and a fresh clutch, throwout bearing and resurfaced flywheel (all sourced from the pile of parts I bought early on in the build), it was time to mate the trans to the engine and drop it in. It'll be nice to have the engine stand and trans out of the way, and free up some garage space! [gallery include="13912,13913,13914" link="file" columns="3"] I usually don't do engine pulls / drops by myself, as it's always handy to have a spotter and an extra pair of hands to maneuver the engine in at the proper angle. However, since I didn't have anyone around to assist, and I wanted it DONE, I devised a cool little tool - I have a push-button retractable ratchet strap that's easy to operate with one hand. I used it to raise / level the tailshaft of the transmission. Once the transmission was situated over the engine bay, a light touch on the release and the ratchet strap slowly feeds out, lowering the tailshaft. Then, I placed one of my car wheel dollies (used for moving cars around the garage) under the trans tunnel. Once the tailshaft was in contact there, the trans was free to roll backwards as the engine slid into place (plus, it kept the engine / trans assembly level as I mounted it up). A fresh set of motor mounts, some new Grade 8 bolts, and she's sitting in her new home. Notice the "sacrificial" valve cover - The cover we'll be using is being powdercoated, and you don't want to run the risk of scratching it up during the engine install. This one was already pretty beat, so it served its purpose well. [gallery include="13916,13917" link="file" columns="2"] While the carbs are being built and the header is off being coated, we'll shift our focus to some other areas, and we'll come back to the engine later. An issue that's pretty common on old Datsuns, especially the 510's and trucks, is the door hinges. After 45 years, these had worn somewhat, and a couple of the linkages to limit door travel had been damaged (likely due to lack of maintenance and lubrication). The assist spring was missing on the driver's side front door as well. In these hinges, the pins don't usually wear, but the plastic bushings Datsun used are notorious for drying out and cracking, allowing the door to sag or shift outward (away from the body). Fortunately, there's a fix. Go to your local NAPA store and ask for part number 675-5157, which contains a pin and two bushings (you'll need two packages for each door). They're also available in the "HELP" section of most auto parts stores, under part number 38397. You'll need a helper for the rest of this project, so stop now if you're by yourself. You can access the door hinge bolts with a socket and extension by removing the footwell kick panel. Removing the bolts in a staggered manner prevents the weight of the door from surprising your helper (who will already be cursing you for taking too long with the ratchet). Once the door is off, you can inspect and remove the hinge (the lower hinge is typically more problematic than the upper). Clean it up with solvent and inspect it for wear. If the riveted linkage is damaged or the holes are oval-shaped, it's best to find a door hinge from a parts car (right and left are different). First, let's get that spring out. I've heard of several ways to remove it, none of which made much sense. I used a helper and two pairs of heavy-duty needle-nose pliers. Put the hinge in a good heavy vise, securely clamped. (Now is a good time to put your damn safety goggles on, by the way.) Each of you should grasp 2-3 coils of the spring and squeeze, which should make the spring compress enough to be removed. Set it aside, and turn the hinge so that the beveled (pointed) end of the pin faces up. Soak it in penetrating oil for a while, and drive the pin out with a suitable punch and a heavy mallet. I took the pin, chucked it up in my cordless drill, and spun it against some emery cloth or fine-grade sandpaper to polish off any corrosion. Coat it (I use Mobil 1 synthetic grease) and set it aside as well. Now, clean out any remnants of old bushing. NOTE - They're almost impossible to see. I used a 3/8" drill bit, liberally coated in lube, to bust up the old plastic. I also tested a torch on another hinge, and it discolored / shrank the hinge enough to make it more visible. Clean out the hole with a rolled-up piece of fine sandpaper, and use a cotton swab to put some synthetic grease in the hole. Next, insert the new bushings top and bottom. They should fit VERY tightly. I had to sand the bevel just a tiny amount to get them started, and a c-clamp finished off the job. Once the new bushings are in, reassemble the hinge with the pin, and put the spring back in (using the same method of removal - it's helpful to have a third helper to wedge it into place with a screwdriver). Here's Betty, sans doors. By the way, this is a great time to clean up those door jambs, replace weatherstrip, and anything else that requires the doors to be... well, open. [gallery include="13926,13925" link="file" columns="2"] If you have a tap & die set, now is also a good time to chase the threads in the hinges. Also, do yourself a favor and go to a fastener store and get some new door hinge bolts - the originals may have some corrosion, and they're NOT hard to snap off (they weren't a high-grade bolt from the factory). Regardless, make sure you coat the threads with some anti-seize, and have your helper hold the door steady so you can bolt it up. Here's the end result - Fresh, smooth-operating door hinges, good for another 45 years of use. [gallery include="13927,13928" link="file" columns="2"] When re-hanging the doors, keep all the mounting bolts a turn shy of "snug" so you can adjust door alignment. Closing the door carefully will allow your helper to inspect the gaps all around the door. Inserting a nylon wedge or plastic pry bar, he can gently nudge the door to "square up" in the frame, and you can tighten down the bolts. Test closure by gently opening and closing the door a few times - It should act like a new car door. If not, adjust until you get it right (and don't forget to clean and lubricate the latching mechanism, as well as the door internals while you're at it). While we were hanging the doors, I got a phone call from the chrome shop - Guess what came in?

Freshly-rechromed front and rear bumpers! I had the shop fill the bumper overrider and bumper guard holes, and fill / smooth the front bumper seam for a clean look. The triple-plated chrome finish looks great, can't wait to bolt them on! Again, the bumper hardware had already gone through the tumbler / polisher, and I chased the body mount holes with a tap. A little painter's tape to protect the fenders while aligning the bumpers, some anti-seize on the hardware, and a freshly-cleaned and painted set of bumper brackets finished off the job. You'll have to wait for pics of the bumpers until we get the lighting, grille and grille surround restored and in place (primarily because I forgot to take pictures of *just* the bumpers in place - Oops!) In the next installment, we'll install some weatherstrip, lighting, a new radiator and a few other odds and ends. The pile of parts is shrinking, and Betty's starting to look more and more like a proper street 510! Click here to read Part 7 of the Datsun 510 build!
[post_title] => Restoring a 1968 Datsun 510 Sedan - Part 6 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => restoring-a-1968-datsun-510-sedan-part-6 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-08-09 01:15:00 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-08-09 08:15:00 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=13909 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [51] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 13943 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-06-14 01:01:54 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-06-14 08:01:54 [post_content] => Let's keep it going - If we wait around on parts to fall outta the sky, we're never gonna get this car on the road! With the doors off earlier, it really exposed the need to address our weatherstrip issues. The 510 has its door weatherstrip ON the doors, unlike the Z (which has its weatherstrip on the body / door jamb). However, the 510 has a "finishing strip" on the door frame that secures the edges of the headliner, as well as the kickpanels, the B-pillar trim, and even the carpet. Ours was looking a little ratty, so it's gotta come off. The project car had a box of fresh new weatherstrip in the trunk when I bought it, so that's something we don't need to buy. After looking at the way the doors mate up to the door frames, I started thinking back to the Z restoration we did a couple years ago. On the Z, rather than using the stock-type weatherstrip, we used a bulb-type rubber. Basically, it's a channel that fits onto the pinch weld of the door opening, and has a round tubular extrusion of rubber that faces the door. When the door closes, it presses against that cylindrical rubber, flattening it out and sealing the door. SOOO, what if we could use the same thing on the 510? I had some handy, so let's give it a shot. Here's some pics of the weatherstrip going on. It really is nice stuff to work with, and I was eager to see how it would work for this application. [gallery include="13945,13946,13947" link="file" columns="3"] Now, a couple thoughts: After getting it all installed on all four doors, I realized - There's no way to reinstall the door sill plates, since the rubber "bulb" would be in the way. However, they were pretty rough anyway (aren't ALL 510 door sill plates pretty beat?), and it looked pretty nice without them. I also knew (from working on the Z) that the doors won't want to close easily right away - but this was easily resolved by closing the doors with a little extra force and letting the car sit out in our 120-degree heat for a couple days. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that's going to be the case with Project 510. For starters, the weatherstripping is made to go straight. It'll bend over a gentle radius, but unfortunately the upper rear corner of the rear door cutout is a little too sharp of a curve, and the weatherstrip wants to fall away from that corner after a couple days. The headliner encourages this as well, by pulling against the "clamping" force of the clip part of the weatherstrip. To add insult to injury, the doors never got to a point where they'd close fully, even after sitting in the heat for a week. Dammit. Well, part of the fun of trying new things is finding lots of different ways something WON'T work. So, I suppose I just saved someone out there a couple hundred dollars. I'll pull off the evidence of my failed experiment, replace the trim with some OEM-style pieces, and go work on something else - we'll come back later and install the OEM weatherstrip on the doors (where it belongs). Sound good? Here's something that DID work well, and it was a major victory for this project. You know the metal trim that runs along the lower edge of the door glass on each door, that has a rubber "squeegee" strip on it? Well, that piece keeps water from running down your side windows, into your doors, where it can cause all kinds of mayhem - Mold, rust, foul smells, ruined interior door panels, blown door speakers... However, most Datsuns have awful-looking window squeegies. We're gonna fix that with a quickness. In doing so, we'll also be able to address another problem - the stainless steel trim that the squeegies attach to had seen better days, AND it clashed with the satin black scheme of the car. The rubber strip is flocked with felt on one side, and has a strip of metal or plastic where it attaches to the trim. The rubber was attached to the metal trim with industrial-strength staples, and there's simply no way to replace these (which is why you rarely see them restored properly). Finding a stapler that'll punch through stainless steel as well as the metal strip inside the rubber would be nigh impossible - but it has to do so without something to clamp against (otherwise, you'd simply crush the visible part of the trim). Time to put on the ol' thinking cap. Rivets? Nope. The "flush" side of the rivet would face outwards, which leaves the fat, ugly part of the rivet inside the trim (which would keep the trim from reattaching to the door). Wire? Not enough clamping strength, and it would allow the rubber to look wavy (and fail to seal out water). Adhesive? Hmmm - might work. Here's what I did: I took a Dremel tool with a cut-off wheel to each of the staples and removed the pieces. Then I removed what was left of the rubber trim - CRUNCHY! Then, I got a 18" thick strip of aluminum stock and wedged it lightly into the trim (don't want to spread out the internal clips that grip the sheetmetal at the top of the door). Then, using a small body hammer, I straightened out the deformations created by the factory staples. With a nice smooth surface to mount to, this just might work. Here's what the backside of the trim looks like (note the staple holes, the aluminum stock, and the painter's tape holding it in place):

Next, I needed to determine where on the trim the rubber strip is supposed to go. I lined up the trim on the door, and marked where the rubber originally began and ended - this would help me determine how long to cut the rubber strips, AND where they'll be placed on the metal. You don't want to get this all done and realize your rubber squeegie is flopping over the door window frame, right? The rubber strip can be cut with wire dikes (where the support piece goes through) and heavy scissors (on the flexible lip). The next steps, Becky actually allowed me to do in the house - Yay air conditioning! Next, I took some 600-grit sandpaper and roughed up the backside of the rubber strip (seen in the middle pic below) and the backside of the metal trim (big pic above), cleaned both with a little alcohol, and broke out the heavy artillery: Some E-6000 adhesive, a bunch of small C-clamps, more painter's tape, and a chunk of EPDM rubber sheet, which I cut into squares to protect the shiny side of the trim from the clamps. [gallery include="13954,13955,13956,13957,13958" link="file" columns="5"] Fortunately, I had an extra piece of door trim and an extra length of rubber squeegie to test with. From that test, I learned a few things: E-6000 adhesive is some wicked stuff. It doesn't expand (which is why I didn't use Gorilla Glue), and it sticks like all hell. Also, I wound up not using the clamps - wooden spring-type clothespins worked better, and I could use as many of them as I wanted to hold the trim uniformly while it dried. The next day, I tested the adhesion - perfect. These should hold up for several years of leak-free driving. Next up, I took the 600-grit paper to the shiny part of the trim (sorry, purists!) and roughed it up for three light coats of... truck bedliner! The texture is perfect, it's got a nice matte finish that blends well with the rubber, and it looks really professional. Here's the result (sorry, looks like black sticks):

Later, I'll post pics of how they look ON the car - I was very, very pleased, and the rubber fits perfectly against the window glass, forming a perfect seal to keep water and dirt out of the inside of the doors. WIN! So, we're 1 for 2 in this episode - Hopefully, the next time we get together in the garage, everything will work perfectly... yeah, right! Speaking of "next time", we picked up some interior goodies, more sound deadening, and Becky let me stay inside to restore some corner marker lights - we'll get those installed next. Still waiting on that radiator... Click here to read Part 8 of the Datsun 510 build!
[post_title] => Restoring a 1968 Datsun 510 Sedan - Part 7 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => restoring-a-1968-datsun-510-sedan-part-7 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-11-28 23:53:35 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-11-29 06:53:35 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=13943 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [52] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14257 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2012-11-18 00:45:30 [post_date_gmt] => 2012-11-18 07:45:30 [post_content] => Aunt Mayme Rides Again...

Mayme Duncan was born (1912), lived and died (2006) in Southwestern New Mexico. She spent the bulk of her life in the quaint mining town of Silver City, in the foothills of the Gila Mountains and on the skirts of the vast Aldoph Leopold wilderness - the first wilderness area set aside in the United States. She married her husband Lacy (15 years her senior) and settled down to her career teaching school. On March 29, 1967 Mayme (45 years old) took delivery of a brand new 1967 Datsun 411 station wagon (WPL 411) - white with a red interior - from the Thomas Motor Company of Silver City New Mexico. At that time Thomas Motors was one of seven Datsun dealers in New Mexico, one part of what Datsun advertised as a "rapidly expanding Dealer network". As this was the first new car Mayme had ever owned, she immediately took steps to preserve her new car. She had the dealer install seat covers, and left the plastic covering over the doors and upholstery. She also took the car in for scheduled service, the maintenance book showing service for lubrication, inspection and adjustment at 631 miles, 5862 miles, 6,976 miles, and the final one at 12,036 miles at Thomas Motors on January 9, 1969. Mayme was putting roughly 6,000 miles/year on her new Datsun.

She continued to service the car regularly, with the service records indicating routine oil changes and service items through the rest of the 1960's and early 1970's. The service records attest to the fact that Mayme's little white Datsun was a loved and dependable car, showing routine maintenance items until the 1990's under Mayme's care. The water pump was replaced in 1974, along with engine gaskets. In 1979 Mayme replaced the tail pipe along with clamps and hangers on the exhaust system and new tires (at 87,000 miles) - all four tires for $89.82! In 1980 came a new starter, in 1982 new battery and brake service.

Sometime in June, 1985 Mayme (now 63 years old) backed into an obstacle, putting a dent in the rear panel under the tail gate, damaging a rear bumper and destroying a tail light lens. While the lens was replaced (according the receipt), the other repairs were glossed over -- apparently an 18 year old Datsun was not worth repairing! Mayme continued to love and drive her Datsun, servicing it at what was now Copper Hills Datsun in Silver City New Mexico.

At 91,428 miles (June of 1986) Mayme replaced the muffler. Also in November 1986 Mayme had new front and rear brake shoes and 4 drums turned (91,818 miles), carb adjusted because of hard starting in the morning, and valves adjusted. She also had bearings ordered for a rear end noise. Mayme (now 74) was definitely not driving much - the car today has only 96,xxx miles; the little white Datsun has been driven less than 6,000 miles in the last 25 years. About one week later in November, 1986 the brakes came in for a hydraulic overhaul -- all wheel cylinders replaced and a Master Cylinder rebuild kit installed.

Early in 1987 the rear end was rebuilt (91,955 miles), the service order showing a complete set of bearings and seals being replaced to correct a "rear end noise". Mayme was also having carb issues, having the choke repaired for hard starting.

Mayme Duncan was by now driving very little - the next records showing a tune up, clutch adjustment, and tail pipe replacement in February 1994 at only 94,236 miles -- about 2000 miles over the preceding 7 years. The last record shows a new tail pipe in 1997.

Mayme Duncan passed away in 2006 (at 94 years old). On her deathbed, she had her nephew Carl promise to take care of her first new car (and only one?) - the little white 411 wagon. Carl took the car to his home, where it sat until 2009 when Marty (a Datsun lover) met Carl and took stewardship of the little wagon. Marty diagnosed the persistent carb problems as a warped base of the original carb and replaced it with a Weber carb, solving the issues. He cared for the car, lovingly named "Aunt Mayme" for the next three years in Edgewood New Mexico, on the East Side of the Sandia Mountains from Albuquerque. Marty showed the car once at a local car show where Carl and his family attended and shared memories of Aunt Mayme and her beloved little Datsun. When the time came for Marty (2012) to downsize his fleet of cars (in the name of domestic tranquility), he advertised the car on the web (not Ebay!) - but he was not willing to sell the car to someone who would not honor the commitment to care for the car.

This is where I enter the picture. After attending the Multi-state Datsun Classics meet in Williams, Arizona, I met Greg and Becky Childs and Alice, their beautiful red 411 wagon. I was taking photos of Alice and decided a 411 would be a neat car to accompany my 1968 1600 roadster. Upon returning to Albuquerque I was searching the web for a 411 when I found Marty's discrete advertisement. I was surprised that a 411 would show up so close to home and thought I'd take a look. I contacted Marty and arranged to see the car.

Upon meeting Marty and the car I realized that not only was the car in really nice original condition, but that we had another great addition to our Datsun community in Marty (Marty has a really trick 720). "Aunt Mayme" followed me home (on a trailer) the next weekend. The past month has been spent in sorting little things, but overall "Aunt Mayme" runs and drives wonderfully. I've put on a nice set of vintage Revolution wheels I had from my roadster until I restore the original wheels. I've cleaned the interior and removed the seat covers to reveal a really nice set of original upholstery. I've gotten some electrical bugs sorted (mainly cleaning the contacts and replacing fuses). I've waxed the car to bring a really nice "20 footer" shine out. But mainly I've been driving and enjoying the car. I'm really impressed with the intrinsic quality Datsun built into the 411. It really looks and feels very European. My BMW friends would be shocked but the 411 reminds me a bit of the BMW 1600, especially the view behind the steering wheel.

I've got two projects planned in the near future - the first is to replace the clutch which is engaging really high on the pedal, the next to correctly fix the damage to the rear from when Aunt Mayme backed into the obstacle in 1985. I've sourced the clutch parts and two new rear tail lights, just lacking a rear bumper (so I may just have the current one straightened and rechromed). Other than that, the faithful J13 is a bit smokey, especially on start up. As it drives really strongly with the Weber carb I don't feel urgent about a fix and will drive her and see if driving allows the rings to clean up and seat again. But I mainly plan to keep "Aunt Mayme" original and drive and enjoy her. I haven't seen any non-restored 411's advertised in her condition, and she definitely earns a lot attention when I take her out. I am looking forward to bringing her to Williams next year to pair up with "Alice". John "Buddy" Lorio is a Datsun enthusiast from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
[post_title] => Driving Aunt Mayme - Another Datsun 411 Wagon Story [post_excerpt] => The story of a Datsun 411 Wagon that was loved and cherished by its original owner - and now carries on, bringing joy to the new owner and Datsun enthusiasts everywhere. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => driving-aunt-mayme-another-datsun-411-wagon-story [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=5999 [post_modified] => 2013-02-26 21:20:24 [post_modified_gmt] => 2013-02-27 04:20:24 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=14257 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [53] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14317 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-07-28 23:49:14 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-07-29 06:49:14 [post_content] => We're back! Distractions abound... The 240Z has developed a fuel delivery issue, the Roadster needed a complete wiring harness replaced, which turned into a full dash and gauge restoration... The daily drivers needed maintenance, and some of the 510 parts we were awaiting took FOREVER to arrive. Let's pick up where we left off. The wiring was all run to the proper places, and I wanted to make sure everything electrical will work before I start putting the interior back together. So, after a day in the garage with a battery hooked up temporarily, a multi-meter, and a copy of the "new and improved" wiring diagram, we have confirmation: Everything works! Couldn't resist clicking over the ignition, just to check the start circuit. Sure enough, the engine turned over, so I think we're good to start reassembling the interior! The stock 510 seats had been refurbished by the prior owner. However, they sit far too high in the car for my taste, and they offer zero lateral support. I intend this car to handle quite crisply, so I don't want to feel like I'm sitting on a bar stool when it does. Racing seats always seem "cheesy" in a street car, unless it sees track time, so those won't work either. Basically, I wanted something period-correct, that looks like it *could* have been originally offered, with a lower pan, better bolstering, and a safer seatback design. There's a real good choice out there: BMW E30 bucket seats. Now, the E30 seats were offered in two designs: Sport and Comfort. The Sport seats are very handsome, but are hard to come by - and they look a little out of place in a '68 car. But the Comfort seats have a nice balance of old-school flavor and good supportive bolstering, plus they have a cool waffle-pattern in the center that looks very 60's-70's. Since the interior already feels like a tomb with all the black carpet, dash and vinyl, I wanted something that would lighten up the look a little - the tan E30 Comfort seats fit the bill perfectly. Click on the pics for a better view... [gallery include="14319,14320,14321" link="file"] Of course, the original 510 seat risers have to go, and there's the added challenge of working with the floor brace (which runs from the side sill to the trans tunnel). It's about 3" tall, and sits almost exactly where you'll want the front of the seats. Fortunately, I'm 6'1", so I don't mind the seats being mounted fairly far back. This presented an issue with the seat slider adjustment lever, which juts out directly to the front of the seat pan. Nothing is insurmountable, and BMW designed these seats nicely - The mechanism for adjusting the seats can be relocated, so I removed the front-mounted lever and will attach a lever on the side of the seat to accomplish the same goal. Naturally none of the mounting holes will line up properly - This is where it pays to be patient. Setting the seats in the desired position, measuring the "squareness" of the seats, marking the mounting holes and drilling them out is a pain - but once completed, you'll be glad you took your time. NOTE: The 510 floor pan slopes away from the center tunnel, so you'll need to add about an inch of spacer to the outboard bolts. I used a stack of washers to get the desired height for testing. Once they're installed, check for "squareness" again by setting both seatbacks to the upright position and view the seats from the front and rear of the car. You'll notice if there's any "tilt" and can adjust accordingly. Once I had my spacer measurements, I removed the stack of washers and cut a piece of round aluminum stock to that height, drilled the center out for the seat mounting bolt, and reinstalled it. ALSO, if you're using this method, use self-locking nuts (I used new stainless Nylock nuts) and use a thick, LARGE-diameter washer on the underside (for safety in the event of an accident). This process took the better part of a whole day, so be patient! I bought the rear seat from the E30 donor car as well, on the off-chance that it *might* fit with some persuading... Close, but no cigar. So, the rear seat from the E30 and the original 510 rear seat have been dropped off at my upholstery shop to have the E30 covers modified to fit the 510 seat cushions. This way, they'll match the front seats perfectly and still fit the 510 interior. In the meantime, I reassembled the dash... with the new wiring in place, there's a lot less spaghetti under there to deal with, and it gave me an opportunity to replace all the light bulbs and clean the gauges and lubricate the switches. I picked up a set of brand-new pedal pads at a swap meet for $1, and those look great on the pedals: [gallery include="14324,14325,14326" link="file"] While waiting for the new radiator to arrive, I took this time to install some sound deadening in the doors prior to replacing the door panels. As with all my other restorations, I used GTmat. A little goes a long way, but unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the rest of that part of the job. At any rate, roll down the windows, clean the inside of the door shell with some degreaser (I like the orange stuff), and apply the sound deadening firmly. After making sure it's adhered fully with the roller, I like to "warm up" the application area with a heat gun - just enough to soften the adhesive and give it a good permanent bond.

Well, the radiator still hasn't arrived. Remember in Part 7, where I was trying out something different for the door weatherstrip? Well, I pulled that off and replaced it with new "stock" weatherstrip - much better. The doors close firmly (and quietly, thanks to the fresh window squeegies, the GTmat sound deadening, and the new rubber). So, now I can use my door sill plates! Big problem - They look like crap. 40 years of abuse on a door sill means the thin aluminum plates are bent, dinged, scraped, gouged, and filthy. Some people would throw them away and go without, OR they'd make new ones. Neither is an option - Going without means you're tearing up your door sill paint getting in and out of the car; and homemade door sill plates never wind up looking "correct". This isn't a Cavalier with a Combat body kit, so we'll try to rehab the original door sills. Here's how they looked before:

I decided to try bead blasting them. At least that way, I could get a good look at the condition without destroying the metal, and I'd be able to see if they're salvageable. As it turns out, I think I can rehab them. Here's how they look after bead blasting:

Not bad. If I can't work the metal totally smooth (which is unlikely), I think they'll make a real good candidate for a coat of bedliner material. It should conceal the minor dings and provide good protection to the door sills. UPS just rolled up with a box shaped remarkably like... a radiator! Break time, and we'll be back with the next episode. Click here to read Part 9 of the 510 build!
[post_title] => Restoring a 1968 Datsun 510 Sedan - Part 8 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => restoring-a-1968-datsun-510-sedan-part-8 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-11-30 00:05:55 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-11-30 07:05:55 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=14317 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [54] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14339 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-08-01 00:06:26 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-08-01 07:06:26 [post_content] => With the wiring wrapped up, I wanted to get some of the boxes out of the trunk, so I decided to take a day and install all the lighting. I had collected a stack of 510 taillight housings and trim (from the huge load of parts I acquired early in the build), so I went through and selected the cleanest ones - One pair actually still had flexible taillight gaskets! Since the tails were simple, they went in first. The local auto parts store carries some older-style bulbs, and I didn't want to chase down non-functioning lights, so all new bulbs went in. Each one got a light coating in dielectric grease before installation, and I think the tails turned out real nice:

Finding the correct headlights was a little more difficult - Most auto parts stores used to carry sealed-beam lamps, but they're pretty scarce these days. There's an old-school neighborhood NAPA about 15 miles up the road, and a quick call to them yielded a new set of lamps. Even though all the wiring was run and routed, none of the connectors was attached, and none of the lighting wires were terminated yet - I wanted to make sure all my wiring was run in bundles, as cleanly as possible... So all this got done along with installing the front-end lighting. Refurbishing the lenses and housings for the front turn signals would ensure that they look "factory-fresh". It's a simple process, wet-sanding with 600 / 800 / 1000 grit wet-dry paper, followed by a vigorous polishing with regular plastic polish. I use Novus Plastic and Acrylic Polish, it's great stuff. Here's the before and after (click for detailed view): [gallery include="14342,14343,14344" link="file"] Once those were wired and grounded, I installed the new headlights (as well as a sweet set of Bosch yellow fogs in place of the high beams - Can't pass up that classic old-school look on a proper Datsun!) The headlights were set up a little differently, with the low beams activating all four lights, and the high beams activating the second filament in the outer lights (not exactly correct for the car, but these are the upgrades you can do when you're building it yourself). Routed the headlight wiring along the same path as the turn signal wires, so they can all be bundled cleanly. Since the grille, headlight rings and front-end trim were hogging up space, I went ahead and refurbished those as well. The stainless trim responded real well to a two-hour polishing session. Starting off with fine-grit wet/dry paper for the areas with scratches, and working towards a finer polishing compound on a polishing wheel attached to a Dremel tool, I wanted to make sure the trim looked as good as possible. Since the grille and headlight rings were already powdercoated black, the trim needed to be pristine. I think it all turned out pretty nice:

Here's the part I've been excited about: The one-year-only side markers. The 1968 510 had small, arrow-shaped corner lights on the fenders, with a flat side and a curved side that blends nicely with the indentation in the body lines. They're virtually unobtainable, unfortunately. You can purchase a "knock-off" set on ebay, but they're quite a bit larger, they require cutting a bigger hole in the fender, and once installed, just don't look right at all. Since buying the 510, I've been scouring forums, ebay and other Datsun sites, buying bits and pieces wherever I could find them. They all went in a box, awaiting today. Scrounging through the box, I selected the best bits and started refurbishing. The amber lenses were polished, the stainless trim as well, and I took a beadblaster to the metal housings. [gallery include="14353,14354,14355,14356,14357" link="file"] After a coat of clear, the housings looked presentable. New bulbs, fresh wires, and VOILA! A pretty clean set of '68 corner markers:

One more weekend in the books, but a lot closer to wrapping this project up. We'll get the radiator, thermostat housing and fan installed in the next episode, get an alternator installed, and who knows what else. The list is getting shorter! Click here for Part 10 of the 510 build, where we'll install the cooling system!
[post_title] => Restoring a 1968 Datsun 510 Sedan - Part 9 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => restoring-a-1968-datsun-510-sedan-part-9 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-11-30 23:42:14 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-12-01 06:42:14 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=14339 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [55] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14371 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-11-30 22:47:22 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-12-01 05:47:22 [post_content] => It's time to get the cooling system installed! Last week, UPS delivered a sweet custom 3-row aluminum Ron Davis Racing radiator, specifically made for a 510. Now, before anyone thinks I've forgotten the entire basis of this project (to get it done with *just* the money I earned selling spare parts), I didn't pay full price - Someone had purchased it for a project and the project fell through. So, half-price works for me! Anyway, the plan here is to utilize the stock fan and fan clutch (albeit freshened up), the larger radiator, and a 180* thermostat to ensure this L20b always runs cool and smooth.

Well, big surprise - Plans come together as intended about 20% of the time, and this is an occasion where the plan fell apart right away. Installing the new radiator became a major project right away. The mounting holes were WAY too high, which would place the radiator cap about an inch higher than the hood level. Ok, no big deal - a couple custom brackets and some through-radiator mounts should fix that. So, I fabricated some trick 3/16" all-thread shafts with rubber insulators and large stainless washers to mount it up in the position I liked.

Awesome, right? Not so fast. The thicker radiator was about 1" off the stock fan, which means no room for a fan clutch. Normally I dislike electric fans, but it looks like necessity was going to dictate the use of one on this project. Fortunately, I've had great luck with the compact, high-cfm cooling fans from Perma-Cool, so back to the computer to order one. While awaiting the fan, I decided to mock up the coolant hoses, just to make sure everything's going to fit nicely... No dice. The upper coolant hose was interfering with the distributor, and no amount of "re-routing" was going to fix that issue. The more I looked at the radiator, the more it started looking like... Yep. It's a custom unit, all right. Custom for an SR20 swap into a 510. A quick look at some pics of SR-swapped 510's online confirmed this. Dammit. Well, as luck would have it, a great friend nearby just happens to be building an SR-powered 510 2-door. He got the deal of a lifetime on a sweet Ron Davis radiator, perfect for his car, and I got a $50 lesson in paying attention. Fortunately, Champion makes some really nice, basic, and good-fitting racing radiators for most cars, and their prices are more than reasonable. While waiting for the replacement radiator, we powdercoated the valve cover and thermostat housing, and I installed the header, fuel pump, distributor, plug wires, and a few other necessities. By the time the radiator arrived, I was chomping at the bit to get this part of the project behind me (I hate losing an entire day in the garage to something that doesn't work - especially when it's my fault!) With the radiator fastened to the core support, and the freshly-refurbished stock fan and fan clutch cast aside, the electric fan STILL didn't fit between the radiator and the water pump pulley... Grrr. No problem, the fan is reversible, it'll look cleaner as a "pusher-style" fan, and leave me some room under the hood, right? Not so fast, The core support brace on a 510 hogs up a LOT of space between the grille and the radiator, preventing a fan installation there as well. Times like these call for more fabrication. Off with the grille, headlight rings, radiator, and that damn support brace. Now, you're not going to just remove the brace and go without. That brace runs from the lower radiator support (which ties the front "frame" together) all the way up to support the center of the core support (which supports the hood latch). Without this piece, the integrity of the whole front end is compromised (which makes sense, considering how beefy and well-built that center brace was). Luckily, I had some 8-gauge mild steel from a previous project, as well as access to a metal brake, a drill press, and a welder (if needed). I measured the original dimensions of the bracket and traced the contours, with the intention of fabricating an exact match, but without the C-shape of the original. The extra thickness of the steel plate I'm using will allow it to remain rigid, without intruding into the space I need for the fan. I added a third attachment point with an extra bracing plate beneath the grille, and utilized heavier hardware for added strength. It turned out perfect, and there's actually LESS flexion in the core support than there was with the stock piece. NOW, time to reinstall the radiator, mount up the fan, and put the "face" of our project back together! The rest of this section went together without a hitch (maybe because I removed and reinstalled it all so many times). Here you can see the completed cooliing system setup, as well as the rest of the work I got done in the interim... Note the "cheater" valve cover! [gallery link="file"] That night, my good friend Dick Lowell (Doctor 510) sent me a "teaser" pic of the carbs he's building for me... he's been building awesome 510's since I was in grade school, so who better to whip up the most important part of the build?

Next up, we'll install an upgraded single-wire alternator, tackle the driveshaft, start putting together the fuel system, and maybe refinish the underside of the hood... Check it out here! Datsun 510 Build - Part 11
[post_title] => Restoring a 1968 Datsun 510 Sedan - Part 10 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => restoring-a-1968-datsun-510-sedan-part-10 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2013-10-24 23:03:24 [post_modified_gmt] => 2013-10-25 06:03:24 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=14371 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [56] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14654 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-12-18 21:28:06 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-12-19 04:28:06 [post_content] => Here you will find scans of the original wiring diagrams for the Datsun 1500, 1600, and 2000 Roadsters, covering model years 1964 to 1970. Datsun 1500 Roadster Wiring Diagram - 1963, 1964, 1965 Datsun 1600 Roadster Wiring Diagram - 1966, 1967 Datsun 1600 / 2000 Roadster Wiring Diagram - 1968, 1969, 1970 As with all older cars, you may find that your Datsun harness has deteriorated through the years. Chasing a short or a continuity issue in 40+ year old wiring is often a chore, On several of our classic Datsun restorations, we've had great luck replacing the entire harness with an updated version from EZ Wiring. This also allows you to use relays where needed, lessening the demand on ancient switches and contacts, and ensuring adequate current to all electrical accessories. Plus, the modern mini-blade fuses are far easier to replace than the old glass fuses! Also, here's a list of technical articles related to classic Datsuns that you might enjoy! If you have questions about your classic Datsun, pop in on the Datsun Forum and chat with the friendly Datsun experts!

[post_title] => Datsun Roadster Wiring Diagrams [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-roadster-wiring-diagrams [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/datsun-technical-articles [post_modified] => 2012-12-25 00:21:47 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-12-25 07:21:47 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=14654 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [57] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14671 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-12-19 19:41:44 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-12-20 02:41:44 [post_content] => Here you will find scans of the original wiring diagram for the 1982 Datsun Sentra. 1982 Datsun Nissan Sentra Wiring Diagram The Sentra was Nissan's answer to the Toyota Corolla, an automotive rivalry that continues to this day. When the Nissan Sentra arrived in the US market for the 1982 model year, it was the first to abandon the Datsun name formally, However, a small 'Datsun' emblem remained on the rear for the 1982 and 1983 model years. Owners of the earliest Sentras often refer to their car as "Datsun Sentra". As with all older cars, you may find that your Datsun harness has deteriorated through the years. Chasing a short or a continuity issue in 40+ year old wiring is often a chore, On several of our classic Datsun restorations, we've had great luck replacing the entire harness with an updated version from EZ Wiring. This also allows you to use relays where needed, lessening the demand on ancient switches and contacts, and ensuring adequate current to all electrical accessories. Plus, the modern mini-blade fuses are far easier to replace than the old glass fuses! If you're looking for factory service manuals and wiring diagrams for Nissan Sentra models built after 1982, we can help! Here's a list of technical articles related to classic Datsuns that you might enjoy! If you have questions about your classic Datsun, pop in on the Datsun Forum and chat with the friendly Datsun experts!

[post_title] => Datsun / Nissan Sentra Wiring Diagrams [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-nissan-sentra-wiring-diagrams [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/datsun-technical-articles [post_modified] => 2012-12-25 00:21:28 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-12-25 07:21:28 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=14671 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [58] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14674 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-12-19 21:43:12 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-12-20 04:43:12 [post_content] => Here you will find scans of the original wiring diagram for the 1982 Datsun Maxima. 1982 Datsun Nissan Maxima Wiring Diagram In the 1981 model year, Nissan took the Japanese-market Bluebird 910 and added a 2.8-liter inline six-cylinder engine from the 280Z and offered it in the North American market as the 810 Deluxe or 810 Maxima. In 1982, Nissan dropped the 810 nomenclature, creating the "Maxima" in 1982. The Maxima is credited with forcing Toyota to respond with their own upscale sedan, the Cressida. Interesting factoid: The 1982 Maxima had five "talking alerts" that were generated by - get this - a tiny phonograph (record player)... Had a disc, a stylus, the whole deal, sealed in a little box under the dash and integrated into the audio system to override the music! High-tech for 1982! If you have questions about your Maxima, pop in on the Nissan Maxima Forum and chat with the friendly Maxima experts!

[post_title] => Datsun / Nissan Maxima Wiring Diagrams [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-nissan-maxima-wiring-diagrams [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-12-25 00:19:48 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-12-25 07:19:48 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=14674 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [59] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14678 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-12-19 22:39:42 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-12-20 05:39:42 [post_content] => Looking for the original wiring diagram for the Datsun 200SX? Look no further! 1977 Datsun 200SX Wiring Diagram 1978 Datsun 200SX Wiring Diagram 1979 Datsun 200SX Wiring Diagram 1980 Datsun 200SX Wiring Diagram 1981 Datsun 200SX Wiring Diagram 1982 Datsun 200SX Wiring Diagram In 1977, Datsun introduced the 200SX, a 2-door sport coupe (probably overemphasizing the "sport"). The original S10-series 200SX sold poorly, hampered by a combination of its quirky styling and public sentiment against Japanese imports. As with all older cars, you may find that your Datsun harness has deteriorated through the years. Chasing a short or a continuity issue in 40+ year old wiring is often a chore, On several of our classic Datsun restorations, we've had great luck replacing the entire harness with an updated version from EZ Wiring. This also allows you to use relays where needed, lessening the demand on ancient switches and contacts, and ensuring adequate current to all electrical accessories. Plus, the modern mini-blade fuses are far easier to replace than the old glass fuses! If you're looking for factory service manuals and wiring diagrams for Nissan 200SX models built after 1982, we can help! If you have questions about your classic Datsun, pop in on the Datsun Forum and chat with the friendly Datsun experts!

[post_title] => Datsun 200SX Wiring Diagrams [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-200sx-wiring-diagrams [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-12-28 23:48:11 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-12-29 06:48:11 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=14678 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [60] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14691 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-12-25 21:21:40 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-12-26 04:21:40 [post_content] => Here you will find scans of the original wiring diagram for the 1971, 1972, and 1973 Datsun 1200. 1971 Datsun 1200 Wiring Diagram 1972 Datsun 1200 Wiring Diagram 1973 Datsun 1200 Wiring Diagram The Datsun 1200 B110 was the second generation of a car referred to as the Sunny in overseas markets. In the US and several other markets, it was Nissan's answer to the Toyota Corolla, an automotive rivalry that continues to this day. Later, the 1200 would become the Sentra. When it was introduced, the 1200 was the lowest priced car in the United States, costing only $1866. The 1200 was also the most fuel-efficient vehicle in the US at the time, and while economical, the sturdy and attractive 1200 found favor with road racers, rally drivers, and even drag racers. Today, a clean, unmolested 1200 is a rare find, and values are increasing steadily. Here's a great picture of Dale's pristine 1972 1200:

If you have questions about your classic Datsun, pop in on the Datsun Forum and chat with the friendly Datsun experts!
[post_title] => Datsun 1200 Wiring Diagrams [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-1200-wiring-diagrams [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-12-25 21:51:00 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-12-26 04:51:00 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=14691 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [61] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14695 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-12-25 22:16:32 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-12-26 05:16:32 [post_content] => Here you will find scans of the original wiring diagrams for the Datsun B210 from 1974 to 1980 and Datsun 210 for 1981 and 1982. 1974 Datsun B210 Wiring Diagram 1975 Datsun B210 Wiring Diagram 1976 Datsun B210 Wiring Diagram 1977 Datsun B210 Wiring Diagram 1978 Datsun B210 Wiring Diagram 1979 Datsun B210 Wiring Diagram 1980 Datsun B210 Wiring Diagram 1981 Datsun 210 Wiring Diagram 1982 Datsun 210 Wiring Diagram The Datsun B210 and B310 were the third and fourth generation of a car referred to as the 120Y and the Sunny in overseas markets. In the US and several other markets, it was Nissan's answer to the Toyota Corolla, an automotive rivalry that continues to this day. immediately thereafter, it would become the Sentra. The B210 series was extremely popular, not only for its fuel efficiency during the gas crisis of the 1970s, but also because of its versatility. In fact, no less than SIX different configurations were available: A four-door sedan, two-door sedan, two-door hatchback, three-door wagon, five-door wagon, and a two-door van. (NOTE: When we tell someone that we restore and collect old Datsuns, it's almost inevitable that the response will be, "I used to own a Datsun B210, it was my first car!") If you have questions about your classic Datsun, pop in on the Datsun Forum and chat with the friendly Datsun experts!

[post_title] => Datsun 210 / B210 Wiring Diagrams [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-210-b210-wiring-diagrams [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-12-25 22:42:50 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-12-26 05:42:50 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=14695 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [62] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14701 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-12-26 20:47:35 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-12-27 03:47:35 [post_content] => Here you will find scans of the original wiring diagrams for the Datsun 240Z, 260Z, 280Z and 280ZX from 1970 to 1982. 1970 Datsun 240Z Wiring Diagram 1971 Datsun 240Z Wiring Diagram 1972 Datsun 240Z Wiring Diagram 1973 Datsun 240Z Wiring Diagram ____________________________________________________________________ 1974 Datsun 260Z Wiring Diagram ____________________________________________________________________ 1975 Datsun 280Z Wiring Diagram 1976 Datsun 280Z Wiring Diagram 1977 Datsun 280Z Wiring Diagram 1978 Datsun 280Z Wiring Diagram 1979 Datsun 280Z Wiring Diagram ____________________________________________________________________ 1980 Datsun 280ZX Wiring Diagram 1981 Datsun 280ZX Wiring Diagram 1982 Datsun 280ZX Wiring Diagram ____________________________________________________________________ What more needs to be said about the S30 and S130 Z cars? Legends in their own right, early Datsun Z examples are regularly showing up in venues previously unheard of, such as the Barrett-Jackson auction and the Classic Motorsports Mitty. If you have questions about your classic Datsun, pop in on the Datsun Forum and chat with the friendly Datsun experts! Here's one of the most famous early Z-cars of all time, the personal Z of Mr. Yutaka Katayama, now lovingly cared for by his longtime personal assistant, Ms. Johnnie Golden. "Love cars, love people, love life!"

[post_title] => Datsun 240Z / 260Z / 280Z / 280ZX Wiring Diagrams [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-240z-260z-280z-280zx-wiring-diagrams [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-12-26 21:11:44 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-12-27 04:11:44 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=14701 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [63] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14705 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-12-26 21:21:15 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-12-27 04:21:15 [post_content] => Here you will find scans of the original wiring diagrams for the Datsun 310 from 1979 to 1982. 1979 Datsun 310 Wiring Diagram 1980 Datsun 310 Wiring Diagram 1981 Datsun 310 Wiring Diagram 1982 Datsun 310 Wiring Diagram The first-generation Datsun 310 (Pulsar and Cherry in non-US markets) was an economical and versatile sibling to the Sunny, and was available in several configurations: A three- or five-door hatchback, a four-door sedan, a two or four-door van or station wagon, a two-door fastback with wraparound rear window, and a four-door fastback (for a short time). The Datsun 310 has remained relatively obscure among collectors and restorers, but the cars maintain a small but loyal cult-like following - with many still seeing daily-driver duty. If you have questions about your classic Datsun, pop in on the Datsun Forum and chat with the friendly Datsun experts!

[post_title] => Datsun 310 / Pulsar Wiring Diagrams [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-310-pulsar-wiring-diagrams [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-12-26 21:59:51 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-12-27 04:59:51 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=14705 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [64] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14710 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-12-26 22:44:29 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-12-27 05:44:29 [post_content] => Here you will find scans of the original wiring diagrams for Datsun pickups from 1963 to 1982. Datsun L320 and NL320 Wiring Diagram Datsun 520 Pickup Wiring Diagram Datsun 521 Pickup Wiring Diagram Datsun 521 Pickup Wiring Diagram (later) 1972 Datsun 620 Pickup Wiring Diagram 1973 Datsun 620 Pickup Wiring Diagram 1974 Datsun 620 Pickup Wiring Diagram 1975 Datsun 620 Pickup Wiring Diagram 1976 Datsun 620 Pickup Wiring Diagram 1977 Datsun 620 Pickup Wiring Diagram 1978 Datsun 620 Pickup Wiring Diagram 1979 Datsun 620 Pickup Wiring Diagram 1980 Datsun 720 Pickup Wiring Diagram 1981 Datsun 720 Pickup Wiring Diagram 1982 Datsun 720 Pickup Wiring Diagram Since this wiring diagram list is a little long, we'll spare you guys the interesting factoids and pictures of Datsun pickups... However, if you have questions about your classic Datsun hauler, or just want to show off your pickup, pop in on the Datsun Pickup Forums and chat with the friendly Datsun experts!
[post_title] => Datsun Pickup Wiring Diagrams for 320 / 520 / 521 / 620 / 720 [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-pickup-wiring-diagrams-for-320-520-521-620-720 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-12-26 23:37:06 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-12-27 06:37:06 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=14710 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [65] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14713 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-12-27 22:03:04 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-12-28 05:03:04 [post_content] => Here you will find scans of the original wiring diagrams for the Datsun 410 and 411 sedan and wagon. Datsun 410 Wiring Diagram Datsun 411 Wiring Diagram The Datsun 410 and 411 sedans and wagons, penned in European style by famed design house Pininfarina, laid the groundwork for the Datsun 510. Versatile, durable and well-designed, the 410 and 411 "Bluebird" cars saw duty in a variety of venues, from off-road rallies to cross-country vacation haulers, to local commuter use. Very few clean examples remain today, and values on these desirable classics have increased substantially of late. The SSS model, utilizing the 1.6-liter engine found in the Fairlady Roadster, is the most sought-after model. NICOclub completed a restoration of a 1967 Datsun WRL411 SSS Wagon a few years back, and featured the rescue and revival of another pristine Datsun 411 wagon earlier this year. If you have questions about your classic Datsun, pop in on the Datsun Forum and chat with the friendly Datsun experts!

[post_title] => Datsun 410 / 411 Wiring Diagrams [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-410-411-wiring-diagrams [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/1967-datsun-wrl411-1.html [post_modified] => 2012-12-27 22:22:53 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-12-28 05:22:53 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=14713 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [66] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14717 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-12-27 23:05:24 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-12-28 06:05:24 [post_content] => Here you will find scans of the original wiring diagrams for Datsun 510 from 1968 to 1981. 1968 - 1970 Datsun 510 Wiring Diagram 1971 Datsun 510 Wiring Diagram 1971 Datsun 510 Wagon Wiring Diagram 1972 Datsun 510 Wiring Diagram 1972 Datsun 510 Wagon Wiring Diagram 1973 Datsun 510 Wiring Diagram 1978 Datsun 510 Wiring Diagram 1979 Datsun 510 Wiring Diagram 1980 Datsun 510 Wiring Diagram 1981 Datsun 510 Wiring Diagram As with all older cars, you may find that your Datsun harness has deteriorated through the years. Chasing a short or a continuity issue in 40+ year old wiring is often a chore, On several of our classic Datsun restorations, we've had great luck replacing the entire harness with an updated version from EZ Wiring. This also allows you to use relays where needed, lessening the demand on ancient switches and contacts, and ensuring adequate current to all electrical accessories. Plus, the modern mini-blade fuses are far easier to replace than the old glass fuses! Also, here's a list of technical articles related to classic Datsuns that you might enjoy! If you have questions about your classic Datsun, pop in on the Datsun Forum and chat with the friendly Datsun experts!

[post_title] => Datsun 510 Wiring Diagrams [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-510-wiring-diagrams [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.nicoclub.com/datsun-technical-articles [post_modified] => 2012-12-27 23:35:04 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-12-28 06:35:04 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=14717 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [67] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14721 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-12-27 23:43:34 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-12-28 06:43:34 [post_content] => Here you will find scans of the original wiring diagrams for Datsun 610 from 1973 to 1976. 1973 Datsun 610 Wiring Diagram 1974 Datsun 610 Wiring Diagram 1975 Datsun 610 Wiring Diagram 1976 Datsun 610 Wiring Diagram If you have questions about your classic Datsun, pop in on the Datsun Forum and chat with the friendly Datsun experts!

[post_title] => Datsun 610 Wiring Diagrams [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-610-wiring-diagrams [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-12-28 00:07:03 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-12-28 07:07:03 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=14721 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [68] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14725 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-12-28 23:01:19 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-12-29 06:01:19 [post_content] => Here you will find scans of the original wiring diagrams for Datsun 710 from 1974 to 1977. 1974 Datsun 710 Wiring Diagram 1975 Datsun 710 Wiring Diagram 1976 Datsun 710 Wiring Diagram 1977 Datsun 710 Wiring Diagram The Datsun 710 was the predecessor to the Nissan Stanza, and was available in several markets in numerous configurations: a two-door saloon, two-door coupé, four-door fastback, four-door saloon, a wagon, and even a van. Less "flashy" and luxurious than the Datsun 610, but boasting many more creature comforts than the B210, the 710 found its way into countless American garages, especially the wagon model. While not highly sought-after by collectors, the 710 was utilitarian and durable, and many remain in use today. Got questions about your classic Datsun? Just want to show off your restoration? Pop in on the Datsun Forum and chat with other friendly Datsun enthusiasts!

[post_title] => Datsun 710 Wiring Diagrams [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-710-wiring-diagrams [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-12-28 23:20:47 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-12-29 06:20:47 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=14725 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [69] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14729 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-12-28 23:18:48 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-12-29 06:18:48 [post_content] => Here you will find scans of the original wiring diagrams for the Datsun 810 from 1977 to 1981. 1977 Datsun 810 Wiring Diagram 1978 Datsun 810 Wiring Diagram 1979 Datsun 810 Wiring Diagram 1980 Datsun 810 Wiring Diagram 1981 Datsun 810 Wiring Diagram THe Datsun 810 was a slightly larger, more luxurious, and more powerful version of Datsun's venerated Bluebird. With the smooth six-cylinder L-series engine from the 240Z, the 810 was a direct competitor for Toyota's Cressida. In 1981, the 810 morphed into its own lineup, and the resultant Maxima bears the distinction of still being manufactured today. Got questions about your classic Datsun? Just want to show off your restoration? Pop in on the Datsun Forum and chat with other friendly Datsun enthusiasts!

[post_title] => Datsun 810 Wiring Diagrams [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-810-wiring-diagrams [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-12-28 23:31:30 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-12-29 06:31:30 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=14729 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [70] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14733 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2011-12-28 23:31:58 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-12-29 06:31:58 [post_content] => Here you will find scans of the original wiring diagrams for the Datsun F10 from 1976 to 1978. 1976 Datsun F10 Wiring Diagram 1977 Datsun F10 Wiring Diagram 1978 Datsun F10 Wiring Diagram The Datsun F10 was a much stronger-selling car in foreign markets, badged as the Nissan Cherry. The F10 is important in the Datsun historical sense, in that it was Nissan's first front-wheel-drive model to be sold in the US. The F10 was available in the US as a coupe or a wagon, and with any of three different Nissan A-series 4-cylinder engines, including the 988cc A10, the 1,171cc A12, and the 1,397cc A14. Another notable fact about the F10? It was available with a semi-automatic transmission called the "Sportmatic", which used a torque converter rather than a clutch. Widely regarded as unattractive, the F10 has a small cult following in the US Datsun enthusiast market, although the little groundbreaking front-drivers are rarely seen. Got questions about your classic Datsun? Just want to show off your restoration? Pop in on the Datsun Forum and chat with other friendly Datsun enthusiasts!

[post_title] => Datsun F10 Wiring Diagrams [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => datsun-f10-wiring-diagrams [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2012-12-28 23:45:54 [post_modified_gmt] => 2012-12-29 06:45:54 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.nicoclub.com/?p=14733 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [71] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 15090 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2012-02-22 21:01:38 [post_date_gmt] => 2012-02-23 04:01:38 [post_content] =>

Datsun Print Advertisements

Prior to the advent of the Internet, advertising in magazines and newspapers was the most cost-effective way for auto manufacturers to tempt the public with new offerings and upcoming product releases. Datsun took full advantage of these opportunities, with a rich and colorful history of print ads. We've collected some of the best (and some really obscure ones) for your viewing pleasure. If you have scans or images of additional print ads featuring Datsun products that you'd like to see added to the collection, send us an email at [email protected]! Thumbnails are clickable for larger versions - Enjoy!

Datsun 100A and 120A

Datsun 120Y and 140Y

Datsun 160B and 160J and 180B

Datsun 200B and 200L

Datsun 200SX

Datsun 210

Datsun 240C and 260C and 280C

Datsun 240K

Datsun 300GL

Datsun 610

Datsun 710

Datsun 810

Datsun 1000

Datsun 1200

Datsun 1400 and 2000 and 2400

Datsun B210

Datsun Bluebird

Datsun Cedric

Datsun Cherry

Datsun ESV

Datsun F10 and F11

Datsun Laurel

Datsun Silvia

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DAY 3

After work, Greg and Jason headed out to CA to pick up the car. Greg had called the manager of the station that morning and he assured him that the car was fine and he wasn’t gonna have it towed. Later that evening, she was finally home with her new family, safe and sound, at NICO headquarters.

Here’s her status: She’s a fairly rare Datsun, considering there weren’t many 68’s. She’s easily got the straightest body on any 510 we’ve ever seen… probably straighter and better aligned than she was when she was built. Her perfect body is coated in PPG Satin Black (not primer), and she’s wearing another piece of automotive history:

Carroll Shelby produced an 8-spoke alloy wheel for Saab in the mid 1980s. They were available in gold (Goldvane), hammered silver (Silvervane) finish, and a black hammered finish. These wheels were available only through Saab dealers and could be fitted to Saab 99 and Saab 900 models manufactured through 1987. They are a sought after accessory for Saab enthusiasts today. Somehow, somewhere along the way, she wound up wearing a set. Get this: They’re a 4 x 114.52 mm bolt pattern, or 0.22mm (or 8 one-thousandths of an inch) off from the Datsun fitment, so they fit fine.

Her interior is nicely restored… not completely original, but close – She’ll get some minor refreshing, some reassembly, and the interior will be complete.

Her wiring harness is beyond repair. It looks like someone unwrapped it, threw it in a blender, and tossed it back under the hood and dash – How it got that bad is beyond comprehension, but it gives us a chance to do two things: To learn all about rewiring a Datsun (something Greg and I have always avoided), AND to show you guys how it’s done!

And, of course, the tired L16 won’t be sticking around – The L20b that’s being built will have a little “extra” done to it, and it’ll be a nice healthy powerplant to zip around the Valley… The engine bay will get refurbished before that sexy motor shows up, so it’ll be “good-bye” to all of this:

Greg and I have decided that she will be the last addition to our family for a long time. We have a year’s worth of projects in the garage to keep us busy. We want to get all of them running and restored so we can drive them to the car shows and share them with everyone. Hopefully we can organize a meet out here soon so everyone can come see the collection.

For the record, here’s the fleet (by year):

1- 1963 NL320
2- 1967 WRL411
3- 1967.5 Roadster
4- 1968 510
5- 1972 240Z
6- 1993 240sx
7- 2003 G35
8- 2005 Nissan Frontier
9- 2009 Cube

Hope you enjoyed the story, and I hope you guys will all consider taking a crack at rescuing and restoring an old Datsun – Their value can only go up, and they’re getting harder and harder to come by. Good luck, and thanks for coming along for the ride!

By the way, if you want to follow along with the restoration of this 1968 Datsun 510, here’s the article series!

Restoring a 1968 Datsun 510

– Bex

Becky (nissangirl74) is the Business Manager for NICOclub and an avid Datsun fanatic.

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