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200 HP Naturally Aspirated KA24DE – In Pursuit of a Unicorn

by 

"naturally-aspirated-200-wheel-horse-power-dohc-240sx"
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                    [post_content] => 202WHP

The minute you mention a "200 wheel horsepower (whp) naturally-aspirated KA" to the uninitiated, the responses usually go like this:  
"Just 200?" 
"Engines have been making more power than that for years now!"  
"Why naturally aspirated?"  
"Why's it so damn expensive?"  
"Dude - turbo it!"
"Why didn't you just swap in an SR!"  
"My KA makes 200whp with an intake and a 3" exhaust!"

Blah blah, etc and so on. Bench racers (and guys whose only knowledge of import engine performance consists of a subscription to SuperStreet) will whip up some "ricer math" and point out that the KA had 140hp, so an intake, exhaust, some octane boost, red plug wires and a few stickers SURELY must make it a 200hp car.

Those of you 'in the know' will realize that a 200whp N/A KA is something of a unicorn - a mythical goal that has been, for the most part, elusive... all the way back to the days of the SOHC KA of the late 80's/early 90's.  

This is the story of one guy's pursuit of that unicorn. His goal (whether he realized it at the time or not) was to break 200whp with a naturally aspirated KA24DE, while keeping streetable and maintaining the ability to run and drive on nothing but pump gas.  

When Dave, (aka Ajax on NICOclub), bought his S13, it was all the way back in 1999... long before the drift scene exploded in the States and before any performance shops were into tuning the KA24DE.  Dave was basically pioneering his way towards the goals he wanted because the info that is available today simply didn't exist back then. This point was further proven when Dave took his S13 in to have his motor rebuilt. The shop that did the work didn't use the parts Dave wanted and did a very poor job, putting it lightly, forcing Dave to reconsider his options. 

But rather than give up, he decided to double down and put real meaning to the term "go for broke". There are a few ways to make power when you run out of bolt-on parts. You can dramatically increase the RPM of the motor, crank up the compression ratio, or you can increase the displacement. Sometimes you can get away with doing all three. Dave decided on having the block over-bored and installing a Brian Crower stroker kit. This process changed the KA from a 2.4 liter, 9.5:1 compression motor, into a 2.65 liter motor with a compression ratio of 10.5:1. There is a Fisher Damper in place of the stock damper so the motor doesn't rattle itself apart. Dave could have increased the compression ratio even further, but he might not have been able to run pump gas without having detonation problems, leaving the S13 totally unstreetable and temperamental. 

Increasing the cubes and compression of the motor still wasn't enough to reach his goals though. Turns out Dave was going to have to modify or replace everything involved with getting air into and out of the motor. The factory intake manifold was removed in favor of one made by Excessive. The throttle body was removed and a 90mm Q45 throttle body now lives in it's place. The factory cams needed to go away, since they're not able to breath/exhale nearly enough air for a stroker motor. They were replaced by Brian Crower Stage III cams. Dave had the factory head ported by AMS so he could better utilize all of this newly acquired airflow. The engine management itself is all handled by the AEM EMS, currently thought of as the best management system available. 

Impressed yet? No? I purposely left out the exhaust system. It's here that Dave truly stepped away from the pack. Unhappy with the current header he was using, an off-the-shelf OBX unit, he went on the long and arduous quest of designing his own custom equal-length header. When I found out he designed his own equal length manifold, I was floored, considering that I had my hands full welding together a simple log manifold. True equal-length headers are no joke. Dave decided to pay Burns Stainless for their proprietary program and recommendations for an initial assist, as he had no experience with flow dynamics. Think that's easy? It ain't. Knowing that he wasn't going to be able to do the fabrication himself, he contacted a company called Stainless Headers Manufacturing and they provided Dave with a kit that he could use to mock up his own header. So that's exactly what he did. Using the software from Burns Stainless and the kit from Stainless Headers, he set about constructing his own header, in his apartment, with basic tools and a boatload of trial and error. 

The process of creating your own equal length manifold is quite involved, especially if you're not doing any of the welding. In this case it involves making a mock up manifold out of PVC and specialized elbow joints in order to connect everything together. With a 4 cylinder motor there are 2 basic types of header. The 4-1, which merges all 4 exhaust runners into one collector and the 4-2-1 which merges the runners 1-3 together and 2-4 together, before they merge into one single collector. Dave initially wanted to go with a 4-1, but he was space limited and settled for a 4-2-1. Here are a few images that show the parts and the process involved. You can see the Stainless Headers Mfg flange and adjustable fittings for runner mock up.

exhaust012 exhaust017

You combine the flange and adapters with pieces of PVC that you measure and cut yourself. 

exhaust088 exhaust138 exhaust027 exhaust029

After completely rebuilding and redesigning the entire header 3 different times, he was able to come up with this. What a work of art!

exhaust002-1 exhaust151

Before the custom header, Dave's KA maxed dyno'ed at 176 HP and 165 ft lbs of torque with all of the other mods - an impressive feat, which made for a VERY fun-to-drive S13.  After the custom header install he was able to make 202 HP and 176 ft lbs of torque. That's a 26 HP gain! That may not seem like a lot, but it's a ton when all you did was replace a cheap Chinese header with a properly-engineered header. 

So, Dave achieved his goal. He got his unicorn, but no cover story in Import Tuner magazine.  No parade, no TV show, no sponsorship. He spent a load of money and time in the process.  Also, at the time of this writing, the car has never really been at 100% for long. It's been plagued by tuning issues, and he's considered selling it several times. 

So yes, he was able to break a barrier with the KA, but at great personal cost. It's my opinion that a simple used T25 setup, a sidemount intercooler and a fuel management unit or hand-me-down standalone ECU would achieve the same results, or better, for a mere fraction of the cost... not to mention your ability to continually upgrade when you decide forced induction is the way to go.

It is.

Written by WDRacing, NICOclub's KA-T Moderator
Special thanks to Dave (Ajax) for sharing his unicorn hunt with NICOclub

You can read more (and discuss / ask questions) about Dave's unicorn here: 200whp N/A KA24DE on pump gas



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                    [post_excerpt] => 240SX guys know that a 200whp N/A KA24DE is something of a unicorn - a mythical goal that has been, for the most part, elusive... all the way back to the days of the SOHC KA.
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The minute you mention a "200 wheel horsepower (whp) naturally-aspirated KA" to the uninitiated, the responses usually go like this:  
"Just 200?" 
"Engines have been making more power than that for years now!"  
"Why naturally aspirated?"  
"Why's it so damn expensive?"  
"Dude - turbo it!"
"Why didn't you just swap in an SR!"  
"My KA makes 200whp with an intake and a 3" exhaust!"

Blah blah, etc and so on. Bench racers (and guys whose only knowledge of import engine performance consists of a subscription to SuperStreet) will whip up some "ricer math" and point out that the KA had 140hp, so an intake, exhaust, some octane boost, red plug wires and a few stickers SURELY must make it a 200hp car.

Those of you 'in the know' will realize that a 200whp N/A KA is something of a unicorn - a mythical goal that has been, for the most part, elusive... all the way back to the days of the SOHC KA of the late 80's/early 90's.  

This is the story of one guy's pursuit of that unicorn. His goal (whether he realized it at the time or not) was to break 200whp with a naturally aspirated KA24DE, while keeping streetable and maintaining the ability to run and drive on nothing but pump gas.  

When Dave, (aka Ajax on NICOclub), bought his S13, it was all the way back in 1999... long before the drift scene exploded in the States and before any performance shops were into tuning the KA24DE.  Dave was basically pioneering his way towards the goals he wanted because the info that is available today simply didn't exist back then. This point was further proven when Dave took his S13 in to have his motor rebuilt. The shop that did the work didn't use the parts Dave wanted and did a very poor job, putting it lightly, forcing Dave to reconsider his options. 

But rather than give up, he decided to double down and put real meaning to the term "go for broke". There are a few ways to make power when you run out of bolt-on parts. You can dramatically increase the RPM of the motor, crank up the compression ratio, or you can increase the displacement. Sometimes you can get away with doing all three. Dave decided on having the block over-bored and installing a Brian Crower stroker kit. This process changed the KA from a 2.4 liter, 9.5:1 compression motor, into a 2.65 liter motor with a compression ratio of 10.5:1. There is a Fisher Damper in place of the stock damper so the motor doesn't rattle itself apart. Dave could have increased the compression ratio even further, but he might not have been able to run pump gas without having detonation problems, leaving the S13 totally unstreetable and temperamental. 

Increasing the cubes and compression of the motor still wasn't enough to reach his goals though. Turns out Dave was going to have to modify or replace everything involved with getting air into and out of the motor. The factory intake manifold was removed in favor of one made by Excessive. The throttle body was removed and a 90mm Q45 throttle body now lives in it's place. The factory cams needed to go away, since they're not able to breath/exhale nearly enough air for a stroker motor. They were replaced by Brian Crower Stage III cams. Dave had the factory head ported by AMS so he could better utilize all of this newly acquired airflow. The engine management itself is all handled by the AEM EMS, currently thought of as the best management system available. 

Impressed yet? No? I purposely left out the exhaust system. It's here that Dave truly stepped away from the pack. Unhappy with the current header he was using, an off-the-shelf OBX unit, he went on the long and arduous quest of designing his own custom equal-length header. When I found out he designed his own equal length manifold, I was floored, considering that I had my hands full welding together a simple log manifold. True equal-length headers are no joke. Dave decided to pay Burns Stainless for their proprietary program and recommendations for an initial assist, as he had no experience with flow dynamics. Think that's easy? It ain't. Knowing that he wasn't going to be able to do the fabrication himself, he contacted a company called Stainless Headers Manufacturing and they provided Dave with a kit that he could use to mock up his own header. So that's exactly what he did. Using the software from Burns Stainless and the kit from Stainless Headers, he set about constructing his own header, in his apartment, with basic tools and a boatload of trial and error. 

The process of creating your own equal length manifold is quite involved, especially if you're not doing any of the welding. In this case it involves making a mock up manifold out of PVC and specialized elbow joints in order to connect everything together. With a 4 cylinder motor there are 2 basic types of header. The 4-1, which merges all 4 exhaust runners into one collector and the 4-2-1 which merges the runners 1-3 together and 2-4 together, before they merge into one single collector. Dave initially wanted to go with a 4-1, but he was space limited and settled for a 4-2-1. Here are a few images that show the parts and the process involved. You can see the Stainless Headers Mfg flange and adjustable fittings for runner mock up.

exhaust012 exhaust017

You combine the flange and adapters with pieces of PVC that you measure and cut yourself. 

exhaust088 exhaust138 exhaust027 exhaust029

After completely rebuilding and redesigning the entire header 3 different times, he was able to come up with this. What a work of art!

exhaust002-1 exhaust151

Before the custom header, Dave's KA maxed dyno'ed at 176 HP and 165 ft lbs of torque with all of the other mods - an impressive feat, which made for a VERY fun-to-drive S13.  After the custom header install he was able to make 202 HP and 176 ft lbs of torque. That's a 26 HP gain! That may not seem like a lot, but it's a ton when all you did was replace a cheap Chinese header with a properly-engineered header. 

So, Dave achieved his goal. He got his unicorn, but no cover story in Import Tuner magazine.  No parade, no TV show, no sponsorship. He spent a load of money and time in the process.  Also, at the time of this writing, the car has never really been at 100% for long. It's been plagued by tuning issues, and he's considered selling it several times. 

So yes, he was able to break a barrier with the KA, but at great personal cost. It's my opinion that a simple used T25 setup, a sidemount intercooler and a fuel management unit or hand-me-down standalone ECU would achieve the same results, or better, for a mere fraction of the cost... not to mention your ability to continually upgrade when you decide forced induction is the way to go.

It is.

Written by WDRacing, NICOclub's KA-T Moderator
Special thanks to Dave (Ajax) for sharing his unicorn hunt with NICOclub

You can read more (and discuss / ask questions) about Dave's unicorn here: 200whp N/A KA24DE on pump gas



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            [post_excerpt] => 240SX guys know that a 200whp N/A KA24DE is something of a unicorn - a mythical goal that has been, for the most part, elusive... all the way back to the days of the SOHC KA.
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"

240SX guys know that a 200whp N/A KA24DE is something of a unicorn – a mythical goal that has been, for the most part, elusive… all the way back to the days of the SOHC KA.

A Car Guy’s DIY for Easy Hydroponics

by 

"easy-hydroponics"
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                    [post_date] => 2014-06-19 09:52:29
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                    [post_content] => I wanted to put together a quick article on hydroponics to show and explain how easy it is to grow just about anything in a bucket of water. There isn't a bunch of science involved and there is very little daily maintenance required depending on the type of system you decide to go with. Since we're going with the "easy" method I'm only going to talk about bubble buckets. There are several other methods but they are a bit more involved and could possibly dissuade you from attempting this. My objective is to get everyone into growing. But why hydroponics when a pot and soil will work just fine? Check out this image.
20150619_081019
Those are tomato plants. The one on the right is the "mother" of the one on the left. What? Mother? What does that even mean? It means that when the plant on the right was about 1.5 months old I took a clipping from it and made a clone. A clone will be exactly the same as the mother plant. The thing I really want you to notice is the size comparison and the overall health of the plants. The cloned plant on the left is almost as big as the mother plant that is a full 1.5 months older. 1.5 months of growing time in a plants life is a ton. Clearly growing things in water yields faster growth and very healthy plants.

Yeah but what's a clone? That has to be the hard part right? Nope. Don't let the word clone scare you. Just find a branch that has a couple of smaller branches already growing on it and cut it as close to the main stem as possible then stick it in a glass of water. Here are some clippings that I took a couple weeks ago. They only took about 7 days to root. I haven't placed them into a bucket just yet so they're just chilling out in some tap water.
20150619_092311
20150619_085441
20150619_092357
When you clone a plant you don't need to have it in direct sunlight. In fact you don't want too much sun. The plant needs to concentrate all of it's energy on making new roots, not growing as it normally would. Those clones above have been sitting on my kitchen table which gets no direct sun at all. All I do is dump out the water and refill it with fresh tap water every other day or so. This just helps me avoid algae from growing inside the glass. The plant doesn't care as long as it has water. Cloning allows you to grow an infinite amount of plants from one successful seed. If you decide to grow indoors as well as outdoors, like I do, you can have fresh vegetables year round.

When using the bubble bucket system you only need 6 things; a 5 gallon bucket, a net pot, growing media to fill the net pot with, an air pump, a bubble stone and some vinyl tubing to connect the air pump to the bubble stone. I bought all of this at Walmart except for the net pots, I ordered those online from Amazon. They have them at Home Depot and probably your local nursery if you don't want to order them. You can use 3" or 6" net pots. I prefer the 6" ones myself as I find they are less prone to tipping over when growing larger plants like tomatoes.
20150619_103018
20150619_103102
20150619_081317
20150620_062410
The pump I went with is Tetra Whisper and costs $21.82. It's rated at 30-60 gallons and has rubber "feet" on the bottom that make it very quiet when operating. It's a double output pump so you can use it to supply air to two separate buckets. There are cheaper options available that have the same output rating. Aqua Culture makes a double output pump that only costs $10.87. The airstone in the picture above was only $2.77 and the vinyl tubing is only $3.12 for 25 feet. The Tetra Whisper pump comes with two "T" fittings and a shutoff valve. Since I only have the one bucket I used a "T" fitting to connect both outputs to a single line. The growing media is just something to fill the net pot with so the plant will stand up straight. It can be almost anything as long as it doesn't fall through the holes in the net pot and it's not water soluble. The stuff in the image above is just pea gravel from my driveway. You can use clay pellets, marbles or anything really. The plant doesn't care as long as it has something to support it.

Ok so what's the process for all this? The hardest part is going to be cutting a hole into the lid of the bucket. I turned the net pot upside down and traced out a circle in the middle of the lid. Then I poked a starter hole on the inside of the circle just big enough to allow the blade from my jigsaw to fit in. Then I went about cutting a circle. You have to make the hole slightly smaller than the one you traced or the net pot will just fall right through. I have never done anything other than eyeball it and haven't had any issues yet. Start small if you're nervous and increase the size until the net pot fits securely in place. You can buy a new lid for about a buck if you mess it up.
20150620_065004
20150620_065030
20150620_065042
There is an alternative if you don't want to be cutting holes or don't have the proper stuff to cut with. You can just buy one of these.
20150619_081324
That's a full size net pot for a 5 gallon bucket which makes it plug and play, no cutting required. You will need to source more growing medium with a net pot that large though and the water evaporation rate will increase.

OK, so you have a 5 gallon bucket with a net pot stuck in it's lid. You'll have to make a small hole near the top of the bucket for the air tube to come through so you can connect it to the bubble stone. I made mine just below the rim about 2 inches down. I used a drill but you can use anything to make a hole that small, even scissors. Once the hole is made insert the air tube and connect it to the bubble stone. Connect the other end of the air tube to the air pump. Now fill the bucket with water. You're going to want the water level to be high enough to cover the bottom of the net pot. To make sure the water is high enough just place the lid and net pot on top of the bucket and make sure you can see about a half inch of water inside the net pot.   Some people get all sorts of anal and suggest using distilled water. I've only ever used tap water and I've had lots of success. You don't see farmers using distilled water do ya? Nope. No sense in complicating this. KISS (keep it simple stupid) principles should apply whenever possible.
20150619_103125
It's now time to add some nutrients to the water. There are a whole slew of options when it comes to fertilizer. I've used some specifically designed for hydroponics in the past. I'd say Fox Farms would be my go-to if I wanted to spend some coin and get the best. But this article is about easy and for me easy means not having to go online and buy fertilizer that is expensive. So I tried some all purpose made by Expert for this particular grow. I'm pretty sure I bought it at Walmart. Miracle Grow also makes a good all purpose fertilizer that is available everywhere. I probably should have used something designed for tomatoes but I wanted to see if regular all purpose fertilizer would work well. As you can see from the images it is working just fine. That doesn't mean other stuff won't work better mind you. I'm just saying that you don't have to go out and find some exotic fertilizer in order to have a good grow. How much fertilizer you add will depend on the amount of water in your bucket. There is a measurement on every box of fertilizer that suggests how much you should use per gallon of water. Most fertilizers I've used recommend 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water. This is where I usually start.
20150619_092411
20150619_092537
See where it says "for constant feeding"? That's the measurement we want to start with. So for our five gallon bucket you'll want 2.5 teaspoons of fertilizer. This will give the plants a nice mild dose of nutrients. Starting off slow is a good thing. If you crank up the ratio to much you can risk causing nutrient burn, especially when the plants are young. Once the plants get some good growth going and you can see a good amount of roots coming out of the net pot you can increase the ratio if you choose to. I just started using 1 teaspoon per gallon of water last week. But the plants were very developed already and there wasn't really a need for me to increase the dosage. I just like to experiment. If you notice the plant start to wilt or show weird markings on the leaves you can just dump the water out and start over with fresh tap water again. I have instruments that measure the parts per million of water as well as the PH level. So if I want to I can really control the nutrient solution. This would allow me to crank up the nutrients if I wanted very fast growth with huge blooms. But there isn't any real need for that stuff. Just follow the directions on the box for a mild solution and you can use that measurement from start to finish with great results just like you see in the first image.

Alright, now you have the bucket filled with nutrients, the pump is connected to the air stone and the water is "boiling" with bubbles. All that's left is to place the rooted plant into the net pot and surround it with whatever growing medium you chose. You do this by placing the plant into the center of the net pot and slowly filling it with the medium, in my case it's just pea gravel. I suggest having the net pot sitting on a table or something for this part not sitting in the bucket. I only have before and after images...sorry bout that.
20150619_114046
20150619_105457
After about a week you'll be able to lift up the lid and see roots protruding from the net pot and down into the water. It's good to remove the lid every few days to check the level of the water. As the plant grows it will start drinking more and more water so you will need to check the level every few days. I use a separate 5 gallon bucket and mix 5 gallons of nutrients at a time. This allows me to make sure I keep a consistent fertilizer solution on hand and avoid any guess work.

As you're checking the water level make sure to inspect the inside of the bucket for algae growth. You don't want algae to start building up as it will mess with the PH of the water, eat your fertilizer and eventually cause your plant to become sick. If you notice some algae don't freak out. Just pick up the lid, plant and all, and place the lid onto another bucket. The other bucket doesn't even have to have water in it. The plant is just going to chill out while you clean it's usual home with soap and water. Then just refill it with fertilizer and water again. Easy really. Some people put algaecide in their water but I prefer not to do that. Too easy just to keep it cleaned.

This is what a set of healthy roots look like.20150619_103149
The tomato plant in this article has been outside on my deck for it's entire life. It has been out in the open and fully exposed to the sun and rain. There have been times when it rained so hard the water overflowed out of the top of the bucket. I purposely took very little care of this plant to see how well it would hold up. It sat in mostly water for a long time as the solution became very diluted with all of the rain. Yet as you can see it is still growing faster than its mother plant.

Growing plants in water is only as hard as you make it. Hopefully this persuades some of you guys to give it a try. It's fairly addicting once you start, and you can grow stuff like strawberries and whatnot all year round if you have some spare room inside your house or garage. I'll be doing another article on indoor growing soon where I'll talk about lighting and such. Until then I hope you guys enjoy whatever you're growing however you're growing it!
                    [post_title] => A Car Guy's DIY for Easy Hydroponics
                    [post_excerpt] => What's a car guy know about growing plants?  A lot, as it turns out.  Check out this DIY from our resident turbocharging expert - Turbo Tomatoes, anyone? 
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            [post_content] => I wanted to put together a quick article on hydroponics to show and explain how easy it is to grow just about anything in a bucket of water. There isn't a bunch of science involved and there is very little daily maintenance required depending on the type of system you decide to go with. Since we're going with the "easy" method I'm only going to talk about bubble buckets. There are several other methods but they are a bit more involved and could possibly dissuade you from attempting this. My objective is to get everyone into growing. But why hydroponics when a pot and soil will work just fine? Check out this image.
20150619_081019
Those are tomato plants. The one on the right is the "mother" of the one on the left. What? Mother? What does that even mean? It means that when the plant on the right was about 1.5 months old I took a clipping from it and made a clone. A clone will be exactly the same as the mother plant. The thing I really want you to notice is the size comparison and the overall health of the plants. The cloned plant on the left is almost as big as the mother plant that is a full 1.5 months older. 1.5 months of growing time in a plants life is a ton. Clearly growing things in water yields faster growth and very healthy plants.

Yeah but what's a clone? That has to be the hard part right? Nope. Don't let the word clone scare you. Just find a branch that has a couple of smaller branches already growing on it and cut it as close to the main stem as possible then stick it in a glass of water. Here are some clippings that I took a couple weeks ago. They only took about 7 days to root. I haven't placed them into a bucket just yet so they're just chilling out in some tap water.
20150619_092311
20150619_085441
20150619_092357
When you clone a plant you don't need to have it in direct sunlight. In fact you don't want too much sun. The plant needs to concentrate all of it's energy on making new roots, not growing as it normally would. Those clones above have been sitting on my kitchen table which gets no direct sun at all. All I do is dump out the water and refill it with fresh tap water every other day or so. This just helps me avoid algae from growing inside the glass. The plant doesn't care as long as it has water. Cloning allows you to grow an infinite amount of plants from one successful seed. If you decide to grow indoors as well as outdoors, like I do, you can have fresh vegetables year round.

When using the bubble bucket system you only need 6 things; a 5 gallon bucket, a net pot, growing media to fill the net pot with, an air pump, a bubble stone and some vinyl tubing to connect the air pump to the bubble stone. I bought all of this at Walmart except for the net pots, I ordered those online from Amazon. They have them at Home Depot and probably your local nursery if you don't want to order them. You can use 3" or 6" net pots. I prefer the 6" ones myself as I find they are less prone to tipping over when growing larger plants like tomatoes.
20150619_103018
20150619_103102
20150619_081317
20150620_062410
The pump I went with is Tetra Whisper and costs $21.82. It's rated at 30-60 gallons and has rubber "feet" on the bottom that make it very quiet when operating. It's a double output pump so you can use it to supply air to two separate buckets. There are cheaper options available that have the same output rating. Aqua Culture makes a double output pump that only costs $10.87. The airstone in the picture above was only $2.77 and the vinyl tubing is only $3.12 for 25 feet. The Tetra Whisper pump comes with two "T" fittings and a shutoff valve. Since I only have the one bucket I used a "T" fitting to connect both outputs to a single line. The growing media is just something to fill the net pot with so the plant will stand up straight. It can be almost anything as long as it doesn't fall through the holes in the net pot and it's not water soluble. The stuff in the image above is just pea gravel from my driveway. You can use clay pellets, marbles or anything really. The plant doesn't care as long as it has something to support it.

Ok so what's the process for all this? The hardest part is going to be cutting a hole into the lid of the bucket. I turned the net pot upside down and traced out a circle in the middle of the lid. Then I poked a starter hole on the inside of the circle just big enough to allow the blade from my jigsaw to fit in. Then I went about cutting a circle. You have to make the hole slightly smaller than the one you traced or the net pot will just fall right through. I have never done anything other than eyeball it and haven't had any issues yet. Start small if you're nervous and increase the size until the net pot fits securely in place. You can buy a new lid for about a buck if you mess it up.
20150620_065004
20150620_065030
20150620_065042
There is an alternative if you don't want to be cutting holes or don't have the proper stuff to cut with. You can just buy one of these.
20150619_081324
That's a full size net pot for a 5 gallon bucket which makes it plug and play, no cutting required. You will need to source more growing medium with a net pot that large though and the water evaporation rate will increase.

OK, so you have a 5 gallon bucket with a net pot stuck in it's lid. You'll have to make a small hole near the top of the bucket for the air tube to come through so you can connect it to the bubble stone. I made mine just below the rim about 2 inches down. I used a drill but you can use anything to make a hole that small, even scissors. Once the hole is made insert the air tube and connect it to the bubble stone. Connect the other end of the air tube to the air pump. Now fill the bucket with water. You're going to want the water level to be high enough to cover the bottom of the net pot. To make sure the water is high enough just place the lid and net pot on top of the bucket and make sure you can see about a half inch of water inside the net pot.   Some people get all sorts of anal and suggest using distilled water. I've only ever used tap water and I've had lots of success. You don't see farmers using distilled water do ya? Nope. No sense in complicating this. KISS (keep it simple stupid) principles should apply whenever possible.
20150619_103125
It's now time to add some nutrients to the water. There are a whole slew of options when it comes to fertilizer. I've used some specifically designed for hydroponics in the past. I'd say Fox Farms would be my go-to if I wanted to spend some coin and get the best. But this article is about easy and for me easy means not having to go online and buy fertilizer that is expensive. So I tried some all purpose made by Expert for this particular grow. I'm pretty sure I bought it at Walmart. Miracle Grow also makes a good all purpose fertilizer that is available everywhere. I probably should have used something designed for tomatoes but I wanted to see if regular all purpose fertilizer would work well. As you can see from the images it is working just fine. That doesn't mean other stuff won't work better mind you. I'm just saying that you don't have to go out and find some exotic fertilizer in order to have a good grow. How much fertilizer you add will depend on the amount of water in your bucket. There is a measurement on every box of fertilizer that suggests how much you should use per gallon of water. Most fertilizers I've used recommend 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water. This is where I usually start.
20150619_092411
20150619_092537
See where it says "for constant feeding"? That's the measurement we want to start with. So for our five gallon bucket you'll want 2.5 teaspoons of fertilizer. This will give the plants a nice mild dose of nutrients. Starting off slow is a good thing. If you crank up the ratio to much you can risk causing nutrient burn, especially when the plants are young. Once the plants get some good growth going and you can see a good amount of roots coming out of the net pot you can increase the ratio if you choose to. I just started using 1 teaspoon per gallon of water last week. But the plants were very developed already and there wasn't really a need for me to increase the dosage. I just like to experiment. If you notice the plant start to wilt or show weird markings on the leaves you can just dump the water out and start over with fresh tap water again. I have instruments that measure the parts per million of water as well as the PH level. So if I want to I can really control the nutrient solution. This would allow me to crank up the nutrients if I wanted very fast growth with huge blooms. But there isn't any real need for that stuff. Just follow the directions on the box for a mild solution and you can use that measurement from start to finish with great results just like you see in the first image.

Alright, now you have the bucket filled with nutrients, the pump is connected to the air stone and the water is "boiling" with bubbles. All that's left is to place the rooted plant into the net pot and surround it with whatever growing medium you chose. You do this by placing the plant into the center of the net pot and slowly filling it with the medium, in my case it's just pea gravel. I suggest having the net pot sitting on a table or something for this part not sitting in the bucket. I only have before and after images...sorry bout that.
20150619_114046
20150619_105457
After about a week you'll be able to lift up the lid and see roots protruding from the net pot and down into the water. It's good to remove the lid every few days to check the level of the water. As the plant grows it will start drinking more and more water so you will need to check the level every few days. I use a separate 5 gallon bucket and mix 5 gallons of nutrients at a time. This allows me to make sure I keep a consistent fertilizer solution on hand and avoid any guess work.

As you're checking the water level make sure to inspect the inside of the bucket for algae growth. You don't want algae to start building up as it will mess with the PH of the water, eat your fertilizer and eventually cause your plant to become sick. If you notice some algae don't freak out. Just pick up the lid, plant and all, and place the lid onto another bucket. The other bucket doesn't even have to have water in it. The plant is just going to chill out while you clean it's usual home with soap and water. Then just refill it with fertilizer and water again. Easy really. Some people put algaecide in their water but I prefer not to do that. Too easy just to keep it cleaned.

This is what a set of healthy roots look like.20150619_103149
The tomato plant in this article has been outside on my deck for it's entire life. It has been out in the open and fully exposed to the sun and rain. There have been times when it rained so hard the water overflowed out of the top of the bucket. I purposely took very little care of this plant to see how well it would hold up. It sat in mostly water for a long time as the solution became very diluted with all of the rain. Yet as you can see it is still growing faster than its mother plant.

Growing plants in water is only as hard as you make it. Hopefully this persuades some of you guys to give it a try. It's fairly addicting once you start, and you can grow stuff like strawberries and whatnot all year round if you have some spare room inside your house or garage. I'll be doing another article on indoor growing soon where I'll talk about lighting and such. Until then I hope you guys enjoy whatever you're growing however you're growing it!
            [post_title] => A Car Guy's DIY for Easy Hydroponics
            [post_excerpt] => What's a car guy know about growing plants?  A lot, as it turns out.  Check out this DIY from our resident turbocharging expert - Turbo Tomatoes, anyone? 
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What’s a car guy know about growing plants? A lot, as it turns out. Check out this DIY from our resident turbocharging expert – Turbo Tomatoes, anyone?

EMUSA Turbo Review

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                    [post_content] => EMUSA Turbo Review

Should you buy a knock-off brand turbo or not? Are they worth a couple hundred bucks? Are some better than others? All things we've asked ourselves while browsing eBay or anywhere on the internet for that matter. We were discussing these topics when a fellow NICO member, SirVemup popped in and mentioned he was about to buy one of these turbos and would be happy to document the process. Here is his experience with a popular company and a very popular-sized turbo.

This will be my second time using an Ebay turbo. My first turbo was a CXRacing unit purchased from their website. The CXRacing turbo lasted 1.5 years @8psi. It was installed on an 89 240sx KA24e SOHC and was not a daily driver. I beat the hell out of my car and the turbo. I even had that CXRacing turbo glowing red (literally) on several occasions. The car sees track time and hard street driving on a regular basis. The new turbo is an EMUSA unit that has the same specs and was purchased from SpeedyRacer online.





My decision to replace my old turbo with another Ebay turbo was financially motivated. With a price range from $100 to $200, Ebay turbos just seem like too good of a deal to pass up. And the fact that I did get 1.5 years out of my CXRacing turbo aided in that decision. I have never owned a high end turbo so I can't vouch for their performance or longevity when compared to an Ebay turbo.

Is EMUSA any good? Well at $150 shipped free from Speedyracer.com it seems like a good deal. Upon first inspection the new turbo was packaged very well and came with its own serial number.



The Speedyracer.com website claims that all their turbos have been high-speed balanced. So that was one of the first things I looked for. If you notice in the following pictures you can see where a part of the turbine was shaved off on both sides, and if you look closely on the compressor side you can see where the top of the lower bolt has been shaved.





This is supposed to be a sign of high-speed balancing. I also checked the axial and radial shaft play. I found no radial shaft play and very little axial shaft play. Nice and tight. A problem I had with my CXRacing turbo was that the turbine housing was cast rather poorly. If you notice in the picture below you can see signs on the T3 flange of the CXRacing turbo where the bolts actually rubbed against the turbine housing.



This made it impossible to tighten the bolts down flush to my T3 manifold without adding a bunch of washers. On the EMUSA turbo the casting was very well done and the bolts do not need any washers for the them to clear the turbine housing.



One issue that I had with the logistics from speedyracer.com was that I ordered the chrome turbo as shown on their website. This one obviously isn't chrome. Now at first I was a little confused, but I like the one I got better. And the one I originally wanted but the cost for the chrome one with the same specs cost $50 less. So no complaints on my part. Along with the new turbo Speedyracer also included oil feed and return line gaskets, T3 gasket, 5 bolt downpipe gasket, and 5 downpipe studs.

I prefer to do a pre-install on all new parts before actual installation. This keeps the install going smoothly. And this is when I noticed a couple problems with the EMUSA package. The first thing I noticed was that the downpipe studs that came with the EMUSA turbo were too long. In the picture below you can see that when the studs were fully threaded into the turbo that there were still threads showing.



Problem, yes, but nothing a little modification couldn’t handle. So I used a grinder and got the studs to the correct length. No threads showing.



If I had not done a pre-install I would have run into some trouble because the downpipe nuts would not have enough thread to secure the downpipe flange flush to the turbo. The second problem was that the EMUSA turbo did not have a pressure fitting installed to activate my external wastegate. Fearing that I had to drill and tap a new fitting into the new turbo housing, I did some research and found that it was ok to tap the pressure line into the intercooler pipe. So I tapped into the intercooler pipe closest to the turbo and installed the pressure fitting. And the final problem that I ran into was that my downpipe was touching the transmission. I thought the old and new turbo looked identical, so I was a little confused on why the DP was touching. I just ordered a new T3 .5” flange adaptor that would allow for the extra space to clear the transmission. Boom, fits and looks pretty nice.



After I completed the installation and did the first test run I was very happy with how fast and strong the EMUSA turbo spooled up, and I was happy that my BOV was working again. I was alarmed that on the first drive the turbo was whining like a jet fighter. I thought that it sounded like it was oil deprived, but I pre-lubed the new turbo, changed my oil, and cranked the engine over until oil was coming out the turbo oil return line before the first start, all standard procedures with a new turbo install. So I was pretty sure that I covered all corners of the installation. It's not that I am complaining because I love the way it sounds. With the new turbo screaming, my BOV hissing, and the wastegate chirping, my car sounds like a freakin beast again. Overall I am happy with the installation, packaging, and performance of the new turbo. Only time will tell if I become another member of the dreaded “BAD EBAY TURBO” club, or if I actually saved myself a couple hundred bucks from buying a high end turbo. I will do my first performance review at 1000 miles and post on how this EMUSA turbo is holding up.

Fast-forward... UPDATE:

Well it turns out the turbo only lasted one week. It started making more and more noise. Upon inspection the compressor wheel had tons of both axial and radial play. It was obvious that the turbo had suffered an internal failure. Most likely from using low quality bushings. I'll be sending the turbo back to SpeedyRacer for a refund. So it looks like buyer beware when it comes to eBay turbos.

What has been your experience with "cheap" turbochargers?  Join the discussion here!



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            [post_content] => EMUSA Turbo Review

Should you buy a knock-off brand turbo or not? Are they worth a couple hundred bucks? Are some better than others? All things we've asked ourselves while browsing eBay or anywhere on the internet for that matter. We were discussing these topics when a fellow NICO member, SirVemup popped in and mentioned he was about to buy one of these turbos and would be happy to document the process. Here is his experience with a popular company and a very popular-sized turbo.

This will be my second time using an Ebay turbo. My first turbo was a CXRacing unit purchased from their website. The CXRacing turbo lasted 1.5 years @8psi. It was installed on an 89 240sx KA24e SOHC and was not a daily driver. I beat the hell out of my car and the turbo. I even had that CXRacing turbo glowing red (literally) on several occasions. The car sees track time and hard street driving on a regular basis. The new turbo is an EMUSA unit that has the same specs and was purchased from SpeedyRacer online.





My decision to replace my old turbo with another Ebay turbo was financially motivated. With a price range from $100 to $200, Ebay turbos just seem like too good of a deal to pass up. And the fact that I did get 1.5 years out of my CXRacing turbo aided in that decision. I have never owned a high end turbo so I can't vouch for their performance or longevity when compared to an Ebay turbo.

Is EMUSA any good? Well at $150 shipped free from Speedyracer.com it seems like a good deal. Upon first inspection the new turbo was packaged very well and came with its own serial number.



The Speedyracer.com website claims that all their turbos have been high-speed balanced. So that was one of the first things I looked for. If you notice in the following pictures you can see where a part of the turbine was shaved off on both sides, and if you look closely on the compressor side you can see where the top of the lower bolt has been shaved.





This is supposed to be a sign of high-speed balancing. I also checked the axial and radial shaft play. I found no radial shaft play and very little axial shaft play. Nice and tight. A problem I had with my CXRacing turbo was that the turbine housing was cast rather poorly. If you notice in the picture below you can see signs on the T3 flange of the CXRacing turbo where the bolts actually rubbed against the turbine housing.



This made it impossible to tighten the bolts down flush to my T3 manifold without adding a bunch of washers. On the EMUSA turbo the casting was very well done and the bolts do not need any washers for the them to clear the turbine housing.



One issue that I had with the logistics from speedyracer.com was that I ordered the chrome turbo as shown on their website. This one obviously isn't chrome. Now at first I was a little confused, but I like the one I got better. And the one I originally wanted but the cost for the chrome one with the same specs cost $50 less. So no complaints on my part. Along with the new turbo Speedyracer also included oil feed and return line gaskets, T3 gasket, 5 bolt downpipe gasket, and 5 downpipe studs.

I prefer to do a pre-install on all new parts before actual installation. This keeps the install going smoothly. And this is when I noticed a couple problems with the EMUSA package. The first thing I noticed was that the downpipe studs that came with the EMUSA turbo were too long. In the picture below you can see that when the studs were fully threaded into the turbo that there were still threads showing.



Problem, yes, but nothing a little modification couldn’t handle. So I used a grinder and got the studs to the correct length. No threads showing.



If I had not done a pre-install I would have run into some trouble because the downpipe nuts would not have enough thread to secure the downpipe flange flush to the turbo. The second problem was that the EMUSA turbo did not have a pressure fitting installed to activate my external wastegate. Fearing that I had to drill and tap a new fitting into the new turbo housing, I did some research and found that it was ok to tap the pressure line into the intercooler pipe. So I tapped into the intercooler pipe closest to the turbo and installed the pressure fitting. And the final problem that I ran into was that my downpipe was touching the transmission. I thought the old and new turbo looked identical, so I was a little confused on why the DP was touching. I just ordered a new T3 .5” flange adaptor that would allow for the extra space to clear the transmission. Boom, fits and looks pretty nice.



After I completed the installation and did the first test run I was very happy with how fast and strong the EMUSA turbo spooled up, and I was happy that my BOV was working again. I was alarmed that on the first drive the turbo was whining like a jet fighter. I thought that it sounded like it was oil deprived, but I pre-lubed the new turbo, changed my oil, and cranked the engine over until oil was coming out the turbo oil return line before the first start, all standard procedures with a new turbo install. So I was pretty sure that I covered all corners of the installation. It's not that I am complaining because I love the way it sounds. With the new turbo screaming, my BOV hissing, and the wastegate chirping, my car sounds like a freakin beast again. Overall I am happy with the installation, packaging, and performance of the new turbo. Only time will tell if I become another member of the dreaded “BAD EBAY TURBO” club, or if I actually saved myself a couple hundred bucks from buying a high end turbo. I will do my first performance review at 1000 miles and post on how this EMUSA turbo is holding up.

Fast-forward... UPDATE:

Well it turns out the turbo only lasted one week. It started making more and more noise. Upon inspection the compressor wheel had tons of both axial and radial play. It was obvious that the turbo had suffered an internal failure. Most likely from using low quality bushings. I'll be sending the turbo back to SpeedyRacer for a refund. So it looks like buyer beware when it comes to eBay turbos.

What has been your experience with "cheap" turbochargers?  Join the discussion here!



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Should you buy a knock-off brand turbo or not? Are they worth a couple hundred bucks? Are some better than others? All things we’ve asked ourselves while browsing eBay or anywhere on the internet for that matter. We were discussing these topics when a fellow NICO member, SirVemup popped in and mentioned he was about […]

240sx S13 Defrost Switch Bulb Replacement

by 

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                    [post_content] => Defrost Switch Bulb Replacement

At this point, you have two choices. You can buy another bulb and holder from the dealer, or find one online. It’s your choice, but the dealer route is more expensive but less time consuming. 

Here’s the bulb you need.

12

13

Defrost Switch

23

24

Remove the bulbs with a screwdriver and a set of pliers. The holders are a type that only needs to be turned ¼ turn to release.

32

Unwrap the wires from the bulb holder and remove the bulb. Be careful with the holder, as you’ll need to reuse it.

26

Carefully remove the bulb condom. You’ll need to reuse it, so make sure to get it off without ripping it. Match up the new bulb to the old one, and cut the wires to length.

27

OEM bulb in holder. (Sorry about the blurry pictures. It’s the best I could get with my camera. It hates macro shots.)

15

Pull the bulb out of the holder. There are two little wires curled around the holder that you will need to undo to get it out.

16

Trim the top edge off of the holder with a set of nippers or the like. It should look something like this.

17

Strip the majority of the insulation off the wires of the replacement bulb and insert it into the holder.

18

Cut the excess wire to length and rewrap the wires around the holder.

19

As you can see, the replacement is a bit bigger, but it still fits fine.

Put the condom back on the bulb and put the bulb in the holder.

28

Wrap the wires back around the holder the way they were before and reinstall. The same process applies to any of the holders of that design. Here is the finished product.

24

Written by Nico member qat727



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            [post_content] => Defrost Switch Bulb Replacement

At this point, you have two choices. You can buy another bulb and holder from the dealer, or find one online. It’s your choice, but the dealer route is more expensive but less time consuming. 

Here’s the bulb you need.

12

13

Defrost Switch

23

24

Remove the bulbs with a screwdriver and a set of pliers. The holders are a type that only needs to be turned ¼ turn to release.

32

Unwrap the wires from the bulb holder and remove the bulb. Be careful with the holder, as you’ll need to reuse it.

26

Carefully remove the bulb condom. You’ll need to reuse it, so make sure to get it off without ripping it. Match up the new bulb to the old one, and cut the wires to length.

27

OEM bulb in holder. (Sorry about the blurry pictures. It’s the best I could get with my camera. It hates macro shots.)

15

Pull the bulb out of the holder. There are two little wires curled around the holder that you will need to undo to get it out.

16

Trim the top edge off of the holder with a set of nippers or the like. It should look something like this.

17

Strip the majority of the insulation off the wires of the replacement bulb and insert it into the holder.

18

Cut the excess wire to length and rewrap the wires around the holder.

19

As you can see, the replacement is a bit bigger, but it still fits fine.

Put the condom back on the bulb and put the bulb in the holder.

28

Wrap the wires back around the holder the way they were before and reinstall. The same process applies to any of the holders of that design. Here is the finished product.

24

Written by Nico member qat727



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Defrost Switch Bulb Replacement At this point, you have two choices. You can buy another bulb and holder from the dealer, or find one online. It’s your choice, but the dealer route is more expensive but less time consuming. Here’s the bulb you need. Defrost Switch Remove the bulbs with a screwdriver and a set of […]

240sx S13 Headlight Switch Bulb Replacement

by 

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                    [post_content] => Headlight Switch Bulb Replacement

You have two choices. You can buy another bulb and holder from the dealer, or order it online. It’s your choice, but the dealer route is more expensive but less time consuming. 

Here’s the bulb you need.

12

13

Properly cut down.

14

Headlight switch

30

31

32

Remove the bulbs with a screwdriver and a set of pliers. The holders are a type that only needs to be turned ¼ turn to release.

32

Unwrap the wires from the bulb holder and remove the bulb. Be careful with the holder, as you’ll need to reuse it.

26

Carefully remove the bulb condom. You’ll need to reuse it, so make sure to get it off without ripping it. Match up the new bulb to the old one, and cut the wires to length.

OEM bulb in holder. (Sorry about the blurry pictures. It’s the best I could get with my camera. It hates macro shots.)

15

Pull the bulb out of the holder. There are two little wires curled around the holder that you will need to undo to get it out.

16

Trim the top edge off of the holder with a set of nippers or the like. It should look something like this.

17

Strip the majority of the insulation off the wires of the replacement bulb and insert it into the holder.

18

Cut the excess wire to length and rewrap the wires around the holder.

19

As you can see, the replacement is a bit bigger, but it still fits fine.

 

27

Put the condom back on the bulb and put the bulb in the holder.

28

Wrap the wires back around the holder the way they were before and reinstall. The same process applies to any of the holders of that design. Here is the finished product.

24

Written by Nico member qat727.





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            [post_content] => Headlight Switch Bulb Replacement

You have two choices. You can buy another bulb and holder from the dealer, or order it online. It’s your choice, but the dealer route is more expensive but less time consuming. 

Here’s the bulb you need.

12

13

Properly cut down.

14

Headlight switch

30

31

32

Remove the bulbs with a screwdriver and a set of pliers. The holders are a type that only needs to be turned ¼ turn to release.

32

Unwrap the wires from the bulb holder and remove the bulb. Be careful with the holder, as you’ll need to reuse it.

26

Carefully remove the bulb condom. You’ll need to reuse it, so make sure to get it off without ripping it. Match up the new bulb to the old one, and cut the wires to length.

OEM bulb in holder. (Sorry about the blurry pictures. It’s the best I could get with my camera. It hates macro shots.)

15

Pull the bulb out of the holder. There are two little wires curled around the holder that you will need to undo to get it out.

16

Trim the top edge off of the holder with a set of nippers or the like. It should look something like this.

17

Strip the majority of the insulation off the wires of the replacement bulb and insert it into the holder.

18

Cut the excess wire to length and rewrap the wires around the holder.

19

As you can see, the replacement is a bit bigger, but it still fits fine.

 

27

Put the condom back on the bulb and put the bulb in the holder.

28

Wrap the wires back around the holder the way they were before and reinstall. The same process applies to any of the holders of that design. Here is the finished product.

24

Written by Nico member qat727.





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"

Headlight Switch Bulb Replacement You have two choices. You can buy another bulb and holder from the dealer, or order it online. It’s your choice, but the dealer route is more expensive but less time consuming. Here’s the bulb you need. Properly cut down. Headlight switch Remove the bulbs with a screwdriver and a set […]

240sx S13 Dimmer Switch Bulb Replacement

by 

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                    [post_date] => 2014-02-23 22:06:42
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                    [post_content] => 240sx Dimmer Switch Bulb Replacement

You have two choices. You can buy another bulb and holder from the dealer, or order it online. It’s your choice, but the dealer route is more expensive but less time consuming. 

Here’s the bulb you need.

12

13

Properly cut down.

14

Dimmer Switch

34

35

Remove the bulb with a screwdriver and a set of pliers. The holders are a type that only needs to be turned ¼ turn to release.

36

Unwrap the wires from the bulb holder and remove the bulb. Be careful with the holder, as you’ll need to reuse it. Ignore the switches in the following images, the directions are the same for the bulb replacement.

26

Carefully remove the bulb condom. You’ll need to reuse it, so make sure to get it off without ripping it. Match up the new bulb to the old one, and cut the wires to length.

OEM bulb in holder. (Sorry about the blurry pictures. It’s the best I could get with my camera. It hates macro shots.)

15

Pull the bulb out of the holder. There are two little wires curled around the holder that you will need to undo to get it out.

16

Trim the top edge off of the holder with a set of nippers or the like. It should look something like this.

17

Strip the majority of the insulation off the wires of the replacement bulb and insert it into the holder.

18

Cut the excess wire to length and rewrap the wires around the holder.

19

As you can see, the replacement is a bit bigger, but it still fits fine.

27

Put the condom back on the bulb and put the bulb in the holder.

28

Wrap the wires back around the holder the way they were before and reinstall. The same process applies to any of the holders of that design. Here is the finished product.

35

Written by Nico member qat727.



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            [post_date_gmt] => 2014-02-24 05:06:42
            [post_content] => 240sx Dimmer Switch Bulb Replacement

You have two choices. You can buy another bulb and holder from the dealer, or order it online. It’s your choice, but the dealer route is more expensive but less time consuming. 

Here’s the bulb you need.

12

13

Properly cut down.

14

Dimmer Switch

34

35

Remove the bulb with a screwdriver and a set of pliers. The holders are a type that only needs to be turned ¼ turn to release.

36

Unwrap the wires from the bulb holder and remove the bulb. Be careful with the holder, as you’ll need to reuse it. Ignore the switches in the following images, the directions are the same for the bulb replacement.

26

Carefully remove the bulb condom. You’ll need to reuse it, so make sure to get it off without ripping it. Match up the new bulb to the old one, and cut the wires to length.

OEM bulb in holder. (Sorry about the blurry pictures. It’s the best I could get with my camera. It hates macro shots.)

15

Pull the bulb out of the holder. There are two little wires curled around the holder that you will need to undo to get it out.

16

Trim the top edge off of the holder with a set of nippers or the like. It should look something like this.

17

Strip the majority of the insulation off the wires of the replacement bulb and insert it into the holder.

18

Cut the excess wire to length and rewrap the wires around the holder.

19

As you can see, the replacement is a bit bigger, but it still fits fine.

27

Put the condom back on the bulb and put the bulb in the holder.

28

Wrap the wires back around the holder the way they were before and reinstall. The same process applies to any of the holders of that design. Here is the finished product.

35

Written by Nico member qat727.



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"

240sx Dimmer Switch Bulb Replacement You have two choices. You can buy another bulb and holder from the dealer, or order it online. It’s your choice, but the dealer route is more expensive but less time consuming. Here’s the bulb you need. Properly cut down. Dimmer Switch Remove the bulb with a screwdriver and a set of […]

S13 Hazard Switch Bulb Replacement

by 

"s13-hazard-switch-bulb-replacement"
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                    [post_content] => Hazard Switch Bulb Replacement

37

You have two choices. You can buy another bulb and holder from the dealer, or order one online. It’s your choice, but the dealer route is more expensive but less time consuming. 

Here’s the bulb you need (should be available on Amazon).

12

13

Properly cut down.

14

Carefully pry the two parts of the switch apart.

38

39

40

41

42

Remove the rubber bulb holder.

43

Unwrap the wires from the bulb holder and remove the bulb. Be careful with the holder, as you’ll need to reuse it.

43

Carefully remove the bulb condom. You’ll need to reuse it, so make sure to get it off without ripping it.

44

Match up the new bulb to the old one, and cut the wires to length.

27

As you can see, the replacement is a bit bigger, but it still fits fine. Pay no attention to the switch in the background. The steps are similar to most switches inside the S13.

Now reverse the disassembly order and you'll be back on your way.

Written by Nico member qat727.



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            [post_content] => Hazard Switch Bulb Replacement

37

You have two choices. You can buy another bulb and holder from the dealer, or order one online. It’s your choice, but the dealer route is more expensive but less time consuming. 

Here’s the bulb you need (should be available on Amazon).

12

13

Properly cut down.

14

Carefully pry the two parts of the switch apart.

38

39

40

41

42

Remove the rubber bulb holder.

43

Unwrap the wires from the bulb holder and remove the bulb. Be careful with the holder, as you’ll need to reuse it.

43

Carefully remove the bulb condom. You’ll need to reuse it, so make sure to get it off without ripping it.

44

Match up the new bulb to the old one, and cut the wires to length.

27

As you can see, the replacement is a bit bigger, but it still fits fine. Pay no attention to the switch in the background. The steps are similar to most switches inside the S13.

Now reverse the disassembly order and you'll be back on your way.

Written by Nico member qat727.



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"

Hazard Switch Bulb Replacement You have two choices. You can buy another bulb and holder from the dealer, or order one online. It’s your choice, but the dealer route is more expensive but less time consuming. Here’s the bulb you need (should be available on Amazon). Properly cut down. Carefully pry the two parts of […]

S13 HVAC Bulb Replacement

by 

"s13-hvac-bulb-replacement"
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                    [post_date] => 2014-02-17 23:48:04
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                    [post_content] =>  

After extensive searching on my part, I’ve determined that if a write-up on HVAC/switch bulb replacement already exists, it’s been titled incorrectly or is hiding from me.

Disclaimer: All information is provided for reference purposes only. I will not be held responsible for any personal injury or property damage incurred as a result of following these instructions. I would suggest that you apply a degree of finesse to the plastic, considering its age. The write-up currently assumes you can get the HVAC and switches out by yourself. I may add additional instructions later.

BASIC INFORMATION

On the S13 HVAC, button indicators and slider illuminators are LED’s. Backlighting is handled by 2 incandescent bulbs.

On S13 dash switches, indicator lights and backlighting are all handled by incandescent bulbs.

I don’t have the part numbers for the bulbs, but they are expensive. I will provide an alternative for those with more time than money.

PARTS LIST

HVAC backlight bulbs: Radio Shack P/N 272-1141 $1.29 each

Switch bulbs: Radio Shack P/N 272-1092 $1.49/pair

According to axis, the OEM part number for the bulb and holder is 27545-53E00

HVAC BACKLIGHT BULB REPLACEMENT

S13 HVAC Panel

First step: Pull the slider knobs off.

2

3

Gently pry up on the tabs on either side of the HVAC. You’ll need to release the bottom portion of the unit and slide it off.

4

5

Remove the screw holding the top cover on. Pull the tab back and slide the cover off.

6

7

8

Now you can see the two bulb holders.

9

Remove them with a screwdriver and a set of pliers. The holder is a type that only needs to be turned ¼ turn to release.

10

*****At this point, you have two choices. You can buy another bulb and holder from the dealer, or go the Radio Shack route. It’s your choice, but the dealer route is more expensive but less time consuming. The Radio Shack route follows.

Here’s the bulb you need from Radio Shack.

12

13

Properly cut down.

14

OEM bulb in holder. (Sorry about the blurry pictures. It’s the best I could get with my camera. It hates macro shots.)

15

Pull the bulb out of the holder. There are two little wires curled around the holder that you will need to undo to get it out.

16

Trim the top edge off of the holder with a set of nippers or the like. It should look something like this.

17

Strip the majority of the insulation off the wires of the replacement bulb and insert it into the holder.

18

Cut the excess wire to length and rewrap the wires around the holder.

19

As you can see, the replacement is a bit bigger, but it still fits fine.

20

Make sure you get this wire plugged back in properly, as it likes to come loose. Reinstall the bulbs and reassemble the HVAC.

If you did everything right, your backlight bulbs and HVAC should work properly now.

Contributed by NICOclub member qat727



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            [post_content] =>  

After extensive searching on my part, I’ve determined that if a write-up on HVAC/switch bulb replacement already exists, it’s been titled incorrectly or is hiding from me.

Disclaimer: All information is provided for reference purposes only. I will not be held responsible for any personal injury or property damage incurred as a result of following these instructions. I would suggest that you apply a degree of finesse to the plastic, considering its age. The write-up currently assumes you can get the HVAC and switches out by yourself. I may add additional instructions later.

BASIC INFORMATION

On the S13 HVAC, button indicators and slider illuminators are LED’s. Backlighting is handled by 2 incandescent bulbs.

On S13 dash switches, indicator lights and backlighting are all handled by incandescent bulbs.

I don’t have the part numbers for the bulbs, but they are expensive. I will provide an alternative for those with more time than money.

PARTS LIST

HVAC backlight bulbs: Radio Shack P/N 272-1141 $1.29 each

Switch bulbs: Radio Shack P/N 272-1092 $1.49/pair

According to axis, the OEM part number for the bulb and holder is 27545-53E00

HVAC BACKLIGHT BULB REPLACEMENT

S13 HVAC Panel

First step: Pull the slider knobs off.

2

3

Gently pry up on the tabs on either side of the HVAC. You’ll need to release the bottom portion of the unit and slide it off.

4

5

Remove the screw holding the top cover on. Pull the tab back and slide the cover off.

6

7

8

Now you can see the two bulb holders.

9

Remove them with a screwdriver and a set of pliers. The holder is a type that only needs to be turned ¼ turn to release.

10

*****At this point, you have two choices. You can buy another bulb and holder from the dealer, or go the Radio Shack route. It’s your choice, but the dealer route is more expensive but less time consuming. The Radio Shack route follows.

Here’s the bulb you need from Radio Shack.

12

13

Properly cut down.

14

OEM bulb in holder. (Sorry about the blurry pictures. It’s the best I could get with my camera. It hates macro shots.)

15

Pull the bulb out of the holder. There are two little wires curled around the holder that you will need to undo to get it out.

16

Trim the top edge off of the holder with a set of nippers or the like. It should look something like this.

17

Strip the majority of the insulation off the wires of the replacement bulb and insert it into the holder.

18

Cut the excess wire to length and rewrap the wires around the holder.

19

As you can see, the replacement is a bit bigger, but it still fits fine.

20

Make sure you get this wire plugged back in properly, as it likes to come loose. Reinstall the bulbs and reassemble the HVAC.

If you did everything right, your backlight bulbs and HVAC should work properly now.

Contributed by NICOclub member qat727



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"

  After extensive searching on my part, I’ve determined that if a write-up on HVAC/switch bulb replacement already exists, it’s been titled incorrectly or is hiding from me. Disclaimer: All information is provided for reference purposes only. I will not be held responsible for any personal injury or property damage incurred as a result of […]

How-to Upload Images Using Imgur

by 

"uploading-images-using-imgur"
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                    [post_date] => 2013-06-28 00:31:26
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                    [post_content] => An excellent how-to from one of our long time members, OriginalWheelman.

Start by going to http://imgur.com. Once there, click on "sign up" in the upper right corner.
1
If you have a Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or are a Yahoo! you can use that account to log in. This will also enable you to share from Imgur to those locations easily.
2
Once signed in, click on the bright blue "upload images" button on the upper left.
3
This brings up the menu with assorted options for uploading. I'm a big fan of 'drag and drop' but use whichever you prefer.
4
Once your images are selected the menu will change. At this point you may still add more images using any of the four methods at the top. You also use the buttons in the middle to create / name an album as well as select it's layout. You may also make your images public. Do so at your own risk. It is the internet. By default your images will not be public. They will however be accessible to anyone with the link, and they will be able to be linked onto forums.
5
Begin your upload.
6
Once uploaded, select your name in the upper right corner, and click to open a drop down menu. Select 'images'.
7
This will open a tile menu of images. Select the image you want to start with by clicking on it.
8
When the image expands the accompanying window will contain assorted code options. Select the BBCode option. Highlight all, then copy.
9
Now, you open the NICO thread where you would like to link the picture. Paste the code on a separate line. This makes it easy for any admins who may have to fix a post.
10
And that's it. Post away! Fill your threads with glorious pictures of cars! Fill your life with a richer forum experience! Fill someone else's life with a little knowledge. Fill your belly with nachos! Thanks for reading.
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            [post_content] => An excellent how-to from one of our long time members, OriginalWheelman.

Start by going to http://imgur.com. Once there, click on "sign up" in the upper right corner.
1
If you have a Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or are a Yahoo! you can use that account to log in. This will also enable you to share from Imgur to those locations easily.
2
Once signed in, click on the bright blue "upload images" button on the upper left.
3
This brings up the menu with assorted options for uploading. I'm a big fan of 'drag and drop' but use whichever you prefer.
4
Once your images are selected the menu will change. At this point you may still add more images using any of the four methods at the top. You also use the buttons in the middle to create / name an album as well as select it's layout. You may also make your images public. Do so at your own risk. It is the internet. By default your images will not be public. They will however be accessible to anyone with the link, and they will be able to be linked onto forums.
5
Begin your upload.
6
Once uploaded, select your name in the upper right corner, and click to open a drop down menu. Select 'images'.
7
This will open a tile menu of images. Select the image you want to start with by clicking on it.
8
When the image expands the accompanying window will contain assorted code options. Select the BBCode option. Highlight all, then copy.
9
Now, you open the NICO thread where you would like to link the picture. Paste the code on a separate line. This makes it easy for any admins who may have to fix a post.
10
And that's it. Post away! Fill your threads with glorious pictures of cars! Fill your life with a richer forum experience! Fill someone else's life with a little knowledge. Fill your belly with nachos! Thanks for reading.
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An excellent how-to from one of our long time members, OriginalWheelman. Start by going to http://imgur.com. Once there, click on “sign up” in the upper right corner. If you have a Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or are a Yahoo! you can use that account to log in. This will also enable you to share from Imgur to […]

Coast-to-Coast in a Datsun 510 Part 6

by 

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                    [post_content] => Datsun 510 Road Trip

Background: 

By definition, most classic car enthusiasts have purchased more than one classic for their collection. Several have stories of buying an old car sight-unseen. Even fewer can say they bought the car sight-unseen and drove it home, and then there are the real rare birds - guys who buy a classic car sight-unseen and embark upon a cross-country road trip to bring it home.

Randy Lewis is a long-time car guy, Datsun collector, close friend of NICOclub.com, and some might say a little bit nuts... but he's doing exactly that.

What's better, is that we're going to invite the entire Datsun and Nissan community to join him for his journey!

The Plan: 

We'll be bringing you guys a fully-documented real-time opportunity to follow Randy on his cross-county road trip to retrieve a classic, unmolested Datsun 510 “barn find.” Randy will be communicating with viewers via email from the road, and updating us on his adventures frequently from the road.

Here's the coolest part: Randy has asked us to encourage individuals along the route to meet up with him on the road, run a section of the route with him, or just catch up for a meal and a photo opportunity. This is the road trip of a lifetime for Datsun enthusiasts, even if only participating vicariously!

Check the route - If Randy's going to be near your area, consider catching up with him, or just wave as he cruises by!

Meet The Car:

The car is a one-family, 1972 Datsun 510 sedan (PL510-366555) purchased new from Rothrock Motors in Whitehall, Pennsylvania. This car has been off the road in dry storage for over 16 years. It has just over 49,000 original miles, is factory original in every respect, and was undercoated when new resulting in rust-free condition.

Datsun_501_road_trip10   Datsun_501_road_trip09   Datsun_501_road_trip08   Datsun_501_road_trip06   Datsun_501_road_trip01   Datsun_501_road_trip02   Datsun_501_road_trip04   Datsun_501_road_trip05


Meet The Driver:

A third generation “car guy,” Randy Lewis was born and raised in Detroit where he developed his love of automobiles at an early age. He has restored countless vintage sports cars. Currently he owns and wrenches on five Datsuns, including 1971 and 1972 240 Z’s, 1966 and 1967 ½ Fairlady Roadsters and the 1972 510. Randy’s also reproducing vintage Datsun parts off shore for sale to enthusiasts.

Lewis_240Z_1 Lewis_240Z_2 Lewis_240Z_3 Lewis_240Z_4 Lewis_Roadster_1 Lewis_Roadster_2 Lewis_Roadster_3 Lewis_Roadster_4

Randy began his professional career in automotive marketing, advertising, brand marketing and merchandising for 17 different automotive brands, and includes motorsports marketing for NASCAR, NHRA, and SCCA.

In the 1990’s, Randy worked with the legendary J. Mays, Ford Motor Company’s current Group VP of Global Design, to help visually position Ford’s domestic brands, Ford of Europe and Mazda. Currently, Randy is Production Manager at “Fine Sports Cars,” a world leader of remanufactured and sanctioned sports racing cars.

The Route:

Datsun 510 barn find road trip NICOclub

•Day 1- Bethlehem, PA to Youngstown, OH via highway #80
•Day 2- Youngstown, OH to Indianapolis, IN via highways #76, 71, 70
•Day 3- Indianapolis, IN to Springfield, MO via highways #70, 44
•Day 4- Springfield, MO to Oklahoma City, OK via highway #44
•Day 5- Oklahoma City, OK to Tucumcari, NM via highways # 44, 40
•Day 6- Tucumcari, NM to Gallup, NM via highway #40
•Day 7- Gallup, NM to Phoenix, AZ via highway #40

The Schedule:

Randy and the 510 will depart Bethlehem, PA on Thursday, September 12. It’s anticipated the 2,500 mile road trip will take approximately 7 days (300-400 miles per day), with an expected return to Phoenix, AZ on September 18. Upon arrival in Phoenix, Randy and his local Datsun friends will prepare the 510 for its reveal at the Japanese Classic Car Show (JCCS), the largest all-Japanese car show in the country in Long Beach, CA on September 28, 2013. The 510 will be showcased there, completing its nearly coast-to-coast journey.

Sponsorships:

Sponsorship opportunities are being offered to help defray costs of the trip, and we'll be recognizing any and all contributors here on NICOclub. Interested parties can contact Randy Lewis at 602-312-4038 or email at: [email protected].

We'll be following Randy's trip from the minute he arrives in Pennsylvania, until he rolls onto the show field at JCCS in Long Beach, right here!

If you'd like to share the updates on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or with another group of Datsun enthusiasts, here's an easy URL to use: https://www.nicoclub.com/510roadtrip

If you have questions, comments, want to arrange a meetup, buy him dinner, or just want to wish Randy safe travels, here's the spot to do it: Datsun 510 Road Trip 

Enjoy, and check in often as we bring this old Datsun back to her new life in the western US!

Continue on to Part 2:  Datsun 510 Road Trip - Part 2



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                    [post_excerpt] => Join us as we follow Randy on his cross-county road trip to retrieve a classic, unmolested Datsun 510 “barn find.” 
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                    [post_content] => While we're waiting for Randy to begin his epic journey, let's get to know the car he'll be driving...

The car is a one family, 1972 Datsun 510 sedan purchased new from Rothrock Motors in Whitehall, Pennsylvania, first titled 3/27/73. The dealership is still there and still selling Nissans. The car was originally purchased by an older gentleman (grandfather), whose eyesight eventually began to fail, explaining the two exterior driver’s side mirrors on the door and fender. The grandfather intended to pass the car to his son when no longer able to drive. Unfortunately, the son passed away before he did, so the car went to his son’s wife (daughter in law). She titled the car in her name 1/3/91, with the odometer showing 44,243 miles (less than 2500 miles a year). Reportedly, she drove the car infrequently. Her son (original owner’s grandson) drove the car while in college, racking up an additional 5,000 miles. Windshield stickers and rear license plate, show the car last registered in 1997, 16 years ago. Current mileage is just over 49,000.



I purchased the car from Dave Cziraky, who lived near the original owner and remembered seeing it as a child. In the east Datsuns quickly became rare sights as moisture and salt took their toll. Fortunately the 510 was rust proofed at the dealer. Dave remembers the car as a bit of a curiosity, as Japanese vintage cars became increasingly unusual. He recalled the car was well loved by the family, being maintained, washed and waxed regularly. The car lived in a single stall wooden garage most of its life. Dave acquired the car as part of a deal for the owners home, which he and his brother purchased to renovate. Dave’s a car guy but his passion is American muscle so he was willing to let the 510 go. He never transferred the title in his name.



I met Dave at a car show where my wife and I had our 71 and 72 Datsun 240Z’s in February of 2013. He was visiting a friend in Tempe, Arizona, who was there with his two English sports cars. Dave told me about the 510 asking if I might be interested. Though not particularly a 510 fan, I said I might and asked him to send pictures when he had time. Three or four months later I received his call from Pennsylvania asking if I remembered him and wondering if I might still be interested. After seeing pictures and asking lots of questions, we settled on a price, contingent on the car being roadworthy for a coast to coast trip. New tires and battery, a re-cored radiator, fresh fluids, belts, hoses and a tune up were all that was required. Road tripping a vintage car across the country has always been a dream. This time in my life, and a 510 that actually found me, afforded me the perfect opportunity to check this off my bucket list.



The idea soon grew beyond just bringing the car home. 510 owners are a rabid bunch so I thought it would be fun to let them participate. The idea was hatched to create a live road trip, on line, with progress updates and pics posted throughout the trip. NICOclub offered to host the trip, encouraging me to go one step further and seek sponsors. I soon realized a week on the road by myself would be a bit lonely so called another car guy from Detroit I’ve known for almost 35 years and invited him tag along. No doubt, good memories will be created regardless of the outcome.

Thanks for joining me on this trip, and I hope to see some of you along the way!
-Randy (Randalla)

Continue on to Part 3: Datsun 510 Road Trip - Part 3

 
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                    [post_content] => There's only two weeks left before I fly to Philly, meet my friend Dave, and embark on the 510 road trip, so it’s time to make final preparations and check and double check everything. I talked to the seller a couple of times this past week to make sure everything was in order mechanically. I had a friend gift me a used radiator which I shipped to Philly a few weeks ago to have re-cored to replace the original (the top tank was too far gone). The road trip car has an automatic tranny and the radiator I sent was for a manual, so we’ll be using an external transmission oil cooler (which should actually provide better cooling anyway). The radiator was repaired and put back in the 510 for its shakedown run late this week by the seller and his mechanic friend Scot.

Everything seems to be working fine, except the speedo cable, which broke while out for the test drive. No problem, I just ordered one up from Rock Auto and had it shipped direct to Dave so we will be able to calculate fuel economy via the odometer. We're not so concerned about the speedometer working, as I’m fairly sure with the 1600 and automatic I couldn’t exceed the freeway speed limit if I tried.

I’m also having Scot wire in an inexpensive triple-gauge pack under the dash to monitor oil pressure, temperature and charging to give us a little bit more precision than the idiot lights. I think that’s all that’s left to do on the car.

So on to the “fun factor.” I thought it might be cool to make the car as period correct as possible by ordering a couple of 1972 presidential campaign bumper stickers (Nixon and McGovern/Shriver) from eBay that I’ll affix to the rear bumper for our trip. Those should look great in the car photos and are sure to be a conversation starter, as if the car’s not enough on its own.



One crazy idea begat another, and that spurred the idea of picking up additional bumper stickers along the way promoting local establishments or tourist destinations. I remember seeing those on the back bumper in the "old days," as a way of bragging where you’d been.

I also thought it might be neat to design some t-shirts to commemorate the trip. I already had a t-shirt press and my wife Lisa is a graphic designer, so why not?

510_Road_Trip_3 (4) 510_Road_Trip_3 (3) 510_Road_Trip_3 (2)

Of course the 510 has no air conditioning, so I have been closely watching daytime high temperatures along the way for the last couple of weeks. This past Thursday, 8/29, I started to worry just a bit. Going east to west the highs were as follows:

Bethlehem, PA 82 degrees
Youngtown, OH 90 degrees
Indianapolis, IN 95 degrees
St. Louis MO 99 degrees
Springfield, MO 91 degrees
Oklahoma City, OK 97 degrees
Tucumcari, NM 99 degrees
Gallup, NM 84 degrees
Flagstaff, AZ 79 degrees
Phoenix, AZ 99 degrees

We still have a couple of weeks to go, so I’m hopeful we’ll drop 10 degrees or so to make the trip a little more comfortable.

We’re still hoping to meet some of you along the way for drinks, grub or gab. Feel free to call me on my cell, 602-312-4038, to coordinate a meet up somewhere along the road. We’re optimistic we won’t need to call any of our Datsun brethren for needed assistance, but would welcome offers should the unexpected happen.

Looking forward to a lot of fun and loads of stories to share!

-Randy (Randalla)

Continue on to Part 4: Datsun 510 Road Trip - Part 4
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We woke up early this morning at 6:00 AM, exited to hook up with the guys (and gal) from ZROC in Columbus. The temperature dropped dramatically overnight and we thought it looked like it might be another rainy day, however it turned into a very nice day, with temperatures accommodating our lack of air conditioning. We left the hotel after breakfast, at 9:00 AM, with plans to meet the ZROC team by 11:00 AM.

The morning drive was uneventful, with none of the misfiring we encountered the day before. We arrived about 11:30 to a parking lot of Z cars and a Roadster (2-240Z’s, 1-Z32, 2-350Z’s, a 370Z convertible and a 1969 2000 Roadster, hope I didn’t miss anyone). 

Datsun_510_Road_Trip (22) Datsun_510_Road_Trip (25) Datsun_510_Road_Trip (26) Datsun_510_Road_Trip (27) Datsun_510_Road_Trip (28) Datsun_510_Road_Trip (29) Datsun_510_Road_Trip (30) Datsun_510_Road_Trip (31)

The group was very hospitable, gifting me one of their club t-shirts and club window sticker, which immediately I affixed to the 510’s quarter window. The club’s Datsun guru had a close look at the 510, checking things out mechanically and proclaiming it fit to continue. After cleaning up a couple of electrical contacts, he was able to get both horns working again, leaving only the heater fan to trouble shoot.



The car is consistently running between 185 and 195 degrees, with 60 lbs of oil pressure. All the fluids have stayed full, though there are a few small oil leaks that will be attended to when we get the car home.

After spending time looking and talking about each other’s rides we moved inside to share lunch subs before hitting the road together for a 30 mile ride toward Indy.

Datsun_510_Road_Trip (32) Datsun_510_Road_Trip (33) Datsun_510_Road_Trip (34) Datsun_510_Road_Trip (35)

While hanging out together, a guy named Roger stopped by after seeing all the cars grouped, intrigued to know what we were doing. In the course of the conversation I discovered he was very familiar with Datsun race cars and in fact had a NOS passenger front fender at home he would sell (mine will need some rust repair). Unfortunately we couldn’t arrive at an agreement on price, which I may kick myself for later. The fender would have fit nicely in the back seat for the trip home.

After leaving our new friends and heading south we noticed the car had become decidedly louder, so we pulled over at the next rest area to investigate. We discovered the exhaust pipe and muffler had parted company, now separated by a half inch gap. There was nothing we could do so we got back on the highway, continuing south to Indy. After gassing up on the way and calculating the fuel economy we discovered we are now averaging 26.5 mpg after four fill ups.

From Indianapolis we decided we would keep going to Terre Haute, IN before calling it a day. That allowed us to see the odometer roll past 50,000 miles as well as put 800 miles and three states in our rear-view mirror (Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana).



Continue on to part 6! Datsun 510 Road Trip - Part 6



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                    [post_content] => Arrived in Philly on time last night only to discover my friend Dave’s flight had been delayed for two hours in Chicago. Dave Czracki and I headed to the bar at the airport Marriot for some refreshment. Dave finally arrived at about 7:00 PM and the three of us headed to Bethlehem, PA for dinner with Dave’s fiancé, Marie. We had a very nice dinner at a neighborhood haunt, totaling two bottles of red in the process.

This morning we met for breakfast at a local diner then stopped by to meet Scot (the mechanic who prepared the car) before heading to the garage where the 510 was stored. This was the first time seeing the car in the flesh and having an opportunity to really check it out. 



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Fortunately the car was as advertised so we immediately began preparations for hitting the road. I brought a new speedo cable and installed it in about 30 minutes and we were off and running. The weather looked ominous and within five minutes the rain was coming down hard and we had no wipers…or so we thought. My first 510 lesson was that the on/off switch for the wipers was a pull, not a turn. We discovered that lesson after 30 minutes of peering through raindrops and contemplating what we were going to do all day without wipers. We ended up dodging rain nearly all day and encountered winds up to 40-50 mph through the mountains, which slowed us down to 55-60 mph.



50 miles into our trip the car started missing badly, acting like it wasn’t getting fuel. This went on for perhaps 10 minutes and then just as quickly it went away till later in the afternoon when it returned worse than before. Since the car had been off the road for so long we thought we might have a plugged fuel filter, so jumped off the freeway and swapped it out for a new one I had brought along. That cleared everything up and the car was now running better than ever. Believe it or not we even touched 80 mph at times, though that was really pushing the little 1600 automatic. The car really seems most comfortable at about 70.

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About noon we fueled up and thought we’d check fuel economy for the first time and were blown away to see 28.3 mpg. The second fill yielded 24.5 mpg. We’ll continue to check fuel economy and report on it throughout the trip.

Last night we got a call from Jim, in Akron, OH who wanted to meet up later today, which we did on the east side of Akron. Jim met us at the exit with his very nice early 260Z and escorted us to our dinner spot, where there was supposed to have been a car show, but apparently the rain chased everyone else away. Jim graciously bought our dinner (thanks again Jim) and then led us to the local auto parts store to pick up a glass fuel filter with replaceable filter elements to keep a better eye on what’s happening in our fuel system tomorrow. We also bought some fuel system additive to clean things out. In addition to the 260Z, Jim has two Datsun Roadsters which he stopped to show us as we headed past his shop on our way to the motel.

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Mid-day today we received three or four phone calls from members of the Z and Roadster Club in Columbus OH, interested in running with us from Columbus towards Indianapolis. It looks like we’ll meet up with them around noon on Friday.

We had planned to make it from Bethlehem to Youngstown, OH, but were on a roll so decided to keep going another 50 miles to Akron and meet up with Jim. We drove about 425 miles today. All in all it was a very satisfactory day, though we’re hoping for better weather tomorrow. We made it to the hotel tonight at about 9:30 PM and turned in soon after. The car garnered comments and smiles at nearly every stop and we received a number of encouraging comments for even attempting the trip.

Continue on to part 5! Datsun 510 Road Trip - Part 5





                    [post_title] => Coast-to-Coast in a Datsun 510 Part 4
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                    [post_content] => After breakfast this morning we headed directly to Midas to see what could be done about our rusted out exhaust pipe. The guys at Midas didn’t have a clue what a Datsun 510 was and misread the odometer, asking if the car really had 500,000 miles on it. We had to do a bit of educating and let them know they had added a zero to the mileage. After consulting together and scouting around the shop to see if they had anything as small as the stock exhaust pipe, they said the best they could do was weld the rusted pieces back together for $40. The drone yesterday, and the lack of back pressure without running through a muffler, made that an easy decision, so we gave them the OK to give it a shot. The weld wasn’t pretty, but after 30 minutes the car was quiet again and we were on our way.



The weather was perfect again today for a road trip but the temperatures are rising as we continue heading south. Around noon we jumped off the freeway looking for a spot for lunch and noticed the water temperature had spiked to 230 degrees, causing us to immediately pull over and look for the reason. After waiting for the car to cool down, we cracked open the radiator cap and topped off the radiator with about a half gallon of coolant hoping that was the cause. The car doesn’t have an overflow tank so we chalked up the loss of coolant to either the bleed off, from the overflow hose as the car cooled, or worse case, maybe a blown head gasket robbing coolant. Not seeing anything else obvious, we jumped back on the freeway headed toward Springfield, MO. Keeping an attentive eye on the gauge, it appeared the water temperature was back to normal.

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We’d been talking about jumping on Route 66 for a few miles to take a break from the monotony of the e-way so we did so at the Meramec Caverns exit and decided to check out the caverns in the process.



Driving into the parking lots we noticed a group of farmers gathered around some vintage tractors and single lung gas engines. We engaged one of the older gentlemen in conversation, sharing our passion for mechanical things. He was as interested in our trip and car as we were in his hobby.

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While there, I picked up a Route 66 license plate frame and Dave a Route 66 t-shirt. Heading back to the freeway, we stopped briefly for some photo ops with some old 66 landmarks as background.

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Back on the freeway we headed to our final destination today, Springfield, MO, which would be our half way mark in terms of total mileage. After arriving, we began looking for a place to overnight and discovered motels in Springfield were at a premium, with many fully booked because of the large number of Marines in town for training. After stopping at three or four motels we finally found a room for the night. In the process of looking for someplace, we noticed there was a car show at the local Culvers so we checked in and headed to the show to rub elbows with the local car community. We were the only import car at the show and it was clear this was not Datsun country.



Tomorrow will be a short day with only a little over 280 miles to go to Oklahoma City. As it turns out, that will be fortuitous because it will be our warmest day to date with highs temperatures in the low 90’s. The short day will give me a chance to do some work on the exterior of the car, beginning to rub out the paint. Our cumulative fuel economy as of today now stands at 25.5 mpg.

Join us for part 7! Datsun 510 Road Trip - Part 7

 
                    [post_title] => Coast-to-Coast in a Datsun 510 Part 6
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                    [post_content] => We decided to do a little sightseeing today as we covered three states (Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico) in the old 510. Our first stop was the Route 66 Museum in Clinton, OK. We saw a billboard and decided, what the heck, let’s stop. Supposedly, this is the largest museum dedicated to Route 66 on the Mother Road. It’s a nice little museum that does a good job documenting the road from the 20’s forward to today. They also captured everything related to travel by decade apart from the road (gas stations, motels, diners, music, commercial transportation, etc.). This is definitely worth a stop for only $5.00 if you’re in the area.

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Our next stop was for lunch at The Big Texan in Amarillo - a tourist trap for sure - with a shooting arcade, gift shop, their own motel and seating for maybe 500 people. We had a hankering for Texas Bar-B-Que so we both ordered up a brisket sandwich, which did not disappoint. 



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After lunch we were back on the road on the lookout for Cadillac Ranch. For those who don’t know, years ago someone buried ten vintage Cadillacs nose-first with their tail fins pointing skyward. Over the years the cars have become a canvas for visitors who have made a practice of spray painting them colorfully. When we finally found the ranch, it was about a 50 yard walk from the road to get photos before continuing toward New Mexico.

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The weather was really beginning to look ominous at this point, with very dark clouds, but we escaped all but some sprinkling. Soon after entering New Mexico we saw another billboard advertising a free car museum which of course we also decided to take in. This museum was actually a combination truck stop, 50’s diner, grocery store and car memorabilia museum. Seems a local businessman combined his business with his auto passion and decided to share it with the public. His car collection included about 30 vintage automobiles, most of which were 50’s era convertibles. I’d also recommend this stop.

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By this time we were 40 miles from ending our day in Tucumcari, NM so we got back in the 510 to try to beat an approaching storm. We made it about 4:30 with plenty of daylight for some more detailing on the exterior of the car. You may be wondering why there was so little mention of the car today. The little guy has now actually settled into rhythm and there was really nothing to report. We are both amazed that a 42 year old car, that’s been off the road for 16 years, is making this trip so effortlessly with only minimal prepping. This is really a tribute to Datsun and the durability of the 510 model.

This evening I headed into town for dinner and to check out main-street. This was the first time in Tucumcari for me. The town sits right on old Route 66 and there are still many remnants of the old road (signs, old buildings, neon, etc.). It’s sad to see so many vacant and rundown buildings. It makes me wonder what this town must have been like when the only way west was through the middle of it.

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Tomorrow we’re hoping to connect up with some of the Datsun community in Albuquerque, NM, where there is a sizable contingent.

I hope you're enjoying our updates from the road - If you're along the route, please hit us up tomorrow!

Thanks for reading - Join us for part 8! Datsun 510 Road Trip - Part 8




                    [post_title] => Coast-to-Coast in a Datsun 510 Part 7
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                    [post_content] => Welcome back!  Thanks for sticking with us this far!

Well, I guess I spoke too soon yesterday. We left Tucumcari this morning, after exploring the old part of the city along Route 66, and set off across New Mexico toward our destination in Gallup. The car started off running strong but about an hour out it started acting like it wasn’t getting adequate fuel again or it wasn’t running on all cylinders. It seemed to have lost the power necessary to climb the hills we were now encountering on I-40. At first we chalked it up to a bad tank of low 86 octane gas but after getting off the freeway and filling it again with premium, there was no change. In fact, we nearly got stranded in the middle of an intersection with traffic coming from all directions.


  
At that point we pulled into AutoZone and popped the hood to take a closer look. I also called my buddy in Phoenix, Doctor 510, seeking his advice. He thought we might have an ignition issue and advised us to check the point gap and disable the second set of points in the distributor to try and isolate the issue. I opened the point gap a little bit an in the course of examining the distributor noticed that one of the male/female connections had not been fully connected. We also tossed a can of dry gas in the tank just in case it was water in the fuel. We thought we’d solved the problem but as we started out on Route 66, instead of the freeway, we discovered nothing had really improved. We were 30 miles away from Albuquerque and decided to limp into town to enlist some additional help. 



As we neared town we passed by a small shop, Anton’s Auto Haus, specializing in imports, primarily German. We met Gene, who dropped what he was doing to come out and take a look. After a variety of questions he hooked up his emission testing equipment to see how lean or rich we were running. After leaning things out, raising the idle and advancing the timing five degrees the car was running noticeably better but still not the way I thought it should. Gene reminded me Albuquerque sits at about 6000 feet of elevation, which he thought might be impacting the way the car was running.  With the car idling I noticed air bubbles through the window in the float bowl, leading us to wonder if there was an air leak somewhere that was contributing to our problems. After slipping Gene $20 we got back on the road hoping to make Gallup.

Check out this gallery of awesomeness - If you're ever in the area, you gotta stop by!

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Earlier today I received a text from a guy in Gallup wondering where we were. At lunch I got another text checking our progress, indicating he would be waiting at Love’s Truck Stop in Grants, NM when we passed. As we pulled in I was shocked to see Ryan, the head of our local club, Desert Datsuns, walking towards us with his camera. I had no idea who the texts had come from and was completely surprised to see him 350 miles from home. Great meet up! 

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We did finally make it to Gallup tonight but more than two hours later than expected. We pulled into the Red Roof Inn but after talking with the front desk decided to try another motel. We got back in the car and … it wouldn‘t start, so we are here for the night wondering what we’ll face in the morning, our last planned day out.
As the pictures will show, we did actually have a chance to stop at another Route 66 car museum before our troubles began. Hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Ready to join us as we roll home to Phoenix?  Almost home - Part 9!



                    [post_title] => Coast-to-Coast in a Datsun 510 Part 8
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                    [post_content] => We woke up this morning looking forward to making it home after seven days on the road, while spending our evenings in cheap motels. The car started right up but as soon as we put it in drive and headed down the driveway to top off fuel, the car quit, rolling into the gas station next door. There was no restarting it this time. Another call to Dr. 510 (6:30 AM his time) and we had several things to try, to begin eliminating potential issues. There were three things we thought could be the culprits.


 
After removing the air cleaner, we noticed the automatic choke didn’t seem to be opening fully, even when the car was fully warmed up. This would account for the loss of power and the recently declining fuel economy, since the throttle plate was never fully opening. But this wouldn’t likely contribute to the car stalling and not restarting. Nevertheless, I wired the choke fully open and replaced the air cleaner lid. 

Next, I unscrewed the bolt that gave access to the small bronze carb filter and float valve, to make sure there was no debris in them and that they were functioning properly (all good). 

Finally, we checked the points to verify the gap was correct. Doc had previously mentioned this was a common issue on 510’s, leading to all kinds of drivability issues. One of the point sets was gapped properly but the other one was nearly closed when it should have been open .020. After opening the points up and putting everything back together, the car finally started and ran with some power again.


 
Though we’d lost an hour fiddling with the engine, we were back on the road by 8:30 AM, headed to Flagstaff. We vowed not to stop until we got there; as neither of us was terribly confident we’d fully solved all the issues and did not want to risk trying to restart the car. We knew we’d be gaining more elevation, up to 7000 feet in Flagstaff, and were unsure how that might further contribute to the way the car ran. Fortunately, that also meant we would be heading for cooler temperatures which might somehow help offset the altitude. 

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We made it the 185 miles to Flagstaff without incident, arriving at 11:30 AM. Being back in our home state was somewhat comforting; now knowing if we had any issues at this point, help was only a few hours away. We had lunch in Flagstaff, which was a beautiful sunny, breezy, 70 degrees. After filling the tank again we headed off “down the hill.”

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Three of the guys in our car club, Desert Datsuns, told us previously they would like to meet up with us on the final day and escort us into Phoenix. We decided to meet at the “Sunset Point” rest area an hour north of Phoenix. It was great to see familiar faces and show off the new car before getting back in for the final hour home. 



We all arrived in Scottsdale, AZ about 3:30 PM, seven days and five miles shy of 2600 miles, from the beginning of our trip in Bethlehem, PA. Without the mechanical issues we experienced, I’m sure we would have ended up with an even higher MPG average than the 24.6 we ended up with. Still, that’s not too bad for a 42 year old car that I’d not had a chance to sort out. We added ½ quart of oil and ½ gallon of water to the radiator over the 2600 miles. 



The story is not over yet. We have a little over a week to prepare the car and drive it over to Long Beach, CA for JCCS, the Japanese Collector Car Show, on September 28th. That round trip will add another 800 miles to the 2600 just completed. That’s 3,400 miles in a little over two weeks. With all that recent driving the car will still have less than 53,000 original miles on the odometer and a lot of new stories associated with it.

Thanks to all who joined us on our journey, and I hope this inspires you to start searching for a classic Datsun of your own to restore, modify, or just DRIVE. 

Here's the finale of our journey - Cross-Country Datsun 510 Road Trip Ends at JCCS!
 


 
                    [post_title] => Coast-to-Coast in a Datsun 510 Part 9
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                    [post_content] => The culmination of the 510’s cross country trip was the just completed leg of the trip from my home in Scottsdale, AZ to Long Beach, CA for the Japanese Collector Car Show (JCCS). You’ll recall, I arrived home from Bethlehem, PA just a little over a week ago on October 18th, giving me less than a week to clean and prepare the car for the show. I don’t remember working this hard for a car show. I spent over 40 hours in four days, with lots of late nights.

 

Many of the guys in our local club have male or female names for their cars.  During the course of cleaning my 510 the new name for this car became apparent. I’d spent most of my prep time on the outside of the car but the last day decided to focus on the interior. One of the first things I did was get my shop vac out and do the carpets, making sure to reach deep under the seats. As I was vacuuming under the driver’s seat I heard a “flump,” indicating I’d sucked up something larger than a coin or a gum wrapper. Curious, I decided to open the vac and take a look. Well, clearly the last owner, or driver, was a partier. I discovered a baggie of pot that must have been under there at least fifteen years. Too funny! So… the 510 is now named “Mary Jane” (slang for pot, for you youngsters). Some of the guys in my club commented it was a good thing I didn’t get pulled over on the trip, as I would have had a hard time explaining that one.

 

After all the elbow grease the old gal looked pretty good. This leg of the trip I had my wife along in a chase vehicle (BMW 740), in case we had mechanical issues. She’s partial to air conditioning when the temperatures approach 90 degrees. I also had several friends driving their Datsuns on the same route. Things started out fine, although I was still having problems with the car running smoothly at lower speeds and there was an occasional miss at freeway speeds. Nevertheless we made it nearly half way to Long Beach (Quartzite, AZ) before the car began running so poorly I had to pull over at a rest area to investigate. The car idled fine in neutral or park but as soon as I put it in gear it died. 



By now, I thought I knew exactly where the problem was, but adjusting the points again did nothing to improve things. By this time I was pretty sure I had an ignition issue that would require pulling the distributor and going through it. Unfortunately I didn’t have time for that so had to figure out how to limp it back and forth to and from Long Beach. About this time I got a text message from a friend, who was 30 minutes behind us, who said he would stop to take a look. We were both baffled by the symptoms but decided to raise the idle speed and dial in a little more advance to the timing to see if that would give us enough power to keep the car running when shifted into gear. That allowed us to get back on the freeway and continue west, though clearly we had only put a band aid on the problem. We arrived in Long Beach at the show venue about 4:30 PM, in time to get the car in place and everything set up for show day on Saturday.


 
If you’re a fan of Japanese collector cars and have never been to JCCS, you’ve got to add this to your bucket list. The weather was perfect for the show with temperatures in the mid 80’s and sunny skies. Along with “Mary Jane,” there were two nicer, original/stock 510’s and at least another 20 or so modified ones. Though we did not win any awards, we had a great time meeting some of you, who had been following the trip on NICO. The trip home was uneventful with the little car not letting us down.



Next weekend we’re heading to the Multi-State Datsun Invitational in Williams, AZ, a round trip of 350 miles. After that, I think it will be time to let “Mary Jane” (and me) rest and get acquainted with her new home in Arizona. 

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As I reflect on this trip I can’t help but be impressed with the incredible engineering in our little Datsuns. I’ve now owned nearly 20, all almost 40 years old. These cars are durable, well built, fun to drive, easy to work on and continue to give those of us not afraid to drive them anywhere, immense joy. 

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I have to think Mr. K must smile every time he hears another one of our stories as it is he that deserves so much of the credit for helping make them a reality. In just a little over three weeks, a 42 year old Datsun 510, which had been off the road for 16 years, completed a 3700 mile journey, barely missing a beat. 

Now, get out there and find a classic Datsun to restore, modify, or just drive and enjoy!  Thank you for following along.

Pop in and chat with Randy here: Datsun 510 Road Trip Chat 



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            [post_content] => Datsun 510 Road Trip

Background: 

By definition, most classic car enthusiasts have purchased more than one classic for their collection. Several have stories of buying an old car sight-unseen. Even fewer can say they bought the car sight-unseen and drove it home, and then there are the real rare birds - guys who buy a classic car sight-unseen and embark upon a cross-country road trip to bring it home.

Randy Lewis is a long-time car guy, Datsun collector, close friend of NICOclub.com, and some might say a little bit nuts... but he's doing exactly that.

What's better, is that we're going to invite the entire Datsun and Nissan community to join him for his journey!

The Plan: 

We'll be bringing you guys a fully-documented real-time opportunity to follow Randy on his cross-county road trip to retrieve a classic, unmolested Datsun 510 “barn find.” Randy will be communicating with viewers via email from the road, and updating us on his adventures frequently from the road.

Here's the coolest part: Randy has asked us to encourage individuals along the route to meet up with him on the road, run a section of the route with him, or just catch up for a meal and a photo opportunity. This is the road trip of a lifetime for Datsun enthusiasts, even if only participating vicariously!

Check the route - If Randy's going to be near your area, consider catching up with him, or just wave as he cruises by!

Meet The Car:

The car is a one-family, 1972 Datsun 510 sedan (PL510-366555) purchased new from Rothrock Motors in Whitehall, Pennsylvania. This car has been off the road in dry storage for over 16 years. It has just over 49,000 original miles, is factory original in every respect, and was undercoated when new resulting in rust-free condition.

Datsun_501_road_trip10   Datsun_501_road_trip09   Datsun_501_road_trip08   Datsun_501_road_trip06   Datsun_501_road_trip01   Datsun_501_road_trip02   Datsun_501_road_trip04   Datsun_501_road_trip05


Meet The Driver:

A third generation “car guy,” Randy Lewis was born and raised in Detroit where he developed his love of automobiles at an early age. He has restored countless vintage sports cars. Currently he owns and wrenches on five Datsuns, including 1971 and 1972 240 Z’s, 1966 and 1967 ½ Fairlady Roadsters and the 1972 510. Randy’s also reproducing vintage Datsun parts off shore for sale to enthusiasts.

Lewis_240Z_1 Lewis_240Z_2 Lewis_240Z_3 Lewis_240Z_4 Lewis_Roadster_1 Lewis_Roadster_2 Lewis_Roadster_3 Lewis_Roadster_4

Randy began his professional career in automotive marketing, advertising, brand marketing and merchandising for 17 different automotive brands, and includes motorsports marketing for NASCAR, NHRA, and SCCA.

In the 1990’s, Randy worked with the legendary J. Mays, Ford Motor Company’s current Group VP of Global Design, to help visually position Ford’s domestic brands, Ford of Europe and Mazda. Currently, Randy is Production Manager at “Fine Sports Cars,” a world leader of remanufactured and sanctioned sports racing cars.

The Route:

Datsun 510 barn find road trip NICOclub

•Day 1- Bethlehem, PA to Youngstown, OH via highway #80
•Day 2- Youngstown, OH to Indianapolis, IN via highways #76, 71, 70
•Day 3- Indianapolis, IN to Springfield, MO via highways #70, 44
•Day 4- Springfield, MO to Oklahoma City, OK via highway #44
•Day 5- Oklahoma City, OK to Tucumcari, NM via highways # 44, 40
•Day 6- Tucumcari, NM to Gallup, NM via highway #40
•Day 7- Gallup, NM to Phoenix, AZ via highway #40

The Schedule:

Randy and the 510 will depart Bethlehem, PA on Thursday, September 12. It’s anticipated the 2,500 mile road trip will take approximately 7 days (300-400 miles per day), with an expected return to Phoenix, AZ on September 18. Upon arrival in Phoenix, Randy and his local Datsun friends will prepare the 510 for its reveal at the Japanese Classic Car Show (JCCS), the largest all-Japanese car show in the country in Long Beach, CA on September 28, 2013. The 510 will be showcased there, completing its nearly coast-to-coast journey.

Sponsorships:

Sponsorship opportunities are being offered to help defray costs of the trip, and we'll be recognizing any and all contributors here on NICOclub. Interested parties can contact Randy Lewis at 602-312-4038 or email at: [email protected].

We'll be following Randy's trip from the minute he arrives in Pennsylvania, until he rolls onto the show field at JCCS in Long Beach, right here!

If you'd like to share the updates on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or with another group of Datsun enthusiasts, here's an easy URL to use: https://www.nicoclub.com/510roadtrip

If you have questions, comments, want to arrange a meetup, buy him dinner, or just want to wish Randy safe travels, here's the spot to do it: Datsun 510 Road Trip 

Enjoy, and check in often as we bring this old Datsun back to her new life in the western US!

Continue on to Part 2:  Datsun 510 Road Trip - Part 2



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Article Series

After breakfast this morning we headed directly to Midas to see what could be done about our rusted out exhaust pipe. The guys at Midas didn’t have a clue what a Datsun 510 was and misread the odometer, asking if the car really had 500,000 miles on it. We had to do a bit of […]