A little something to offend everyone

[DRIVEN]

Finally got around to putting a cowl/deflector on my roof rack. I used an old, rough, rusty tailgate for my letter source. It was originally on the green 521 at the top of page 4 but was sold with a huge pile of parts a couple years ago. I called the guy to see if I could buy it back and he just donated it to the project. Anyway, I cut the tailgate into pieces, trimmed around the letters and riveted them to a strip of sheet metal. The sheet metal was then riveted to the frame of the rack. I wanted the rusty letters to "float" so I used some MagnaMask letters to save me from having to tape it all off, then shot it with flat black. The flash makes it look glossier than it really is. Once the rainy weather stops I'll get a shot of it on the car. Let know what you guys think.

 

[drogg1]

That looks damn good. The letters are perfect. It reminds me of how people put big "Pontiac" or "Chevrolet" stickers on their windshields except this is actually cool and good looking. That's a pretty nifty idea. Makes me want a little datsun to play with.

 

[85Frankencar]

I think this is an awesome project! Nice job on getting a modern drivetrain such an old car (plus it's a Datsun...) - personally, I'd love to add a 79 240 to the collection...I think its great you're saving a classic & giving it an upgrade

 

[DRIVEN]

Thanks guys. Looks like tomorrow will be the first of a dry stretch. I plan to clean it up, toss on the roof rack and maybe play with some swaybar ideas I have been thinking about.

 

[DRIVEN]

Got the rack on. Gave it a quick wash and repainted the hood and window frames with some trim coat. I did some measuring and I think I've got my swaybar idea worked out. More to come on that later. My brother has a set of 15X7 AutoBahn wheels on his 240Z project that he isn't using right now. Wasn't sure if the wheels would clear but I know the tires are too big. Mocked one of them up and it looks like they'll work if I come up with a set of 195/50-15 tires. A buddy of mine owns an alignment shop and had some coilovers he removed from a BMW 325 in his scrap pile so they followed me home. Now I need to be on the lookout for a pair of 280ZX struts (bigger brakes). Between the swaybars, bigger brakes, wider tires, lighter wheels and power booster, this thing ought to handle pretty well once I'm done.

 

[viperedvette]

i love the "Datsun" roof rack!! It looks like it is installed from the factory!! Great work!! :wink:

 

[3XBrownCutty]

Those wheels look nice! Almost look like the enkei 92's. Gold will tie in with the rest of the car i think.

 

[DRIVEN]

Got some projects taken care of yesterday and this morning. Started with some brakes:

I stole an idea from a Volvo forum...stacked sway bars. I came up with a total of 3 stock sway bars. One was on the car, one from a B210 I parted out years ago, and one from a guy I know. The 510 and B210 bars are almost identical. Maybe they are actually the same part but I found the 510 bar was just slightly wider -- maybe 1/4". It goes something like this. Started with this pile of parts:

Painted the sway bars. I had to make one of the U shaped brackets too, (2) 1/8" rectangle shaped plates. (4) 2.5" bolts, (4) 1.25" tube sleeves, stock end links + 2 extra bushings to go between the bar ends.

The next few pics are pretty self explanatory:

After I got it on the ground and drove it around the driveway a bit I discovered that the lower bar would contact the TC rod on hard bumps. I ground the offending area a little (probably 1/8") and all is well. If my car wasn't lowered it may not have been an issue.

I also experimented with my stash of random sway bars to see what I could make work of the back. Guess what? A stock 510 front bar fits pretty well.

The center mounts were just 2 1/2" exhaust clamps and some 1/4" plate.

The end link mounts were some 2" angle iron with a gusset welded on the back side. (The rearend is at full droop in the photo. At ride height it is pretty much level.)

There is no less than 1/4" clearance at any point. My car has 2" lowering blocks on the rear. I don't know if this would work with a 1" block and I doubt it would have room at all with stock rear suspension. I haven't had a chance to punish it through any good twisties yet but just driving around town it feels dramatically better. In theory this should be a pretty good balance. The same amount of torsional resistance was added to each end of the car. I'll update once I give it some serious drive time.
Last part of the upgrades were some borrowed AutoBahns from my brother's lonnnnnnnng term 240z project. I had to buy my own 195/50-15 Falkens since his tires were too big.

 

[crash]

Very cool project!

 

[DRIVEN]

Well it's about time to put this one back into regular rotation. With the Cutlass and the Goldwing as summer rides, I really didn't put a lot of miles on it this summer. Mostly short trips to the shop and Napa, both are less than 2 miles away. It developed a weird habit of randomly dying with absolutely no warning. Acts just like someone turns off the key. With only 2 exceptions, it has always started right back up. I've swapped out every single sensor, the ECM, ICM and coilpacks with spares I have. I've verified all the power feeds and grounds and monitored it with a scanner and never caught it in the act. By process of elimination I've kind of narrowed it down to an intermittent problem with the harness. That would make the most sense since almost every wire in it was cut and spliced. So far it's always gotten me home but I just can't trust it anymore. I guess I just need to get motivated enough to peel the harness out and split it apart. Urg! I just can't want to. Not really much of a choice though. The rain's back and I don't like driving the El Camino daily. More to come if I find the problem.