SSSEXXX

Morning! I still can’t believe I started this 7 years ago. Such a long time to go without driving your car.

Hi! You can follow the rest of the build on Instagram @theprojectmaker We are scheduled to unveil the car at SEMA 2018 as part of the Toyo Tires Treadpass.

Instagram @theprojectmaker for everything after my build thread. https://www.instagram.com/theprojectmaker

Well, that was certainly an interesting read. As I am the only guy in the US building a Hakobird, besides Forsberg, you are essentially talking about me. And I am not upset about it. I get it. It was a super super hard decision for me. But there is a bit of history that can be found on this very website. My build thread is actually amongst the others here on Ratsun. Where that ends, the rest is on Instagram. Im happy to hear thoughts and am totally open to criticism from all. So if anyone wants to know more, just ask away. Even if you want to tell me you hate me. That’s the beauty of a build like this in some ways. If you have access and want to see the car in person, we will debut the finished build at SEMA 2018 as part of the Toyo Tires Treadpass.

I am ordering custom wheels for my 510 which is en route to SEMA this year. I really need help with some measurements from anyone who has the Techno Toy Tuning BBK for the 510 with 280zx struts. T3 won’t be able to get me the measurements until tomorrow at the earliest and I have a bit of a time crunch. Can anyone out there help? I would sincerely appreciate it. From the diagram below, I need A, B, C & F as soon as possible:

@datsunfreak - The Woodward hub is silky smooth operation too. I haven't had a chance to actually mount a wheel to it, but that damn thing feels glorious...

@heywier427 - LOL! Whaaaaaaaaat? Picture was taken before modification.

@5523Motorsports - She is so damn clean, we could almost eat off of her..... @heywier427 - I think you and @5523Motorsports just became best friends.

@heywier427 - Yes, that is correct, we did purchase the JB subframe in place of the Datsport unit. Honestly, neither are bad and each serves a different purpose. Going with a manual rack & pinion just seemed like the right choice given the rust found in the firewall, the custom pedals and all of the other detail we were putting in. The JB sub frame was the best option on the market for what we were looking to do, but we also had some T3 pieces to mix in to the picture. 5523Motorsports was looking to make some tweaks which would improve what we are trying to do, but if you are looking for a good bolt on solution, the JB sub frame should work just fine. I realize I am being a bit cryptic, but Jeff has always been supportive of our build and has provided me a lot of feedback over the last few years. I wouldn't be where I am at if it were not for some of his influence. Baz has been a tremendous source of inspiration and technical knowledge. His products are so awesome and we are using a lot of Datsport parts still, especially their rubber. Does that make sense?

@5523Motorsports - You two are the best! I can't thank you enough for stepping in and taking on such a big project. Especially with such care and oversight. I could have never done what the two of you have no matter how many years I put in to it. @heywier427 - Just wait until you see some of the work they have done. This is really only the tip of the iceberg. The Wilwood pedals, the steering column, the engine work, the suspension work and the upcoming brakes. The attention to detail is ridiculous.

Thanks for the feedback on everything! I have decided not to go the flared route and keep the original body lines in place. After all, it was what I have been in love with since the beginning. I am going to get a carbon BRE front chin spoiler which I hope will round out the mostly NOS front end. As for the seats, I just accepted the inevitable... buckets are just not that comfortable and won't really be realistic for my weekend driving. I decided to get some vintage Recaro LX-C seats and then have them re-covered with a vintage JDM racing bucket theme. So perforated leather centers to match the Nardi wheel with regular leather bolsters. I will try and get the metal grommets for the same aesthetic as well. I think it should work well with a good 4 point race harness.

@thisismatt - It will be a street car, but I struggle with the same opinion. I would like to get more rubber on wider wheels. Yet, I love the factory body lines. Argh! @hobospyder - No sir, you are not an idiot. The idiot was the company that powder coated the inside of the plenum, underside of the original valve cover and the inside of the GReddy oil pan. Then they were confused about why I was pissed off. Nardi made a limited run of wheels with black perforated leather or suede on black centers with black stitching. Usually they have red, white, etc stitching. I just want to be able to run wider tires honestly. And flares would let me do that.

The engine is almost ready for final assembly, so I knew I needed to get moving on some detail work... So I picked up a 350MM Deep Corn Nardi in triple black..... Went with the perforated leather... sexy right? Then, those of you who follow the build know that I did the unthinkable. I tore apart my grill to restore it. Well, I didn't completely destroy it. Who would have thought? So, I have been tossing around the ideal of carbon fiber bolt on fender flares. I just haven't seen a well executed 4 door with them. But it would allow me to go much wider on the tires and perhaps a five lug conversion. I know this is a pretty intense topic, but i want opinions and thoughts. I do have immaculate sheet metal and it would be a bold move. I'm very conflicted.

Been doing a lot of traveling lately, but rest assured, the project continues. Project Miracle Whip is like a lot of projects here and things tend to change once the reality of installing them gets close. This post will require a little more input from you. I have so many questions and I do care about the community's thoughts. Pictures and comments to follow.... I was going to recover carbon fiber NRG seats and use 4-point harnesses; however, these bad boys arrived damaged and went back to the shipper. It was a blessing in disguise though. I'm 6'5" and about 220 pounds these days, so large seats don't fit right. Bolsters really shouldn't be larger than 24" for proper fitment. I really wanted carbon backed buckets, but that might not be a reality. Anyone have a line on vintage Recaro LS seats I can have recovered? One disappointment gave way to another sad moment. We found some rust on the firewall. But, we made lemonade. We decided to go with a Willwood pedal setup and a custom firewall heat shielding. We are going to cover the aluminum panels in gold heat shield. I don't have pictures of it, but we ditched the Datsport SR20DET kit and went with a JB crossmember and Techno Toy Tuning steering bits. I already had their coilovers, so it kind of made sense. Plus, we are going the MR2 manual rack and pinion conversion. That gave way to a custom steering column too. We went super high end on that piece. Good news is that the 1968 (and 1969) Canadian dash had the key on the dash and not the column. Then it was time to deal with the jacked up red color of powder coat on the valve cover and air plenum. That proved to be a massive pain to get off. It took a miracle, but Jen and Nick got it done. In my 6 years of working on this project, my style has grown to be much more understated. No more blue and red Greddy bits, went with a gunmetal. All the red? Gone. In its place, a nice dull black. Yay! Since parts were going to powder, we stripped all the shine nonsense and matched the colors to the rest of the parts. Black and gunmetal...

@paradime - Thank you for that. Really nice of you to take the time to provide some thoughts. This forum has been a bit slow as of late. I am planning on running Jeff's cross member, but doing so does not come without its costs. I am going to have to ditch the Datsport crossmember and steering bits too. That means most likely replacing the miscellaneous pieces with T3 pieces that are not cheap. Checking Jeff's website, it appears to the manual rack option is out of stock. Going to have to hit up Icehouse!

Hello!!!! Looks like we are going to swap to a to an MR2 manual rack. You gentlemen want to give me some input?

Thanks Draker! It hasn't been a cheap couple of weeks. Fabrication isn't cheap and I just don't have the time or skill to do it quickly.

We also managed to swap out the throttle linkage to s13 too. Wilwood pedals are coming in soon for brake and clutch pedal. An unnecessary and gratuitous cage shot inside the car... Then it was seat placement and height test fit time. I am going to go with NRG Carbon Fiber seats since I could not find a vintage one for a reasonable price. Really wanted AutoLook, but just can't pay that for it. I'm also super tall and they didn't look too comfortable or practical... Next was a quick suspension mock-up. Good news, everything fits. Bad news, brakes are going to have to go. At least new pistons for the front and a rear mounted rotor. Not to mention the bracket didn't line up. ARGH!!!! I'm also 90% sure I am going to pull the trigger on an MR2 manual rack and pinion conversion. It would actually be relatively cost effective as I need to refurbish my steering box... Anyway, let's check on the progress of the fuel cell and the false floor... Here you can see the basket is removable for when life calls for chaos... Basket in.. Fuel cell in... I also made the executive decision that the hinges suck painted. Going to strip them, plate pieces of them, refurbish them and then have them painted matte black... just seems a better long term strategy.. Until next time....

Another Saturday at the shop checking on Project Miracle Whip.... Center mounted e-brake is fabricated and welded in. Yes, that is from an s13..... It looks a little "drifty" from this angle, but we just used this one to mock up. It was actually in a drift car and was modified. The final version will not do this lol... Keen eyes should note that the Autopower Rollcage is in... Welded in actually, just thought that it was the smartest and safest option...

Ps anyone know any good floating rear disks? I have Nissan Sentra GTR rotors and they are too heavy...

Damn! Talk about some love! Thank you everyone for all the kind words and motivation. I went from feeling alone to being surrounded by Datsun family. That's super cool. Let me start by saying that I really like Baz and Tracy. I am running a lot of their product. But, it is hard to make universal applications for 50 year old cars, not to mention applications in which you are merging new technology. Nick and Jen could not stomach a scissor jack widening of the hole. I have too much OCD for that as well. So we just decided to make a more precise cut. I'm also running the Lancer console and the e-brake like I mentioned . So things are going to be tight. Precision is key and a less wide opening would make my life easier. Long answer, I know. So basically I'm anal retentive.

Argh!!! Why don't things ever go as planned? Mock up of the transmission tunnel cut for the SR20DET transmission to be covered by the Datsport cover just didn't feel right. Great product, but just not going to hep me accomplish what I needed to with the S13 center mount cable e-brake lever. Photos courtesy of Nick & Jen over at 5523 Motorsport, clearly I am not this talented. From the top everything looked great: But from other angles, not so good.... So again Nick and Jen shot me an email and we got started on Plan B... After the initial cut was made, it was time to start fabricating. I have to give Nick credit, this was just pure sexy work.. Left side nub gap: Right side nub gap: Reverse light wiring gap: Next up will be some welding to shore up the fabrication work and then the S13 e-brake handle will be test fit. It is looking like we will need to mount it higher than a direct transmission tunnel mount so that it sits correctly with the Lancer center console. More to come soon...

And, I'm baaaaaaaaaack. I miss the old days when there use to be a lot more commentary and interaction. Is it just me or did the rise of Instagram kill the social impact found on these forums? Anyway, I digress. First order of business was a swap for part with none other than my favorite Datsun savior the510keeper. Loaded up the truck on a super rainy day and headed to Left Coast Datsun. 1968 Datsun 4 door interior, front windshield, gas tank and spare tire pan in flawless condition. Swap was made, but since it was raining enough to warrant my 35" tires there were no handoff photos taken. But here was some of the goodies James blessed me with. NOS eyebrow trim, NOS upper hood trim and new to me trunk springs. Didn't bother to tell James, but the NOS windshield trim he sold me got damaged when we test fit the 1969 Canadian dash. So I sourced a new replacement from my favorite Australian Datsun team over at Datsport. While I was at it, Baz and Tracy provided me a much needed r200 Mustache Bar with polyureathane bushings.

A guy from the east coast on eBay. They carpet showed up and surprised the hell out of me. The cost was negligible and it had insulation/padding pre cut on the bottom. Message me and I will try and find the seller name. Got a chance to make a visit to the shop today. I was really torn on the idea of a fuel cell versus a custom tank in the stock location. Obviously, you can quickly see what option we settled on... A short while later and there was a hole in the pit of my stomach and in the rear of Project Miracle Whip. I really hesitated, but since we are going to hide the battery and the fuse box in the space where the original fuel tank went it made the most logical choice easy. This view was what I was most concerned with. It will take building a false floor in the trunk and some creative panels, but this could look aesthetic pleasing even though we don't have room for groceries anymore... Test fitting the fuel filler neck, obviously not the tubing we will use, but just getting some perspective... Then it was time to talk shop and play with the toys.... Finally got to see the Autopower Roll Bar... Swapped out the 370z start button with a GTR red start button using the OEM 370z bezel.. I didn't take a picture of the TurboSmart goodies, but I did take a picture of this... lol no idea why... Then we wrapped up sending power to the instrument cluster for no other reason than we could!