chukar

Bringing back an old thread but I follow Mike on instagram (Bluehandsvideo) and he has been sharing videos of his ball joint conversion for the 521. There was a group buy on a Facebook Datsun page that Mike mentions in this thread but it looks like he may have a few extra to sell. There are a few people on Ratsun, like myself, that are not members of facebook so I wanted to mention it here too. Check out Mike's instagram for the latest updates.

Here is the video I was thinking of but he is removing the bearing (not the bearing race) from a 510 wagon axle. Probably not helpful. Sorry.

I believe Mike (Bluehands) has a video showing how to remove the race. I'll see if I can dig it up for you but basically he used a small cutoff wheel to cut the race diagonally and then a cold chisel. I used his approach and it worked great for me.

What type of paint did you end up going with? I'll be painting some parts soon and trust you judgement on a good value paint. I was in the Lynnwood shop the other day and was surprised how expensive the top of the line PPG paint was (women behind the counter told me $800 to $1000 per gallon). Sorry, I can't comment on the color match since I'm color blind to some colors.

Check out Tractor Supply's coal slag blasting abrasive. I've used it before and had good luck plus it is about $9 for a 50lb bag. There is a Tractor Supply in Arlington and Monroe.

Is it best to leave a small gap between the panels prior to welding? That way when you grind it smooth there would be more of the weld puddle remaining. In some of your photos it looks like there is a gap and others it looks like the panels are touching. I'm a novice welder and haven't done any work on body panels so I'm following your process. I know when I weld thicker material and plan on grinding it smooth material I will bevel the edges so more of the weld remains. Keep up the good work.

Do these calipers have a metal ring that goes around the dust seal? I rebuilt some 300zx calipers and they had it but I'm not sure if all calipers do.