SpikeEjayR Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 I always wanted to start a build thread i guess now at the begining is the best time to do it. Ill try to update it as often as i can. I hope i dont bore to many of you with my Budget "brandy" build. Memorial Day 2009: CONS:I picked her up from the valley for 550 dollars. Shes got rust mainly on the quarter panel behind the rear tires. the stock wiring was all taken out. someone began to rewire it but never finished. it has a NapZ 20 with that cross flow head ive been reading about. behine the pasanger side on the floor board there is fiberglass, i think the metal is still under ther but im not sure yet. crappy weld job on the rest of the floor pan repair. missing little things here and there. alot of the chrome is there and still looks decent. PROS: Its a 510, and ive always wanted one. It was only 550 dollars. I got time this summer to work on it. it has most of the suspension with 280 struts on the side. i guess the napz20 is good. HELL its a 510 and ive always wanted one. June 3 2009 (will post pics soon) Since buying the car ive gotten the paper work going. Ive been reading about the car and the engine in it. I orderd and recived a 510 manual, im still waiting on a 720 manual. (that is the one i need to tell me more about my napz20 right?) i ordered some fiberglass from classic datsun. I put the front suspension back on. the old 510 springs were all bent out of shape and need to go ASAP. im going to to take apart the 280 struts soon and have them cut and welded. (how much are the 280 struts shortened?) ive carefully removed the chrome. removed the lights. tossed the tagged up interior. removed all glass. now im trying to build the confidence to start sandblasting. Today i went to the junk yard and looked for a 72 or so 510. I didnt find one but i had fun looking at all the junk. I did find a 77, i figured oh it cant be that different. i guess i was right but wrong too. i pulled the rear seats hoping they would just drop into the back of mine. i was wrong maybe because of the year or because it was a wagon. either way i should have said hello to everyone memorial day and asked someone. they didnt fit. I dont really know what the stock 510 seats look like. mine came with the 80's dodge daytona seats, at least thats what i think they are. I know i want that low back look up front so i began my search at pick a part. i saw old vw seats toyota seats saw those bmw seats people use, i liked them but not what i was looking for...i pretty much saw a whole bunch of seats. only two really caught my eye. i saw an old elcamino with a cool bench that i thought would look nice and i saw some seats when i first got to pick a part. they were CVCC seat. i ended up getting those. the mountings look easy to work with and had that square look i want to go for. the only thing is they are not that low to the back. i went home and saw that the cvcc seats were right for me the 77 wagon rear seat was a waste of money. if i dont source a back seat maybe ill try my hand at furniture making for the back seats. planned for the rest of the week is wait on my 720 book. (if anyone knows how those 8 spark plugs go to my 4 cylinder please let me know) buy a sand blaster and a nice spray gun, source some quarter panels for rust repair and enjoy my new toy. Quote Link to comment
fisch Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 planned for the rest of the week is wait on my 720 book. (if anyone knows how those 8 spark plugs go to my 4 cylinder please let me know) buy a sand blaster and a nice spray gun, source some quarter panels for rust repair and enjoy my new toy. Sounds like a fine plan! You know, the other great thing about the dime is the community it comes with. Dude Ratsun is like those cell phone commercials where the camera pans and you see a sea of people in your network. We're all here for each other. Got rust? Here it is a badge of honor. Fully restored? We will drool all over it. I've visited a lot of other forums, never have I found one as awesome as Ratsun. Something about the kinda person that loves these eccentric little Japanese cars from an extinct nameplate. Anyway, welcome again! Quote Link to comment
datto510 Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Cool! Looks like its all there! Quote Link to comment
Hitman Cody 2130 Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 planned for the rest of the week is wait on my 720 book. (if anyone knows how those 8 spark plugs go to my 4 cylinder please let me know) Pmed ya some info on that motor Quote Link to comment
athoose Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Is your Z20 fuel injected or carb'd? Nice car for a project! Quote Link to comment
SpikeEjayR Posted June 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 thanks for the warm welcome everyone. i dont mean to rag on the other nissan or datsun forums but from what ive seen, Ratsun seems to be the best one out of all of them. Im really thankful for such a warm welcome. oh athoose ive got the carbed version. Quote Link to comment
SpikeEjayR Posted June 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2009 i cant seem to edit my original post to put pics in, i guess ill figure it out later. heres she is whit her suspension back on: heres a good picture of her interior taken out i got my sand blaster today at Harbor Freight and tested it out: Further testing with my sandblaster relieved lots of bondo on the rear pass 1/4 panel: Some engine Pics, Im still trying to figure out the sparkplugs if anyone can help: Here are those CVCC seat i was talking about: Quote Link to comment
SpikeEjayR Posted June 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 I got more done to the car during the past week or so. I pulled the engine, tranny, and drive shaft. got the dash out and the pedals. pulled out the little bits here and there. I just got my new panels that i ordered from classic datsun. I also got the new sunroof that i orderd. Shes pretty much at parade rest and waiting to go to a paint shop. (if anyone knows of a good honest shop around Pasadena, CA please let me know.) All i need to do now is cut the new hole for the sunroof, i might try to attempt putting in my new panels. Quote Link to comment
inline4 Posted June 13, 2009 Report Share Posted June 13, 2009 I got more done to the car during the past week or so. I pulled the engine, tranny, and drive shaft. got the dash out and the pedals. pulled out the little bits here and there. I just got my new panels that i ordered from classic datsun. I also got the new sunroof that i orderd. Shes pretty much at parade rest and waiting to go to a paint shop. (if anyone knows of a good honest shop around Pasadena, CA please let me know.) All i need to do now is cut the new hole for the sunroof, i might try to attempt putting in my new panels. you think that fiberglass is gonna hold up? Quote Link to comment
bonvo Posted June 13, 2009 Report Share Posted June 13, 2009 why do you want to put a sunroof in it ? all they do is leak Quote Link to comment
SpikeEjayR Posted June 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2009 The car came with the hole on the roof. i figured it would be cheaper to keep her like that. if it were up to me id have no sunroof, because your right all they do is leak. Quote Link to comment
fisch Posted June 13, 2009 Report Share Posted June 13, 2009 Nice progress man! Way to get on it! Quote Link to comment
SpikeEjayR Posted June 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2009 i dunno if the fiberglass is gonna hold up for daily drive use. its just a replacement for the rusty old panels i got. i hope they do. im more worried about how to get them on. Quote Link to comment
blue72 Posted June 13, 2009 Report Share Posted June 13, 2009 Looks like you're off to a good start. It also looks like your floors have been "massaged" in the past. Are you planning on fixing the rust yourself of farming it out to a body shop? Quote Link to comment
inline4 Posted June 13, 2009 Report Share Posted June 13, 2009 The car came with the hole on the roof. i figured it would be cheaper to keep her like that. if it were up to me id have no sunroof, because your right all they do is leak. time to put one of those glass roofs like a mercedes :) Quote Link to comment
Wharf Rat Posted June 13, 2009 Report Share Posted June 13, 2009 Welcome to Ratsun Land :) Just keep on keeping on man ride the wave There are a ton of cool people here to root you on :D Good job with the pics, we like them ....... alot Quote Link to comment
SpikeEjayR Posted August 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2009 More to come real soon fellas. i know its been about 2 1/2 months but Brandy has been with a scumbag auto body man, she should be running by now but oh well lesson learned. Dont do business with people that dont speak english or at least educate your self enough to learn to speak that other persons language. I got her at a more reputable place and I saw her today. I didnt take any pictures becuse i didnt want to bring this thread back alive until I had something to show for. I just really wanted to post something and let everyone know i havent given up on this project yet. Quote Link to comment
Yakuza Posted August 27, 2009 Report Share Posted August 27, 2009 weld the sunroof shut...dont put it on....as for the fiberglass, id find some good used panels and use them instead of the fiberglass....but thats just me..cool project by the way:D Quote Link to comment
Jesse C. Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 Dang, seeing all these project threads is getting me antsy to get started on mine. But, I need to get the Chevelle out of the garage first. Great start and looking forward for more updates! Quote Link to comment
yellowdatsun Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 I agree on not using the fiberglass, at least not for structural parts like the tail light panel. I had gone that same route, but not long after I had to cut the tail panel back out and weld a used steel one in. Trying to get the fiberglass panel like that, to adhere and work with the steel quarters is nearly impossible. They *WILL* crack where the two meet. Not maybe, but definitely. Reason being is the steel and fiberglass flex at different rates, and there really is no good way to get the two to bond together properly. Plus the tail panel also holds up the weight of the floor in the back, so the fiberglass panel holding up that kind of weight.....it's just not going to last. Non structural parts like the roll pan are fine. The front valance can be bolted on, and is also not really an issue. Trust me, it's not worth the effort to do it twice. Quote Link to comment
SpikeEjayR Posted September 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 ya i dont like the whole fiberglass thing either. there was no real goood solid way to put it on. im hoping that the moldin dosent start to crack with the body flex. i hope to get a better shell as soon as i mock everything up on this one. i finally got some recent pics of it though. ill get better pics up as soon as i can Quote Link to comment
SpikeEjayR Posted September 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 (edited) i got my bushing kit and installed the front. i didn't take pictures of how i did it because im sure all of you will laugh, i was wile i was doing it. i will tell you though that i don't have a press, all i had was a hammer, tree stump, drill, and a sore arm. i got new ball joints and found a set of stock springs. After about a week of getting the wrong part and returning it, the local parts store finally got me a new set of tie rods and adjusting sleeves. Next on the list is new brake hard lines, steel braided bake lines, steel braided clutch line, new front rotors and a caliper rebuild. I hope to get that done by next weekend. im still waiting on my headliner from to intense restoration. its been about a week and a half now. thank you to all of you following my little build. my bushing press: the old front springs: new shocks: pretty red parts: just another back pic of the new paint job: Edited September 18, 2009 by SpikeEjayR Quote Link to comment
Skib Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 the old front springs: :eek: Quote Link to comment
bonvo Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 the old front springs: them be them propane torch specials :eek: Quote Link to comment
Creepy Cruiser Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 Very nice! My favorite part of the whole build, is the cool Ratsun garage you're building it in, lol. Quote Link to comment
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