'79 620 daily

[Farmer Joe]

so close, yet so far... lol

 

im diggin the sidedrafts...

 

one thing that comes to mind tho, is the length of the 2 rod end links...

 

does it bind right off the bat or cycle freely? just looks like it could be hard to push right off idle..

 

in any case, badass work.. get this sucker running..

[Gary]

true that :lol: nothing binds, i was careful with that. there's enough room for fine adjustment to get them exactly even, pretty sure ill leave that to the tuner im going to send it to though. theyre as close as i can do by feel, seems to work ok

 

progress;

damn where to begin! started with putting the fuel reg on:

 

then filled the PCV holes in the filter mounts on the carbs with some blanks i turned up, then test fitted the mesh that holds my filters (if i had some) for clearance, all good.

 

then to be sure i got a return spring for the throttle, works ok but could be better. i might do a better one someday

 

then cranked for oil pressure again, and tried to fire it up. no spark :\ so i assed about trying to figure out why. i rewired some things, then wired in a relay for the fuel pump and the coil cos the coil was only getting 9V before cranking, then worked on a more solid terminal design in case it was arcing against the thread of the bolt that was holding ring connectors in, then asked some chaps at work and on ozdat and they told me i shouldnt have wired the negative terminal of the coil to the battery :sweat: idiot. fixed that, tried to fire it up once more and i had ignition! sorta. fired but wouldnt start

 

felt like timing was the problem, so i messed about with that. ive no clue how, nor do i know what i was thinking but i managed to put the leads on perfectly backwards :\ dick. swapped them around and it runs and its alive! :hyper: its all warm again!

 

never mind the smoke, i got trans fluid all over my new exhaust when trying to fill the box so thats why its smoking. that and probably also the paint i used

 

its loud :( the exhaust shop man messed up, i want the exhaust quiet so i can hear induction better. plenty of room under there though so its not all bad. other than that it runs good all things considered. it wont idle though and it misses and carries on but still holds revs at certain throttle. so its a good start, now so far as i can tell its just a matter of playing with the carbs until it'll drive decent, then its off to someone who knows three to four thousand times more than what i know about carbs :D

[Wide14u]

i cant pull up any video but im glad you got it going

[Wide14u]

ok i see it now sounds good

[copydat]

SICK update!

[Farmer Joe]

yeah the exhaust is pretty loud from what it sounds like...

 

i bet once you get it outside of the shop it might seem quieter..

 

it runs pretty good for being untuned!

 

right on!

[Mika]

Yeeeeaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!

 

 

 

 

 

I miss the Mk 1 even more now :(

[Gary]

thanks lads :D ive got a bit to go but i think im learning

 

i miss golf too :( easily put celsior to shame noise wise

 

progress;

ive been about the place trying to figure out how to jet these things when i found out emissions carbs like the F's i have operate differently, so they need different spec emulsion tubes (within the dellortos range, just that there are only 3 out of that range that are suitable - 7772.8 .10 and .11), and they have a fixed air bleed component on the idle jet. bad if im a hardcore carby guru tuning my carb for an off tits race engine, but excellent if im a clueless optimist hoping i can make my old 40's work on a stocker i had sitting around for 5 years :D

 

least i think thats how it goes, i could very easily be completely incorrect. i think i still need to sort out choke and venturi sizes, but from what i can gather specifying those is about normal, and main jets are sized to displacement as usual too. so i can use a book i got that details how to initial tune DHLA's :) im going to swing by the same carb shop i went to the other day now that i have a slight idea as to what i need (and i need filters and maybe a rebuild kit now that ive pulled the accellerator pump jet). ive got a list of stuff to ask him so hopefully he doesnt mind entertaining me and my lack of knowledge. depending on how that goes, ill also swing by a place near melbourne who tunes dellortos for some advice from him too, if it turns out jet sizes will need to be messed with then he'll be the better option to tune it i think

 

i went by my exhaust chap today too, ive got an idea to shut the exhaust up good, ive asked him to order a muffler similar to the one i have now, but with the inlet and outlet on the same end. that one will go on the bottom, the one i have will go on top, then i just need to adjust the hangers (maybe one more) and realign the outlet and it should be nice and quiet. should be aaaaallllll induction :D

[Gary]

progress;

my muffler isnt in yet :( probs tomoz

 

i hit the carb shop again and got some jets, a bunch of rebuild gaskets and some of this:

 

:D with filters they cost lots... but they look pretty cool :lol: theyve also helped out with the carbs spitting (which needs fixing anywho, but nice that its reduced it immediately) they expose some vents for the fuel bowls, so i gotta think of a way to get some mesh or something in there. as far as i hear theyre fine left open like that for now so not so bad

 

i set the fuel floats to 17mm, they were close before but a little off. i had 10g floats that werent actually mentioned in my rebuild book, internet to the rescue though. gasketed the top cover, and replaced the o rings and washers for the acc pump jets

 

i put the jets back in, i found the jets ive got arent actually the size stamped into the side of them, they've been redrilled (and soldered too for some reason). i realised this after i bought fresh jets then compared the hole sizes :( hoping carby man will let me swap them but we'll see. im trying to figure out how to measure the hole in both jets so i can go a touch bigger but we'll see what the carby chap says. on the up side ive got the idle screws wound all the way out now and it almost holds idle - a bigger idle jet should solve it. still running lean i think so im a little scared to drive it just yet

 

also noticed the bracket for the throttle on one of the carbs wasnt striking the idle adjust screw, so i got it off and built it up a bit with the mig, then bent it so it fit better

 

ive been thinking about getting vac advance connected properly, opinion is mixed on doing that though. on one hand there are some knowledgable chaps on ozdat who own workshops and things and say that vac advance is only for emissions and doesnt do anything useful, on the other you've got chaps saying it is important and the ignition advance helps with idle, fuel economy and one even mentioned it keeps the engine cooler :\ ive decided to connect it see how it goes, so i needed a T piece to pull some vac from the only line ive got, the brake booster. naturally the one i need isnt made, so i had to make one. made it and fitted it, ready for tomoz

 

now its looking like this:

 

not sure what ill do tomoz, i want to drive it baaaadddddd but i really dont want to hurt anything driving it lean. ill run it for a while see how it goes, then maybe head back to carb shop see if he can get me into the jets i need

[Mika]

:hyper:

[Gary]

woo damn! been going good :D

 

progress;

i ran it a few more times and messed about with timing, tricky to get it though cos it wouldnt idle at the right RPM so ive got it about where it runs good and left it there. also checked the valve clearances which all seem good. after i did that i noticed water coming out of the recovery system of the rad so i took the overflow bottle i had for the J and made it fit inside the drivers side wheel well, plumbed it up and it works good. i swapped out the water in the rad for coolant, and made a new gasket for the drain plug since i think the leaky one in there was original :lol:

 

then got to work on the exhaust and fitted an extra muffler. as it turns out, it didnt do shit :( ive decided these mufflers arent very good. ill remove both and get some other ones soon, its still very loud. slightly annoying, youd think itd have done at least something :( maybe theyre only good for pulling a certain frequency out and not a lot more or something

 

i messed about with a couple little things, then called a local tuner who said to bring it around tomorrow morning for a look. given i havent driven it yet i wanted to make sure itd be ok for the short trip, so i got it ready for a test drive tonight

 

ive taken it for a spin just now, started up ok, idled ok but needed warming before itd really do anything (very bad tune :() got it out on the road and got to speed, only really liked 20% throttle and would choke if i shifted too short. i was hoping for just a little WOT but wasnt to be just yet. i went around my normal test track, temp was good and held idle fine. got back out onto a main road on the way to get some fresh fuel, then come to a roundabout, i kept in 2nd gear cos i thought id choke if i didnt, then thought why not have another go at WOT

 

well, it works good :cool: man it sounds tuff! the exhaust is still really loud but i can still hear induction over it :D sounds gooooood. i had a few stabs at open throttle, it wouldnt do it till i was probably around 4k rpm, then it gets on song and goes gooood. nice little surge :D i probably wouldnt call it quick but feels great punchin about in it, even better with it tuned i hope. i pulled into BP to get some fuel and left it idling for a bit while i checked for leaks, sounds a lot meatier than it is thats for sure!

 

otherwise i think its all going good, alternator is charging the battery, all the lights and the reverse sensor works, the speedo is out by about 10k's but i think that'll be fixed when i go for a 3.9 ratio diff, the shifter position isnt quite as good as it was when testing it static, its ok but bit of a reach downward, spose once im used to it it'll be fine, steering is the same so far despite my work on the tierod ends (im getting a mill soon though so i might do it properly then), the alternator tensioner isnt too good though, its rattly as so i need to work something out there, the engine isnt smokey either! quite a relief, solid compression too so it looks like the leaky valves needed some heat to seal again. im impressed with the L, its sat around naked for 5 years, even after my attempt at cleaning it years ago (with water, and no compressed air) its still solid enough to run good now

 

so it works! tune tomoz hopefully and wont be long till i can drive it all the time :D

[copydat]

man I'm stoked for ya hey! That is an awesome ute. I'd love to hear that thing in the flesh!

 

Good work as always mate!

 

Geordie.

[Wide14u]

i cant wait to see this go and hear it rev :D

[Laecaon]

I love coming to this thread and seeing all the unique ideas. Your fabrication is amazing.

[Gary]

:blush: thanks for the kind words chaps, very nice of you :) my exhaust fabrication turned out not so good though :(

 

progress;

i got to a local tuner the other day, he spent some time fiddling about with the carbs and timing to get it running a bit better. he didnt have jets and i found that his definition of tuning carbs is different to what i thought it was. nevertheless he did make them run a bit better, he set timing via vaccuum which helped, and did what he could to balance each throat idle mixture wise. he mentioned the rear carb wasnt doing so good, and needed a rebuild. more specifically it needed to be cleaned out properly (acid tanked). which isnt that big a problem i spose, not sure how im going to go about that one yet

 

while i was out i hit the exhaust place again for a different muffler, id thought that the exhaust leaking would give me similar problems to what i had but for some reason i didnt properly consider the idea. sorta dawned on me once we had it up on a hoist for a peek. so i pulled the exhaust off completely, cut a few bits out to find i had some big leaks in lots of places, mostly between the secondaries where i couldnt reach. ive decided im not going to do any more exhaust work without a bending machine, welding tight bits isnt practical for me and my not good skillz :( pretty sure it was leaking out of the flanges too. i set about fixing those problems which ended up taking all day

 

after finishing messing around with everything i was mad keen on driving it to see how it sounds/goes. so about an hour ago i took it out for a spin :) its quieter, but still sounds like its leaking from the manifold :( ill live with it for now. induction is easier to hear though :D all the messing about fixing stupid mistakes and practices gets forgotten real quick, soon as that noise comes along :w00t: i got it onto the freeway too to see how it goes through all of the gears, maxed out the speedo pretty quick :huh: im about 10k's out though i think. drives ok under WOT but everywhere else it's pretty rough - doesnt matter for now i spose

 

also had my first breakdown :lol: fuel pump decided to not work anymore, wiring problem i think cos it worked again after some fiddling. ill check that out tomoz

 

i had pics of all these shenanigans, but my phone has corrupted them :(

[fivetenguy]

You've got mad fab skill buddy! Keep up the good work.

 

I love the sound of the dual carbs. Makes me want to put the set of mikunis I have laying around.

[Gary]

me too :D thanks man

 

for shits i had a look around to find some old pics of before i started. i didnt take many but found these:

 

progress;

yesterday made another hanger for the exhaust to take the weight of the extra bigger muffler (got pics but my phone broke the pictures again :\) pics are of wire holding it up so i could get the hanger right. after that i went over to a mates place to hang for a bit and show them the ute. 3 of us ended up piling in and going for a spin for some food and beverages :D wouldnt want to go long distance with 3 in but cool to see it's sorta possible :lol:

 

today went for a spin when another mate came by for a look, to find im leaking coolant :( the holes in the head that go through to the stock intake manifold arent sealing properly against the lynx manifold, so the rear one is leaking pretty bad. thats decided it for me though, since ive only got 4 days till i need to rely on the ute, and the 40's need rebuilding im going to take them off and fit the stock hitachi. ive got a rebuild kit for that on the way to hopefully fix whatever was making it leak severely before, and i need to fix the leaking welsh plug in the manifold

 

so tomoz hopefully it all goes well and i'll be running smoother and with less leaks. then with some work into the dellortos and some bigger jets it'll be back and better than before in no time :D

[slingshot532]

nice work!! :thumbup:

[Gary]

thanks :) its getting there hey

 

progress;

started out waiting for parts, while i was waiting i messed around and sanded the tub back to white then rattle-canned it till it all looks vaguely the same :D rough as but a lot better than it was, looks like it belongs on the car now. also cut back the datsun letters to baremetal, i like how its turned out :D

 

while i had the sander out, i had a go at freshening up the whitewalls since they were all brown and nasty. worked a lot better than i thought, i used 120g i think, and a little detail sander (sort of a baby orbital). theres still a couple faint stains but otherwise they came up almost new. they look heaps better than they did, pics hide how nasty they were, you can sorta tell by the pic i took halfway through one, the fronts were worse

 

fiddled about with the gearshift facia and added some rubber to it to try and quieten some road noise. worked a little but still needs a gaiter. i punched holes in the rubber instead of trying to cut them, i used a tool i made for the radiator drain plug seal, worked better than i thought :D

 

i got my parts in for the carb and set about rebuilding, i think float level was wrong and the needle valve thing was worn, all fixed now though. i got it all together, turned a welsh plug replacement for the manifold and fitted it with some RTV (the hole was corroded as, i dont have my mill yet so i couldnt fix), bolted it to the engine and did a couple little things and it started right up! so smooooth :lol: its nice having a correctly jetted carb. drives nice but is quite down on power, it doesnt like WOT at all so maybe ive messed up the pump diaphragm or maybe not enough fuel pressure or something

[Gary]

progress;

took it out for a spin last night to see if i can find more problems (and i got some pics :D) and it appears that occasionally it doesnt like any throttle at all. just misses, bogs down and carries on and doesnt go anywhere. im going to set timing properly and see if running it leaner helps but if not ill pull the pump diaphragm and maybe put the stock one back in see if it helps. gotta fix it today, i need it moving since my other car is out of rego :(

 

pics i got last night:

[Farmer Joe]

so its legit then?

 

it looks badass! needs a bit moar low.. lol

[Zeusimo]

I Would Have Made The Whitewalls Wider :cool:

[Gary]

legit enough for dailying :D does need more low hey, i need to use the tub for some things though (not a lot, but still need that little extra clearance), its higher at the rear which makes it look higher overall too

 

once i get my mill i might drop it a little more :D there is a fair bit of clearance to chassis

 

i dunno with these whitewalls, the white bit for these ones is raised maybe 2mm and is only as big as you can see in the pics, i dont think sanding the whole sidewall will make the white bigger like it does with some. would be cool though :D

 

progress;

the carb has been shitting me fair good, kept hesitating bad but intermittently. i removed the choke blade cos i think the autochoke had something to do with problems, revved great topend after that but low end it still stalled and hesitated

 

i guessed that meant i didnt clean main jet/emulsion tube/air bleed passages well enough so i pulled it apart again and cleaned the shit out of it. back together now and it runs a lot better, still hesitates when i come to a stop and theres a light hesitation at part throttle in high gear. i think that might have something to do with the fast idling cam thing and that as far as i can see its not doing anything with the way ive put it back together, so ill see if i can fix that

 

otherwise drives ok, i can drive it, just need to rev it up in first which makes everyone think im trying to race them :lol:

[Gary]

progress;

a weekend of fail :(

 

friday i went and got some steel and took this quick pic for shits:

 

then spent the day rushing about making something for a mate (which is about the only thing that went right that day) so no time working on the ute, but while making things i moved an engine stand holding a 1JZ i have and one of the castors exploded almost dropping the engine to the ground :\ took the ute for a spin to work and it went ok though, relays were clicking away though which was worrying. i got home, had a quick shower to go out to a mates place, ute didnt drive so great on the way there. then went for another spin with two other chaps and it barely drove at all, stalling and relays were clicking lots until i gave the wiring a bit of a wiggle

 

then at about 2:30am we headed home (me and 2 mates), fuel pump died completely. i fiddled about with the relays to no avail, then tried hard wiring both of them just to get home, which worked for 25 or so seconds then it stalled and wouldnt start :( it was cold and raining constantly, one of the chaps in the car had to get up for work in too few hours (ended up calling cab), i called for a towtruck while the other chap stayed with me for an hour. 3:30 the truck arrived, got home at about 4 and then got my mate home in another car at about 4:30... ffffuuuuuuuuuuuuu

 

most cars ive owned have been towed at one point, usually the first day i get them so i guess the ute was fair overdue. thanks to RACV though, towing was free. still felt shit as for stranding two mates in the wet and fuckin cold :(

 

saturday was mostly pulling shit apart trying to figure out why it broke, i hard wired the pump just to get the car up the driveway to find it was working perfectly, which was weird since bypassing the relay didnt work for long :\ (id gone and got another pump to replace it too, should be able to return it though). handbrake lever also broke and wouldnt stay up, for some reason the switch i had for the headunit wasnt working, everything remained on, water had found its way into the cab and on the floor. i had a peek at the carb again, mostly procrastinating from trying to figure out wiring, to find the fast idle mechanism was backwards. weird since i didnt need to touch it to rebuild the carb but there you go. a circlip was missing and the cam bit has managed to flip all the way around, thereby both not doing anything and stopping the choke from seating completely :( i put it back to how it should be, hopefully helps :P

 

today i pulled more stuff apart, fresh wiring for the pump and relays, a couple new switches (rated for bigger power), a couple other bits of rewiring. now so far as i can tell things are green. havent driven it yet but im hoping what happens on a weekend stays on a weekend and ive had my fail quota for a while to come

 

...phew. feels better to get it all out :lol: fuckin cars hey

[copydat]

Classic! :rolleyes: