The Roadsterstein Rust Rocket build thread!!!

[Tomakze]

I decided to relinquish the garage back to my parents today, and pulled the car out of the garage. Man, does it feel good to reap the rewards of good, hard work! It was a little hard to start, and I had to fiddle with the carbs a bit, but when it did... It has never run so well!!! It idles smoother than ever, and that new power cable to the starter made a HUGE difference!!! It cranks that motor over twice as fast! I had no idea how bad it was until now!!! It also cranks more times without draining the battery. We cranked it a lot before we got it to start, but it never even slowed down. Once I got it to start, it is easy to start now too. Everything is better, and that feels good. Fuel for the fire for next week! This thing should go under the knife every week now until it is on the road again! Stay tuned!!!

[Ratty260z]

Haha, maybe! He did buy it off craigslist, and the previous owner said it had a blown engine. He got it for $500. The engine wasn't blown though, it just had a lot of issues. He tore it all apart and has been fixing it piece by piece. He wants it to be a WRX killer, just to see the expressions on people's faces. lol. His is red, was the one you looked at the same color?

 

Nah I believe it was gold, Thats a cool story though I had the same plan so many WRX's around here and they are hard to beat, Just to see the look on some American and Subaru guy's faces would be epic. $500 is a steal for a RT4wd.

[Leprechaun311]

Subscribed!

I love the two tone paint job idea, looks cool. Keep us posted on the E conversion, that is the direction mine is going next. That KA24E score was huge, congrats.

Great look with them rims.

[Tomakze]

Subscribed!

I love the two tone paint job idea, looks cool. Keep us posted on the E conversion, that is the direction mine is going next. That KA24E score was huge, congrats.

Great look with them rims.

 

Thanks! It has been a fun process so far, and I am only getting started. Glad you have enjoyed the ride so far!

[Tomakze]

Took a video of the progress today! It is uploading, and at this rate, I may go bald by the time it does. 15min video (720p), and an hour and 45 minutes to upload. Anyway, I got the brackets Tim sent me, (If you are reading this, thank you!!!) and started figuring out how to use them. Not as straight forward as I thought, looks like I need a lot of spacers (As in every bolt...) to make it work. I almost thought he sent me the wrong triangle bracket after seeing some of the pictures online, but it looks like there is more than one way to skin this cat, and the bracket I have will work. Tomorrow after work I will wire it, and begin mocking up the brackets.

 

I did make an unfortunate discovery today while messing around in the trunk... more crappy repairs. Looks like the bottom of the trunk lid was so rusted out, they needed to braze on more metal to fix it. Are trunk lids notorious for rusting? The more I look at this car, the more I think it spent time in the bottom of the ocean, lol! Rust is EVERYWHERE! I also found rust holes while looking up at the dash from the passenger foot well the other day... Good thing I have two bodies, and one has little to no rust! (That I have found so far, anyway... )

 

Now, for the good news! I made another discovery... my car was originally white, with a red interior!!! Someone painted the original vinyl black (WHY????) along the way, but I found where they missed. I am SO EXCITED to find this out. Ever since seeing that roadster in Super Street that had the SR20DE and the red interior, I have secretly wanted that color. Discovering that was the original color has made my mind... It will be white with a red interior again! That is my favorite color combo, and has been for a while. I had no idea I owned one already, lol!

[Tomakze]

UPDATE!!!

 

I got that video uploaded, finally. Enjoy!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip92naWEnX8

 

I also worked on it a lot more today... I installed the fender mirror, started wiring the fog lights (12AWG), worked on the wiring for the new GM alternator, and started figuring out how to mount it. Unfortunately, I found a weird spacer on the front of my engine, and so the alternator mounting has been put on hold. More on that later.

[Tomakze]

Well, I think I have the mounts for the alternator finally worked out. I also successfully installed a new thermostat in the car, since it didn't have one at all, lol! Tomorrow is all about finishing the alternator, wiring it, and probably relocating the battery. I also will be installing a cigarette lighter in the center console, since I have a blank hole now!

[Tomakze]

SUCCESS!!! The alternator is mounted and charging, the fog lights are completely wired, and I have a cigarette lighter socket mounted and wired!!! Whoot! I will have a youtube video uploaded once I am less tired.

 

Only one thing I don't get... I seem to be talking to myself! I have plenty of oics, and even some videos... my car is sufficiently ratsun... and yet the last two replies have been about my dirt bike, and my *friend's* car... lol. What am I doing wrong? If I post pics of scantily clad women will I have more traffic?

 

[Ratty260z]

Some people like to watch, I don't usually have much to say but I'm waiting for a driving video :P I usually check this thread after work, plus you have Insomniacs to contend with and most people aren't up this late and by morning you have hit a few pages back.

[Tomakze]

New update!!!

 

[Tomakze]

Made great progress today! I installed the security system, and the motion detection. Pics later, although, as any good security system should be, there is nothing to show ;) . I also got the idiot light for the alternator working! It comes on when I turn the key to "run," and then turns off when I start the car. Very cool!!!

 

I also figured I would post a pic of what my main ignition harness looked like prior to me rebuilding it...

 

 

If you look, the main power wire and starter wire were held together with wire nuts. The main power wire's nut just fell off after I touched it. The only wire in the harness that was not cut was the accessory wire. The two ignition wires were very poorly soldered together, and missing about 3" of wire. Scary to think I have been driving with it this way for so long... That was a short waiting to happen! Needless to say, I rebuilt the entire thing, and added length to the shorter wires to get it back in shape. I then soldered everything (and soldered it well). Hooray progress!!!

 

Only thing left to do on the car electronically is to fix whatever is wrong with the headlights... I tried to just test the switch, but it was doing some bizarre things I couldn't make sense of. I haven't studied the wire diagrams yet, but the only wire that seemed to react at all to the switch was the red one. With the switch off, it had +12v. Pull the switch, and my voltage drops to zero. I am guessing this means I have negative switched lights, but I couldn't get any other wire to react. Also, my parking lights and headlights are non-op. They were working intermittently 2 weeks ago, but now do nothing, and I haven't touched that part of the harness. I don't know what could have changed, or even which part has failed. If anyone has any advise on this, I would appreciate it! Maybe even a description of what the wires on the switch should be doing! I also can't hook up the parking light flash on the alarm until I have this figured out.

[Tomakze]

Okay, major progress made tonight!!! I got the parking lights hooked up to the alarm now, so they flash when arming and disarming, and I installed those door panels I picked up. I forgot to take pictures though... :unsure:

 

More importantly, I got my headlights working!!!! :hyper:

 

 

Turns out something went bad on the main power wire feeding the switch, although I don't know where. Every time I would pull the switch, the voltage would drop to zero. Instead of tracking down the problem, I just pulled power from the white/red wire at the ignition switch and fused it. I then re-wired the headlights so the switch drives two relays instead of passing all of the current, and fused that as well. Overall, a major improvement! It is nice to have everything working again.

 

I also found the location I will likely use for the front speakers, although it looks like it will be a lot of work. They will be in the doors, and will require cutting a large section out, unfortunately, but the location is worth it. I will be installing 5.25" component speakers.

 

This means I will be starting on the brakes next week! Hopefully the car will be back on the road, and better than ever in a few weeks! Stay tuned!!!

[Tomakze]

Well, I decided to buy some Kicker KS40 4" coaxial speakers instead of the components. They will be easier to fit, require a smaller hole to be cut, and should still sound pretty darn good. The magnet on the back of the speaker is about as big as the speaker itself, lol! I will upload some pics once I get them in the mail! It will be nice to have sound coming from all four corners of the car instead of just from behind the seats.

[INDY510]

.

Epic build!!!! ..... .. :cool: .......... those Drag DR20's look perfect on there ...... . :thumbup:

[Tomakze]

.

Epic build!!!! ..... .. :cool: .......... those Drag DR20's look perfect on there ...... . :thumbup:

 

Thanks, man! I love the DR20's too. Exactly the look I was going for!

[Tomakze]

Okay, epic pic time...

 

 

Do you know what this means? This means I am VERY close to being on the road today!!! I got the e-brake working, and took it for a spin around the block. I couldn't stop very fast, but it was well worth it anyway!!! That was the first time I have been behind the wheel in almost 2 years... let me tell you, it felt good. (I should mention, the guy who was supposed to get the calipers mounted and ready for me, who I paid a large sum of money to do this, messed up. The calipers were mounted on the forward part of the rotor instead of back, and one bolt was seized. The e-brake bracket that was supposed to have .6" holes drilled, instead had 3/4" holes. We had to weld in washers and re-drill and grind them to fit. I ended up having to re-do most of his work. *facepalm*)

 

After my victory run (Which was also just a test to see how well the e-brake worked) I decided to try my hand at carburetor tuning. I busted out my new Unisyn, and got to work on the idle air adjustment... whoa. One had the red slide on the bottom of the gauge, and the other was at the top. WAY off. Fixed that, but then it wouldn't idle, and kept stalling, so I set my tuning screw to 2-3k RPM and tried to adjust my high idle air adjustment... Also way off. After soaking one of the dogbones in PB blaster to loosen it, I got that evened out. Now comes the hard part: setting the mixture. I had to read the description 3-4 times before it started to make sense, and then I got to work. It was at this point that I discovered one carb was adjusted almost ALL the way lean, while the other was adjusted almost completely rich!!! No wonder it ran like shit! I tried to adjust it from there, but I decided it was way to far off to bother, and so I turned the screw all the way rich on both, and then leaned them both out an equal number of turns to start as my baseline. I started the car, and immediately it ran 100% better. I am confidant my amateur tuning is far from perfect, but I tried to dial them in a bit from there, and while it isn't perfect, I know it is better. I have no clue how it even ran before, and it ran surprisingly well considering. I drove it with it tuned like that for two years. Let me tell you though, this is better. Miles better. It purrs like a kitten at idle, and accelerates smoothly. The linkage is a bit loose from wear, so it won't hold a perfect tune (The idle varies about 200 RPM after revving. Usually between 800-1000 RPM, but smoothly at whatever RPM it picks, lol) but at least it idles now. Before, it was a crap shoot as to whether or not it would hold an idle, and even when it did, it was rough. People used to ask me if it was cammed, lol!

 

In any case, this deserves a video... unfortunately, in all my excitement, I forgot to shoot one. I will try to get one for you guys next week, and in it I will show off the new doorpanels, the working security system, the brakes, everything. Stay tuned!!!

[Tomakze]

Finally got around to uploading the new video!!! Proof that progress is still being made.

 

 

I also ordered a double flaring tool for the brake lines, and a roll of coated steel, so that is next. time to route the lines so I can get this thing going!!!

[Tomakze]

Looks like the roadster has been put on hold another week... I bought a new flaring tool (The old one made crooked flares) and it looks like it is much higher quality than my old one. I also picked up 20' of brake line. My guess is I will end up needing to re-do the front lines, as they look awful now that I am looking at them 2 years later. I will be surprised if they don't leak. No idea what I was thinking...

 

Anyway, the reason for the delay... My Accord has taken a turn for the worse, and has developed about 8 problems all at once. Next week I will be replacing the brakes on it (I am growing tired of doing brakes!!!) as well as installing a new halfshaft and clutch master cylinder. That takes care of the urgent stuff. I had hoped the Datto would be done in time to be my daily driver for a while as I worked on the Accord. Oh well! As soon as my reliable transport is up and running again, the work will continue. The Datto is a needy lady!

[Tomakze]

Progress was made on the Datto today!!!!!!

 

I have begun working on the rear brake lines again... WOW, what a chore. I spent 3 hours just trying to get the cheapo brake flare tool to make a usable flare. After combining several cheap brake flare tools into one, I finally was making reliable flares. What a pain. Anyway, Pics!!!

 

 

 

I got the hardest line done, the one that winds through the engine bay and ends in the fender well. Lots of complicated bends and planning on this one. I also permanently mounted the brake master cylinder, and installed the firewall brace! The next line is tomorrow. It is about 5ft long and straight. Much easier!

 

As for the front brake line in the pic, that will be re-done later. Not happy with the current format.

 

I know it is a brief update, but there will be more later! Perhaps even some videos of it moving!!! Stay tuned...

[Rustina 510]

Just read the whole thread. Nice work man, roadsters have the most beautiful front bodies of all the Datsun cars in my opinion.

 

And you have the motor I want too!!! The ka24e is a great, reliable, and quik engine if made right, that motor will scream and tear up the road in that tiny ass little car :thumbup:

[Tomakze]

Just read the whole thread. Nice work man, roadsters have the most beautiful front bodies of all the Datsun cars in my opinion.

 

And you have the motor I want too!!! The ka24e is a great, reliable, and quik engine if made right, that motor will scream and tear up the road in that tiny ass little car :thumbup:

 

Thanks man, I agree!!! To be honest, the triple stacked taillights on the fins were one of the biggest attractions for me. This car has my attention from every angle, lol!

 

I have no oics just yet, sorry, but I have the brake lines all the way to the axle now. All the hard lines are done, aside from attaching mounting brackets. Somehow I managed to lose one of the rubber lines for the rear calipers, so I need to replace that, and then find banjo bolts to bolt the soft lines to the calipers... I can't even find a model number for those bolts let alone the bolts themselves... I did find out they are the same thread pitch and size as Z31 flywheel bolts, though, lol! I just need to find where I can get some. I may even do a junkyard run... we will see.

[Tomakze]

I don't have time for a proper update, but I will say this: Be prepared for a big one... Part of the reason I haven't had time lately, is because I have been driving the wheels off it!!! She lives!!! And is AWESOME. I am so in love...

[jcd0402]

Such a nice good build. :thumbup: :hyper:

[Tomakze]

Okay, I will supply half an update... Obviously, I was able to finish running the brake lines! We bled the brakes, and she drives like a dream. Great pedal feel, it is hard as a rock. And if I press the brakes hard enough, it damn near puts you through the windshield! While I was at it, I decided to bleed the clutch as well, and... here is the result:

 

 

 

^This is a pic of the rag I used to wipe the gunk out of the clutch reservoir! Look at all that black crap! It looks like coffee coming out, and the gunk was thick and nasty. Took a while for the clutch to bleed clear. Remarkably, the pedal feels about the same. Still, probably a good thing I did it!!!

 

Anyway, to celebrate the working car, I put it in a car show put on by the local club. My car felt inadequate.

 

 

 

 

People were really impressed with my brakes though. It got a lot of attention. I even had a pretty lady take a picture of my car with me standing next to it... Wait, shouldn't that be the other way around?

[Tomakze]

Such a nice good build. :thumbup: :hyper:

 

Thanks man!!! :D