My '76 710 Goon

[datzenmike]

Well Jason will be glad to hear that I am stripping parts from the parts goon. Pulled the bottom leaf springs odd today. Both lower short ones were broken.

 

 

The plan is to remove the short on the '76 and add a 2nd second spring to stiffen it for use when lowered. Pulled the axles while bent over anyway and salvaged the 3.70 H-165-B differential.

 

 

(now if only I can talk Mrs. d into letting me swap it into her auto sedan, I'll have a 4.11 for myself)

 

For years now I've wondered if I could put S110 rear disc brakes on a 710. So with the goon axle out I put my '81 200sx rear axle beside it and the results are promising!

 

So I slipped it in and the bearing fit and it did bolt up. The spline engaged the diff and turned it.

 

 

For better results I will need slightly longer bolts to pass through the thicker caliper bracket.

 

 

Jason do you still have the calipers to this??? :lol:

 

 

 

 

 

.

[datzenmike]

 

Canby had some great deals. I got this set of 2" drop blocks for 620? and all I had to do was hammer the U bolts in a bit to make them fit the goon. While I was at it I added a leaf. It was the second one up from the bottom from my parts car. I trimmed a couple of inches off each end and used a longer through bolt.

 

 

Held the spring pack together with vice grips. The stock through bolt will snap off and there's a lot of stored energy.

 

 

Here you can see the shortened 2nd spring and a new through bolt.

 

 

Finished pass side. May have gained a half inch with the extra spring but it registered a net loss with the block installed.

 

 

Here's the final? ride height. Above. This is what it used to look like below...

 

 

Lowering is ok but when hitting a dip a car will still have the same suspension travel and may bottom out. If lowering, perhaps you should think about stiffening the springs to reduce spring travel. This is how I approached this drop. I wanted stiffer for better handling and less chance of scraping something important underneath the car.

 

Well I took it out for a ride and immediately felt a difference. It feels more stable on the highway, like it's on rails. This may turn out to have increased my understeer. I had tools in the back and didn't want to smash them around in the cul-de-sac I was in testing this out. Next time I'll go empty and drive faster and faster in a circle and see which end breaks loose first. Tried some pavement in a downward curve with humps and dips in it. Before it felt like going off a ski jump followed by a deep sag into the dip. This time it was firm and didn't feel like it wanted to skate over into the other lane.

.

[Guest 510kamikazifreak]

:cool:

Not a tapered block mike, hows the pinion angle?

[datzenmike]

Well, I thought I heard a hum at low speed... but it could have been the exhaust pipe? Can't say for sure but when driving through a dip in the road there was no increase in any sounds as the suspension flexed. I've seen cars that would 'groan' as the car would squash down. I drove Mrs. d's sedan last night and it is way different. It definitely needs lowering some. :lol:

[MicroMachinery]

That's lookin' good Mike.

[datzenmike]

The insurance runs out in a couple of months and I bike to work so it's not a DD. I want to get it sorted and finish anything I start which would include a hi viol oil pump and larger IR alternator for starters. In the fall it goes to the shop to be painted. This is a great way to store it inside for the winter, lol. Not sure if I'll make Canby next year but it sure would be cool to roll in with it done.

[datzenmike]

A large project building is winding down and I've been watching some roofing materials that have been left over and under a tarp. What I'm looking for is several meters of 'Torch-On' roll on roofing tar. I asked the project manager if I could have any part rolls and he said it belonged to a local roofing company so no go there. Last week he said there was going to be a site clean up and he'd keep an eye out for some. This week he said the roofers were coming back for their stuff today and ask them. When the truck arrived I asked the guy if I could have any part rolls and he said take anything I want so he doesn't have to load it!!!!! Alright!!! (got all I want)

 

Roll on roofing is a bitumen/tar like mat about 3/16" thick with a plastic skin to keep it from sticking to anything. You can remove the skin and apply to roofs but I'm leaving it on and covering the goon floor and using it as sound deadener.

 

 

 

 

 

I did the two side panels to reduce wheel and road noise from the wheel wells. Then lifted the cargo carpet and rolled it under the back seat and out to the tail gate. I did under the rear seat as well and am about half way done.

 

 

 

 

.

[datzenmike]

The 5 speed is from a '79 zx and has a 17 tooth speedo cog in it which is fine for the 280's rear gear and tire size but not for the 710. I seem to be about 9 or so MPH higher reading than the actual vehicle speed at 50. Sp to reduce the speedo cable RPMs I swapping in a 19 tooth pinion. ... and this is where some problems cropped up. According to some info the pre and post '80s pinions cannot be swapped. There were changes to the tailstock and the way the pinion is bolted in. pre '80 pinions are mounted with the keyway in the 12 o'clock position and after they were in the 6 o'clock position. You can't simply turn them 180 and fit them they don't go in.

 

 

 

So I got a 19 tooth red one that has the the cog and the roll pin on the same sides just like the post '80s ones.

 

 

Well it won't go in, won't even start to go in. WTF? So I took another look at both of them and found that the bottoms are also different.

 

 

See where the dental pick is pointing?now look at the left one in the 9 o'clock area. It's narrower.

 

I found another red one that was narrow like the original blue one but the keeper slot is on the wrong side. I 'nicked' it with an angle grinder and it fits just fine now. I haven't tried it yet to see if the teeth engage properly yet. When I pulled the pimion a lot of oil gushed out that I had to replace with old oil I saved. After filling I wasn't happy with it and will drain completely and refill with new. The old oil only has a trip to Canby on it, too bad.

.

[datzenmike]

Replaced the trans oil yesterday with new and feel better now. Drove to work this morning and the speedo isn't working. Pissed off all morning as this means draining and pulling and rotating the cog and trying a new groove cut that allows the teeth to mate. Then it dawned on me that I forgot to plug the cable in. Did it after work and it works!!! Wow what a difference in readings now. I'm going much faster than what it used to read. Might even be slightly lower than it should but is still better than that high reading before. Need to follow someone going a steady known speed to check it.

[ninjabortion]

Seats in. Driver's side was reclining too far. I found a sheared off bolt, replaced it and all is good. They seem a little lower.

 

any chance you've got more info on those seats? the passenger seat was a breeze to toss an integra seat into, but the driver side is a mangled mess made of the good parts from the 2 stock front seats. i've got the recline action locked in place with a bolt... that annoying lump in the floor from the catalytic converter is going to have to get smashed down any flat bottomed seat, so i'm wondering if the 280zx seats have that same hump accounted for, or if maybe you've got a car without that hump?

[datzenmike]

Only a resinator and muffler, the floor is smooth.

[datzenmike]

Well my insurance runs out this weekend so the goon comes off the road for this year. I bike to work so don't really need it and besides... there are some plans that are best dome with it off the road anyway. My strut change and 5 speed install was done this spring before I insured it for Canby and if it had been on the road I would have been driving and not wrenching on it. My sedan was painted last winter, a great way to keep your car indoors for free! Hopefully it will get a paint job and look great for next summer too.

 

Some of the projects I am planning (or thinking about)

 

Swapping in 200sx (S110) axles with rear disc brakes.

 

Adding power steering.

 

 

Putting my dual SUs on

 

Swapping my sedan 4.11s in.

 

 

On my parts goon is a set of stock struts that I want to cut the springs and change to thicker hydraulic oil and put on my wife's 710 (sedan) to lower it and firm up the ride and handling.

 

 

So I have thoroughly enjoyed driving a car this year, a unique experience most of you are very familiar with, but for me something relatively new. Tthe last Datsun car that I owned was a B-210 back in the late '70s. The only Datsuns since then were a 521 for 8 years and my 620 for the last 15 years or so. Driven cars just never bothered to own one. So, off the road this weekend and I can start dreaming and planning. Hey I still have the 4 door 710 to drive (if she-who-must-be-obeyed ) will let me. It's on the road until the weather gets bad this winter, then it goes under cover and the Sundance comes out.

[ninjabortion]

4.11's? Man i'm at like 5k rpm's with my 4 speed at 80mph haha. Is there an easy to find junk yard lsd for these things?

[datzenmike]

4.11's? Man i'm at like 5k rpm's with my 4 speed at 80mph haha. Is there an easy to find junk yard lsd for these things?

 

 

Yeah they seem revved up but my wife's car I drove to Canby last year and hit 90MPH on the way home.... with an automatic. I worked out the tire size, ratios etc. and it was 4,800 or so. I figure she drives around town and a 3.889 shouldn't bog it down. The 4.11 will be the tits in the goon. I have 200sx 14" factory mags and slightly larger tires and now an overdrive 5 speed so some gears would be nice.

[opalbeetle]

Hey Mike,

 

Is that rear axle swap a direct one or are there modifications that are needed?

 

Todd

[datzenmike]

The 710 uses an H165B differential or third member. If you disconnect the brake lines, remove the axles or at least pull them out 6" so the splines disengage the diff, remove driveshaft and drain the diff, you can unbolt it and lift out to the front. Install is the reverse of this. There may be a gasket available for it, but if not get a tube sealer. NOT RTV SILICONE CRAP!!!! Get a proper gasket maker/sealer like Permatex. (RTV is for chevy owners)

 

The 4.11 diff was only available on the early 710 automatic L18s. Standards and all L20B motors were 3.889

[opalbeetle]

How about those s110 brakes? That looks like a good easy upgrade compared to looking for a rx7 rear end for rear disks.

[datzenmike]

I test fit them a while ago....

 

 

Well Jason will be glad to hear that I am stripping parts from the parts goon. Pulled the bottom leaf springs odd today. Both lower short ones were broken.

 

 

The plan is to remove the short on the '76 and add a 2nd second spring to stiffen it for use when lowered. Pulled the axles while bent over anyway and salvaged the 3.70 H-165-B differential.

 

 

(now if only I can talk Mrs. d into letting me swap it into her auto sedan, I'll have a 4.11 for myself)

 

For years now I've wondered if I could put S110 rear disc brakes on a 710. So with the goon axle out I put my '81 200sx rear axle beside it and the results are promising!

 

So I slipped it in and the bearing fit and it did bolt up. The spline engaged the diff and turned it.

 

 

For better results I will need slightly longer bolts to pass through the thicker caliper bracket.

 

 

Jason do you still have the calipers to this??? :lol:

 

 

 

 

 

.

[datzenmike]

Well this all began last fall? Jess mentiond a tach that was available for the 710 dash and put me in touch with will out in New Yawk. Remember he came out west and drove his 710 home with an L16SSS motor where the pass side seat would have been? Anyway after a few false starts and missing him in Quebec, his package of 710 parts finally got down to him. I've had the tach since before Christmas but didn't want to post about it until he got his. In trade I got this beautiful tach. Many thanks will, sorry for the fowl ups, glad your happy with that dash pad and 'extras'.

 

 

 

 

It will fit in the pod to the right of the speedo. Yes those are original miles on the odometer.

 

 

Will post more about it when I install it. May have to make up a dropping resister in line to the dizzy.

.

[Will]

Glad to see it'll be put to good use. Thanks for the parts, Mike!

[datzenmike]

Well I pulled the zx seats out and tried to paint them black with plastic spray and it's not working at all. Looks like fish eye... maybe not clean enough. WTF I guess seat covers... :poop:

 

My 'sound system' (lol) is really old but not used much and has been in my truck in the back yard for about three years. I had a 12 CD (yes CD) player, a Pioneer amp and Pioneer head unit? receiver? pair of 10", pair of 4" and a couple of really old biscuit speakers. The 'subs' are individually boxed and they can sit anywhere in the back of the goon. The CD changer can mount out of sight behind the panel to the rear of the left rear wheel well. The amp can go on the pass side with the seat bolted down over it. Receiver goes in the console so the dash doesn't get hacked.

 

 

The wiring is mostly in and out of sight. Getting the 4" - 5" mids in the kick panels was a total bitch. Been at it for about 6 hrs today.

[Will]

The wiring is mostly in and out of sight. Getting the 4" - 5" mids in the kick panels was a total bitch. Been at it for about 6 hrs today.

 

Yeah.. those kick panels have a consistency somewhere between thin cardboard and old carpet padding. They do seem to be strong enough to hold a pair of speakers in place though!

[datzenmike]

No I drilled holes in the metal underneath. The kick panels are plastic coated cereal box with a whisper of carpet underlay, you're right.

[ninjabortion]

got any pics of the kick panel mods? i tried cramming some 4's in there and didnt even think to drill the metal behind the area...

[datzenmike]

No, only with the speakers in... and I sure ain't taking them out again!!! Pain to get at. The right side has to sit 1/2" lower to clear the fuse box.