Tube-frame 1968 Datsun 510 - Slowest moving project ever!

[NCRmtrsprts510]

can i bring my dime by your shop and do some fab work, my god man i would love to do that everyday, but i dont have the room or machines to do metal work like that!

[blueridgespeed]

Heh I was almost disappointed when the inner wheel well wall wasn't bead rolled, but today's post of the rolled arch made up for it!!!

aw, man! there is one little bead on the inner wall - it echos the line of the frame underneath it... -hadn't rolled it yet in the earlier pics - way to spot the details!

[blueridgespeed]

can i bring my dime by your shop and do some fab work, my god man i would love to do that everyday, but i dont have the room or machines to do metal work like that!

sure man, but you're about 3000 miles away! The room to do this work is a good point - it's a lot easier with room to have stuff laying around. Someone on Ratsun or the,, eh'em, "realm" wrote a primer on the "necessary criteria" for doing a car/resto/build project. It has some good ideas, including that "needing the room to do work" one, but as demonstrated best by MANY here on Ratsun, desire and creativity can overcome all.

 

I do have a nice workspace to do this in, and living in a rural area that was possible, but it didn't just "appear". In fact, it took about 2 years of building the shop before it was complete enough to work IN the shop. Still no siding - but Datsuns take priority for now.

[blueridgespeed]

:drool: i wish i had the skills to do this

If I can do it, you can do it! That's part of the reason I'm posting pics of the process. Go for it!

[]2eDeYe]

Nice work as usual. It will be a shame to put paint on that thing.

[the510keeper]

Well said, I agree, all of us can do nice work if we have patience and try. Your work makes all of us want to try harder.

[bonvo]

If I can do it, you can do it! That's part of the reason I'm posting pics of the process. Go for it!

 

i need tools first i dont have a welder or bead roller just to name a few

 

Well said, I agree, all of us can do nice work if we have patience and try. Your work makes all of us want to try harder.

what he said :P

[metalmonkey47]

hey man, you do some sweeeeeetttt work!! Would you be able to weld in a cage in my car? Been lookin to have it done.

[blueridgespeed]

hey man, you do some sweeeeeetttt work!! Would you be able to weld in a cage in my car? Been lookin to have it done.

sure man! - pm'd ya -J

[Zeusimo]

The ride height is PERFECT! I love it. Makes me feel funny in my pants... :blink:

 

 

My Thoughts Exactly

[sssr20det510]

not trying to knock your project but looking at the rear, why would you use the long nose rear with dogbones ?? i would have went short nose rear and cv axles.

[blueridgespeed]

not trying to knock your project but looking at the rear, why would you use the long nose rear with dogbones ?? i would have went short nose rear and cv axles.

That's not Knocking - that's just a good question!

 

I believe you are referring to the Long and Short-nosed R-180 differentials? Actually this is an R-160 LSD.

 

My answer for "why" -on both counts, is easy! -it's the (best) stuff I had available.

 

No doubt CV joints would be better. Walrich's customs would be nice, but spending that $$ early on would have hampered further progress for a bit. Instead, the "dogbones" (stock half-shafts) were shortened and rebuilt with new Nissan U-joints, boots etc.

 

The second (probable) question is "why an r160" -which of course gets the same answer. I don't believe either of these should fail (in the case of the half-shafts, because the geometry has been optimized as detailed earlier in this thread) and the diff, just because I'm not a clutch-dropper, and the vehicle should be pretty light, and will be running 195mm street tires- which should be the 'fuse' of the drivetrain.

[blueridgespeed]

[INDY510]

MOAR PICS!!!!

[I'm BLUE]

^^^ What he said please :D

[metalmonkey47]

Lookin good man! Can't wait to find some time to get my car up there

[Yakuza]

any more updates?..car looks good.. :D

[blueridgespeed]

any more updates?..car looks good.. :D

Nothing glorious at this time. As interior sheetmetal comes closer to being finished, the "engine unit" was pulled, along with the driveshaft and exhaust.

 

Everything that's not welded in place in the chassis will come out for media blasting before paint. The fabbing and fitting makes such a mess that it really doesn't make sense to paint much prior to that.

 

People always talk about taking components in and out a dozen or more times in the fab or "engine swap" process, and it's unavoidable. For instance, the engine and driveshaft needed to be in, as well as the driveshaft hoops, etc, to plan a route for the exhaust. The exhaust was then pieced together and tacked. Then it had to come out to do good clean full-penetration circumferential welds at all the joints.

 

Similarly, the engine needed to be in place for fitting critical clearances while creating the firewall, but since there are places where there are 1/8" clearances 6 or 8 inches down into the dark recesses behind the engine, the engine then had to come back OUT to do some metal finishing. I want everything to be neat and tidy from any angle, and the "it won't show later" argument doesn't fly - I can't stand it if I've seen it. This is definitely a mental problem of mine and if you are not so afflicted your projects will take less time!

 

Here's a pic of the "engine unit" as it's pulled. I like that all the accesories (minus the fan) stay attached during the pullout. I can (I have- and will again-) start and run the engine as it sits here by reconnecting fuel and battery - uh, plus the radiator if it's going to run more and a minute or two) The rolling engine stand fabbed before the chassis build comes in handy - it took 2 minutes to bolt it down and roll it away.

 

Next on the list: clean up this engine and finally attack clean-up of the remaining wires that look like a spagetti-mess in this pic.

 

 

 

After pulling the engine this last time, I'm happy with how it's working out with the exhaust design. I put a v-band inline at the same place as the transmission output, so pulling the 2 bolts for the transmission crossmember and loosening 1 bolt on the v-band clamp releases the entire rear section of the engine.

[blueridgespeed]

[blueridgespeed]

[bonvo]

tease lol

[blueridgespeed]

Um, was I unclear at any point about how SLOW my progress is?

 

 

This week's "day off" (some weeks have none, some weeks have one!) involved a lot of "housekeeping" like changing oil in the daily drivers, repairing a broken Mountainbike drivetrain, tending to the drivetrain of the KTM dirt bike, hauling a hopeless, useless junker to the metal recyclers.. AND.....

--A bit of work on the 510!

 

This little aluminum panel was rather challenging to make, since it is asymetrical in several axes....

 

I had a vision of what I wanted to do, and once again, Ed helped make it reality. It never ceases to amaze me how another set of hands (and brain) can make such work go so much better!

 

Anyway, for the panel, the idea was to have a small, easily removable cover for this rear section. It's aluminum, stiff, and shockingly light! Look at the construction now, because it will all be covered in carpet and backed with sound and heat insulation at some point.

 

 

All that remains to enclose the cabin is the last alu panel right above it - a much simpler one to make with basically one bend to brake in the center and some careful bolt-hole location with the transfer punch....

[NCRmtrsprts510]

i wanna see this thing in person.

[fisch]

All that remains to enclose the cabin is the last alu panel right above it - a much simpler one to make with basically one bend to brake in the center and some careful bolt-hole location with the transfer punch....

 

Just beautiful! Almost a shame to cover it up! I do hope you will take pick of the whole floor assembled before you grab the carpet!

[blueridgespeed]