Braden Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 Man this is one nice dime, definitely inspirational, now only if i had some $$$$$$, keep up the work Quote Link to comment
INDY510 Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 (edited) XeroX-how's my baby? I only see pics of it from time to time on Ebay! (an old photbucket pic of mine got heisted somehow) - it's used in a windsheild weatherstrip ad - definitely my---uh...YOUR car! Edited January 28, 2010 by INDY510 Quote Link to comment
bonvo Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 man i got all excited when this was bumped i was hoping for an update Quote Link to comment
blueridgespeed Posted January 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2010 the dust quivered, and it seemed there were sparks of life from the slowest moving project EVER! I got my dead old bandsaw blade replaced and now I can cut curves again. Some work for the engine mounts and control arm mounts was done, followed by more mock-up, more mock-up The big challenge for an engine mount system is allowing for the engine to be unbolted and REMOVED from the car. With the sectioned firewall, radical engine set-back, and the "hard point" constraints of the hood height and decent ground clearance at a low ride height, the engine will be somewhat incorporated as a stressed member. This will all make sense later..... much later http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n121/blueridgespeed/510hrengCAbrkts.jpg Quote Link to comment
bonvo Posted January 28, 2010 Report Share Posted January 28, 2010 ireally glad to hear that this is still being worked on even if it is slowly Quote Link to comment
Yakuza Posted January 28, 2010 Report Share Posted January 28, 2010 same here...i would love to see more pics of the progress if any..keep it up...really nice ride.. Quote Link to comment
5dimer Posted January 28, 2010 Report Share Posted January 28, 2010 Man you're doing one hell of a job. BAD ASSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment
bonvo Posted January 28, 2010 Report Share Posted January 28, 2010 one thing i was just thinking about what are you gonna do with the frame? are you gonna just paint it or have the whole shell powdercoated when its all done? Quote Link to comment
denveratsun Posted January 29, 2010 Report Share Posted January 29, 2010 Waiting for more updates......... Waiting... :P Quote Link to comment
blueridgespeed Posted January 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2010 one thing i was just thinking about what are you gonna do with the frame? are you gonna just paint it or have the whole shell powdercoated when its all done? Powdercoating is appealing...but not very practical for my purposes. I'll probably paint the frame and body shell with automotive paint. PPG is my preference, but 2 gallons with reducer and hardener cost OVER $1000! This is for PPG concepts single stage urethane, anyway. It buffs like nothing else, and the single-stage paint just looks "right" on a datsun- as close an approximation of the original paint as I've seen. I would like to powdercoat a few sub-assemblies which would benefit from the extra durability (control arms come to mind) Hopefully more to come soon! Quote Link to comment
blueridgespeed Posted February 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2010 Waiting for more updates......... Waiting... :P If this pic works, it shows the lower passenger side engine mount. Ed turned down a steel shell for me that fit a polyurethane bushing set. I've seen too many sheared engine mounts to want to worry about them in this car! This design will capture the bushings circumferentially, so even if the poly material were to "fail" it would still be captured in fully. Quote Link to comment
blueridgespeed Posted February 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2010 Ed and I made good progress today, including progress on the lower control arms. New Nissan zx balljoints and 3/4" precision heim joints will be used. Adjustable tension/compression rods are next.... Once all the final lower suspension parts are complete, ANOTHER mock-up of the front will be done... optimum LCA length will be determined at that time... The basic design will be similar to the 510, but with "forward steer" steering arms and a rack&pinion Quote Link to comment
denveratsun Posted February 10, 2010 Report Share Posted February 10, 2010 Nice...lookin really good! This is very clearly a "pupose built" dime! Are you still feeling like it's purpose is as clear as when you first started? I know that so often a project can sort of morph into something else as it gets built. Keep it up. Top shelf work for sure. :cool: Quote Link to comment
blueridgespeed Posted February 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2010 I know what you mean! Staying "on task" or "remembering the purpose" is indeed a challenge! So far, it's worked out to stay with the original vision. Since I've had and modified a 510 before, it helped me to clarify what I want this time around. Of course, you can't have it all! Well, maybe SOMEONE can, but I can't have it all - of that I'm sure. Before I started, I wrote down many "reference points" for some intangible goals like "fun to drive". What did I enjoy about my previous 510? Lightness, responsive handling, user servicability... many things, some of them very personal and individual so I won't bore you all with them...- I sought to retain those things in this project. What detracted from my enjoyement? (um, brake fade and carbon monoxide headaches come to mind...) - I sought to eliminate those things. I also "documented" what I wanted in the "more" department -I simply mean that I did actually write them down, and I consult that little notepad periodically, which helps me to remain consistent with the original design. For example, more power is alway fun - but power is relative, and traction is finite, so I admitted those facts and moved on with them in mind. Vg30turbo should be "good enough" power, and any engine can be tuned for more..... SAFETY, such as it is, and a stiff chassis (which makes chassis tuning easier) were two things accomplished at the same time with a tube frame. It gives up space, access, and a lot else, but I was willing to sacrifice it. Yep, so far so good - but I have to be honest- staying true to the original purpose doesn't help speed up the project one bit!!! HA! Quote Link to comment
fisch Posted February 11, 2010 Report Share Posted February 11, 2010 I know it is a long haul for you, but man it is an epic build, and I thank you for sharing it! Quote Link to comment
denveratsun Posted February 11, 2010 Report Share Posted February 11, 2010 man alive! Those are some really true words right there! For real! Thanks for sharing all the details, the vision, the quality, the welds, the great detailed pics and the massive amount of fun this thing is going to be! I love seeing when updates roll around for "the slowest moving project ever"!!! It gonna haul AZ when it's done! :cool: Quote Link to comment
blueridgespeed Posted February 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2010 HELP NEEDED! - Well, parts anyway!! moderators, feel free to move this post to "parts wanted" -but I felt the explanation of WHY was best posted here. As many of you know, the 510 and the 280zx are both "rear steer" cars, and the Z's 240-260-280z are "front steers" Well, the engine in this project is too far BACK and DOWN in the engine bay for a 510-style rear-steering setup. I am using 280zx struts because...well..just because it's what I had and what I knew and we all know they work well under 510's. So in the fabrication process here, we're moving along nicely to the point where we can use NISSAN steering arms or else fabricate something. If you've looked at them closely, the factory steering arms/knuckles have a nice little bevel/offset for the face where the balljoints pass through and bolt up. And like tierod ends, balljoints have a specific taper so they cinch up tight when you bolt them in... Ah, what we have here is a nice opportunity to use Nissan engineering, BUT But BUT BUT! All the steering arms I've been able to unearth from my pile 'o datsun crap are 280zx or 510 - both rear steer. They aren't practically swappable, because the angle that the balljoint mounting surfaces are machined goes kinda exactly the wrong way if you turn it around as a front-steer arm!!! If you swap to front steer - which I have to 'cause that's the only place left I can put a steering rack - you have to have a steering arm that splays out very close to the leading edge of the brake rotor (this is to retain proper steering ackerman) Not a problem, right? Just need to swap in some 240z or 260z steering knuckles... EXCEPT I DON'T have any!!! PLEASE PLEASE if someone has some I could purchase cheap, I'd be very thankful. I'm not sure they will work, but it should get me closer. I'd like to use as many OE parts as possible when appropriate, just because japanese engineers are SURELY smarter than me, and also because replacements are easier if everything isn't custom fabbed! Also, others can follow in my footsteps if I turn out to wind up with a winning combination! ANYWAY, if anyone has a set of "z" (s30, a.k.a. 240z 260z or 280z steering arms/knuckles, I need some to see if I can get this front end sorted out!) My alternative is fabricating a steering arm. Not impossible, but to fit Nissan balljoints, it will need to be reamed to that specific taper. That requires a tapered reamer - er... there are cheap ones but a good one costs about as much as a DATSUN and I don't know anyone falling over themselves to lend me one..... Thanks all - J Quote Link to comment
bonvo Posted February 18, 2010 Report Share Posted February 18, 2010 talk to skib he might be able to help ya out Quote Link to comment
blueridgespeed Posted March 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 talk to skib he might be able to help ya out Ok, found a steering arm - should come in the mail tomorrow. Then we'll be back on track. Quote Link to comment
blueridgespeed Posted March 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 mock up, mock up. BEND TUBE!,,, mock up.... Quote Link to comment
blueridgespeed Posted March 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 these show the lower control arms and their mounts a little better. There are three plates, and they capture the engine mount on one side, the LCA's on the other Quote Link to comment
blueridgespeed Posted March 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 urmm, sorry about the duplicate pic. I mean this: Quote Link to comment
bonvo Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 lookin good but i have a question how is the top of the struts gonna be mounted i see hiem joints but those wont allow for the strut to pivot as needed please enlighten me Quote Link to comment
blueridgespeed Posted March 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 lookin good but i have a question how is the top of the struts gonna be mounted i see hiem joints but those wont allow for the strut to pivot as needed please enlighten me I'm short on englightenment, but the heim joint will indeed allow the strut to move as needed. In fact it will do so with less resistance than the standard rubber mount. OH! No, wait! - I think I know what you're asking - you're wondering about the pivoting during steering! (I was thinking of the motions during suspension compression and extension) Yes indeed! I have a set of thin bearing plates with radial needle bearings, designed for coilovers (from a circle-track chassis supply) and fit under the top spring hat. By the way, when folks do strut-tower-mounted camber plates (like the Ground Control, TEIN, Cusco, or TTT, they often don't put a bearing at the top. It actually works OK, as the springs "give" a little and of course the strut shaft is fixed at the top (in that application) but can still rotate in the cartridge housing. I set up a 510 once and drove it for a while without the bearing. It would clunk as the springs would wind up and release under slow, high-angle steering (like parallel parking). I got the bearings soon after, and the clunk was resolved, of course. If you check out TechnoToyTuning, they sell the camber plate AND the bearing (or at least they did at one time) The spring-top bearings I've got for this setup will do the same thing. In fact, the location and function is similar to the bearing in the stock setup. SLOW MOVING PROJECT says whenever I get to that point, I'll post pics with those bearings in place! Quote Link to comment
XeroX Posted March 3, 2010 Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 XeroX -how's my baby? I only see pics of it from time to time on Ebay! (an old photbucket pic of mine got heisted somehow) - it's used in a windsheild weatherstrip ad - definitely my---uh...YOUR car! I loved that car. The next owner was planning an engine swap. Did that happen? I personally loved the 2.3+ L-series with phh44 mikunis. The car got to the point where the only thing I'd add was.... BRAKES! It had upgrade pads, new calipers, SS braided lines, and the Nismo/powerslot rotors - so I'd gone through that system, but I was size-limited by the wheels, which I didn't want to change. I guess 280zx brakes would have been easy, but I couldn't bring myself to tear out all those good new parts! Anyway, I'd love to hear about the car! Sorry for the late response! haha... Well i must admit! i have to start a new build thread but the 4 door is undergoing some MAJOR changes... The LZ gave me some serious problems from day one that i got it, mostly my fault due to me being TOTALLY green with carburation and the L series engine family. Never really did anything stupid per se, but lets just say the LZ never wanted to play nice :( The time came and the car was burning ALOT of oil, so i took off the head and it needed to be completely rebuilt (600$ +) and at the time i actually copped a KA24DE complete motorset out of a 97 240 for DIRT cheap. So the LZ was sold as is to a friend of a friend that is apperantly putting it into a hardbody (havent heard any updates however). So lets c what i have done so far: The KA is pretty much swapped in, only the alternator needs wiring, i repolished ALOT of stuff, got front and rear bumpers with fresh chrome, CF hood and trunk. Mckinney tranny mount, Short shifter, ebay header, Fidanza Flywheel, Poly motor mounts along with pretty much every other bushing in poly as well...Got new carpet...and i ended up refurbing some ZX 14" wheels, still have your old rims wich i think are from a B210 or A10?? Maybe you can enlighten me hehe I also just recently put 280zx front brakes and stuff :) I have some 300lb springs for the front and rear, i just need new struts and some shock collars to make my rear coil over kit...and i plan on doing the rear disk sometime in the next month... Wheeewww, lots of stuff! Unfortunatley, about not even a month after i bought the car. I parked it on my friends drive way (out in the country) and some idiot youngster backed into the damn thing! however, the pay off from the insurance def helped with alot of the new stuff like BUMPERS! lol Sad story to say the least (Just my luck right?!), but it was VERY minor and now she has a flawless front end again :) Loving the updates on your new project btw! cant wait to c this thing on the road...maybe one day ill end up buying this one too! lol jk..... I will try my best to keep you updated once i start a new build thread for this, the car should be ready to try and crank over this weekend! Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.