Newb and Proud

[Uncle Laulau]

My father was a hard core car guy, owning and working on his old European and Japanese sports cars, not to mention our family cars. Engine swaps, clutches, carb adjustments, you name it. To add to my amazement, he did it all with ghetto tools and in the driveway. It's not like he was a mechanic that had access to the shop after hours, he had to work on his cars after work at home and have it running for work the next day. All this to say, I am not a car guy like my father was, not even close. I do share his love for cars/trucks, espessialy older ones. I fall short when I need to fix something however...so this is my explanation for why I do things the way I do. If you look at my work and scratch you head, well we aren't all good at this stuff just because we have and old truck.

So peep my work ya'll!

[Wide14u]

i like it and most of us are the same

[Wide14u]

hey me and chester put a head on timing cover on all in the rain so your driveway looks good to me :D

[Uncle Laulau]

Thanks crackhead, the above oic is how I got the truck. It's cool having all this major stuff done to it, but I feel lame I haven't done much to it yet. I have truck insecurity if you will.

 

 

So I was almost revealed when alternator went out, because I could fix that. Then I remembered the engine was from a newer truck and I should probably ask for an alternator at the parts store that matched that engine from a 620 not my 521. Got the alternator and promptly fried one walmart battery, and then it died also, perhaps from the guilt of taking another parts life. So I got another alternator I was told would fit and a battery that could handle its output and promptly slapped it in like a pro...ignition light stayed on and engine died when I pulled the negative battery terminal. What the heck I had this, so I thought. Then my neighbor came over, he's a man of considerable wisdom and knowledge (he's an old dude). He mentioned the voltage regulator as possible problem area. I didn't think it was because the alternator was internally regulated, but I bought one anyway and replaced the old one. Some of you are laughing now knowing what I did, I was dealing with a serious case of tunnel vision and was now running dual voltage regulators and surprise surprise my truck wouldn't turn off now. This was soon realized with a loud ooohhhhhh, and I explained to my neighbor how I was going inside to get instructions from ratsun on how to bypass the external regulator. He seemed a bit puzzled by that as he shuffled home. Ten minutes later a printed off a awesome color diagram on how to jump two wires to make my bypass. It was so easy and I just want to say thanks again for those of you who have such mad skizzles and share them with newbs like me.

[]2eDeYe]

Way to get it done. :D

[Uncle Laulau]

I was still itching to do some more things to the truck to reduce my insecurities when I found this gem in the glove box.

It was almost perfect except the missing pegs for the hood holes, those are actualy still rolling around the hood and make a cool baby raltle noise every time the hoop is poped. So I attached it with clear epoxy, and it held on well. The old Datsun stuff like this is something I can't get enough of , I constantly look on craigs and ebay for it, and have now even started to cruize pick n pulls to find stuff like this. Oh funny ebay storry. I found what I thought were a sick set of fairelady front turn signals to replace my faded and cracked stock ones. Looked like a match so I ordered em from all the way in Singapore, some of you know the guy I'm sure, his shipping prices are insane. I payed with shipping about thirty bucks I think. Took for ever for them to get here, and when they did it was just the right side ahhhhhhh. I checked the add and sure enough he didn't say it was set. Assume makes an ass out of u m e! So logically I put it on any way.

Can't wait to get his partner I love the dual colors. Did the fair ladies have two bulbs or just the one like our trucks?

[Uncle Laulau]

Lowered trucks in my humble opinion, don't make a lick of sense. It's a utility vehicle that has 70 percent of its utility taken away by lowering it, reducing payload and and hope of off road work. This is why I love them. It's a thumb of the nose to all those eagle scouts that buy trucks to be prepared for any thing. We drive our trucks out of pure love of motoring and the challenge of keeping these old trucks on the road. It's all for fun, and that's cool. So in keeping with the fun theme, I naturaly got one big off road light for my bumper. A utility light designed for off road trucks, on a truck that barely gets over most speed bumps. Oh they come in pairs, but I only got one. Isn't that silly? (yes) I have to admit I've seen examples on other trucks, and thought it was ridiculously brilliant. <br><br><br><br>It was cool until my bumper bugged me due to it's bent up angle and my first alternator died. So the light and the whole bumper are on the floor of the garage. I need to bend the mounting brackets down to the original angle. Any tips on the best way to do it would be appreciated, banging with a big hammer didn't work hmmm.<br>Pick n pull has been fun to check out. There are four all within a few minutes from me. (junk yards) I even check out the classic American car junk yard for old school parts. This mirror is 1950s-60s Americana. I laughed parking my truck out front of this place and even apologized to the clerk for putting the part on a Japanese pu, he said he didn't care what I did with the parts as long as I payed for them.<br><br><br>Now I got some grief from some ratsuners for the mirror. This was a surprise to me because I saw mirrors on all sorts of Japanese cars and trucks, mirrors on the fender that is. Now the fact that I put it on the wrong part of the fender wasn't mentioned. This didn't come to my attention until after the fact. I am now glad I messed it up because it can't be confused for a serious attempt at making it look Japanese sporty. Man I would love to get my hands on a old school roof rack and sun shade for the front window. Ebay don't let me down!<br>Here are some parts I got this weekend from pick n pulls.<br><br>cket.com/albums/cc458/two14gwo/IMG_9501.jpg[/img]<br><br><br>I lucked out getting a truck with an l18, a87, head webber carb, headers, and so on. One of the tings missing is the electronic ignition. So I searched the junk yards high and low for one. Saw a 1980s ish sentra wagon with on, but got scared because it seemed like such a far stretch. The trucks I did find had all the distributors striped, except one. I jumped on it feeling so proud of my find. Got it home and realized I bought a newer version of the same type of points type distributor I had on my truck. I'm a dork. I justified it by telling myself I had a spare now. I also pulled a coil, shift nob from an old pathfinder, rear view mirror (wrong one), and that's about it. I had so much fun and was completely carried away in the yards. It reminded me of times spent with the old man looking for parts for my broke down rides I had as a youth.<br>I love some mud flaps!<br><br>The false utility of some good mud flaps is priceless. I pulled em off an old pathfinder. These tail lights need some love. I want new plastic. I think it really helps all around function and reliability in this rain. Oops sounded like I knew what I was talking about for a second. Found out I have only one reverse light assembly, and it doesn't work. You can see it dangling. I was tempted to leave it dangle like that but I was worried it would fly off and I would have to ebay a couple more from mister 100 bucks shipping Singapore dude. <br><br>This is the top of my tranny. Man that just sounds wrong. Any how, I found out it's from a 200sx. This is cool, but I don't know the year. The reason I even care right now about the tranny, is the fact the clutch is starting to slip. After I grew a pair, I started to drive a bit harder and now know I will be doing some clutch work soon. So I think. Maybe it's got air in the slave cylinder? Is that the thingy next to the brake thingy? My dad used to say a clutch couldn't be adjusted, and when you were using only the top of the peddle to engage it, it was worn out. On the contrary many a car guy has explained adjusting the clutch to get more life out of it? So I'm guessing my father being the conservative man he was, didn't like doing monkey butt temporary fixes and just changed his worn out clutches instead of "adjusting" em? There is a number on the transmision bell top. I plugged it into the iterweb and got zip. If anyone could tell me where the real part number is located I would be grateful. Lowered trucks are also a pain to get under, I wanted a pair of ramps the first day I got it. Soon I should get my hands on some, and a good floor jack and stands.<br><br>After reading stuff on the web, I was kinda bumbed I had an l18. Everyone seemed to be talking about the newer bigger engines when it came to power. Then I realized my old idler arm and crazy drum brakes would kill me if I had some real power under the hood. So I am pleased with my zippy loud l18. Its fun and seems to make a unique noise from the civic guys. Learning the power band area thingy was challenging for me. I was afraid I was revving to high. It screamed like it was dying at about 4000 rpm. At 5 I was waiting form a rod to go threw the hood. I read 5000 rpm is the peak hp mark for these engines, but to tell you the truth I still get scared at 5 grand. I usualy beat my cars hard, but I guess I really don't want to hurt this one. I do picture blowing the motor and going big with some nissan turbo motor, but then dread putting it in, not to mention paying for it.<br><br>The head may be a peanut. Was what someone said to me the first time I posted the oic. I think this means it may be the Japanese version, i.e. better more hp head they used because environmentalism hadn't made it into Japanese car making at the time?<br><br>The weber carb aparently is a high dallar item? From what I've seen on the web, they aren't cheep at 250ish. I've since scavenged a taller air filter for it. It looks better to me, however I worry it will some how mess up the balance of the carb by letting in to much air. It runs grate despite. So I guess I was wrong, even seems a bit quicker. <br>Peace out my fellow auto enthusiasts. Next time something brakes or I buy something!<br>

[DatWifey]

How's that taillight work for ya with the bulb hanging down there? ;)

 

Nice truck! I love your enthusiasm of doing what you can to the best of your abilities, even if you feel that they might not be up to par for others..... I feel the same way quite often! :lol:

[Uncle Laulau]

Thanks Datwifleballbat, I am stoked on the truck and am having fun. I put the non working revers light back in after the picture. I think the light bulbs the books say to use are too big for the housings? Idno

[wayno]

An A87 head can be open or closed chamber, and as far as I know, you would have to pull the head to find out, as far as the CR, it really depends on the piston. Do you have to run premium gas? You need the 1977-79 200SX 5 speed if you want it to work in your 521 without cutting new holes in your tunnel, but you will still need to modifiy a few things to install it to drivable condition, but it is not a great transmission if you are going to use your truck as a truck, as it is a car transmission, and 5th gear is not meant to haul loads.

[DatWifey]

Haha, I was just giving you shit.

 

I'm not sure which bulb was recommended, but I just pulled a bulb out to check the number for you.

 

Looks like pretty much any O'reilly's will have it in stock.

 

[Uncle Laulau]

An A87 head can be open or closed chamber, and as far as I know, you would have to pull the head to find out, as far as the CR, it really depends on the piston. Do you have to run premium gas? You need the 1977-79 200SX 5 speed if you want it to work in your 521 without cutting new holes in your tunnel, but you will still need to modifiy a few things to install it to drivable condition, but it is not a great transmission if you are going to use your truck as a truck, as it is a car transmission, and 5th gear is not meant to haul loads.

Oh I think you misunderstood me, I am currently running the 200sx transmission. The guy I got the truck from also said he swapped out the rear end, don't ask me the ratio, but it is super low geared and close together. I scream at 4 grand in 5th on highway. Don't know how fast I'm going as the speedo cable is broke. No cutting in the fire wall so I must have the years you specified thanks! I'm gonna put a new clutch in soon, any suggestions, I'll probably just get the cheapest replacement clutch I can find.

[Uncle Laulau]

I thought it was funny thanks. That bulb looks familiur. If I'm correct it hits the plastic lens on my side markers. Plenty of room in the trail lights however.

[DatWifey]

Ohh, the side marker lights are a TOTAL pain in the ass to find it seems like. We just put ours back together yesterday with the bulbs that we purchased...... which were the wrong ones and hit the lens as well.

 

So, after a little research, we figured out the correct one, but couldn't find them locally here in Seattle.

 

This is the google image search results for the Eiko 67 bulb that is required for the side marker lights. We ended up buying them on Amazon, but hopefully this is a start for you.

[banzai510(hainz)]

whats that white wire running to the front? is that the light wire? Looks TACKY.

That light the housing it to big in back,thuse causeing it to shoot on the ground. Hella 500s are thinner

 

Route wire from the starter lug/battery underneath to the light so you cant see it.As for wiring if you cant do it nice then dont do it as ,I seen alot of 510s/521 with wiring nightmares and it just ruins a good Datsun(cuts vaule in HALF. There are correct and clean ways to get power, not just finding 12volts and hooking up wires

 

As for the alt I said the same thing.EXT or INternal??????

Always ask first before doing. Parts are year specfic and dont assume all is the same .as for a clutch change in a 521 its a pain in the ass.

Bet almost better to pull whole motor and trans.

I got my Daiken from importrp.com. But its a stock clutch about 87$. But themn also got a Spec clutch for 227$ or so.This is no small task and best to get a Ratsuner to Help out. Believe me. Maybe Pumpkin 210 can help.I like this truck hopefull you dont make it a wiring nightmare . If you lived closer I would help you

[Uncle Laulau]

Mr waycrazyguy I did have a bunch of pinging until I adjusted the timing to stock numbers. I think it's 5 deg for l18s? Now no more pinging and I put the cheep stuff in the tank. Advancing the timing is something it seems a bunch of people do. I'm not into it if it makes the engine ping, and requires expensive gas.

[Uncle Laulau]

Ohh, the side marker lights are a TOTAL pain in the ass to find it seems like. We just put ours back together yesterday with the bulbs that we purchased...... which were the wrong ones and hit the lens as well.

 

So, after a little research, we figured out the correct one, but couldn't find them locally here in Seattle.

 

This is the google image search results for the Eiko 67 bulb that is required for the side marker lights. We ended up buying them on Amazon, but hopefully this is a start for you.

Wow I can see by your fancy links and stuff you can work a compuuuter, I am now intimidated. Thanks on the real. I got the new lights I'm running in the front side markers from the junk yard and they are smaller, not hitting the lens. Forgive the lack of detail for I don't do numbers and stuff arrrghhh.

[Uncle Laulau]

whats that white wire running to the front? is that the light wire? Looks TACKY.

That light the housing it to big in back,thuse causeing it to shoot on the ground. Hella 50500 are thinner

 

Route wire from the starter lug/battery underneath to the light so you cant see it.As for wiring if you cant do it nice then dont do it as ,I seen alot of 510s/521 with wiring nightmares and it just ruins a good Datsun(cuts vaule in HALF. There are correct and clean ways to get power, not just finding 12volts and hooking up wires

 

As for the alt I said the same thing.EXT or INternal??????

Always ask first before doing. Parts are year specfic and dont assume all is the same .as for a clutch change in a 521 its a pain in the ass.

Bet almost better to pull whole motor and trans.

I got my Daiken from importrp.com. But its a stock clutch about 87$. But themn also got a Spec clutch for 227$ or so.This is no small task and best to get a Ratsuner to Help out. Believe me. Maybe Pumpkin 210 can help.

 

Bonzitree you are scaring me. I'm not pulling no engines. This is crazy. Now I might just get some quotes from a shop. Why can't I just disconnect the tranny and do it on the ground ( i said do it on the ground)?

[DatWifey]

I pretty much lived on a forum for four years for my past job, so yeah, it looks fancy, but it's actually just a click of another button above the reply box ;)

[Guest 510kamikazifreak]

 

This is gonna be funny thread

[Uncle Laulau]

bonzy I can't help but notice the guy that has a rising sun on his hood is calling a three inch white wire tacky. Ok I know it was a sucky instal. It's not on the truck until I bend the bumper brackets back down anyhew. I love how one mans tacky is another s pride and joy, isn't that one of the cool things about being human.

[banzai510(hainz)]

Dude the Rising Sun was a Joke untill all the kids copied it(510/240Z are the cars that put Japan back on the map). I copied from someone else then it like restarted the craze and now I see Honda S2000s with it on there.

Thats wire is still Tacky. The truck is too cool for me to let that one pass.

 

As for the clutch. Im talking only from my experience. I have stack of spare bolts ect.

I have a engine hoise with a leveler(this fucking helps ALOT!!!) angle the motor in and out. Also you need a good jacksstands and a jack to hold the trans up also to get a angle upward.

You can angle them out. Im confident I can do it. I I alwasy take my time and make a weekend job out of it as a spent alot of time cleaning the grease off things.

 

also maybe loosen the whole motor mount on the pass side during the install help me. Put pulling out O just remove the bolts in the motor.

 

If you pull the whole motor trans assembly(remove the stick shift also). the trans mission bolt that go thru the fram xmember on top are a pain.(you can see them thru the whole where the stick shift is. 2 on top(trans hole) and 2 go from the side.

 

 

I dont know if anybody has just taking the trans off. I havent seen it!!!!!!!!!!

 

What I would do if I was you is ask Help from people on here and have there numbers ready in case you need help or questions. What usually happens one panics and starts taking short cuts. I know this one also. Then you have Now a junk truck sitting n the driveway.

paying a shop might not be worth it. as they dont knw 521s and really dont no what they are doing.

[DanielC]

Lamps used in a stock 521.

Headlights, SAE trade number 4001, 4002

Front park, and turn signal, SAE trade number 1034. 1157 will work.

Side marker SAE trade number 67

License plate light, SAE trade number 89

Rear turn signal, and reverse, SAE trade number 1073

Rear tail and stop light SAE trade number 1034, 1157 will work.

 

 

You can get to the clutch by removing the transmission. Disconnect the negative battery terminal. Disconnect the exhaust pipe from the engine. disconnect the speedometer cable. You have to remove the bench seat, and the cover plate in the cab. Remove the shifter. Disconnect the slave cylinder, the electrical switches, remove the drive line. Unbolt the engine from the transmission. Remove the cover on the bottom of the bell housing, that covers the front of the flywheel. Support the engine with a block of wood. Remove the transmission mount from the transmission, and mount from the cross member of the frame.

 

Slide the transmission to the rear, putting the tail shaft housing over the frame cross member. At this point, sometimes you can rest the bell housing on the torsion bars. Twist the transmission slightly to clear the torsion bars, lower the front of the transmission, and slide it forward off the cross member, and out of the truck.

 

There has to be a little free play at the slave cylinder. As the clutch disk wears, this free play is used up. When there is no free play, your throwout bearing is always loaded, and turning this wears out the throwout bearing, and makes the clutch slip, just like using the clutch pedal for a foot rest.

[banzai510(hainz)]

Slide the transmission to the rear, putting the tail shaft housing over the frame cross member. At this point, sometimes you can rest the bell housing on the torsion bars. Twist the transmission slightly to clear the torsion bars, lower the front of the transmission, and slide it forward off the cross member, and out of the truck.

 

Putting back in and holding that trans up is gon to be a MOFO

 

 

I thought about removing the exhaust man bolt also but most l16 manifold I come across one bolt is usually sheared off. Esp a nearing 40years on there if they never been broke aprt before.

 

LauLau get some

I would help assist you(tell you wha to do ) and you hit the pavement.

But I live to far.

[Uncle Laulau]

Lamps used in a stock 521.

Headlights, SAE trade number 4001, 4002

Front park, and turn signal, SAE trade number 1034. 1157 will work.

Side marker SAE trade number 67

License plate light, SAE trade number 89

Rear turn signal, and reverse, SAE trade number 1073

Rear tail and stop light SAE trade number 1034, 1157 will work.

 

 

You can get to the clutch by removing the transmission. Disconnect the negative battery terminal. Disconnect the exhaust pipe from the engine. disconnect the speedometer cable. You have to remove the bench seat, and the cover plate in the cab. Remove the shifter. Disconnect the slave cylinder, the electrical switches, remove the drive line. Unbolt the engine from the transmission. Remove the cover on the bottom of the bell housing, that covers the front of the flywheel. Support the engine with a block of wood. Remove the transmission mount from the transmission, and mount from the cross member of the frame.

 

Slide the transmission to the rear, putting the tail shaft housing over the frame cross member. At this point, sometimes you can rest the bell housing on the torsion bars. Twist the transmission slightly to clear the torsion bars, lower the front of the transmission, and slide it forward off the cross member, and out of the truck.

 

There has to be a little free play at the slave cylinder. As the clutch disk wears, this free play is used up. When there is no free play, your throwout bearing is always loaded, and turning this wears out the throwout bearing, and makes the clutch slip, just like using the clutch pedal for a foot rest.

 

CanielD thanks! I hope I don't have to do the clutch soon, summer break would be good perhaps. Maybe it will get better on its own? Banzai has good points about the level of difficulty. I did a couple with the old man and had to walk away a couple of times to cool off because it was so hard to line things back up.