Duncan's 71 "Oz" Goon

[Duncan]

And the Ratsun gods smiled...

 

 

I still quite can't believe I found a NOS Made in Japan Centerlink for a 47 year old RHD car. 

 

I hope to get this installed by late next week.

[mrbigtanker]

Shit install it now. 

[Duncan]

I know that the manuals say to take a hammer and pound the tapered fittings out, but I don't do that.  My friend has some custom built pullers that ease the parts loose.   Waiting to do it right vs waiting for new tie rod ends is more preferable to me.

[Duncan]

NO photos, but I did get the RHD Centerlink in.  When I installed everything, I greased the tapered fittings, and it really helped getting the pieces apart somewhat easily.  (No hammers!) I made sure the to grease everything again this time around. 

 

I also did my shade tree alignment and toe adjustment, and it is a night and day difference in driveability now.  I have to play with wheel spacers and ride height again before I have it properly aligned, but that's not too big a deal.

 

My heater core decided to start puking up antifreeze, so I did a quickie bypass on that.  I have a host of other little issues to fix, but the car is driveable now. 

 

 

 

 

[Duncan]

Now with the correct steering, I was able to remove the 10mm spacer and use a 5mm.

 

 

I need the spacer because the coil over adjusting nut fouls the tire slightly without it.  I'm still not a big fan of the spacer, but it'll do for now.

 

I was also able to drive the car across town today to the local NAPA to order some zerk fittings.  I actually drove about 20 miles or so, and was grinning like a circus freak the whole time.  :O)

 

 

The back tires were rubbing ever-so-slightly over big dips, and I realized that the shorty air shocks in the rear were probably out of air.  I have it at about 8 pounds and no more rubbing.

 

I might play with a bit moar low in the front, but I'm very pleased with how it runs and drives, and it's getting a real alignment this Thursday.

 

   

 

Edited July 30, 2018 by Duncan

[datzenmike]

Can you get shorter springs in the same spring rate? That will move the adjuster upwards the difference in spring length. As the strut leans in by 11 degrees it also moves away from the tire.

[Duncan]

1 hour ago, datzenmike said:

Can you get shorter springs in the same spring rate? That will move the adjuster upwards the difference in spring length. As the strut leans in by 11 degrees it also moves away from the tire.

 

 

That's a good idea.  I have no idea if anything is available, but I'm thinking Eibach may offer custom orders.  I will definitely look into that ?

[Duncan]

Somehow, I couldn't edit the above post. 

 

I did check Eibach's website, and they do offer custom coil springs where you can specify the i.d., spring rate, and length.  I imagine the quote has to come for a dealer, but I'm seriously going to look into that.  Great idea, and thanks!  

[Duncan]

Fucking birds...

 

Had my car out in my driveway for about 15 minutes yesterday and put it back in the garage missing the fact that some bird had shit on my roof.  Wiped the crap off and it had eaten into the paint!  WTF was that bird eating!?!  I had to sand it out with some 3000 and re-polish the spot.  Fucking birds..

 

  

 

My speedometer was registering speeds of 100mph + while in second gear.  It worked previously, but was always about 10mph too fast..

 

 

I found the proper speedo pinion on ebay.  I was changing it, and I noticed my speedo cable had a couple of bends that looked (to me, anyway) too sharp.  I smoothed the routing of the cable  and it works fine now.  I also had a little seep of oil on the ground, and I think the new pinion fixed that.  The new pinion seems to be a bit closer to showing accurate speeds.  I'm going to break out my GPS, and see how far off it is.  I'm just happy I don't have to pull the dash apart to fix the speedometer. 

 

Maybe my memory is bad, but this wagon seems substantially faster than before.  The back seat is out and there's no carpet, but I'm thinking that is probably 80-90 pounds total.  I can't see that making much of a difference. The L20 motor is the same except a (mostly) complete re-gasket.  We did make some simple adjustments to the Weber carb. but only adjustment screws.  No jets or other major changes.  I remember driving it before and thinking it was pretty gutless.  The opposite is now true.  It's no drag racer (of course) but it's really sporty and a lot of fun to drive.  I'm now thinking how much better it would be with a dual SU carb setup....  

 

I still need to pull the heater and get the core repaired or replaced, but it's been pretty hot.  I know I need to get it done before carpet, but ugh!  I'm not looking forward to it at all..

 

 

Edited August 1, 2018 by Duncan

[Duncan]

No photos, but a quickie update:

 

Got the car aligned.  Goes nice and straight and no goofy steering surprises.  My alignment guy knows 510's, and recommended I get some adjustable TC rods.  He says the caster will make it much better (stable) at higher speeds.  I've been driving it every day for a bit, but haven't really driven it on the freeway yet.  The only reason that hasn't happened is it gets hot in there with the summer weather and the bare floors.  If I have to go a longer distance, I take my daily and enjoy the A/C.  I must be getting old...

 

The car had a LOT of rattles, and I spent most of the day today chasing those down.  Some of them were pretty stupid.  The rear license plate and license frame rattled quite a bit.  (fixed)  The passenger side seat belt attachment up on the B pillar rattled like mad.  I made an insulator out of 1/2" rubber hose, and it worked a treat. (fixed)  The roof panel near the dome light rattled.  I was able to pull the light and shove a piece of foam between the support and roof.  (fixed)  

 

I have a big rattle coming from the hatch area.  One of the outer drain covers was loose, as was the vent.  Tightened them both up snug, but the rattle still persists.  I'm thinking it may be the hatch torsion bar cover, or something underneath that cover that is torsion bar related.  I'll take the cover off and get my neighbor to get back there while I drive to see if it can be located.

 

Hit a couple of upholstery shops and received quotes for recovering my back seat to match the front BMW seats. The two quotes varied wildly from "really expensive" to "insanely mother-fucking out of this world expensive".  Got a recommendation from a friend, and will try another shop this week.     

 

The car is an absolute hoot to drive!  I sold my Sunny quite a while back, and it's great having a running, driving Datsun again.  Tons of fun..  Makes all the effort and hours of work worth it.

 

 

 

Edited August 6, 2018 by Duncan

[mrbigtanker]

Good job. Back seat what about carpet?

[Duncan]

12 hours ago, mrbigtanker said:

Good job. Back seat what about carpet?

 

Yes to carpet...

 

Planning on some sound / heat underlayment.  Haven't quite decided on what to do as of yet.

 

 

 

Edited August 6, 2018 by Duncan

[Duncan]

Found an upholsterer and got my rear seat frame all disassembled to strip and paint.  

 

It's "Hot as Balls" (tm: DatsunFreak) right now, so I'm planning on working on these in the morning time only.  On the bright side, the weather is nice for painting right now, though..

 

  

I'm really hoping this is the last time I have to deal with the gray spray paint.

 

Also, quick question for you wagoneers:  Is that reddish leather(-sh)  pull handle the original?  Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 8, 2018 by Duncan

[mrbigtanker]

16 hours ago, Duncan said:

Found an upholsterer and got my rear seat frame all disassembled to strip and paint.  

 

It's "Hot as Balls" (tm: DatsunFreak) right now, so I'm planning on working on these in the morning time only.  On the bright side, the weather is nice for painting right now, though..

 

  

I'm really hoping this is the last time I have to deal with the gray spray paint.

 

Also, quick question for you wagoneers:  Is that reddish leather(-sh)  pull handle the original?  Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good job. Back seat what about carpet?

 

 

it should match your upholstery color. 

[KELMO]

The one on the seat I have is red...but then, so is the material on the seat. If I remember correctly, the wagon I had with black interior had a black pull strap.

 

 

 

 

That wagon was about 30years ago so I could very well be wrong.

[Duncan]

Ray, the seat pans and carpet will be black, just as the BMW seats..

 

Kelly, I only ask because my upholstery guy mentioned it.  He says the strap looked a little long, and a bit too nice for a factory job.  My seats were all recovered in a gray/maroon combo, and definitely not factory, so that makes some sense.  Thanks!

 

 

 

 

Edited August 9, 2018 by Duncan

[Duncan]

I don't know why, but I find it funny that you can delete the Grant GT logo from your horn button for the small sum of $15...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 9, 2018 by Duncan

[mrbigtanker]

3 hours ago, Duncan said:

Ray, the seat pans and carpet will be black, just as the BMW seats..

 

Kelly, I only ask because my upholstery guy mentioned it.  He says the strap looked a little long, and a bit too nice for a factory job.  My seats were all recovered in a gray/maroon combo, and definitely not factory, so that makes some sense.  Thanks!

 

 

 

 

I was talking about the strap. But nice on the metal pans being black. And thanks for the control cable hook up. Got my throttle cable. Nicely done. 

[mrbigtanker]

And you running a Grant in your wagon?

[tr8er]

Pull strap looks just like my black one.  Original

[Duncan]

12 hours ago, mrbigtanker said:

And you running a Grant in your wagon?

 

 

Yes.  The wagon came with a really crappy wheel, and I had this Grant wheel I bought for another project years ago.  An adapter for a 510 was available for it, so I used it.  I paid $75 for it new, now the same wheel is about $200. I like the wheel, but I'll like it more without the logo on the horn button.

 

I had a Nardi in the Sunny, and it was very nice.

 

7 hours ago, tr8er said:

Pull strap looks just like my black one.  Original

 

Thanks tr8er.  My wagon was originally that burnt orange color, so I imagine the upholstery was either white, black or the brown.

[mrbigtanker]

I have a MOMO prototipo. Let me know. All black and old school look.

[blairis]

On ‎5‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 3:47 PM, Duncan said:

 

Put my longer wheel studs in today.  It went much smoother than I imagined.  I still have the steel wheels from my old Sunny, so I used one to attach the hubs to for breaking bolts loose and to torque them down.  Worked out great.

 

That special tool on the right is actually a "tapered cylindrical caliper stand" and not a bucket. It was specially designed to hold a detached caliper safely so the hydraulic line doesn't get kinked or loosened.  It's a highly specialized tool, and you'll only find them in more upscale repair places. 

what brakes are those?? love your build.

[Duncan]

4 hours ago, blairis said:

what brakes are those?? love your build.

 

The stock struts were swapped for 280zx struts.  They are a bit shorter, have bigger brakes, and bolt right in.  They work very well.

 

Thanks for the kind words.

[Duncan]

On 8/11/2018 at 12:13 AM, mrbigtanker said:

I have a MOMO prototipo. Let me know. All black and old school look.

 

Thanks Ray.  The Grant is fine for now.  If I'm going to drop more cash on a steering wheel, I'd probably buy a Nardi.  I had a Nardi on my Sunny, and it was really nice.  

 

I have so much black in my car now, I'm kinda liking the wood wheel as a bit of contrast.