Duncan's 71 "Oz" Goon

[datrod]

No problem.  Did John show you the text I sent regarding the door trim clips?

 

Duncan.

I think your car is different. Both mine and tankers wagon have clips in the window trim. Not on the body like yours.

[banzai510(hainz)]

this is just me .

But I would use the turnbuckel type alt adjustment. In case you run a different alternator. otherwise youll have to pull the radiator to get those or that long water pump bolt out.That if it dont line up.

 

The one you have uses the 2 bolts and the alternator has to be a perfect fit. In case later you put a different alt in and dont line up it could put a bind on the front cover and crack it in worst case over time.

[Duncan]

Hainz,

I'm not quite sure what you meant by all that.  I replaced the alternator with one of the same case size, and mounted it exactly like the stock one was on there.  I did have to modify the upper mount a bit, but only slightly.  The pulleys and belt all line up perfectly straight.

 

No matter though.  I realized (after I did the work, of course) that the hard body alternator is only 35 amps like the stock one, so I yanked an alternator out of a 240sx yesterday along with the upper mount.  The upper mounting looks like it will bolt right on, but the car is 100 miles away from me.  I will see what happens tomorrow when I get there.

 

The turnbuckle adjuster certainly looks like a workable solution, but (call me stupid) I think it doesn't look particularly good.  (or as strong as a bolt.)

 

Just IMHO, of course...

[Duncan]

Just a quick update.  Got the Painless Harness about halfway installed, then decided I didn't really like it.  I didn't like the way the wires all were in one giant bundle, (vs the Datsun three separate harnesses)  After you mount the fuse box, the wires didn't tuck in near the thing the way I hoped, and it just didn't look good.the way I had to install it.  If I had no time constraints, I could have made it work, but I don't have that luxury right now. 

 

Anyway, my original dash and rear harnesses are in decent shape, so I plan to unwrap each one of them, clean or replace the connectors, make repairs as necessary, then re-wrap it and go with it.

 

My original engine bay harness is a mess, but I have a nice complete harness from a US goon that I think will work just fine.  (I'm sure I can repair the Aussie harness if it comes down to it)  I *think* the main difference between the two is how the taillights work.  The US is a basic 2-wire, and the Aussie is a 3-wire with separate brake, running, and turn signal taillights.  If it really, really comes down to it, I have a set of US wagon taillights that I can do the 2-wire wiring, and use the Aussie lenses on it. 

 

I know you folks like pics, so I will see what I can do tomorrow.  I only have fuzzy pics of the Painless very roughly run into the various areas.  Now it's completely out of the car..

[Duncan]

Here's the fuse box mounted.  The wires don't really tuck out of the way, and there is a huge mess of wires that go to the entire car that are not broken into sub-harnesses.  You end up routing them the best you can, then tie wrapping a big ball of wires together.  It might work for some cars, but not so much with the Datsun.

 

 

Here's the routing for the dash and engine compartment.  A few for the left side were routed out of the left side, but most of the engine compartment needed to go through the right side.  You end up with a LOT of wires behind the dash.  Might be better for a LHD car. 

 

 

Anyway, routing the wires is a HUGE deal.  Terminating them wasn't too bad.  I yanked it all and started repairing and wrapping the stock harness.

 

Spent about 45 minutes or so on the rear harness.  It was a gorgeous Sunny day in San Diego today and I work under a blue tarp, so the pic turned out green :)

 

Clean, shiny new tape = Good!  Crappy, mung-laden over-sprayed old tape = Bad!

 

 

Handy tip:  Got a schematic for the wagon from an Aussie friend of who scanned it for me.  I took it down to Kinko's and they blew it up to appx 24" x 17" and laminated it.  Cost me a whopping $2.50  You can grab it with grubby hands and wipe it clean. 

 

 

The large schematic makes it easy for us blind old guys  :thumbup:

[hang_510]

 

My original engine bay harness is a mess, but I have a nice complete harness from a US goon that I think will work just fine.  (I'm sure I can repair the Aussie harness if it comes down to it)  I *think* the main difference between the two is how the taillights work.  The US is a basic 2-wire, and the Aussie is a 3-wire with separate brake, running, and turn signal taillights

 

the schematic from pablo in color is even better ;)

 

im pretty sure the 70-72 wagons have that same wiring as the aus.

[Laecaon]

the schematic from pablo in color is even better ;)

 

im pretty sure the 70-72 wagons have that same wiring as the aus.

 

Pretty sure my 71 is not wired like the Aus wagons. In the US, from the brake switch  wire goes to the turn signal switch. Then from the turn signal switch L&R to the tails. Same wire for brakes and turns. The way to bypass this on the US harness is to remove the wire to the turn signal switch, and instead just run individual brake wires all the way back. Then its just a matter of hooking up the now separate turn and brake wires to the correct spots on the tail lights.

[Duncan]

the schematic from pablo in color is even better ;)

 

 

 

Yeah, no doubt.  

 

There are some differences on mine compared to a USD wagon.  I did glance at the two schematics quickly a while back.  They are relatively minor, but since I have the Aussie wiring layout, I'm going with it.  (And saving $25 or so)  No color, but close enough  :thumbup:

 

Having it BIG and laminated really helps, though..

[KELMO]

My ass is going to Kinkos this weekend......effing Brilliant idea.

[Duncan]

My ass is going to Kinkos this weekend......effing Brilliant idea.

 

 

Thanks Kelly.  I used a self-serve Kinkos.  Simple and cheap.

[mrbigtanker]

Coming along real nice Mark. When do you think it will get painted..

[Duncan]

Thanks Big.  Did the door jams today.  Working on doors the next few days.  Hope to get them painted and back on soon.  I need to yank the drivetrain and paint the engine bay before painting the shell.  That will happen at home and not here in San Diego.

 

I'm busting on it every chance I get, but I don't have any idea when it'll be ready to drive.  Unexpected shit keeps happening :)

 

Added a photo. Another sunny day under the blue tarp.  My Iphone doesn't like it much.

 

 

The photo doesn't come close to doing the color justice.  The guys at the shop were really digging it now that there is a bit of it on the goon.

[Duncan]

More fun: Doors

 

Various in process pics.

 

 

 

Hinges in process. 

 

Hot tank, sandblast, prime, and paint.

 

 

 

And because I'm fruity, I sand blasted, primed, and lightly painted the bolt heads.  I can hang the doors, then go back and touch up the paint on the bolts.

 

 

Kinda silly, but it should look good when they are back on the car.  Looks like it's gonna be about 4 full working days per door, ugh..  I'm working on wiring harness stuff in between waiting for paint or primer to dry. 

[mrbigtanker]

Wow just fuckin wow,this wagon is going to be the shit,good Job Mark. :thumbup:  :thumbup:

[Duncan]

Thanks Mr Big.

 

Not much of an update, but here ya go..

 

Monty, I'll take door number 2 please...

 

 

Door number 2 all painted and finished.  I screwed up the paint on this one on the first go around, and I ended up stripping it back down to bare metal and repeated the process.  That put me back a few hours :(   No photos, but the door hinges and bolts painted just as the first door.

 

 

 

Next up is Door number 3 which is a lovely donor door I bought off Craigslist for about $30.  My original door had some goofy holes in it, and it was MUCH cheaper and faster to pick this one up.  Funny, as it was originally the same color as my wagon.  The blue paint pretty much comes off with an air hose :)

 

 

  I ordered (and waiting for) door seals and NOS Nissan felt for the glass channels. 

[mrbigtanker]

Next beer is my treat.

[datrod]

So much better than what you had on your phone last night. Epic color for sure. This is going to be one bad mama jama.. And all the work done by YOU!!! that is even better.

[AZ_L320]

Looks awesome Duncan!  So, will it be ready for Williams this year?  Would love see it in person.  Nice work man.

 

Dale

[mrbigtanker]

Yes it will be done by him and I wish I had his talent.

[Duncan]

Thanks folks.  I keep slugging away on it every chance I get.  Very hard to say when it will be ready.

[Duncan]

Happy 510 day update.  Still working on friggin' doors :(  Doors are not my favorite things to work on..

 

 

Below is the glass channel piece that goes between the front glass and the quarter glass on the rear doors of a goon.  The donor door I bought was missing the channel and glass, and the OzGoon had one that was bent to shit and split.  I had no choice but to repair it.  It took me about an hour to get it straight, then I had to weld the split together.  I took a lot of pics, but my IPhone doesn't like the lighting where my car is, so the auto-focus gets thrown off.  Most of the pics weren't good enough to post.

 

 

This is what it looked like in process.  Pretty much a mess.  I was able to grind the welds and started using solder (Which is lead, but smaller) and did an all-lead repair.

 

I'll spare the details, but today was clown fuck central.  One thing after another kept going wrong.  This repair took literally most of the day.  It did turn pretty well, so that was a step in the right direction.

 

 

Here's the best photo I have of it.  This piece has high and low sections, so filing it was a bit tricky.  It did come out very nice, though.

 

I intended to get a lot more done today, but I only got 6 pieces in primer.  Not much to show for 8 hours of work, but it is what it is..

 

 

Do something nice for your Mom tomorrow.  My Mom passed away a few years ago, so appreciate the time you spend with family.  It is truly precious.

[mrbigtanker]

Very true mark about family.

 

And it still coming along real nice.

[hang_510]

i think i have a pair if that beatutiful work doesn't satsify you.

and theyre the same...

[Duncan]

i think i have a pair if that beatutiful work doesn't satsify you.

and theyre the same...

 

I'm thinking these will be fine....But one never knows :)  Nice to know there might be some spares available.  Thanks for the heads up.

[datrod]

Lookin good Mark. Might be about time for some new shoes. :rofl: