Duncan's 71 "Oz" Goon

[Duncan]

Rained like mad today.  Worked on my heater core, and removed the rest of the gray paint from the heater.  She's all clean and the heater core is spending some quality time in the hot tank.  My friend seems to think we can fix it.  I hope so, otherwise I need to have it refurbed.  I'm into saving a few bucks where I can.

 

Also adjusted the tie rods and set the toe on the wagon. The front wheels appear to be headed in the same direction now. :)

 

Shot from underneath.  Can't wait to drive it.  The front was junk before..

 

[mrbigtanker]

Mark you keeping a L series or converting to a KA or SR. And its coming along real nice,is getting fully painted before getting it on the road or just get it to driving state and full paint later.And if i come across a extra garnish from this guy i am dealing with i will let you know.

[Duncan]

More than likely will swap the motor.  I like the KA for fuel mileage and street use.  Plans are to install a painless harness next, paint the insides and get the doors apart, painted, and hung.  The car can actually come home after that. 

 

I'm going to paint the car before I put it all back together.  I wish I could get it done faster, but I only have so many hours per week to work on it :(

 

I'll probably keep the L20 in it for the time being.  It runs great and I can put new gaskets in it (to stop the oil leaks) and clean it up while it's out for the engine compartment makeover..  

 

BTW, if you're dealing with Craig at Tokyo2u, I've dealt with him 6 or more times.  I've heard some minor grumbles about him, but our dealings have been fine.

[mrbigtanker]

All good,this will be my first time dealing with him.I cant wait to see yours come together.

[Duncan]

Hey MrBig, I still have those door panels if you need them.  If you run across a 510 tach, I'm looking for one of those, too! 

[mrbigtanker]

Hell yes i want those panels mark,let me know when we can meet up,I wan to dye them to match the seats and rear panels,The only thing sort of custom i am doing is re doing the interior as close as i can to stock,except I am deleting the holes on the front seats for the head rests and of course the Nardi wheel.

 

And as for Tach a bluebird tach or anything i should know specific to look out for and what type of price range.

[Duncan]

My weekend dance card is full because my date showed up today.

 

[datsunfreak]

Sort of looking forward to that, and also not looking forward to it...   :rofl:

[Duncan]

Sort of looking forward to that, and also not looking forward to it...   :rofl:

 

+1   :)

 

I probably won't start on this for a few days.  I have a few odds and ends to finish up, then I need to carefully remove and label the old harness..

 

On the plus side, I should know every wire in the car when it's done.

[Pacific coast Datsun]

Great build up & pix Mark. I remember seeing your wagon years ago when we caravaned to jccs @ long beach. Keep plugging away !

[Duncan]

Thanks Mark.  I remember that, too.  No brakes to speak of, and the wagon just barely ran :)  It still made it to the show and back, though..

 

I still have the roof rack you gave me, but I'm having a hard time deciding if I want to drill holes in the roof or not.

[datsunfreak]

I'm having a hard time deciding if I want to drill holes in the roof or not.

 

You do not.   B)

 

I like those roof racks, but just can't imagine drilling holes into a roof of a car that never had one.

 

Now, if the holes were already there...   ^_^

 

Would much rather see you do one that mounts to the drip rail personally (and probably will on my wagon). Then you can take it off whenever you like.   :thumbup:

 

[datrod]

Wow!!! Looks like you have been busy since my last visit here. Looks real clean Bro. Can't wait to see this thing all done.

 

Guess I better start shopping... :thumbup:

[Duncan]

You do not.   B)

 

I like those roof racks, but just can't imagine drilling holes into a roof of a car that never had one.

 

 

 

 

I pretty much agree with you, but....

 

The Amco racks look great on the car, and I would fit it and seal the underside of the bolts PRIOR to the headliner install.  I would also coat the bare metal inside the holes prior to sealing the underside.  Rust and/or corrosion would not be an issue in this instance.

 

Still, I probably won't install it.   I was in the guitar business for many years, and a few extra holes in a vintage guitar just kills the value.  My DNA runs towards NOT drilling into things :)

[Duncan]

Awesome!  I looked at the Painless stuff and realized they sent me a 21 circuit kit.  They have recently upgraded ALL of their kits, and the old 12 circuit kit is now a 21 circuit at no extra charge.  That will leave me with a lot of options for future electronic gizmos.    The old 18 circuit models are now 28's. 

 

I'm stoked because 12 could have done it, but I wanted a few more and didn't want to pay a lot of extra money.   The price through Summit was very good with no tax, and free shipping.  That's a win, win, win in my book..

[Pacific coast Datsun]

I can make a rail clamp on roof rack if you like just say the word. I now have a wagon roof ill use as a guide.

[Duncan]

I can make a rail clamp on roof rack if you like just say the word. I now have a wagon roof ill use as a guide.

 

Thanks Mark.   I'll probably just go naked paint on the roof :)

[Duncan]

I knew I had to go back (very soon) and paint my calipers, and my friend had this BRIGHT red paint...

 

 

 

Very sexy....

[mrbigtanker]

Mark it's coming together real nice and thank you for the door panels,I will put them to good use.

[Duncan]

I also removed the rear wire harness section and did the same for the engine section.

 

PSA: Please don't use electrical tape to wrap a wire harness.  There's an actual wire harness tape, and it comes off without leaving a gooey, sticky mess behind.  Below is remains from a 4ft section I had to unwrap just to remove it from the car.

 

 

Here's the engine bay harness after removal..

 

 

 

All I need now is some bondo and iron-on denim patches to make it complete :)

[Duncan]

Mark it's coming together real nice and thank you for the door panels,I will put them to good use.

 

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

[Duncan]

double post fail..

[mrbigtanker]

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

No he did not but I'm pretty sure mine are good,I will double check when I pick it up from the polish shop..

[Duncan]

This post is a bit pic heavy.  I know you pic whores like that, so..

 

I wanted to start wiring the car, but quickly realized I wasn't quite ready.  I wanted to mount the fuse box up high on the passenger side kick panel, but I needed to paint the panel first.  I didn't want to get everything mounted, then come back later and try to mask off wires and stuff..

 

Kick panels painted. (both sides)

 

 

Also painted both door sills back to the "B" pillar. (And the "B" pillars, also)

 

 

Then, I realized I wanted to get an internally regulated alternator and do away with the stock 35 amp alternator and voltage regulator, so we hit the wreckers and I pulled an alternator from a hard body pickup.  They have a V-belt pulley on them versus the 240sx which has a serpentine belt pulley.

 

720 pickup alternator.  I think it's 60-65 amps or so.  Saturday was half-price day at the wreckers and this thing was only $23.00 w/tax and core charge.

 

 

I made some new spacers for the lower mounting points which did away with the longer thru-bolt mount.  It now has a threaded front and rear bolt which is how the stock one mounts.  I just think it's got more strength that way.

 

Went to bolt it up, and piss on a stick!  The top bracket (with the curved slot for adjustment) was about 1/4" off.  After assessing the situation for a few minutes, we decided against making a new bracket or anything fancy.  I went the easy way on this.

 

Band saw bracket in half.....

 

 

Bolt everything back together, and carefully line the pieces up to where they work as needed, then scribe a few lines on the part to line them back up off the car for welding.

 

weld:

 

 

paint:

 

 

install, adjust, and tighten: 

 

 

Bob's your uncle.

 

I know it's not fancy, but it's plenty strong, and the pulleys line up real well.  I can always go back and weld some pieces onto it to smooth the offset transition.  Good enuf for now. 

 

Prepare to wire NEXT week....

[KELMO]

That bracket is a whole lot different than what I was thinking when I read your PM.