Autocross/Street Handling '72 510 Wagon

[Uber Deaf One]

Must be a cali thing bonvo, there's always 2-3 complete ZXs in the newark pick n pull every time I go lol

 

All the PnPs around here never have ZXs :( I might have to head over there and snatch all the ZX struts lol

[Son_of_a_Datsun_Guy]

Ordered new seat belts, should be here next week.

 

Also registered the car for Canby! I'll actually be in the show just for kicks since I only saw three wagons last year.

 

heater core is coming out this weekend, radio is getting reset, tach is going in, and hopefully the interior will be "finished" except for the trans tunnel.

[troyt]

The '81-'83 280ZX five speed is my favorite trans for street Datsuns, I'm glad you're going with it.

Great ratios: 1st 3.062, 2nd 1.858, 3rd 1.308, 4th 1.0, 5th 0.745.

1 through 4 are nice and tight for great street use, and the big overdrive makes for excellent highway cruising (quiet and good mpg).

Much better shifter than the older boxes as well. Just get some fresh shiftlever bushings (3 of them), make sure you use the right shiftlever (research if not sure), and use some good non-synthetic gear oil (brass synchros don't do as well with synth).

Enjoy!

 

BTW: '76-'79 280Z ratios - 1st 3.321, 5th 0.864.

'80 280ZX ratios - 1st 3.062, 5th 0.773.

[Son_of_a_Datsun_Guy]

Yep the 81 was pretty much a best case scenario, really excited to be able to hear my music while I'm on the freeway haha

 

Did a lot of cleanup/ prep work over the weekend.

 

Put in new hatch gaskets

 

 

heater core out and sent to radiator shop to get pressure tested and fixed (it was leaking, pretty sure it's the little radiator and not one of the valves or anything) and got the tach in.

 

 

Also did more wiring setup/cleanup behind the dash, got wires laid out for bigger speakers in the back, fixed the lights on the oil pressure and water temp gauges, and more "organization" that makes sense to us an nobody else that will look at it.

Put channel felt in the back door windows, and tried to track down a bunch of the rattles and such. Going to be driving to Canby and keeping the car quiet on the inside will probably be something to be grateful for later. Oh and my five speed tranny crossmember came from Experimental Engineering.

 

It doesn't seem like a whole lot but that was probably 20 hours of man hours between my dad and I over the last couple days. I talked to a bunch of Datsun friends over the weekend at a party, and they have swayed me. I am going to put all modern engine plans on hold for a long time and look for an L20B with a good head. It's drop in, all of my current parts are interchangeable, the car will be down for a couple days tops to do it. Hopefully I'll be able to get 120hp out of it with the SUs (mind you that's probably double what my little L16 makes right now) and it'll be torquey as I could want.

[Son_of_a_Datsun_Guy]

Helped a friend move their 311 wagon out of their old yard, and then we bought a pair of euro wagon tail lights from her... pretty frickin' cool. I don't i've ever seen them in person... super excited to get them on the car (after I repaint the quarter panel)

 

[Laecaon]

Call me crazy, I very much dislike the euro rear lights. I dislike the amber part...

[Son_of_a_Datsun_Guy]

I like it for two big reasons: they are different, and having the amber turn signals in the back make it amber turn signals all around... I just have a symmetry problem :rofl:

[Laecaon]

Good point about amber all around. Reason I went clear all around. As for being different, well I suppose they are, but so are pink racing stripes :P

[Son_of_a_Datsun_Guy]

different wasn't the right word haha, more like "tasteful"?

[Laecaon]

Haha, I understand. Wagons dont get much cool stuff to be different, sedans have like 5 different taillight setups.

[troyt]

Solid red is always an option if you can find them...

 

[Son_of_a_Datsun_Guy]

The red ones are all aftermarket aren't they? The only thing that worries me there is the reverse lights for on the street use.

 

Been a long time since I updated... Got the 5 speed in thanks to a friend's lift (thank you Luke if you ever see this)

 

 

 

 

new driveshaft.... yay

 

 

 

 

Last saturday pulled an L20 from a 720 donor pickup

 

 

I left a good looking 5 speed in the truck at the Newark Pick n Pull if anybody wants to go grab it... it's just hanging from the tranny mount no driveshaft

[jrock4224]

If it was a 84 standard cab I would make the trek down ... There perfec for making short tail 5 sp

[Son_of_a_Datsun_Guy]

It was an 80 king cab, i think that 80 was the only year that the l20 came in the 720.

 

That would be a long trek haha

[screamer510]

I never saw your engine upgrade plans, but I can assure you that you'll be happy with the L20b. Good choice.

[Son_of_a_Datsun_Guy]

I was convinced by a good friend that going VG was a terrible idea and he's convinced that building my own L is a right of passage :w00t: , so now the plan is build a mean L20, and aim for about 140hp and similar torque using the SUs that I have. That means I need to do some cleaning and moving around of heads and such, new pistons... the whole lot. May not hit that mark, but i figured it was a good benchmark.

[DAT510]

L20B is plenty fun..

even with the auto I have.

[Abe Froman]

" Right of passage ", that Michael.

 

But I do agree with him.

[Son_of_a_Datsun_Guy]

actually it was both michael and rob from ZCG. I'm now of the mind, since seeing many, many sr, ka, and vg wagons at canby, that a mean L will be more unique anyways. Also, I've been paying some more attention to the mods some friends that are miata people are doing, and they really aren't making all that much power but still kick total ass.

[erikcarter]

I like my l20 but I would do webers next time.

[troyt]

Wagons and L20s go together like peanut butter and jelly ;-)

Some flattops, closed chamber head, 9.5:1 cr, mild performance cam, mikuni 40's, elec diz, build it right and balance it all up... all you could ever want, imo.

[jrock4224]

Wagons and L20s go together like peanut butter and jelly ;-)

Some flattops, closed chamber head, 9.5:1 cr, mild performance cam, mikuni 40's, elec diz, build it right and balance it all up... all you could ever want, imo.

 

u act like u built a 510 before or something....

[bonvo]

idk man i remember talking to you at canby remember that orange goon with over 500hp? to get 140 out of an l20b will take alot of work and alot of money cheaper to go with a vg in the long run in my opinion

[Laecaon]

idk man i remember talking to you at canby remember that orange goon with over 500hp? to get 140 out of an l20b will take alot of work and alot of money cheaper to go with a vg in the long run in my opinion

 

That is all relative to what you want out of your car. I have heard of way more success stories autocrossing with an L series than anything else. To me, the VG is the heaviest option over the front wheels.

 

If moving away from the L series, and retaining handling is key, my choice is the ca18det as it is even lighter than an SR.

 

But really, a nicely built L20b sounds like an the perfect plan for what it appears you do with your car.

[Son_of_a_Datsun_Guy]

Some flattops, closed chamber head, 9.5:1 cr, mild performance cam, mikuni 40's, elec diz, build it right and balance it all up... all you could ever want, imo.

 

Exactly what I had in mind haha minus the mikunis because I'd like to retain some form of fuel economy, and mikunis drink gas like it's water. I've also heard that an open chambered U 67 head is better for l20's, since they retain a larger amount of displacement that way. The only thing I'm not sure about, is how that will affect the compression, ex: will it just make the compression difference from the flat tops mean nothing because in effect the flat top reduced the displacement?

 

still some research to do

 

Oh and I got a matchbox dizzy out of the truck with the motor... $50 but cheaper than what I've seen elsewhere, and hey it was there.

 

Anyone know how they managed to charge tax and environmental charges? I'm pulling stuff out of the junk yards not putting it back in haha :confused:

 

 

Bonvo: yes a built L20 will cost money, but at the end of the day I believe that I will spend less than a VG (which, let's face it, is kinda so-so, unless you are putting stupid built one's in like the orange wagon, it's not going to make the same numbers as an SR or KA, which have two fewer cylinders) less money because I've already got the carbs I wanted, they just need some refurbishing, and I've got the perfect tranny. On top of that, with the VG I'd need to figure out an entirely new fuel system, plus fab work for getting into the car.

 

L20 is basically plug and play once it's done, and i'm doubling my power. It was the logical next step for the wagon no matter what, I've just decided to really do it and make it awesome instead of just dropping a truck motor in :rofl: