Icehouse Posted August 26, 2008 Report Share Posted August 26, 2008 I was kinda discouraged on the project for a while.. Why??? Quote Link to comment
Duke Posted August 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2008 I was getting down to the deadline for getting it finished and was realizing that it wouldn't get done. I REALLY wanted to be able to drive it back to school, but I didn't want to rush things and do a crappy job just to get it done. I also had a few things that I had to scrap cause they didn't work and that sucked. But onward and upward, I will get it finished this winter! Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted August 26, 2008 Report Share Posted August 26, 2008 Never surrender :D Quote Link to comment
bonvo Posted August 26, 2008 Report Share Posted August 26, 2008 dont be discuraged man this motor is a thing of beauty better looking the some women i know thats for sure and as for smog legal thats easy the only thing it needs is the air injection ports and heat tube to the air cleaner Quote Link to comment
Duke Posted September 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2008 My dad just sent me some pictures of my engine bay. Now, neither of us are body/paint guys but I think it turned out pretty damn good! I forgot to take the steering u-joint out and he painted over it but no big deal. Next he is going to be running the fuel and brake lines for me. Aren't dads the best! 1 Quote Link to comment
Icehouse Posted September 12, 2008 Report Share Posted September 12, 2008 Cool!! Pink would have been better :D hehe Quote Link to comment
Duke Posted September 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2008 Cool!! Pink would have been better :D hehe Haha, that is exactly what my girlfriend said! But I just couldn't find a shade of pink that I liked. Quote Link to comment
Icehouse Posted September 13, 2008 Report Share Posted September 13, 2008 Haha, that is exactly what my girlfriend said! But I just couldn't find a shade of pink that I liked. Great minds think alike :D Dude so what other custom shit do you have planned? I'm going to post pics of Dillons heater maybe tomorrow. You should check out what we did with the heater, it would totally work on your rig!! Did you find any ignition deal? I keep forgetting to take a pic of my setup.... Quote Link to comment
blueridgespeed Posted September 13, 2008 Report Share Posted September 13, 2008 Got a few things back from coating. Anyway, here are the coated headers and valve cover. How did you get the valve cover coated? Can powdercoat do wrinkle-finish like that? Any special prep? Expensive? I'd love to know - J Quote Link to comment
motavated Posted September 13, 2008 Report Share Posted September 13, 2008 There is a special paint at the autoparts store that says wrinkle finish. Thats the one you want.... Quote Link to comment
Duke Posted September 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2008 I did have the valve cover powdercoated. The wrinkle finish is a pretty standard thing for powdercoating, the place that I had it done had a few different colors. I have also used the spray can stuff, and it looks OK as long as you apply it right. The car gnomes (my dad) have been up to it again though. He got the mount for the fuel pump and filter done over the weekend. He will be running the fuel lines soon. Quote Link to comment
Icehouse Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 This is what I have in my dime Duke. For more info you should PM Hainz, or better yet I could give you his number. He is on strike right now which means NO computer for him. Quote Link to comment
Duke Posted November 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 I am home for a week and that means that I can get some stuff done on the car! I made some braces for the front x-member to help with lateral movement (those 4 bolts just don't do it for me). I heard of this through Baz of Datsport. I guess they don't really need to be as high as I made them, but if a little is good then more is just right, eh? Its nice to be back and make some progress on the car, I spend so much time thinking about it at school its nice to have my hands on it again, if only for a week. Here are some pictures of the mod. Quote Link to comment
Duke Posted December 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 I am back at home and making progress once more. Tonight I finished the T/C rods. They use 280zx tie rod ends (thanks for the idea Byron). I took some pictures of them with the LCA's. Both are just single adjustable because I don't see them as something you are going to be adjusting all the time. I thought this was funny...the threads on one tie rod go a good CM further up the shaft. Quote Link to comment
bonvo Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 glad to see your making headway on her again i cant wait to see this thing finished i want a ride:D Quote Link to comment
slodat Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 Duke - what did you use for the threaded rod portion of both the LCA and T/C rod? It looks like the LCA has a weld-in threaded end on a piece of tube. Also, what heim joint did you use? I like this a lot better than the way I did my last ones. Quote Link to comment
Icehouse Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 Looks great Duke!!!! I'm just glad you got rid of the poly bushings :D Not that I don't think Tie rod ends won't hold up but I just thought I would share a little tie rod story :D So when building Dillon's front end I had an idea to help narrow the track of the S12 front suspension. Since I couldn't find any tie rods that were shorter I thought I could just shorten every possible part of them AKA the inner tie rod. Well it turns out if you mill the threaded end that goes into the rack by 1/8" there is no more meat left and the brake during installation.... So it turns out there is only about a little over an 1/8th inch holding them together haha Not that I don't think its enough I just found it odd thats all. Just a little story I pulled from the files :D Quote Link to comment
Duke Posted December 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2008 Duke - what did you use for the threaded rod portion of both the LCA and T/C rod? It looks like the LCA has a weld-in threaded end on a piece of tube. Also, what heim joint did you use? I like this a lot better than the way I did my last ones. Slo, you hit the nail on the head with how I did the LCA's. Used a threaded tube end and a piece of tubing. For the heims I used 5/8" teflon lined Aurora's. For the T/C's I used some heavy wall chrome-moly tubing. I drilled and tapped one end for the tie rod end, and then turned the T/C rod down to fit in the other end. They don't need a turnbuckle because the ball can turn in the socket, so adjustment is easy. Looks great Duke!!!! I'm just glad you got rid of the poly bushings :D Not that I don't think Tie rod ends won't hold up but I just thought I would share a little tie rod story :D So when building Dillon's front end I had an idea to help narrow the track of the S12 front suspension. Since I couldn't find any tie rods that were shorter I thought I could just shorten every possible part of them AKA the inner tie rod. Well it turns out if you mill the threaded end that goes into the rack by 1/8" there is no more meat left and the brake during installation.... So it turns out there is only about a little over an 1/8th inch holding them together haha Not that I don't think its enough I just found it odd thats all. Just a little story I pulled from the files :D The poly ones weren't that bad. I had drilled them out and also made them more of a cone shape so that they didn't restrict suspension movement as much as the normal ones did. But the tie rod ends will be much better. That's funny that you did that to the tie rod ends Jeff. In my planning for converting to r&p I thought of that same way of making the rack a little narrower. I guess great minds think alike! Quote Link to comment
Icehouse Posted December 26, 2008 Report Share Posted December 26, 2008 I guess great minds think alike! Damn right they do :D Low, fast and who cares about the body!! :D Quote Link to comment
Duke Posted December 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 I've been working on it for the past few days, just getting stuff done so that I can drop the engine in for the final time within the next few days :D, then its on to all the little detail things that take so damn long. Made a hump for the tranny... Raised the T/C rod mounting points... Finished the oil pan gating system (this was a PITA!)... Got a few things mounted in the engine bay...I can't wait to see it filled with KA though... 1 Quote Link to comment
slodat Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 Why did you move the T/C rod mounting point up? I'm guessing because your car is in the weeds. Any info on this one? Looks great Duke! Quote Link to comment
Duke Posted January 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Well, like the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz, my car now has a heart. Its not beating yet, but it is in for the final time. I have been working towards this for the past few weeks, and kept hitting setbacks (mainly not getting parts). But I got the engine buttoned up last night, and today I was able to drop it in. It was not without incident though. I ran into some clearance issues with the oil pan and the front x-member, so I had to massage the lip a little with a grinder to give the sump a little more clearance. Other than that and a few swear words it went in just fine. Good clearance all around, with the closest areas being around 1/4". I had to take the steering box out to get the header in, but that was OK because it wasn't hooked to anything. So yeah, a pretty smooth day with good headway made. I also bolted on the intake manifold and carbs just a a little teaser for myself. So here are the pictures from the day. 2 Quote Link to comment
Duke Posted January 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 I have officially committed Datsun sacrilege, there is a Honda part on my car. Can you spot it? The reason behind it is that I chose to use 280zx inner tie rods for T/C pivots. It gives easy adjustment without sacrificing geometry like a heim joint setup does. Plus, they are only $9 from rockauto. There is only one real problem, the stud that usually threads into the steering rack, which is now used as the body mount, is a M16x1 thread. Not exactly what you would call an everyday thread. I considered cutting of the ends of a rack (as per Byron's suggestion, he is running a similar setup and ran into the same problem as me), or making some nuts myself. But a little Google searching (actually a LOT) and I struck gold. Honda used a M16x1 nut on alternators on some motorcycles and lawn mowers. Went down to the local Honda motorcycle place and ordered 2. And guess what, they work perfect. I can dig up the Honda P/N if anybody is interested. Another little side project that I did was to make a short shifter for the NAPS-Z gearbox that I am running. Unlike L boxes the ears where the shifter mounts are really long, so I simply made some new ones higher up and lengthened the portion of the shifter below the pivot. Shortened the throw between gears by about 1 1/2", and that is with a longer shift lever. Quote Link to comment
bonvo Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 looking good man its almost there the hard part is done!!!! might i ask why are you running a nap z trans insted of a 240sx trans? any particular reason or was it just avalable your in california right if i remember correctly your not to far from me i would love to see this thing in person Quote Link to comment
69FJWagon Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 DAMN...:eek: that looks SAAAWEET! glad to see its coming along wish you were closer I would love to come up and see it in person. Clayton might i ask why are you running a nap z trans insted of a 240sx trans? any particular reason or was it just avalable I was wondering the same thing???:confused: Quote Link to comment
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