cjzeppy Posted July 15, 2012 Report Share Posted July 15, 2012 Before I begin I would like to mention that this car was put together by another member, strang3majka. He bought the car in January, and spent the next three months researching, installing, and fabricating to make this car work. Without him this would still be in many pieces. So I wanted to pursue his same passion and enthusiasm by finishing the small details of paint and body work to the exterior. If you want to see how this car began it's journey in PA follow the link below: Hello Ratsun and dimer fans! http://community.rat...-miss-sunshine/ This is my 1972 Datsun PL 510 nicknamed "Little Miss Sunshine." I plan on fixing the rough spots where rust is pretty bad, and give her a quality respray. But right now I'm in the midst of a KA24 swap and trying to get the car back on the road. Here's when I first picked her up from Mr.BOHICA Quote Link to comment
qwik510 Posted July 15, 2012 Report Share Posted July 15, 2012 Looking good Chad. Glad she got home ok. I know you will have fun with this great little car. Looking forward to watching the buildup and improvements. David Quote Link to comment
cjzeppy Posted July 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2012 Thanks David. First objective is to reinstall the gas pedal and throttle cable, and then see if I can fix some of the outside rust so it has a better chance of passing inspection. Quote Link to comment
cjzeppy Posted July 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2012 Day 1: Inspection/TO DO list This afternoon I decided to go down to the car and go over some of the issues with the car. The majority of the rust is located in the rear section of the car, mainly in both quarter panels and the trunk floor. I received a trunk floor to replace the rusted spare tire area along with some other pieces. Other concerns are the brakes and suspension. Hopefully I will be able to make some custom coilovers for the rear, and find 280zx front struts and brakes to improve the performance. After I install the gas pedal and throttle cable I should be up and running to go for a test drive. Quote Link to comment
cjzeppy Posted July 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 Day 2: Ordering Parts ordered some much needed parts. - New Drum Hardware kit - New Wheel Cylinders - New Lug Nuts and to make my custom coilover setup - New '91 Camaro Rear Shocks - eBay Honda Civic coilover kit I just found 280ZX front struts for sale on eBay, but I have to see if the seller will ship them instead of asking for only local pickup (lives in NC). Still looking for new tires for the wheels, and I have to figure out how to wire in the universal throttle cable. Any help would be much appreciated. Quote Link to comment
Rustina 510 Posted July 18, 2012 Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 You want zx struts not z struts Quote Link to comment
qwik510 Posted July 19, 2012 Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 You want zx struts not z struts X2.. The 280ZX was made from 1979-1983. Make sure they are ZX struts. 240-260-280Z struts do not work on the 510. Quote Link to comment
cjzeppy Posted July 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 Sorry for the confusion. I found 280ZX struts, brakes, rotors, calipers, and hubs on eBay. Hopefully I can score them for a cheap price, and put them on the car before my deadline of next Friday. Quote Link to comment
cjzeppy Posted July 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2012 My luck paid off. I won the auction, and got 280zx front struts, brakes, and hubs for $25 plus shipping. I'm a maaad bargain hunter! :D Quote Link to comment
schassisowner Posted July 20, 2012 Report Share Posted July 20, 2012 there is a few yards near you that had a few older z's the last time i was there. id love to check this out sometime man, bump for a local :) I just picked up a 720 pickup so i can now say im part of ratsun for real lol :thumbup: 1 Quote Link to comment
cjzeppy Posted July 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2012 Awesome man! I'll have to look around and see if any have some parts I need. Quote Link to comment
schassisowner Posted July 20, 2012 Report Share Posted July 20, 2012 btw i have some 14x7 centerlines that would look awesome on this... i dont think ill be using them anytime soon Quote Link to comment
cjzeppy Posted July 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2012 Do you have any pictures of them? Quote Link to comment
cjzeppy Posted July 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2012 Looks like Christmas came early! Received my new wheel cylinders, lug nuts, and rear shocks. Hope to get my other parts within the week to start swapping out the old with the new. Quote Link to comment
cjzeppy Posted July 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 Day 3: Throttle cable resolved.....for now.... Since it was an overcast and not as hot as the week before I went out and tinkered on the car for a few hours. I received a universal throttle cable from Brad (MR.BOHICA) and used a bike braking cable to wire the throttle. Also found some brackets to hold the cable in place. It would be called "the ratsun way." haha I do need advice for my other issue. The gas pedal is from a 510, but used a linkage setup instead of a cable. So how do I put two and two together? I asked a car guy and he said to get a clamp used for steel cables and make a loop around the ball joint on the end of the gas pedal. That would work, but the gas pedal does not have a spring attached to it. Should I just go and get a 240 or other Nissan gas pedal to install? Any help would be appreciated. Here's a picture of my "ghetto" throttle cable. Quote Link to comment
demo243 Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 Looking forward to following this thread- have a thing for that car. even chatted with Mr. Bohica about it but decided it was more of a project then I could handle. Quote Link to comment
cjzeppy Posted July 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 She's going to take a lot of work to restore the exterior, but I have plenty of time to fix it. This throttle cable attempt is not getting great reviews by a few of my friends. Might just replace everything in favor of something new. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment
cjzeppy Posted July 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Received some parts yesterday, but I had a problem. Apparently a drum hardware kit looks the same as an alternator. So I have to ship that back and hopefully receive my brakes. Quote Link to comment
rusty12ver Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 I would say a combo of a 240sx pedal and a mr gasket throttle cable kit, would be ideal, with a plate for the fire wall. Quote Link to comment
cjzeppy Posted July 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2012 My 280zx struts, brakes, and hubs arrived! If all goes well I should start replacing parts this weekend! :D Quote Link to comment
cjzeppy Posted July 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2012 Day 4: 280zx restoration/ coilover conversion Today I ventured out and made some head way on the car. I completed the rear coilover conversion, and only need to have someone weld the pieces together. Also cleaned up the 280zx struts and brakes to give them a "fresh" look. Also ordered more parts to get closer to driving this car soon. Still need a 240 gas pedal and throttle cable. I'm going to start looking on other Nissan forums for partouts. For now, here's some pictures. Quote Link to comment
cjzeppy Posted July 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2012 Day 5: Coolant rehabilitated With the help of my friend we found out that the lower coolant hose had a puncture, causing most of my newly poured coolant on the ground. Don't worry I did manage to retain the majority of the coolant. Don't want any environmentalists going crazy. lol Simple run to the local auto parts store to get new hoses, and added some water in so the car had a way to keep cool in the heat. When I start to drive the car I will flush the system and get new coolant. My new projected goal of driving this car is the end of August. There is a car show at the local Honda dealership, and usually one or two Nissans come out and always win. Time to show them where these imports originated from. ;) Quote Link to comment
schassisowner Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 there are two nissan s13s at the yard in new oxford... prospect metals.. these guys are super reasonable. Im ready to head to the beach this week but id still like to check this thing out sometime :) Quote Link to comment
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