A10's U-nite !!!!

[Fat510]

 

[bananahamuck]

Anybody know what weatherstripping works good for replacing the crappy half metal and rubber one for the trunk seal? Also does anyone have any carbs for an l20 laying around? I'm getting tired of the stock hitachi.

 

 

I would suggest spend a few hours roaming the junkyards seeing what's out there.. Look up Vintage-rices write ups on here as he has found many , different seal solutions for 68-73 510s using easily found junkyard stuff..  If you use newer car style seals,, they seem to be more "fluffed up" so probably will work better also.

Even door jams of the newer cars might have a useable seal.

 

 

Robopineapplehead: We have bins of those but they are at least as old as the ones you have now so not sure if they would really be an up grade over yours.. You could go by the junkers and remove cover bolts till you find a set that is the best looking. Or if your going for strenght and not stock look  ,, like suggested buy from Fastinal / Tacoma screw  or online somewhere.

[robopineapple]

Good point, ill just take it all apart and try to find simalar ones at a hardware store. thanks!

[robopineapple]

Im not worried about old, im just missing some ;)

[bananahamuck]

Im not worried about old, im just missing some ;)

 

Well if your just missing some figure out what cha need and let me know,,  i got many bags of those bolts.

[datzenmike]

Well if your just missing some figure out what cha need and let me know,,  i got a big bag of nuts.

[a10 wagon]

 i know this question has probably been asked before but does anyone know how many coils need to be cut to lower a a10 wagon 2 inches  in the front and if there is enough alignment adjustment left  to lower it 2 inches

[datzenmike]

You can do that without cutting coils easily enough... but a lowered vehicle really should have either a stiffer spring, to reduce suspension travel to avoid hitting the road, or cut some of the coil off which will do the same thing. Cutting the spring solely to lower the ride height is wrong thinking. You are not taking into account how much this raises the spring rate.

Remove the strut and carefully compress and remove the spring. Using a 6" angle grinder trim around the base of the spring perch just enough to slice through above the weld...

 

 

Tap spring perch up and off with hammer...

 

 

 

 

Grind down the weld that secured the perch to the strut tube...

 

 

 

This is so you can instal split collars that will clamp and support the lower spring perch making it fully adjustable up and down...

 

 

 

 

Properly installed they will support 3 tons each or about three 510s

 

 

Just compress the spring with a jack and tighten split collar...

 

 

Total cost so far was $25 for the collars, and for that I get adjustable ride height. Once you get it where you want it what good are $600 coil overs? They're just along for the ride.

 

Next is the controlled shortening of the spring to increase the spring rate.....

[datzenmike]

Know where you are before beginning a journey. If you blindly cut a spring you don't know how much you are affecting the increasing spring rate. First you need to know what your stock rate is in order to estimate how much you might like to change it. There is an easy formula for doing this but you need to know several things about you spring to begin.

 

1/ The thickness of the wire in inches.

 

2/ The diameter of the coil. Measure across and subtract one thickness. This will give you center to center across. In Inches.

 

3/ The number of active coils. These are the coils not resting against the perch or top hat and are free to move. You may see 8 coils but if you look there are only 6 1/2 coils open and movable.

 

The formula is

 

11,250,000 X wire thickness⁴

over

8 X  number of coils X diameter³

 

or

 

11,250,000 X thickness x thickness x thickness x thickness

over

8 X 6.5 X Dia. x Dia. X Dia.

 

Assuming 6.5 coils that are 0.5" thick and a coil diameter of 5.0625" the spring rate is 104.2 pounds per inch. This is my stock 710 spring. An earlier PL510 spring is 89 lb/in. I don't know what the A10 is you'll have to work it out. I increased mine by 50% and it was good but next time they are off I will be going to 175. Remember that once cut you can't put it back so I recommend a 50% increase to start. Now this may be one coil or 1 1/2 I don't know but you can now see the error of cutting just to lower a ride height.

 

 

With the above two posts you can...

 

1/ raise or lower your ride height. (keep in mind that there are limits to lowering and you don't want to bottom out your strut. Two or three inches is doable)

2/ incrementally increase your spring rate.

 

 

Next... renewing you strut dampers (shocks)

[a10 wagon]

 

thanks datzenmike. hmm ive never seen those collars before were can i pick them up at. i know cutting the springs will raise the spring rate which i think is 95lbs on the stock springs. but i have racing dampers in the front which are far to stiff  for the stock spring rate thats why i wanted to cut the springs. i only want to lower it about 2 inches just enough to slightly tuck the the 175 70 13 front and back.

[datzenmike]

If your struts have softened over the years there are two ways to fix this. You can replace the internal valving with replaceable self contained inserts. If they have already been replaced then this is all you can do now. But if you have the original stock damper inside you need only replace the thin fluid with something thicker. Thisker is harder to push through the small valve orifices. For years, motorcycles vary the fork oil viscosity to vary the damping to tune the ride.

 

While the strut is disassembled, loosen and remove the gland nut..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lift out this O ring. I used a dental pick. The damper will not come out unless this is done...

 

 

The damper...

 

Slides apart to reveal the internal valves. Just keep safe and clean.

 

The oil oil is like 5W and very thin.

 

 

I just emptied it out and  part filler with 20W Bellray motorcycle fork oil, about $17 a quart and enough for three struts. Fork oil can be bought in a variety of thicknesses. I installed the dampers in their liquid bath and continued to fill the strut leaving a third of an inch for expansion. Tighten the gland nut on

 

Now it is important to expel any and all air trapped in the damper so with spindle down extent the strut rod fully. Now hold upside down and compress the strut rod into the strut. Do several times. Remove gland nut and check/add any fluid needed. Done.

 

On my next diss-assembly I will be trying 30W . My other 710 is a lighter sedan that my wife likes to drive so I used ATF which is maybe 8-10 W.

[datzenmike]

I bought the collars at Fastenall but any good fastener or hardware store can get them.

[a10 wagon]

the front struts are new nos gabriel( i think forgot the name) performance struts. supposedly  race versions. they have been in the car since July. im not sure if the valving is adjustable since they are a gas filled strut. also with the collars is the spring perch/base welded to the collar or does it just rest on the collar.

[datzenmike]

Rests on top and is supported by the collar.

[ggzilla]

Gabriel doesn't make struts ... are you referring to the strut insert cartridges?

 

 

They are non-adjustable except for a very few brands.

[bananahamuck]

 

thanks datzenmike. hmm ive never seen those collars before were can i pick them up at. i know cutting the springs will raise the spring rate which i think is 95lbs on the stock springs. but i have racing dampers in the front which are far to stiff  for the stock spring rate thats why i wanted to cut the springs. i only want to lower it about 2 inches just enough to slightly tuck the the 175 70 13 front and back.

 

 

Fastenal collars are 20 bucks now,, but there are some on Amazon for 11.50 plus shipping (free shipping if you buy $35. )

 

Clickity the linkity

 

http://www.amazon.com/Climax-Metal-H2C-200-Recessed-Clamping/dp/B003E7E9SU/ref=sr_1_2?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1390861447&sr=1-2

[datsunfreak]

 if there is enough alignment adjustment left  to lower it 2 inches

 

Side note, there is no alignment adjustment, only toe adjustment. With stock parts, whatever camber/caster you have is what you have. 

[a10 wagon]

@ggzilla thanks. yes there insert cartridges. 

@bananahamuk  thanks for the link just ordered some collars.

@ datsunfreak   thanks. do you know if there is enough toe adjustment or should i try to fabricate some longer tie rods. 

 

one last question has anyone tried r31/m30 steering bit to quicken the steering ratio. ive read on brindabella motorsports (i think) that  r31 steering will quicken up a10 steering and was wondering if m30 suspension is the same since they do use the same chassis.

[datzenmike]

Is this the 280zx box? If so I think only '79 actually had a box the rest were R&P set ups. Don't forget that it may make the steering 'quicker' but it will be harder to turn, less leverage. You can get a small amount of 'quicker steering' by simply switching to a smaller diameter steering wheel. 

 

I have always liked the early zx steering wheel design and colors. I have one on both my 710s. It is just slightly smaller diameter too. What I like is the larger round padded grip than the wire thin hard plastic of the stock one. I assume the A10 is similar.  

[ggzilla]

R31 is Skyline/Pintara.

 

Infiniti M30 is Nissan F31.

[datzenmike]

Very unlikely to be even close to fitting an A10 and almost sure to be power assist. Why would you need faster steering on an A10?

[ggzilla]

Faster is always better. Armstrong power steering costs nothing.

 

For the A10 (Stanza/510) you can use fast ratio knuckle arms. Pitroad sells them. They take the H74 arms from a 1977-1978 120Y and machine for a 80 mm bolt pattern. In Canada these arms can be found on A12-powered Datsun Sunny.

 

[Fat510]

Question: are the A10 bushings/ball joints front steering shit the same size as the older 510s...like if I bought a older 510 moog kit, would the components be the same?

[datsunaholic]

Question: are the A10 bushings/ball joints front steering shit the same size as the older 510s...like if I bought a older 510 moog kit, would the components be the same?

 

No.  They are nothing alike.

[connerd]

My idler arm has a shit ton of play. Only up and down really but will I need a new whole one or will a new bushing kit be ok