1973 Green Weenie

[91hrdbdy]

you will love that welder ive had mine for about 6 years use It all the time much eaiser to tote around than my other welders

[GRpufnstuf]

you will love that welder ive had mine for about 6 years use It all the time much eaiser to tote around than my other welders

That's good to hear. I was trying to go cheaper like the Hobart 500559 but I got a jobber price that as under the current sale price on Millers. Still $200 more than the Hobart though!

 

And the I nearly bought the 211 dual voltage rig but decided I'll just get a real 220/240 setup down the road if I need it.

[91hrdbdy]

i have a 3 miller welders ive had the hobart setup and to be honest the miller is far better. that little 140 can do .250 if you know what your doing. i feel that quality products yield quality results. 

[]2eDeYe]

I love my Miller :D

[GRpufnstuf]

i have a 3 miller welders ive had the hobart setup and to be honest the miller is far better. that little 140 can do .250 if you know what your doing. i feel that quality products yield quality results. 

 

 

I believe that 100%.  I have also found that if I can buy a better item to start, I recoup more $$ if I ever sell.  And the experience while using whatever it is, is a better one.

 

My fabricator friend who got me the welder discount thought I should try to find an ESAB rig and I have read very good things about them.  But Miller is sold everywhere and liked/respected almost universally.  Parts and service will be easier.

 

Now I need to find a small argon 75/25 bottle so I don't have to pay Airgas $230 for an empty bottle.

[91hrdbdy]

I JUST saw a few of them on craigslist in your neck of the wood s for around 100 

[GRpufnstuf]

I JUST saw a few of them on craigslist in your neck of the wood s for around 100

I went to Palmdale yesterday and got an 80cm for $50. It needs recertification if I read the date, plus and star correctly but I figured the price was good enough.

 

Today's list airgas, harbor freight, any ol' machine shop with a hot tank or possibly a powder coater with media blaster. I got my disc swap parts all together and I'm debating a proper powder coating or a budget oriented brakleen and rattle canning.

 

I'll get the truck up in the air and pull a torsion bar and adjuster to figure out just how much modding I'm looking at to get my Nismo bars in.

Running them with the adjustable stop to the front and modding the exhaust is starting to look more appealing.

 

And I'm pulling the bench today to start on brackets for my 914 seats. The trip up hwy 2, Angeles crest/forest hwy yesterday made that decision for me.

[91hrdbdy]

i can bead blast the parts for you if need i got a blast cabinet

im about 40 min from you in echo park 

[GRpufnstuf]

oh man! yes please.  I'll bring beer, unless you don't like that.  then I'll bring bourbon...  That's RAD (like the '80's BMX movie)

 

I'm de-greasing now and running the nuts and bolts in my rock tumbler/agitator but the hub, steering knuckle etc are too big for that.

 

I'll get that stuff all together and touch base with you about free time to do it.

 

 

 

And WOOT!  The guys at my local Airgas are pretty cool.  

Straight swap for the outdated bottle, $43 for gas and I'm into my full bottle for $93!  plus about 5 gal of gas I guess, but it was a nice drive so that only counts half maybe.

[91hrdbdy]

ill pm you my phone number beer is my bestie give me a call we set up a time 

[GRpufnstuf]

It started raining on me so I didn't get a torsion pulled. I'll get it tomorrow in the AM.

I did get the bench pulled



And I set the seats in





They fit really well!



I'll have to raise them 1-2", which is too bad since the headrests fit the window ledge so well. But sitting on the floor I can't get the driver seat centered on the steering wheel. The trans tunnel is just a little in the way.

Sitting the seat on the floor, I go from 1" headroom (bench) to 5"+ so I can afford to go up an inch or so.

I'll try to work out the brackets tomorrow, I'm thinking hinged bar at the front that will allow the seat to flip forward when I need it get the stuff that fell out of my pockets. Then just a riser at the back to keep the height right.

Then on to retractable seat belts!

Probably these in the charcoal color...

http://www.seatbeltsplus.com/product/WSCH300.html

... to match the seats and what was there before.

Also need to order up some Dynamat and maybe Dynapad too. I can hear an echo in the truck when I talk and the doors are way too tinny.

I also pulled the gauges out so I could lube the speedo cable, replace the speedo, change the clear lense/bezel out, and add my new tach.

I'm currently trying to decide if it's possible to swap the tach and speedo around. I'll look harder at it in the morning, I think the tach is deeper so it probably won't fit in the circuit board and housing.
Certainly not necessary but it goes with the Porsche seats and I like that layout to boot.

[K_trip]

- removed -

 

 

[GRpufnstuf]

No problem! I'm sorry it took so long. I knew you wanted to see them in, and then there are a couple people waiting on me to figure out my torsions too.

I feel like a slacker but I'm gettin' on it!

[K_trip]

- removed -

[GRpufnstuf]

Spent my alotted car time getting my dash back together today.

 

New speedo in, tach in, new bezel on speedo and idiot lights, scabbed part of the old one onto the tach since it was scratched beyond saving. Kind of butchered the tach bezel but it was cracked anyway.

 

OG tach 'glass'

 

Newer 'glass'

 

Cut and on the tach, I couldn't find my dremel so edges got a little rough.

 

Re-assembled

 

And back in the truck

 

 

I did get a start on the seat brackets. New welder works great! Old, barely passable welding skills not so much.

No pics yet but I should have something cobbled in by tomorrow. Got to get it back on the road to check the new speedo out.

[91hrdbdy]

nice man save you old lens we can buff it out make it look like new again and youll have a spare. 

[GRpufnstuf]

Ok driver seat is in. Mostly

 

 

 

 

Made the frame out of 1" square tube scraps. Ground down(but not through) my ugly welds.

 

Still need to make a tab to go from the back to the original bench seat bolt hole for a 3rd attachment point. Currently only 2 bolts at the front and it sits on the cross brace at the rear.

 

I'll make the passenger side up and then get them both painted and post some pics before they go in permanently.

 

I left it so I can hinge the front if I want to but I couldn't get it happening well enough to make me happy. Hard mounted and no adjustment is how I roll for now.

 

My 5'1" wife won't like the low low passenger seat but then she never rides in Olive anyway...

 

 

These seats are pretty good and I have extra room but they aren't perfect. Ideally I'd have the backs closer to the rear wall so I could get my butt back further. I might change the shape of the seat cushion to get the front higher so I stay back n the seat better. Overall much improved over the bench. About the same distance to pedals and wheel but 4" more headroom

[Dime Dave]

I used 914 seats in a dune buggy I built years ago. They work slick for installations where a thin seat back is required. 

 

I used a set of early '80s Subaru buckets in a 620, the seat backs were really too thick to get a comfortable seating position. They put you right on top of the steering wheel.

 

I've been looking at these seats for my 521. $300/pair for black, colors are $325. They will even do metal flake upholstery too.

http://www.rottenleonard.com/Products.html

 

[GRpufnstuf]

I saw those seats on EBay. I was reading sea threads and then searched "bomber seat"

 

I like them but thought the exposed aluminum side gusset/bolster might be rough getting in and out?

 

There are a lot of cool and fairly cheap lowback seats for hotrodders these days.

 

I like these 914 seat's headrests. I thinking I was as far bak as I want I'd need a pad between my head and window for sure. I've already used it with my setup. Now I just need to remember my arm can't just get thrown up on the back of the bench. My elbow hurts...

[91hrdbdy]

i drew up a set of seat similar to those there at the water jet getting cut right now.  there set up to use 3/4 mdf board as the base and a 2" memory foam seat cushion.

[K_trip]

- removed -
 

[91hrdbdy]

if you make that seat bracket just tack it and when you bring your stuff to sand blast we can tig it so it look really nice.

[GRpufnstuf]

I like your hinge idea on the front edge, I hope you will pursue it.

 

It looks like the seat back isn't straight up and down, which is a good thing. 

Do you know if the back is tilted more than when it's mounted in a 914?

Yes, I should have said that I'd like my butt back further but given the position if the wall and window it's not really possible. It's not the seats fault. They could only get me further back by getting even thinner.

Maybe the custom headrest free style will do that for people. I do appreciate some padding on the back window though.

 

When I really strap in with the fixed position stocks seat belts I am held back into the seat just fine.

 

My seat of the pants feeling about the tilt/layback of my install vs 914 is that these are slightly more vertical. When I owned a 914 the driver seat actually had a tilt adjust. It wasn't much, maybe 2" up-down total at he front. I always had to run it flat to get enough leg room. Pay truck feels close to that but possibly a touch flatter even.

[GRpufnstuf]

Well I've been having a few carb issues.  Find the fun here http://community.ratsun.net/topic/58458-kooky-idle/

 

 

Otherwise I'm just getting ready for what has turned into a big weekend for me and the truck:

 

Saturday:

Petersen Museum JDM meet  http://community.ratsun.net/topic/58452-japanese-car-cruise-in-peterson-automotive-museum-11913/

 

and there is supposed to be a cruise in/show and shine car thing up the 2 fwy from me at the flintridge, la crescenta movie theatre across from Verdugo hills hospital.

 

 

Sunday is the Eagle Rock meet that is 2 miles from me so I can push the truck there if it stops running!

 

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/58093-eagle-rock-datsun-nippon-swap-meet-and-car-show-nov-10-2013/

 

 

 

TODAY I am making up a second seat bracket so that I have a passenger seat for the weekend.  I'll cut and tack weld nicer versions later and take 91hrdbdy up on his generous offer to help me TIG them up nice.

 

I also have a new master plan for auxiliary rear signal lights and 3rd brake light that won't add any new lamps to the visual mix of the rear end.  Pix when completed and at night time

[datzenmike]

I also looked at a lot of 720 trucks at the north PikNpull in Portland today. Many seem to have larger than 620 torsions (I didn't have calipers with me) and I found an '85 with the short 5spd but didn't grab it... Yet

 

I suspect the '80 is the harder to find when trying to do the late model 5spd swap to an L series engine.

.

 

Why an '80? The '79 620 and '80 720 used a terribly low first gear 'truck' transmission. The '78-'79 620 and '77-'79 280 z/zx and the 810/Maxima. All had much better ratios and all were L series 5 speeds.