The resurrection of Eleanor, dead since 12-17-11. SOLD, but she will live again!

[HRH]

Oh boy, what a journey it's been.  I decided to start a new thread since the old one was intertwined with the L20B fuel injection thread.  According to the files in my computer, I tore down the race motor around 12-17-11.  The 510 has sat outside, in the garage, at Regy's, outside again, tarped, and finally it's been back in the garage for a while now.

 

I debated what to do with it, thought about selling it.  Seriously entertained it for a bit, decided against it.  Went back and forth 8 million times.  Now, I'm attempting to honor my new year's resolution to drive it to Canby.  Technically it was drive that or the white truck to Canby.  However, as much as I'm getting close to having all the V6 stuff for the autocross/chump truck, it runs right now and I can race it without doing a darn thing.  Consequently, that brings me to my next goal, having two vehicles running before I tear the third apart.  So considering both D21s are running, that means I need to go nuts on the 510.

 

I've gone back and forth with what I want for the 510.  I've decided it's too much work to make it pretty.  My anal-retentive nature means I need a perfectly clean chassis to start with and a gigantic shop to strip it down and primer-bath it so it will never, ever rust.  Given this 510 was my second 510 and a "starter" 510, all my half-assed fixes and learning experiences are in this car.  So it's not that pretty.  I'm attempting to redo it this time around to a higher standard of 510-ery.

 

In any case, it's going to be a rally beater.  I am going to have Regy put in the new rear quarter and back panel because they're just too screwed up to be serviceable.  I can handle a few dings and shitty paint, but I'd like the body to be reasonable straight.  At least until I roll it in a ditch or hit a tree.  I have found that the most fun I had with this car was when I first put it together and could go jump it and not car, tear around on the back roads like a hooligan.  It doesn't have what I need for pavement racing as far as the overall winning picture is concerned, but it's still delightful off-road.  And if I ever get to actually race a real professional rally, it will stand a good chance of hanging together.

 

I stopped by my Datsun guru's yesterday and he flipped my crossmember for me.  I rust-converted (in the worst possible conditions) the crossmember and engine bay to some degree last night.  Tonight, I got the fire roaring and proceeded to throw some paint in the engine bay and do the crossmember.  As I write, my windows are open and I'm still high from the paint.  I decided the crossmember needed to be done in the basement as it was much warmer and it could be fit in the basement.

 

I have stoked the fire in the garage to it's normal 900 degrees and it has just enough to keep the garage warm, despite not being insulated.  So that paint is drying.  Keep in mind, this is how I painted the outside of the car.  With rattle can, because I only need one color.  The engine bay is not particularly pretty, but it's orange enough and I figure it will blend in with the original orange once it's faded.  Either way, it's good enough to replace the gray primer I stupidly covered over the original paint when I first built the car.  Learning experience, should have just left it alone.  Of course, it also had flat black all over it from the previous owner.

 

So here you go, the first pictures of trying to put the 510 back together and get the bugs worked out before the Canby pilgrimage.  Need to install the motor, pick a transmission of the two I have, run fuel return and feed lines, and fix the tank to accept larger lines and an in-tank pump.  Then I need to address the wiring which remains strewn over the roof of the car.  I almost ripped it entirely out, not quite.  Debating rebuilding the harness as is, or installing the harness from the 240sx I have to cut up on the back slab.  Haven't figured out which way to go on that yet.

 

I'll re-paint the tops of the core support/apron after I get the motor in.  

 

 

 

 

 

[Draker]

Looking forward to seeing this rebuild... and also seeing it at Canby!!

[MicroMachinery]

[The Taterhead]

Hehehe. You said anal. No I don't want to see pics again! I am looking forward to watching this though.

[HRH]

Well here's where we share our learning experience with you all!  I got some POR15 for the floor pan and was all excited to coat it today.  I re-did some sanding, rubbed off a lot of carpet glue, and just generally went to town on the remainder of the floor pan.  I even went over it with a tack cloth after vacuuming it all over.  Here's what it looked like:

 

 

 

 

So I start coating the pan with a roller, and it's going quite smoothly, except I'm noticing some little bubbles.  Hmm, I say to myself, those are probably nothing.  They'll go away!  I must admit, I am not the painting expert.  So I get done and I have this:

 

 

 

After this, I called Regy and he said yeah, that's called fish eye, you should have gone over it with wax and grease remover or windex.  Siiiiiggggghhhhhhhh.  After a few more hours, I'll go scuff it, then clean the shit out of it and re-do it.  Needs two coats anyway, but looks like I'm going to need to do three.  Boner!  So now I know what fish eye is and how to avoid it.  I've usually only painted the outside of vehicles which I wash really well before hand.  Not having washed the inside of the 510, I suppose this shouldn't be a surprise, but I would have thought with all my sanding there wouldn't have been much left.  WRONG!!  :D

[HRH]

After getting some good advice on doing a test spot today, my efforts of cleaning with windex didn't work.  Ended up and getting some FT200 (wax and grease remover/lacquer thinner/solvent what have you) and went to town.  Much better results this time, wish I would have done that in the first place.  There are still a few little spots, but only a few and I can address those later with some spot touch up and a little sanding.

 

 

 

I did do a little extra touch up around the Wilwood proportioning valve.  It's hidden by the seat anyway, no one will see it.

[LenRobertson]

Matt - I'm waiting with bated breath for the next installment. I really want to see pics of the KA down in the hole, but I suppose there are things to be done before that step. Do you need to fab motor mounts, or is there some combination of Datsun and KA mounts that works? You had Joe flip the crossmember. Does that mean you can run the KA pan with no modification? I wanna know everything!

 

Len

[HRH]

 

 

Okay, so have a small issue.  The crossmember has tapered studs for the lower control arms.  Tapered washers fit on the tapered stud, then the control arm.  One of my washers has been eaten a bit by the old bushing shell rubbing it.  My question is if I stick a washer in between that tapered washer and the control arm, will the resulting 1/16" make a difference as the control arm mounting point will be moved that much farther out.

 

The other thing is I'm putting poly bushings in and the shells are pretty thick, I can probably get away without using the washer, which is what I'm going for now.  Just wonder if anyone else has even had that happen.  I tried to find the other original washers from the other crossmember but alas, I'm not sure where they are in the garage or even if they were there originally.

 

 

 

 

 

[HRH]

Well, I ended up leaving the extra washer off as that would have created a worse castor situation.  Think it will be fine anyway, the big bushing of the energy suspension kit rides around that anyway.

 

Also figured out the 620 adapter brackets don't work with the 510 motor mounts.  Going to need to find stock 240sx mounts somewhere and try again.  I may see if I still have the KAE mounting brackets.  Not sure if they're the same as DE, but I'll go at that another time.

[Lonestar]

Well here's where we share our learning experience with you all!  I got some POR15 for the floor pan and was all excited to coat it today.  I re-did some sanding, rubbed off a lot of carpet glue, and just generally went to town on the remainder of the floor pan.  I even went over it with a tack cloth after vacuuming it all over.  Here's what it looked like:

 

 

 

 

Looking good! Question, I've stripped the interior of my 510 goon, how did you get that black tar stuff off or did you? John (Datsunfreak) said Dry Ice and chisel.

[HRH]

Yep, dry ice and chisel or a 5 n 1 works well.  Also freeze-off, but it leaves a really nasty residue.  I used freeze off on the chump truck, but I didn't plan on painting it.

[Dirttrack510]

If u use dry ice WEAR THICK GLOVES or you'll frost bite your hands badly and get chemical burns!!! Never touch dry ice with your skin.

[Lonestar]

If u use dry ice WEAR THICK GLOVES or you'll frost bite your hands badly and get chemical burns!!! Never touch dry ice with your skin.

If u use dry ice WEAR THICK GLOVES or you'll frost bite your hands badly any get chemical burns!!! Never touch dry ice with your skin.

Aye, it's the reason I'm wary about. Not where to find said dry ice, thick gloves and a battery tong. Thanks for the info, so what color you going to paint this one?

[HRH]

Oh it's going to be orange.  :)  So I found out the other night the 620 adapter mounts for the KA don't fit the 510 crossmember.  It seems the regular KAE mounts would work, except for some stupid reason I only have one.  Yep.  One.  Not sure where the other one is, but the block was scrapped long ago and I don't have a clue if I squirreled the other mount away.  Looked for it for a bit, couldn't find it.

 

So I think I'm going to yank the dead motor on the 240sx I have for parts tomorrow, and steal the mounts off that so I can get this stupid motor on my crossmember and test fit it in the car.  Bah.

[LenRobertson]

Matt - I hate to bug you for an update, but I want an update! I suppose you are back to working on those trucks. Sigh. Poor neglected 510. I've even been working on mine (a little) out in the cold.

 

Len

[HRH]

Oh, so you want an update Len? ;)  Okay, hold on.

[HRH]

So today I finally figured out what I was doing for mounts.  I got some Z24 and KA truck mounts from work.  Oddly, different part numbers and I can't find one damn difference in them.  I suspect they're the same, just different part numbers.  Anyway, so I got those because they're twice as tall as the original 510 mounts.  

 

 

You'll notice the mount is slit on both sides.  I was going to change the angle, as shown here:

 

 

For some reason, that didn't end up working after I modified the mounts.  Thought I had it all figured out too!  But, it was a happy accident, as I still had some 620 to KA adapter mounts from Bill when I bought the motor when he left for Maine.

 

Here was the problem with the previous arrangement.  It incorporated one 510 mount and one KA mount, which at different thicknesses, just didn't seem right.  Figured it would pull to one side moreso with different mounts.  It had roughly the same angle as this photo, with the incorrectly mounted KA mounts.  Ended up going low on the left side, and then changing the mount stanchion to the 620 adapter mount on the right side.  Left side is factory KA truck mount.

 

 

So, off to the drill press!

 

 

 

Ended up re-centering the holes around the mounts and moving the left side up and the right side down.  

 

 

 

 

[LenRobertson]

Matt - Thanks for PMing me about your 510 update. I'd have missed it. I was sure when the Maxima showed up it would be the end of the 510 project for awhile. I'm glad I'm wrong again.

 

Anytime I've read about KA swaps I always get sidetracked on either having to mod the oil pan or flip the crossmember. I may never have read as far as what to do about motor mounts, so I assumed there was some combination of stock mounts that gives a bolt-on solution. I guess I was wrong about that too.

 

For me it is a good thing to find out a KA swap is moderately difficult. Maybe my KA fantasy will go away and leave me happy with my L20b. So when you get your KA running and I ask for a test ride - tell me NO! :P  I really don't need to know what that extra HP is like.

 

Len

[wildmaninid]

Looking like a good piece of work there, Matt!  I am glad you are finally getting to use that engine I sold you!!  You should go over that POR with some bedliner like I did on my truck. Helps from it rubbing off, and helps quiet down and insulate the ride.  I am proud of you, even though we are on opposite sides of the country.  Call me!!

[HRH]

Yay!!  It's Bill!  I'd give you a ring, but you must be at work and three hours ahead.  I'm out sick today.  Was feeling better yesterday and overdid it spending two hours in pull and save yanking an Altima wiring harness for the KA and then shoveling snow.  Felt like shit this morning.  Fortunately work was pretty slow, so bases are covered.

[HRH]

Well even though I was sick, checked the bank and my refund hit.  So I went down to Spaldings and got the rest of my motor paid.  I now have a 2002 Frontier KA24DE for the red truck, along with the wiring harness and ECU.  Nicely enough, the engine harness disconnects from the main harness unlike the hardbodies.  Has a three wire connector feeding it into the main harness so that shouldn't be too hard to figure out.

 

 

[Draker]

Slayer!!

 

 

 

Nice Engine.. jelly.

[HRH]

Haha, thanks!  I got as many metal stickers as I could when I started racing that truck last season.  Nothing says you got owned better than a shitbox hardbody whooping up on much more capable vehicles. ;)  It completes the look of the late night pizza delivery racer. Lol.

[HRH]

Okay, so here are some interesting thoughts:  I took the time to yank a wiring harness out of an OBD I Altima for the OBD II 240sx motor I have for the 510.  Short of finding a '97/'98 240sx wiring harness.  Found a used place online quoting $180, but it's in FLA, and I don't know them from Adam, and I don't want to pay that much for a harness.  The Altima harness will work, though I will be bypassing quite a bit of the 240, and also the IAC valve.  Now, the IAC isn't imperative to operate the car, just means I'm going to have a high idle.

 

Then I thought, well why don't I just run the 80 200sx system on it?  It works, I know that much, it will work with a KA24 just as well as an L20B.  The problems there are the injector plugs are different, might have to change those, but I think they operate the same as the early style injectors.  The other problem is the distributor.  It has a gear drive off the top of the timing case and is a crank angle sensor as well.

 

I found a '78 B210 has what looks to be the correct gear on it, and roughly the right shape.  With some modification, it might work.  If I had a 94-98 240 distributor, I could also gut that out and replace it with a standard matchbox gutting and make it work.

 

What do you guys think?  I'd honestly like to have the '96 ECU as it is more advanced, but I have everything to make an early unit work which is free for the most part.

[MicroMachinery]

Seems like less work/risk to just get the correct wiring, etc..

 

I don't see the 200sx EFI which works off a vane air flow sensor working with a system that utilizes a mass air flow sensor... or perhaps I'm misunderstanding your plan..