My new ugly betty, '84 Maxima, not diesel.

[q-tip]

I didn't, got it off of craigs list, been planning on putting it in my dime but its a 3.70 and I think that may be a bit tall...

[HRH]

You sure it's not an R160?  That's what I had for my dime, also originally a 3.70 ratio.

[q-tip]

Was told its an r180, it doesn't have the sticker on it anymore but I could always measure the ring gear. Even if its a 160 it will still work for me.....and I only paid $100 for it... :ninja:

[HRH]

Probably R160.  That's what I have as well.  If I can get the side gears to work, I may just use it since I have it.  It's strong enough to last for a while.

[HRH]

EDIT:  We interrupt this update to bring you this update:  I GOT THE MOUSE!!  Some little turd burglar mouse has been living in the wagon somehow.  Can't figure out how, but I started finding mouse poops on the floor.  I extricated one mouse nest in the underhood insulator when I got the car back earlier this year but never found the mouse.  And actually, I think it might have been gone for a while.  Perhaps a new mouse moved in, I still can't figure out where.  I need to get the car up on the rack and figure out where a mouse found an entry point to the inside from the outside.  I've looked before, didn't see anything obvious.  I left a regular mouse trap baited with peanut butter for an entire week at Regy's farm and didn't get one mouse.

 

So enter the electric rat trap, which has been hands-down the best mouse catcher EVER.  I eradicated 5 mece in one night a few years back.  Buddy and I would listen for the electric hum go off in the dog food closet in the kitchen.  Just kept emptying mouse after mouse until they were all gone.  So I took the electric rat trap out of the dog food closet where it's been a silent sentry for a year, and stuck it in the wagon last night.  And this morning, I had a mouse!!  I stuck it back in to make sure that's the only one.

 

I bought this thing at Lowes I think some years back.  It's literally a rat-trap.  Because rats can restart their hearts after electric shocks, it takes 4 D batteries and shocks for a sustained two minutes when set.  This eliminates a shock, then waking up, then off they go.  It's made for rats, which are clearly larger.  With mice, you may get a burnt hair smell, but I have yet to have a mouse catch fire, and it's very satisfying listening to the electric hum.  Plus it's human to the nasty little things.  They don't know what hit them.

 

Okay, now back to the update. ;)

 

Alright, here's the progress for the front suspension, using MR2 struts.  The first big problem is the MR2 threaded portion is much bigger than the 280zx strut insert.  Normally you would make a bushing to take up the difference, but in this case, the bushing would need to be .625 outer diameter with a .018 wall thickness.  Which doesn't really work unless you have some really hard metal to cut on the lathe.  Even then, I don't know if a barrel of .018 is achievable without collapsing the barrel.

 

Fortunately, there are two ways around this.  You could probably get the right spherical bearing but since these are T3 camber plates made for the 510, I'd have to go find a spherical bearing.  Yeah, that's not going to happen on short notice.  You could probably get the MR2 camber plates, but then I'd have to buy a set of camber plates for a Toyota and I doubt they would fit the mounting pattern, but hard to say.  You could try and make an .018 spacer.  I killed a couple of feeler gauges trying to do exactly that.  Feeler gauge metal is more brittle than I thought when bent.  Short of it is, it didn't work.

 

What DID work, however, is allowing the .018 of slop, and then using a 14x1.5 mm cone seat wheel nut as the attachment nut, which centers nicely in the spherical bearing, thus centering the strut rod!  Pretty damn close, we'll see if my plan works after beating the car around town for testing.  I'll know if the shaft breaks and I have a loose strut.  In which case I'll get the right spherical bearing.

 

 

 

 

Note the size difference.

 

 

Note the cartridge difference.  Most would have shortened the strut tube.  However, if I do that, I may well have an issue of the wheel stuffing in the front arch.  Seeing as I've already fixed that on the rear, I'm leaving this for now unless the suspension stroke proves to be too little.  Then I'll probably remove the front fender and figure out how much shorter I can go without having the tires rub.  Which I doubt is very much.

 

 

'92 MR2 top, 79-83 280ZX bottom

 

 

I took the old rear struts which I cut up on the first rear suspenion extravaganza and cut the tops off the tubes for spacers.

 

 

Like so.

 

 

Ended up cutting slivers out of the remaining tube, then put them in the spacers to make wider stronger edge.  Like using a washer but I didn't have a washer with the right dimensions and no lathe in my garage.

[HRH]

 

My first one wasn't that pretty.

 

 

The second one I turned the wire speed down and got better results.  Then just had to grind it flush.  Wish I had a tig machine, this would be easier to do with minimal grinding.

 

 

As you can see, it works perfectly!

 

 

So that dropped it down about a half inch or so, which is perfect for 1/2" lower front to rear for rake.  The reason for this whole project was after the springs settled in the front, I had to adjust them up to take up the slack, otherwise they kept coming loose in the perches and PANG! ing as they seated back in on corners.  Not good.  Now they're in there nice and tight on full droop.

 

Next on the agenda, replacing the radiator today and then going and testing the suspension.  If I get around to it, I'm also changing out the weenie tiny throttle body for a much larger KA throttle body.  Still has to suck through the tiny flapper, but should get better response.

[ArchetypeDatsun]

Nice job man, I been thinking of selling the maxima again since my new job laid me off which is a bummer wanted to keep the maxima I did make it to a 12 hour round trip with no issues even my dang cruise control works lol. Wish I had the skill to get some coilovers on my 810 and maxima!

[HRH]

Whaaaat?  You can't sell your Maxima!  If you do, sell it to me, I'll hold it until you get back on your feet.  Coilovers aren't that hard to do.  Use circle track suppliers and find someone who's a decent welder or fabricator.  Granted that will cost you.  Lucky my dad happens to be pretty good at it.  I'm getting better with my welder, just have to start welding like shit and figure out how to improve from there. ;)

[ArchetypeDatsun]

Yeah I don't want to after making the trip to the Datsloco show in Manteca California car never once gave me a problem was such fun driving it just wish it looked nicer and lowered but heck it did its job! I need to fix my exhaust leak I have coming right after the cat, eventually gonna straight pipe it and run some headers with a nice muffler.

[HRH]

Headers are crap unless having custom-built, which means lots of money.  Expect 600-800 for a good header for the L6.  Stick to the stock exhaust manifold.  It works fine unless you're planning on building a race motor.

 

Autocross this weekend!!  Woot woot!  I'm going on Saturday.  Finished my patch today, we'll see if I can beat a few more fancy cars!  Wish I had time to do the bigger throttle body, but that will have to wait until next autocross.  No time to hit up pull and save.

[ArchetypeDatsun]

Saw your vids great handling maxi suspension definitely did the trick! Those Maximas sure are pretty quick I know mine is!

[HRH]

So I got my cam and new lash pads while I was at Canby.  Next weekend is autocross, consequently this weekend was the weekend to install said cam.  It's a delta regrind 270 with 160 lash pads.  Not too hard to install while in the car, luckily it just barely cleared the core support.  After a hammer massaging. Funny it cleared the radiator just perfectly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ooooo!  Shiny!!

[HRH]

 

 

Massaged because race car. :)

 

 

 

 

 

Got the cam broke in, there's another video on that.  Drove it around, was having major issues down low and loading up at stoplights.  Debated the cam timing as it's probably 2 degrees advanced and moving to the next hole would be 2 degrees retarded, so that wouldn't fly.  An offset bushing would solve this, but I ended up calling Delta and telling them what I was doing and the guy asked what timing I was running, and I'm like, oh yeah, I still have it at 10 degrees or so for the stock cam!  So he said yeah, run that up to 14-16, listen for ping and that should clear it up.  The idle isn't as great as it could be, which I don't care.  It idles about 1100.  Either way, in the hot of today after adjusting the timing to about 16.5 degrees at 1100 rpm, she ran just fine with no pinging.

 

Down low is a little less, but you hit 3 and she pulls hard to 7000.  In fact, it's so nice, my transmission grinds in every gear, so I still have to shift at 6500 in first.  Won't be using third much at autocross but it's looking like soon I'll need to install the rebuilt transmission I have in the basement because at some point I'm going to grenade the stock transmission.  The basement tranny is an 88 300zx in a truck case for the hardbody that I sold, so with a little weaseling it should stand up to the punishment just fine.  I think the bellhousing may even fit up to the L series, but I'll have to call Chuck's Gear and run that by him.

[HRH]

[Datsunawi]

Yo, where is the driving vid?

[HRH]

Sorry, none yet! :)  I'll have some after this weekend from autocross.  Dicked around with it again tonight, finally got the idle about where I want it with a little better manners.  Still hunts a bit, but only around 200-300 rpm, which is acceptable for the poor stock flapper box.

[Ratwagon1600]

I assume the new cam will mean you are not going to lift off the accelerator in the corners now? :)

[HRH]

Well the last event sucked due to extreme heat, but it did get me thinking about the camshaft.  So I called my Datsun guru who was too busy to make me an offset bushing, and basically suggested "Do it yourself."  But in a nice way. :)  So I did just that.

 

 

 

 

 

It was actually a lot easier than I thought.  This is out of a grade 5 bolt, nothing fancy.  Used the bolt head to clamp onto while drilling, then just cut off the shaft and drilled the rest of the way through.  Haven't gotten to installing it yet, working on a trailer at the moment.  I'll let you guys know.  This is a 2 degree bushing to move my cam back into perfect time since it's 2 degrees advanced.

[captaingamez]

For a diff you should check out the OBX LSD. Alot of Z guys run that setup and have no problems. Its helical just like the Quaife. Theres alot of information on it online. Only catch is that you have to upgrade to an R200. Meaning a few pounds more weight.

 

I am in the process of upgrading to R200 right now.

[Eagle_Adam]

nicely done!

[HRH]

Why thanks!  I think I'm going to stick with the R180 and just go heavier springs and stickier tires.  Plus, open R180s can be had all over.  Eventually I'll figure out an LSD option that doesn't break the bank though.  Confirmed with Chuck's Gear, you can't use the R160 LSD unit in the R180.  Close, but not quite.

[banzai510(hainz)]

HRH

Just read this

I bot soem Delta cams and I speced them 460 lift fint out there were more or less just a stock lift and flatten out at the top to get the duration .

 

So I wont buy from them again but they were cheap like 33$ with trade in. I got 3 then gave them all away after I mic ed them

[HRH]

I would have called them and asked what the hell?  Or perhaps you bought some Delta cams from someone else?  They should be scribed on the end what grind they were.  It's also possible they mis ground them to a more stock cam profile.

 

Short of it is, my cam definitely isn't stock, after getting it in, there's way more top end, as it should be.  I asked for an autocross cam with capabilities to 7000 rpm at least.  Either way, I'm happy, I'll be buying more from them.  They also ground the old L20 cam I had in the 510, copy of the Nismo rally L7 cam.  Worked fine.  It's in Regy's motor now.

 

EDIT:  Looks like I forgot to update the above thread for the cam degreeing.  The 2 degree bushing works PERFECTLY!!  Cam timing is dead nuts on, she runs like she's supposed to, as found in the many autocross videos I've posted over the last month.

[HRH]

Alright, it's been a while since I gave you all an update on ugly Betty.  It's official, I have acquired a new race car for next season.  A few more payments to make and a lot of work to do, but a much better basis for autocross.  And since I couldn't sell Betty due to lack of interest and I like her, it became obvious I should still use her.  So tonight I'm making lexan rear windows and I'm going to reinstall the factory front windows so I can use her for a winter rallycross machine.  And I think I'll probably cap off the rear trunk area too.  Might be a little better to retain some heat in the cabin.  Still going to be cold inside, but not freeze to death cold.

 

 

 

 

 

And I'm listening to this now.  Pretty damn good, rather strong lyrics, which I like!  ;)

 

[ArchetypeDatsun]

How much were you selling Betty for? I still got my maxima lol there was interest just kept getting low balls and flakes.