datsunfreak Posted February 2 Author Report Share Posted February 2 3 hours ago, dimlight65 said: I'm sure our Half-Assery would make for some good, "Yeah, don't... don't do it like that," television! I do pride myself in being a "Bad Example" on occasion. I can see it now! A HUGE banner on the wall that says "Sometimes Good Enough is Good Enough"... 😋 2 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted February 2 Author Report Share Posted February 2 3 hours ago, dimlight65 said: I'm sure our Half-Assery And we are definitely 3/4 assing all of this. Well, most of it... 🙃 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 I can't remember if I posted pictures of the skid plate and I'm too lazy to look so, here are a few (more) shots of that... John's shots "frumunda"... and my shots further away... So, there's that going on. Anyhoo, I didn't like how the choke cable was laying on the valve cover... So I made a bracket... to bolt on here... and hold it up... And while I was doing that, John installed the driveshaft using some Subaru DS bolts... They are much better than the Datsun bolts because they have a flat on one side that makes installing them a one-wrench affair! 2 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 The shift lever we were going to use (left) has been drilled out for a 1/2" bolt but the transmission still has holes for the 12mm pin. We heated and bent the lever on the right for better clearance to my switchbox... A new set of brass bushings and cup went on... as well as a new rubber boot (but we decided on an old pivot pin bolt for ease of assembly)... And all of that stuff in place... A test fit of the Bride shift gaiter... Then the Angry Birds Chickenhawk shift ball and Looney Toons Chickenhawk horn button John made for me... to tie the room together. 4 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 22 hours ago, dimlight65 said: A test fit of the Bride shift gaiter... I took the gaiter home, stitched up the gap, and trimmed away the excess material. Then, when I got the notice from the UPS Store that the trim ring had arrived, I went to the shop and installed it... The location required that the ring be deformed a bit to contour to the floor... but I think it turned out ok. 4 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted February 5 Author Report Share Posted February 5 Looking good! 👌 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 On 3/31/2021 at 9:59 PM, datsunfreak said: I had to go back to March 2021 to find a picture of the switch box so I could tell y'all that we found an old Dymo label maker kit... and did a test run of the material... If this stays stuck to the fender after a week of heat cycles, we'll make and install the actual labels for the panel. 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted March 7 Report Share Posted March 7 So far, so good... Since the label stayed on this long, we decided to try another sample on the actual material of the switch panel... We'll know more on Saturday. John raised concern about the grade 5 bolts we had securing the steering tie rods to the struts (and I always hated the direction we installed them)... So we bought some grade 8 bolts and spacers to replace the washer stack... Now the ends look like this... We "set the toe" so that the wheels are now pointing (more or less) where we want them to, but we'll do proper measurements and such Saturday. Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted March 7 Report Share Posted March 7 I remembered/realized why we inserted the bolts this way originally... It was to put the shear plane at the yellow line... Said shear plane is now at the red line, which is still on the shank of the bolt. And yes, I realize the spacer makes bending more likely than shearing. We shall see. 2 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted March 7 Author Report Share Posted March 7 12 hours ago, dimlight65 said: John raised concern about the grade 5 bolts we had securing the steering tie rods to the struts John knows someone with a 240Z with a similar steering set up who just broke that grade 5 bolt mid-hoon. 😁 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted March 9 Report Share Posted March 9 Today, we "replaced" the ramps with cinder blocks... and put some plastic sheets with grease in between them... under the tires so we could set the toe. The tape measure says we have 1/16" toe in, and the wheel is straight ahead. so I'm sure there is not a single molecule of "Whack" in this alignment. We'll see. Also, the label tape test seems to be positive (but we took no pictures, sorry). We're going to move forward with this method. 1 Quote Link to comment
KELMO Posted March 10 Report Share Posted March 10 On 3/2/2024 at 1:50 PM, dimlight65 said: I had to go back to March 2021 to find a picture of the switch box so I could tell y'all that we found an old Dymo label maker kit... A good portion of folks on here may not know what that is or have even seen one. I've used those before but it was not in this century.😁 3 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted March 10 Report Share Posted March 10 When I started my first job in '69? I saw a Dymo and thought it was magic. Same with a Litton microwave oven in the cafeteria. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted March 10 Report Share Posted March 10 1 hour ago, KELMO said: A good portion of folks on here may not know what that is or have even seen one. I've used those before but it was not in this century.😁 I would have shown a picture of the label maker itself, but it was so old and fragile (and I may have been a little ham-fisted) that it actually broke while I was making that test strip. Fortunately, John has one at home and is making the actual labels for me. Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted March 10 Report Share Posted March 10 I used to have one of those but found the labels never stayed attached all that long, the "tape" would eventually re-curl and the adhesive wasn't so good. The modern label tape like Brother works well and stays put a good long time. The lettering will eventually fade if exposed to direct sunlight, but we use that to tag our fleet numbers onto vehicles and most are good 2-3 years later. I find it handy for labeling wires. 1 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted March 10 Report Share Posted March 10 2 hours ago, datzenmike said: I saw a Dymo and thought it was magic Ever use a Teletype? Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted March 11 Author Report Share Posted March 11 (edited) 12 hours ago, dimlight65 said: I would have shown a picture of the label maker itself, but it was so old and fragile (and I may have been a little ham-fisted) that it actually broke while I was making that test strip. Fortunately, John has one at home and is making the actual labels for me. Actually, I have 4. 😄 9 hours ago, EDM620 said: I used to have one of those but found the labels never stayed attached all that long, the "tape" would eventually re-curl and the adhesive wasn't so good. We think we have a way to fix that, so stay tuned. 👍 Edited March 11 by datsunfreak 2 Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 The new dymos have printable heat shrink for wiring. 😄 1 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 On 3/10/2024 at 10:01 AM, EDM620 said: Ever use a Teletype? No but we had a set in HS electronics class. Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted March 16 Report Share Posted March 16 I will pre-apologize for not taking any pictures, sorry. Anyhoo, it occurred to me that we never checked to see if the front wheels were in the same place fore/aft in the wheel wells. I took some measurements and it looked like the passenger wheel was 3/4" to 1" further forward than the driver's side wheel. John crawled under and said that the passenger lower control arm looked askew as well. He measured the T/C rods and they were not the same length. We confirmed that the cross member was straight in the frame and put a few turns on the passenger T/C rod. With both T/C rods the same length, the wheels are now similarly centered in the arches. The steering wheel is cocked just a bit, but that can be fixed with toe adjustment. So, I think we're making progress. 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted March 30 Report Share Posted March 30 When we removed the switch panel to make labeling, I realized a) we made the wires too long and 2) we didn't "strain relief" any of the connections. Today, I set about rectifying that... If you look closely, the red, green and white wires on the left are all that's left of the "too long and not strain relieved" wires. I'll go back tomorrow and finish them up and John has promised the panel will be ready for re-installation Wednesday. 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted March 31 Report Share Posted March 31 (edited) I finished the wiring in the switch box and then was looking at the "skid plate" we built a few weeks ago. I realized that with it bolted solid at both ends... I was not going to be able to access the oil drain plug... (Focus Schmocus) I decided that a piano hinge at the front... and some wing bolts at the rear... would allow it to swing (more or less) out of the way... Yeah, it is still going to be in the way a little, but... um... SHUT UP! Then I had a look at finalizing the placement of the driver's floor footrest... and navigator/passenger footrest... and decided I want a dead pedal as well. I did a test fit of the navigator's rest on the driver side... and I think another one of those, cut in half, would work. I ordered one and should have it for next Saturday. Edited March 31 by dimlight65 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted April 3 Author Report Share Posted April 3 On 3/30/2024 at 2:32 PM, dimlight65 said: John has promised the panel will be ready for re-installation Wednesday. As a tease... Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted April 4 Report Share Posted April 4 12 hours ago, datsunfreak said: As a tease... And it is awesome! 1 Quote Link to comment
IZRL Posted April 4 Report Share Posted April 4 (edited) On 3/31/2024 at 12:30 PM, dimlight65 said: Damn, using those blocks to hold up a car is pretty ballsy. I've seen those crumble with not much help. Or I'm just overly paranoid. I've been known to throw a wheel under a car. Even tho I already have both a jack and jack stand holding up a car. As a back, for the back up. Edited April 4 by IZRL Quote Link to comment
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