pl521sss Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 After 4 years of procrastinating, I finally got a surge of motivation to get her running again. I can finally drive on its own power and stop. A lot more of work to go but it's huge step that it runs. http://youtu.be/93eLH059Bf8 3 Quote Link to comment
pl521sss Posted December 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2014 I need help sourcing out front brake hoses. Online vendors like Rock auto doesn't list the part. It has super thick springs that are impossible to stretch and secure in place. But the good news is, it runs smooth and starts right away with newly installed EI setup. Quote Link to comment
p411 Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 An easy way to install the springs is mount 1 shoe in place with the springs attached. Then install the springs on the 2nd shoe not on the W/C yet. Now you can use the 2nd shoe to stretch the springs in place. 1 Quote Link to comment
pl521sss Posted February 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2015 A few updates on the wagon. Front lowered almost 3 inches. New brakes and Master cylinder. Installed seats and electronic Ignition Front brakes still locks up Not sure what to check yet to even out all pressure to the wheels. 2 Quote Link to comment
ppeters914 Posted February 19, 2015 Report Share Posted February 19, 2015 I'm assuming (yeah, I know, dangerous) that you're using the stock drum brakes all around with that shiny new single reservoir brake master cylinder, and that they've been bled thoroughly. Do the brakes lock up immediately, or do they work okay at first, and then get progressively harder until they lock up? Quote Link to comment
bananahamuck Posted February 19, 2015 Report Share Posted February 19, 2015 How did you lower it,, just cut front springs?? Does it bounce alot or not to bad? Quote Link to comment
pl521sss Posted February 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2015 I'm assuming (yeah, I know, dangerous) that you're using the stock drum brakes all around with that shiny new single reservoir brake master cylinder, and that they've been bled thoroughly. Do the brakes lock up immediately, or do they work okay at first, and then get progressively harder until they lock up? I've bled the brakes on all 4 corners using vacuum pump. There's good pressure on the pedal and it locks up on front passenger side immediately. Turns freely when I have it on jack stands. I do have the disc brake kit but it will take a while to do the upgrade. It will be upgraded at much later time. There's a lot in the list to tackle like the wiring and alternator. Hoping will get more help from Ratsun 410\411 expert soon. Quote Link to comment
bananahamuck Posted February 19, 2015 Report Share Posted February 19, 2015 Do all the drums somewhat drag evenly when you spin them up on jackstands? You don't want them too spin freely as usually the wheel cylinders doesn't move shoes very far ,, so the one that is tightest will hit first. Quote Link to comment
pl521sss Posted February 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2015 Do all the drums somewhat drag evenly when you spin them up on jackstands? You don't want them too spin freely as usually the wheel cylinders doesn't move shoes very far ,, so the one that is tightest will hit first. Correction on my previous statement. Front passenger wheel does turn but has a slight drag at a certain degree before completing a full rotation. Going to lift the car this weekend and re-check brakes again. I lowered the front by cutting the springs about 3 coils and removed bump stops. It has about 1.5 inch travel left, it's going to need new shocks. Roadster comp springs would be the way to go if I can find them. Does anyone have a part number for a longer U-bolt for the rear shackles? It's narrower than a Datsun 510 U-bolt Will be adding 2 inch block on the rear and remove that lower flipped leaf spring. 1 Quote Link to comment
MikeRL411 Posted February 19, 2015 Report Share Posted February 19, 2015 That front passenger side brake drum might be warped from your description of where it drags. Quote Link to comment
ppeters914 Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 I see new/refurbished brake wheel cylinders and linings. Were the drums arched? Quote Link to comment
pl521sss Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 I see new/refurbished brake wheel cylinders and linings. Were the drums arched? Yeah, Mike also mentioned that it could be warped. I can't find new drums to buy. So next best thing would be to have drums turned. Quote Link to comment
exit64 Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Get the drums turned and then find an old school brake shop that can arch the shoes to fit. Not too many places will do this anymore due to the dust and liability it creates. Quote Link to comment
ppeters914 Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Get the drums turned and then find an old school brake shop that can arch the shoes to fit. Not too many places will do this anymore due to the dust and liability it creates. Yeah. Luckily, I have an old school shop near me. Wasn't cheap. Cost about $140 to have the drums turned, and the shoes relined and arched. Then I bought the second disc brake kit mklotz made, and sold the drum stuff to Mister Ted for his SPL310. :rofl: Quote Link to comment
exit64 Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 I hope you marked it up before you sold it to him.... Quote Link to comment
ppeters914 Posted February 23, 2015 Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 I hope you marked it up before you sold it to him.... C'mon.....we're talking about Ted. :angel: Quote Link to comment
pl521sss Posted February 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2015 Get the drums turned and then find an old school brake shop that can arch the shoes to fit. Not too many places will do this anymore due to the dust and liability it creates. I'm not clear on this. So if the drum is turned, why do I need to re-arch the brake shoes to fit? I installed new brakes shoes. Can't find new brake drums. Quote Link to comment
ppeters914 Posted February 24, 2015 Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 I'm not clear on this. So if the drum is turned, why do I need to re-arch the brake shoes to fit? I installed new brakes shoes. Can't find new brake drums. The purpose of re-arching is to get maximum contact of the brake shoe lining against the new or turned drum. A "lost art" and probably not necessary on new cars, but we're talking old here. :) Found a great thread that discusses this: http://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/304894/ Notice in that thread where one poster had all new parts for his '57 Chevy, but the brakes were still locking up. Quote Link to comment
exit64 Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 What Pete said. The thickness of a relined shoes is often times thicker than OEM. There is not enough room to let off the adjuster to let the drum spin freely. If you grind down the end of the shoe where it goes into the cylinder it changes the angle of the shoe. Most likely will work anyway but why not do it right. I have run into this on the last two Roadster rear brake jobs that I have done. He good news is that the rear brakes only do about 20% of the work but you still want them to operate correctly. 1 Quote Link to comment
ppeters914 Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 What Pete said. The thickness of a relined shoes is often times thicker than OEM. There is not enough room to let off the adjuster to let the drum spin freely. If you grind down the end of the shoe where it goes into the cylinder it changes the angle of the shoe. Most likely will work anyway but why not do it right. I have run into this on the last two Roadster rear brake jobs that I have done. He good news is that the rear brakes only do about 20% of the work but you still want them to operate correctly. ....and in your case it's drums all around and you've done everything else correct, so (IMO) re-arching is the next step to resolve the locking up problem. 2 Quote Link to comment
pl521sss Posted February 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 What Pete said. The thickness of a relined shoes is often times thicker than OEM. There is not enough room to let off the adjuster to let the drum spin freely. If you grind down the end of the shoe where it goes into the cylinder it changes the angle of the shoe. Most likely will work anyway but why not do it right. I have run into this on the last two Roadster rear brake jobs that I have done. He good news is that the rear brakes only do about 20% of the work but you still want them to operate correctly. ....and in your case it's drums all around and you've done everything else correct, so (IMO) re-arching is the next step to resolve the locking up problem. Thanks for the education on drum brakes. I never heard of this till now. However I've been dealing with rear drum brakes on other Datsuns but never all drums with lock up issue. Will consider grinding the edge of the brake shoes. This is a temporary solution and I only intend to drive the car around my house till I swap out to disc brakes which I already have in my parts stash. I opted to redo the drum brakes cause it's the easier route to get it back on the road. Quote Link to comment
pl521sss Posted March 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 Useful information for 410\411 owners. Measurements of the U bolt if you plan to lower the back. 56.22mm inside distance 9.57mm diameter 148.73mm length 1 Quote Link to comment
pl521sss Posted March 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 Here it is. Right side is dropped about 2.5 inches using 1 inch block and used the original U bolts. Removed the ugly oveload leaf and 2 other smaller leafs. Will take more pics later when both sides are done. Quote Link to comment
graveltrapp Posted March 17, 2015 Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 How about using the old u bolts and just running a dye further down the bolt extending the threads and trim off the excess. 1 Quote Link to comment
pl521sss Posted March 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 How about using the old u bolts and just running a dye further down the bolt extending the threads and trim off the excess. Actually you'll need longer U bolts when adding lowering blocks. Fact that I removed 3 springs gave it enough room to use the original U bolt. All the U bolts that I've looked at requires slotting the mounting plates. There's no perfect match unless you get it custom built U bolts. Either 3\8 or 7\16 thick can be used with 2 1\4 distance between. 1 Quote Link to comment
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