nj0z1200ute - 1200 ute USA build

[njoz1200ute]

Are those B310 parts easy to find? I don't know much about them.

[njoz1200ute]

Any suggestions where to buy 280zx strut and brake combos?

[njoz1200ute]

I'm not really saying change any of that.   B)

 

Just the outer tie rods.  :thumbup:

 

And if you're okay with 14" wheels (or bigger), it's a substantial brake upgrade. And makes finding new parts easier.

 

Was planning to keep my 13 inch aussie Globe Bathursts ....would have to sacrifice those. Any chance they would still fit?

[datsunfreak]

Are those B310 parts easy to find? I don't know much about them.

 

Not very difficult, no. Also could use the same bits from a '78-81 510. I'd be looking in the JY or put up an ad here.

 

Any suggestions where to buy 280zx strut and brake combos?

 

You know the answer. JY or ad here.  B)

 

Was planning to keep my 13 inch aussie Globe Bathursts ....would have to sacrifice those. Any chance they would still fit?

 

Not a chance. Only 13s that easily fit over 280ZX brakes are steel racing wheels (Aero, Bassett, etc). There are a handful of aluminum 13s that can be made to fit, but it's on a case-by-case basis. 

[njoz1200ute]

Last night I took off the entire strut assembly to have a closer look. Took some measurements of some parts. I also cleaned one the unknown calipers and test fit it to the strut to see if it originally came off that strut or not. Seemed to fit the mounting holes but was rubbing on the rotors after looking more closely. Pistons seem seized in place with the inner pad engaged.

Pretty safe to say that these calipers were originally mounted on these struts and were taken off and boxed up with the other stuff I was given.

At this point I either will buy replacement remanufactured brakes or I will try and see if the mklotz 280ZX brake upgrade will fit. If I choose the 280ZX upgrade I will most likely have to sacrifice my 13" rims and tires. Something I don't really want to do yet.

I also put my weight on the strut to lower the shock insert. It went down very easily and hardly retracted to its original position. I think they are in need of replacement or repair.

Measurement of the spindle cap









Dodgy springs



Measurement inside hub



Caliper mounted









Spacing of mounting holes for caliper

 

 

[datsunfreak]

 I will try and see if the mklotz 280ZX brake upgrade will fit. If I choose the 280ZX upgrade I will most likely have to sacrifice my 13" rims and tires. Something I don't really want to do yet.

 

I think most 13" wheels will fit over the mklotz combo. If you read the thread on them you can see him test fitting a bunch of 13" wheels on it...

[njoz1200ute]

I think most 13" wheels will fit over the mklotz combo. If you read the thread on them you can see him test fitting a bunch of 13" wheels on it...

Thats great news.

 

I guess the biggest unknown is if the kit works on 120y struts and the hubs. Apparently that is what I have.

[Morrisun]

If you measure from outside of one hole to the inside of the next- on the center line- you will a more accurate measurement, 84.94mm is about right. Pull the cotter pin and remove the outer bearing, see if it as a number on it, usually on the end of the inner bearing race, under the spindle nut and washer, may have a SKF 30302, OR BR30302. If not the inner bearing may have a # on the end facing the backing plate.

The clearance on your 13" wheels comes down to 11.75 inches, if you lay a straight edge across the inside, on center, on the mounting surface- hub of the wheel and the straight edge doesn't make contact with spokes, but if has clearance it will fit. 13" Western Minilites, will not fit, because the taper of the spoke begins at about 10.5" , will NOT clear the caliper.

[njoz1200ute]

At first i tried to unbolt the hub from the rotor to get a measurement but i couldn't get the bolts loose by hand. I didn't know what to do so i pulled the cotter pin inside the hub. Took the nut off which was barely tight. Maybe hand tight at most. Then a washer with a little tab at the edge came off. Than the outer? Small bearing. Then the whole hub came off and exposed the spindle and a bigger inner? Bearing. Flipped the hub and rotor unit over and measured it at just a smidge over 8.5 inches diameter.

 

Took notice of the markings on the bearings.

 

Smaller bearing:

 

JAPAN DL

NTN

4T-LM1176. the 6 could be a 9 or 8, hard to tell

 

Was about 34mm outside diameter.

 

Bigger bearing:

 

JAPAN CM

NTN

4T-L44649XL

 

45 or 46mm outside diameter

[njoz1200ute]

I put everything haphazardly back together and greased the bearings not knowing what i was doing.

 

Eek.

[datsunfreak]

Flipped the hub and rotor unit over and measured it at just a smidge over 8.5 inches diameter.

 

B210 rotor is 9.13", and the 1200 rotor is 8.34". So if it's over 8.5", no telling what it is. Any chance your measurement was a tad off?

 

It is possible that like you said it's all JDM 120Y bits? No idea what those rotors measure out to...

[njoz1200ute]

Apparently the late 120Y in Australia has the 220mm rotor that is what I am being told on the other forum.  220mm = 8.66 inches.

 

Getting real frustrated trying to find replacement parts here in the USA, makes me want to throw my struts and brakes in the bin!!

[datsunfreak]

makes me want to throw my struts and brakes in the bin!!

 

That's what I've been telling you to do.   :rofl:

[Morrisun]

The photo below is steering arm from 1200 strut assembly. IF the spacing on your steering arms are the same 75mm on center, than 1200 struts off the cars that were imported here will work. BUT...

 

Part II

The upper bearing for the strut, where it goes into the top insulator, would also have to be the same; part# for 1200 strut is;

BEARING-STRUT MOUNTING 54325-H1000, from online manual.

The bearings used in ute's built between 10/75-03/94 are the same bearing.

This link to bearing: http://jp-carparts.com/nissan/part_detail.php?maker=nissan&type=12&cartype=1&fig=F5401&part=54325H1000&page=1&img=F5401001shows this .

Unless I have totally spaced on something this morning, this would get 1200 front struts into your ute.

Parts are still a bit rough to get, like this bearing. Some parts are no longer made/available.

This is only one possible solution.

Owning an old Datsun, is a little like walking around wounded, you tell yourself that it will get better, and you find parts/solution, and Hey it's starting to scab over, until the next problem tears it open!  Most of us bleed, sweat, skinned knuckles, colorful adjectives about whence it came and money- at least you can still get more money!

[njoz1200ute]

I decided to take a chance on my calipers. I won't know if they are functional or not until I plumb the brake lines and master cylinder and that is a long time away. I decided to wire wheel them to get all the old paint off. First I sprayed them with the Purple bottle degreaser you get at walmart (not the Purple Power one the other one) and it took the 40 year old grit off very easilly. Then I took a wire wheel and drill to the calipers. When they were down to bare metal I noticed a few markings here and there. I took photos of all the markings. Then I bought some VHT caliper paint and painted them blue. Its a nice color blue. In fact I think the ute used to be a very similar blue so in a way I am paying homage to the old ute. Wire wheeling sucks. I decided to buy a sandblaster - see next post

The wierd part was that the can said to bake the paint so I did in my home oven. Don't do it at home if you don't want to stink your house up.




caliper 1



caliper 2









markings on one caliper only??



marking on both

 

 

[njoz1200ute]

So i got tired of wire wheeling.

I decided to buy a sandblasting machine. It was pretty affordable. I bought this off of harbor freight. It is basically a bucket with an air line in it and a gun. 

I bought some blasting media from Tractor supply for 8 bucks. pretty affordable. It is coal slag which is a by product of coal production where the heating and cooling of coal produces a crystalline granule.

It works pretty damn good. Only problem is that my air compressor is too small to handle the blasting. I have to wait alot to get the compressor to catch up.

The first thing I decided to sandblast was my strut tubes. See photos.

Next is going to be my dual carb manifold and linkages.

[njoz1200ute]

Ok so I'll continue with the build update. Today was a rough day. I dedicated the whole day to the build but seemed like I got no where. The cold weather did not help. Needed a heater in the garage to battle the cold.

I bought some decent jack stands about 3 weeks ago. In fact this is the second go around since the first ones I bought from Jegs were defective. Good thing I checked first before using them. They gave me a refund and actually paid for Fedex to come take them back for safety testing. The second pair of stands (as pictured) are from Northern Tool company and they have a safety pin to put in the side, to help me get over the jitters of having the jacks fail again. However they don't have a clevis pin to help stop the safety pin from falling out.

Ok the build.

First thing I did was get the ute up on 4 stands, take the wheels off, and try to get it as dead level as I could.

I want to see how far I need to raise the transmission to get the engine and transmission sitting level. What is the best way to do this? I tried with a four foot level to get the ute straight by checking the bottom of the sill panels (under the doors). 

Even with the ute approximately level, the engine and transmission are sitting sloped a little backward - see the photo looking at the engine bay from the side. I jacked up the transmission as far as I could until the clutch fork hit the body at the top of the tunnel and it still seems off. Anyone know why? Am I just being paranoid?

I did some more measurements on the rear axle assembly to try and finally confirm that the diff is in fact H165.

Tube diameter varied from 61 to 62mm.

Spacing on the diff housing mounting bolts is 73.65mm

Strut assembly painted. Gold paint. Calipers are blue. Blue and gold is a good combo.

After I struggled with the jacks and leveling I decided to hook up the clutch cable. This way I can get all the stuff under the dash situated before I put the dash in. I replaced the clutch fork rubber boot as it was completely ruined. As I was down under the ute replacing the rubber and getting the cable attached, I noticed the wiring on the reverse light switch was looking a bit worse for the wear.

I had a closer look and it seems like the switch had a meltdown. I think its safe to say I need a replacement. Anyone know where to get one. Are any switches interchangeable with the 60a 5 speed?

Hooked up the speedo cable to the transmission and routed the cable back to the steering wheel area. Seems way too long but we will see.

Also re-loomed the lower engine harness and installed it. Started to tidy up the engine bay wiring in preparation for final wiring assembly.

Replaced the resistor with a brand new unit.

Ok lastly. In the photo of the leaf springs, where the bump stop hits the frame, what the heck are the 4 screw/bolt holes for? Am I missing a part here?

 

[datsunfreak]

 

Ok lastly. In the photo of the leaf springs, where the bump stop hits the frame, what the heck are the 4 screw/bolt holes for? Am I missing a part here?

 

If I'm recalling correctly, the trucks are supposed to have the bump stops mounted to the frame rail, not on the axle like a sedan/coupe. 

[Ratdat.com]

I assume that your B120 is a Japanese built one. If so it'd probably be the same as the last one that I had which was a 1980 model. The struts and brakes on that were the same as a late UK market 120Y (B210) and the axle was definately an H165. 

 

As for those bolt holes... I can't remember what arrangement my JDM B120 had but the South African built one I have didn't have anything bolted there... it has bump stops on the axle same as yours.

[njoz1200ute]

1980 B120, Aussie assembled. Japan built. Sold in the Australian domestic market.

 

I was told the aussie utes had drums all around. So the discs were either a 1200 aussie coupe or a 120y. Although they also had the Stanza and the 180b but they have bigger struts and bigger brakes.

 

After all the research and the comments on the other forum they seem to be 120y, like yours.

[Ratdat.com]

I've just remembered that I've got an Aussie B120 parts catalog PDF. It only shows drums in that so you're right. If you need this catalog I can upload it to dropbox. I have an Aussie 120Y local content one too.

[njoz1200ute]

That would be very helpful, thanks!

[Ratdat.com]

Here you go.  I'll leave them up for a few days.

B120 Pickup

 

120Y (B 210)

 

120Y (B210) Local Content

 

And just in case it's useful...

 

Sunny (B310)

[njoz1200ute]

Thanks for sharing!!

[njoz1200ute]

I find it odd that the top two and bottom two bolts on the diff housing are missing? Been that way since I got the ute.