Project: 74' B210 --- *Updated 6/13/16*

[Tolkmod]

YO!

 

Much apologize for the lack of updates.  I've been extremely busy with life...  that big time suck called work and a few other issues I've been dealing with.   I've got quite a bit of small things done here and there, the kind of small stuff that doesn't really make for good updates.  Also got a few large things done that I'm extremely happy with and proud of how it turned out.

 

So, seeing as I'm sitting here at work this morning, I'll post OIC's and details tonight when I get home.

 

Late!

[Tolkmod]

So, as promised!   UPDATE TIME!

 

So, in the few months since my last update I've done quiet a bit of mechanical work.  It's been sucking a lot of my funds and time from other more fun stuff.

 

So to get it out of the way, My new pretty 80amp alternator and new battery setup.

 

 

So after all that was fiddled with and now running in top form i was able to move on to a few side projects.

 

One being my kick panels.

 

 

Got those in, fit great, good clearance to the clutch peddle as well.

 

Next was the rear deck lid and speaker pods.  I had to cut out a 1/8" mdf sheet and glue it to the top of the flat side of the original backboard because it was falling apart.  Then I glued the carpet on and installed the pods for my rear speakers.  Proly one of my most proud achievements so far, it looks super clean and really goes well with what i'm trying to do.  

 

 

Next, was finishing out my amp rack in the trunk, and getting all the wiring in place.

Sorry bout the pics, donno why these particular ones came out so blurry.

Yeah, I do have a little clean up to do still, and I'm even re-thinking the install.  I might go a different route, but for now it works and looks clean.

Installed with 10" sub.

 

Next was finishing off the deck install, and cleaning it up a little.  Paint job on the bracket sucks, but I'm probably going a different route here soon so i wasn't to worried about it.  Looks pretty decent for the job it's doing anyway.

 

So, now i have my tunes! with a little thump thump!!  WOOT!  Sounds fantastic, and man that 10" might even be a little to much lol but it's clean and sounds awesome.

 

Next, i moved on to one of my more bigger projects.   POWER WINDOWS!!  WOOT!

 

All 4 doors fit like a glove.  The backs are a little um... how do i say, they're not as "free flowing" as the front windows.  Probably from the lack of consistent usage, but a little lube and they do just fine.  Unfortunately my passenger side window has issues because of the dent in the door, it's actually rubbing against the window track as it goes up and down.  So i can only roll it down about half way.

 

 

Here's the naked driver's side door, and one of the rear doors.

 

All cleaned up for a temporary fix while I had fits and headaches about designing how i want my door panels to look.

 

After a few weeks and a lot of drawing I came up with this, something I actually really like, and sorta pays homage to the original accent lines of the panels.

 

So i used the original door boards, taped them up and drew it out full scale (and with the back door included so i could make sure to have some semblance of flow from the front to the back)

 

I think i need to clean up the lines a little still on the back, but for now it's a working model.  Not like i'm gonna rush out tonight and tear through it lol

 

 

Welp, that's it for now.  I just got in my carpet, as well as few other odds and ends that'll keep me busy for a while.  My main goal right now is getting the padding down and carpet in so that I can put all my interior back together and have a normal looking car.

 

Then I'll work on and take my time with the door panels, so that I do it right and make them look good.

 

 

[5280Datsun]

Great build thread! Where did you get the terminals and the speaker housings?

[Tolkmod]

Great build thread! Where did you get the terminals and the speaker housings?

 

Thanks!! :)

 

The speaker housings i got from here: http://stores.ebay.com/diabloroyalecustoms/

 

And what terminals are you referring to?

[5280Datsun]

Thanks!! :)

 

The speaker housings i got from here: http://stores.ebay.com/diabloroyalecustoms/

 

And what terminals are you referring to?

 

 

Thanks!

 

I was referring to the battery terminals.

[Tolkmod]

Thanks!

 

I was referring to the battery terminals.

 

lol forgot about those.  had to do some serious searching, couldn't remember where i got them

 

http://amzn.com/B00NQ7U982

 

Oh, FYI on these, the bolts SUCK, I sheered one completely and the other just didn't want to turn.  I ended up having to cut them both off and just bought some new ones from my local ACE hardware.  

[Tolkmod]

Hello all!

 

Time for another update! The 74' B-210, or, Liz as she's affectionately known.   ;)

 

So, first off.  I had to upgrade Liz's peepers to HID's so i bought this amazingly quick and easy "plug it in and it works" system from Ebay. I went out and installed it.. and for once on this picky car, it really was plug in and go.  I was incredibly happy!

 

Took me all of about 20 minutes to get this done!!

 

Next, my awesome custom made shift knob!!  Boba Fett ftw!

 

While at the Pick'ur'Part I found this radiator fan that looked too good to be true.  So i got it just because.  B)

Turned out it fit perfectly.  I have the stand-offs and bolts ready to install but haven't gotten around to it.  This was a test fit.  I'm going to hook it up with a manual on/off switch to help supplement the normal engine fan during the hotter times of the year.  I was originally going to replace the engine fan with this one, but it's too thick, it'll knock up against the engine (even with the old fan removed) so i have to use it as a push fan rather than pulling.

 

Now the biggie... NEW SEATS!!  WOOT!

 

I found them at the Pick'UR'Part, really great shape leather bucket seats out of a little sport coupe.  I think it was a Saturn, not sure on the model.

I had to cut the brackets off because they were welded onto the tracks

 

cut up some 1/8" thick steel L-Bar and painted it with some rust resistant black paint.  Nuttin special, never gonna see them.

 

Brackets installed

 

Different view

 

Tracks installed from original seats, this took some effort to line up and get right but it was worth it.

 

Then, of course the Driver side has to be COMPLETELY different, so I had to go down and get some more steel L-Bar to make a different set of brackets for the tracks on the driver side.

 

Bolted up

I forgot to get some pics of the final product on this side, but not a big deal.  Painted the L-Bar the same black, and mounted up the tracks.  This one was a little tricky because of the lumbar supports and other features on the driver seat.  In the end it still worked out and here's the finished product!

 

 

I was telling my friend that it was like upgrading from an early 1900's horse drawn carriage to Bentley seats...  I didn't realize how horrible the originals were in this thing but now my back isn't killing me and I have a smile on my face going down the road again! lol

 

 

Now onto the trim, carpet and door panels!!

[Tolkmod]

Small but notable update.

 

Changed out my Steering wheel.  Got a nice kit from Ebay, worked great and even came with a cool little "Datsun" logo horn button.

Got a used Momo Steering wheel pretty cheap off ebay. To be honest, upon close inspection it might be a fake, but at this time I really don't care.  It works and looks good.

 

 

 

Welp, that's it for now. 

 

Hopefully next update will be with new carpet!

 

 

[Tolkmod]

Okay, so in between freaking out about the short in my head light switch, and then my blinkers not working I was able to get a few things done that really needed to be done.

 

So, to apologize in advance:  Sorry, I know I'm all over the place but when you have just enough money/time to start something and not finish you tend to have a lot of different projects going on at the same time.  So forgive me if it seems like I've started something and then just dropped it.  I really haven't, I've just had to move onto something else while money is saved to continue the project.

 

1- Sorta Carpet install (to be fixed/cleaned up soon)

 

2- Replacement of the fuse block - Now nice pretty new blade fuses with a new swing down feature for easy access!!

 

3- Door Panel design finalized and construction started

 

4- Dash awesomeness project started

 

 

-------------

 

Okay so #1

I worked my butt off getting the back carpet in and I think I did a pretty good job.  Wasn't happy with a few small wrinkles but I was able to get them out with a little steam after these pics were taken, I'll have to throw  up some more current ones when I get a chance.  As far as the front goes It's a work in progress, that transmission tunnel is giving me fits. It looks a heck of a lot better in this picture than it does in person so don't judge to quickly lol

 

The back (see the small wrinkles on the far side :mad: ) 

 

And the front:

 

So that's it for now with the carpet, saving up to have the corners edged properly and then I'll get it down permanent like.

 

#2

Fuse block awesomeness!!

 

Building the plate and mounting the two fuse blocks to it. 

 

Installed with hinge for easy access (and not having to break my back trying to get to the right fuse)

 

My genius plan of a rare earth magnet to hold it up and keep it nice and secure:

 

Working awesome!

 

Wired up and secured:

 

Swinging it down to test how easy it is to get to the fuses, me so happy!!  :D

 

Woot woot, so that project is actually DONE!   :thumbup:

 

#3

 

Worked out a design for my door panels, didn't go with my original seeing as there was going to be some mechanical issues with the design I had.  So i went with a simplified yet nice design.  

 

 

Installed on the door, there's still a few more parts to the panel but this is the bulk of it for now as the rest is just beauty trim and then the door handle.

 

I had to over come some tricky placement issues with the door clip handle, seeing as the door panel is a lot thicker than the original I added some washers behind the handle to raise it slightly and align it with the new door panel's thickness.  After several trial and error fits i got the correct number of washers to use and it seems to work rather well  B) simple fixes for complicated problems is always a win in my book!

 

 

#4

 

So, I've had this idea for a long time now about retooling the way the dash looks, adding some bling and what-not to it.  Give it a little Tolk flare...  So hopefully you guys have a good imagination and can see where I'm going with it.  If not, then just stay tuned as it's starting to come together.

 

First off a sweet shot of my naked dash!!!  I just thought it was kind of cool... not to many cars can you take the whole dash off and not be in a world of hurt. 

 

Second, me outlining my plan.  (I had previously made a construction paper cut out of what i needed to trim it to so this is after i used the template to cut it out of the aluminum) 

 

Trimming it down a little bit at a time

 

Dialing it in, and setting up my mounting points.  Looks awesome (and i can actually see the end product in my head so it's rather exciting)

 

Welp that's it for the updates... 

 

Oh!  I did have to clean up a little... this is a before and after shot of my 'work space' in the garage...  Needless to say it's not as pretty now as the after shot, I have been doing a lot of work lol

 

Before:

 

And After, with a whole heck of a lot of back pain lol

 

 

Thanks for checkin out my build thread and see ya around soon!

 

-Tolk

 

[Eagle_Adam]

Lots of cool stuff going down! Love this B a little more everythime I see it

[Tolkmod]

Lots of cool stuff going down! Love this B a little more everythime I see it

 

Thanks!!  I feel the same way! :)

 

Body work update!!   NEW PASSENGER DOOR!

 

So happy, and thanks to my Nephew for giving me a hand with this.   Found a guy parting out a wrecked B210 same model different year, but everything works perfectly.  

 

My old Door -  Large dent - Kept the window from rolling up and down it was pinching against the track.

 

Found this one!  So happy, SAME COLOR!!!!!  Only thing different was the trim was white instead of the dark blue & black that mine came with.

 

 

Installing it!  Had to take off the fender and the top metal piece (forgot what it's called, the windshield wiper cover thingie!!) <-- technical term 

 

Door on!  In hind sight I should have triple checked the alignment of the door.  It's a little high, but it's an easy fix so eh, something to do later.  Still, fits perfect, and you can't even tell it's from a different car!

 

 

And everything back together!!

 

 

 

While i was at it, i bought the whole dash off the guy who sold me the door as well.   I wanted a backup in case something went wrong with my mods :)

Never hurts to have a backup!!!!  I'll have to get some OIC's of the new dash up here soon for ya.

 

Oh!  And if ya haven't seen the thread in the wheels forum, here's my new wheels and tires.   Yes, I'm gonna black the wheels out.  I haven't derided if I'm going to add some orange highlights to it yet, but when i get it done there will be plenty of OIC's

 

 

 

That be it!!

[Tolkmod]

So, new update. Been working on some exterior and interior trim and pretty things.  

 

First of all working on my dash lights.  Sick of the bright blue lights that were in there.  Apparently there were some light blue lights installed, and added with the green filter it made it this bright aqua blue.   Wasn't very fun to drive with.  So i dulled it down a little (but still bright) with some new lights  B)

 

The old stuff, you can also tell that the far left light wasn't changed so I had two different colors on my dash lol

 

First I removed all the green filter lenses. Was pretty easy, a few screws and pop'm out.  (have the full set still if someone's interested send me a pm)

 

Then i added my awesome new LED lights.  :thumbup:  :thumbup:

 

Very happy with the results.  Nice and clear and easy to read.  (though the pic kinda doesn't tell the full story).

 

Next I bought a B210 console off an newer model automatic version. (also got the full dash from the guy!)  I liked it, it was bigger than my original one and allowed me to do some mods to it :)

 

I cut out what I didn't need, and modded me up some adapter plates out of some 1/8" thick wood.  I hope you can see where i'm going with this :)

 

Cut the hole for the stick shift and test fitted in the B210, looks great!!

 

Leather Vinyl rap complete and looking FANTASTIC!!!   :w00t:  :w00t:

They're working on the shift boot now, was one of the few things so far I had done, as I'm not that great at stitching like a pro.  It was a little dirty cause It's raining in soCal, and I slipped on my way to the car and my hands got all muddy lol  So i still need to clean it all up and it back to it's beautiful condition. 

 

And of course, what the nice hole up top was for :)  

 

Also had them wrap my top dash pad while they were at it.  looks fantastic as well!!  MATCHING!! WOOT!  :w00t:  :w00t:  :thumbup:  :thumbup:

 

 

 

So, still waiting on the shift boot, they wanted me to bring out the car to measure and get it right.  So i haven't installed anything yet.

 

So i moved onto the exterior and put Liz on a diet...  she lost a good 150lbs in about an hour.

 

Bumpers removed!!   Man it just makes the car look so much better with out those huge things sticking out in your face.  I was so shocked how much those things weigh!!

 

So, i'm not a huge fan of the empty gap in the above picture so i decided to do something about it.  I used some construction paper and cut out a template and then moved it to some thin aluminum.  This was the result.

 

I think it looks fantastic!

 

Next I cut out some vent holes, that I'm going to fill in with some honeycomb mesh that matches the main top grill's vent.

 

 

Here's it mounted on the car. 

 

 

I cut it so that my licence plate will over lap them slightly, make it look like it's a solid bar across the middle.  I did a few test fits and it looks pretty good to me.

 

I also installed a few brackets across the length of the nose to brace the new plate, don't want it flapping around in the wind.

 

 

When it's all done I'll be painting it the same black as the grill, get it all nice and pretty.  B)

 

 

I'm going to end up doing something similar on the back of the car to cover up the bumper mount holes as well, but for now it doesn't look to horrible so I don't feel like I need to hurry up and do something about it.

 

So that's what I've been keeping busy with lately, hope you all enjoyed or had a good laugh, either way have a good weekend!  :thumbup:

 

-Tolk

 

Edit:  Oh yeah!  forgot to mention, I cleaned up all the replacement door issues, got it perfectly aligned and looking awesome.  AND! I also replaced all the door and trunk seals!  They look fantastic, and better than that, they keep out the excess wind and all that bad rain!!

[dukerollo]

Good looking project. Very creative. It seems like you enjoy doing all the stuff that I hate to do. Lol.

[Eagle_Adam]

Hands down one of my top 3 fav b210's!!!

 

I hope I get to see it in person some day ;)

[Tolkmod]

:D  Thanks guys!  Means a lot!

 

Gonna be working on replacing my brake (<--spelled correctly this time) booster this weekend, as well as finishing up on the front bumper replacement grill thingy.  I finished painting the honeycomb grill with some rust protecting paint, I couldn't find a good deal on the plastic honeycomb grill I wanted so I went with some steel stuff down at my local ACE hardware, looks pretty good and was an easy replacement.

 

Also still working on my shift boot issue, I think I've come up with a pretty easy fix but we'll see how it works out.  Probably be working on that this weekend as well.

 

Here's a pic of me panting the cut out grills.

Please ignore the rest of the garage lol

 

Also, bought these really clean 280zx center caps for my wheels, I test fitted a few of them and they don't seem to go in all the way, I feel like I'd have to really bang on them to get them to pop in.   Is that normal?  Sorry with my ignorance on this, I don't want to bust them up lol

 

 

I thought I might have to take the wheels off, unscrew the back clip and then mount them that way, but doesn't make sense to me in the long run, eh, that's why I have you experts to tell me what's up!  lol

 

Thanks!

-Tolk

 

 

[datsunfreak]

Also, bought these really clean 280zx center caps for my wheels, I test fitted a few of them and they don't seem to go in all the way, I feel like I'd have to really bang on them to get them to pop in.   Is that normal?  

 

Very normal. I usually have to kick them on.   :rofl:

[Tolkmod]

Lol awesome, I'll have to give that a try. I was worried about cracking them so I stopped and figured I'd just ask.

[datsunfreak]

 I was worried about cracking them so I stopped and figured I'd just ask.

 

They are actually pretty resilient. Only issue I've ever had with them is that the chrome starts to peel if you chip it. 

[Tolkmod]

Mini-update?  Yeah why not...

 

I GOT ME A NEW TOOL!   :w00t: :frantics:   :w00t: :frantics:   :w00t:   This thing is gonna get used quite a bit!

 

Astro 1442 13" Nut/Thread Hand Riveter Kit!!   This thing rocks!!!

 

Wasn't feelin all that well tonight but new tools kinda make ya feel better... so I did a little something I've been wanting to do for a long time.

 

These are the brackets that hold my center console..  I have some really nice Allen socket bolts I've been saving to help dress it up a little.  So these will screw directly into the now nice and pretty threaded rivets I just put in.

 

 

 

Welp... that's it. 

 

I did say it was a mini update.....  :P

 

[Tolkmod]

And another small update.  Well, not small but at least something was completed :)

 

Finished up my front grill/bumper replacement project.

 

Finished painting, looking rather sweet :)

 

Installed the Licence Plate threaded rivets, looking sweet!

 

With my licence plate

 

Mounted on the car!   :w00t:  :w00t:

 

 

The beauty shot lol

 

I think it turned out even better than I hoped it would.  Next I need to work on getting one of those duckbill scoops to help even it out a little.

 

I was tempted to black out the wheels today but I know I'm going to be doing a lot of suspension upgrades here in the next month so I figured i'd save myself the headache of redoing everything and just wait until I'm done.  I did however put the Z caps on the wheels, I think it  looks a lot better with them on.  Can't wait to black'm out and put on the sweet "datsun" cap stickers i got. 

 

WE HAVE PROGRESS!!!   :thumbup:  :thumbup:

 

 

 

 

[Tolkmod]

mwhahahahahahah   :devil:

 

 

 

I'm pretty sure you guys know what these are!!   :w00t:

PL510 crossmember (with all the goodies) and a 2-door 510 drive shaft.

 

The 510 wagon diff/axle is the next step (maybe a few weeks for that) and most of my drive train issues will be solved.

 

1 step closer to my L20b swap!!!!!

 

Getting my front coil-overs and 280zx brake swap hopefully in the next month or so.

So Liz is moving forward...  slowly, but still forward!  :D

 

 

 

[Tolkmod]

So, working on some interior trim!  Had some free time this afternoon so i decided to hammer out my rear door cards.  

 

First off cut out new boards, both turned out really well.  Test fitted twice just to make sure.

 

 

Got me some thin liner and drew out the spray area for the glue

 

 

Glued up and then trimmed back

 

 

Next glued on the vinyl leather! I copied the original vinyl pattern, made it way easier to get around the curves and corners without having to guess at it!!

 

 

 

Final product!!!!!   Looking fantastic!!  :w00t:  :w00t:

 

 

I'll be adding a few bling trim pieces later, but for now it's done and looking awesome.  VERY HAPPY!  :thumbup:

 

So, instead of quitting while I was ahead, I was so excited about getting this one done I forgot how tired and stupid I was... and decided to start on the second panel.  Got the padding down and sprayed out the glue and was getting ready to lay it down when i realized that I drew out two passenger templates on the vinyl instead of reversing the board and drawing out one for each side....  so stupid me wasted a good square yard of vinyl... and a lot of glue (that stuff isn't cheap)  :angry:  :angry:

 

Lesson?   1 - triple check everything, 2- when your tired just stop and do it another day other wise you'll make stupid mistakes

 

 

 

Welp, that be it for today...  can't wait to get it installed tomorrow (and ugh... go down and buy some more stupid vinyl so i can do the other side)...

 

Later rats!

[Lockleaf]

Simple. Finish two full sets. Sell one set to a fellow b210er, make enough to pay for making all 4.

[dat521gatherer]

What card material did you use and how did you cut the holes? Looks great.

[Tolkmod]

Simple. Finish two full sets. Sell one set to a fellow b210er, make enough to pay for making all 4.

 

true, but making one set is enough of a pain as it is lol

 

 

What card material did you use and how did you cut the holes? Looks great.

 

Thanks  :thumbup:

 

I used some 1/8" thick flexible press board from the Home Depot, super cheap...  though it's not quite 1/8" thick it matches up almost perfectly with the original door card boards so I didn't have to worry about thickness issues with all the trim pieces.

 

 As far as the holes, you talking about the door clip holes?  If so, I just used to different drill bits matched to the original door card holes, drilled'm out, then cut the small gap between them open with my jigsaw.  Was a lot simpler than i thought it was going to be and works really well.