1979 Datsun 160z road animal project

[riaan140z]

Good day guys, 

 

thought id share my current of many project with you.. she is a 1979 datsun 160z one of only 241 ever built by Datsun South Africa for homologation purpose.. 

 

I purchased the car about 2 years ago from a good mate and quickly realised the plans for the car.. make her a fearce road car with all the toys of a racing car.. 

 

i hope you guys enjoy the build hear is some progress pics from start till current 

 

 

First thing to come off was that ugly front spoiler 

 

side skirts

stripped her out 

test fitting the body kit 

all primered up 

 

that was the last pics before she went to paint 

[riaan140z]

Decided on a colour...  thought of original yellow and then my mother bought herself a volvo s60 r design in rebel blue.. my mind was made up she was coming blue.. 

 

 

 

after long discussions i decided to go the KA 24 route in terms of engine.. 

Before and after.. never thought to take pics while we were building the engine

 

Time to remove front end 

 

poly bush kit arrived for the car

front suspension sandblasted, bought all new bolts, etc etc

front shocks i decided to go with bilstein coilovers.. 

 

first step in.. 

[riaan140z]

Some more pics 

Reconned front master cylinder 

steering arms and steering all refurbished and installed

 

front hubs, modified for the bilstein coilovers and BMW 4 pot brake upgrade

[KELMO]

Thanks for the pics, really liking this.

[tr8er]

Nice

[riaan140z]

Purchased a set of 48mm twin dellorto side draught carburators for the beast.. wanted old school sound

Recieved the carbs in brand new condition.. 

Installed the motor , had to make new engine mounts 

 

Resting in the right place 

[riaan140z]

some progress, 

 

new headlights with standard datsun chrome covers and backing plates

window glass fittings

rubbers rubbers

[datzenmike]

I prefer the before body without the balloon flairs.

 
It did need some lowering to make it right though

 

.

 
Not a fan of polly. Too stiff for the street but ok on a race car that gets looked at regularly. That tension arm polly mount... did you modify it by drilling holes in it to make it more compliant? If not, the rod will be held immobile at the front bent by suspension movement that can lead to stress fractures.
 

 

Looks like a truck KA block. Did yours come with a CAS or distributor in SA? If CAS, how will you fire the plugs?
 

[riaan140z]

Hi mike. The ride height is very very low right now i still need to upload allot of pics. The car is more a track day toy than a road car. I havent done that modification on the poly bush lkit. But thanks for the advice it makes allot of sense. Yes it is a truck ka. We modify the langley electronic dizzy to fit the ka 24 so you dont need to use the original dizzy.. The nidmo arches isnt everyones cup of tea but i love it

[mattyhacks71]

Sweet ride! Love the color choice

Mike is right, stock tension arms are known to snap with poly bushings. I would consider investing in some aftermarket ones like these from Techno Toy Tuning

[riaan140z]

Damn that is nice guys.. What do they cost hey.. Im in south africa

[riaan140z]

suspension in.. standing like she should.. 

took her for roll cage 

branch and exhaust done

[riaan140z]

So i stripped out the roll cage to be powder coated, achieved to complete the dash board with some nascar spec mechanical guages.. 

painted the dash satin black, looks like gloss with the flash on my phone

[riaan140z]

carpeting done only half way.. decided to leave the rear bare paint

 

Fiited some different wheels due to the 13 x 10j split compomotives were catching the rim

[bananahamuck]

Hi mike. The ride height is very very low right now i still need to upload allot of pics. The car is more a track day toy than a road car. I havent done that modification on the poly bush lkit. But thanks for the advice it makes allot of sense. Yes it is a truck ka. We modify the langley electronic dizzy to fit the ka 24 so you dont need to use the original dizzy.. The nidmo arches isnt everyones cup of tea but i love it

 

 

So i googled and came up with Langley as a Nissan Sentra front wheel drive type car??  You have any links to that distributor modification?   I came up with none,, but i might be wording it wrong.

 

I really like your cars man..  They look fun to drive.

[riaan140z]

There is no documents to explain how to do it, i still have to do the modification on the distributor so ill document the complete build so that we have it on record. will that help you bud?

[hobospyder]

That blue looks about the same as my rims, love it. Car looks gorgeous

[bananahamuck]

There is no documents to explain how to do it, i still have to do the modification on the distributor so ill document the complete build so that we have it on record. will that help you bud?

 

 

With lots of pictures cuz i'm stupid sometimes,,,,,,,,,  :lol: ,, would be great..  Here, i think they fit a L motor distrbutor to run carbs,, but those are getting to be almost 40 years old now..

[riaan140z]

Haha in south africa we have a saying "n boer maak n plan"we use allot of old parts and datsun parts are suprisingly interchangable. For instance. I used the pickup and sump from the original l series.. Ill take allot of pictures.. She still needs a shit load of work.. Problem is juggling 4 projects at the same time..

[Datsun Special]

Cool.project! :thumbup:

[riaan140z]

Thanks man.. cant wait to fire her up  B)