Strut mods(pic heavy)

[Pacific coast Datsun]

Mike i have a general question & im sorry if it's already been answered in your thread. Can i run the 79-83 ZX struts with the stock perches & also run 13 x 5 rims? Possible issues are the tires rubbing the perches & possible caliper rubbing. I can swap the 510 perches over if ness.

the PO welded in the tubing sections so a stock 510 spring will fit.

[sssr20det510]

The zx spring perches won't work, and I think you will need 14 inch wheels

[Pacific coast Datsun]

Ok a spring perch swap is easy. Ill mock up the ZX hubs & see if the 13's clear the calipers.

[fo0manchu]

Ok a spring perch swap is easy. Ill mock up the ZX hubs & see if the 13's clear the calipers.

If I remember correctly, 13's did not clear the calipers. Thats why I have 14's now.

[Duke]

If I remember correctly, 13's did not clear the calipers. Thats why I have 14's now.

 

From what I have heard over the years, some 13's will clear and some won't. It's so close that certain models of 13" Libre's will clear and certain ones won't. Stock 510 steelies definitely won't clear though.

 

Mike, I like the shortened adjustable t/c rods. Adding some caster to the front of a 510 (especially a lowered one) makes a huge difference in high speed steering stability. Also, FYI another source for an aluminum turnbuckle is Coleman Racing. I know that they have already made hex shaped aluminum ones in stock...just another option.

[mklotz70]

Thanks guys.

 

The spring perches are too big to fit up in the well of the strut tower. Damon, from seattle, has run his that way for years.....said they only hit on a big bump when turned. The only way the perch will interfere with a tire is is the tire is really tall....then it will rub when turned anyway.....or if you lower the perch too far.

 

I've never heard of any 13" rims that fit the zx calipers. I think they'll fit over Z stuff...just not ZX. Z stuff is too similar to 510 to be worth it.

 

Thanks for the info on Coleman.....I'd have to look...someone gave some similar info earlier...just don't remember if it was Coleman or not. I'll check them out :)

 

I just got my left and right and taps in the other day.....now I can finish running the threads in the steel tubes and even make my own later.

[Pacific coast Datsun]

""

The spring perches are too big to fit up in the well of the strut tower. Damon, from seattle, has run his that way for years.....said they only hit on a big bump when turned. The only way the perch will interfere with a tire is is the tire is really tall....then it will rub when turned anyway.....or if you lower the perch too far.""

 

Mike...I mocked up the ZX srtut w/ stock perch & using the jack lifted it as high as i could. Very tight fit but not rubbing the tower well. ..

another question. Are bump steer spacers absolutely nessecary when running this strut ? Ive heard that the caliper may come in contact with the tie rod end without them & thats not good.

[thisismatt]

No, and you can swap the struts side for side to move the calipers to the fronts if you want to.

[fo0manchu]

nice tc rods mklotz. Can i have some?? :D

 

I swapped my calipers from right to left to clear.

That spring perch doesn't look like there is much clearance. What about the bushing tolerances in the rest of the suspension. Will the perch not hit the side of the well when making hard turns, or stopping quickly?

[polski ogorki]

Well with the help of this forum and threads like this (thanx Mike) I have been able to lower my 510 a bit and it cost me nothin but my own time to which I enjoyed every minuite of it! When I bought my 71 2door the po told me he had just put 200lbs coils all around with new shocks. He did not give me any more details and I did not ask cuz it was my first dime and I was just stoked to get it home! So today was the day to shorten my struts and cut my coils. First I go pick up my mr2 inserts that I ordered, race home and fly at her. I get the struts out and to my surprise there Tokico hz 3015's for the 70>74.5 240/260z. In order for the po to use them with the stock struts he or someone tack welded 2" extendo thingys to them.

 

 

So I decided to knock off the extendo thingys and shorten the struts to fit them. I will be returning the mr2 inserts asap! There are Tokico's out back aswell. So all went well prity straight forward wrench wrench cut weld wrench wrench.

 

 

 

 

 

There were mud wasps and spiders living in my struts at some piont. So basicly I shortened my struts and cut a coil out of all 4 coils.I did not get any pics of the finished product cuz it's dark I will get some up tomorrow. she sits alot better now and rides nice and smooth! The ass end has some negative camber and I plan on doing the notching thing soon.

[Pacific coast Datsun]

Polski- good work.

Question to those who've done the 280 ZX srtut swap on a 510.

Will the factory rubber brake lines bolt to the ZX calipers ?

[freaky510]

Polski- good work.

Question to those who've done the 280 ZX srtut swap on a 510.

Will the factory rubber brake lines bolt to the ZX calipers ?

yes

i think i tied the 280 rubber line to the 510 at the end of the hard line from the car shit it's been 3 years so

[mklotz70]

The other day, I got to thinking about the non-captured rotor I used on the 411 kits. I wondered if it would work on the 510 hub. Decided to play with it a bit...just another distraction from what I should have been doing. Other than curiosity, I have no clue why I'm doing this!! :)

 

Turns out the G20 rotor is too small and the holes for the caliper mount won't clear the strut ears. I went to the s/y and got a rotor from a '95 Altima. It's similar to the G20 rotor, but larger in diameter. To get the rotor to slip over the hub, I had to turn the outside diameter of the hub down. Even more for the larger rotor, which was kinda odd. I don't think it will hurt the strength enough to worry about, but it does mean that the hub has to be removed and turned for this mod.

 

To start with, here's the G20 rotor fitment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So...off to the s/y for a rotor. Great thing about the s/y...you get to test fit stuff before you buy :) You can see that the Altima caliper's mounting holes are farther away from the piston body. I didn't check, but I'm guessing that either rotor/caliper combo will fit onto the same strut. The extra distance on the mounting holes defeats what I'm trying to do, so I'll stick with the G20 calipers I already have. The left combo is the Altima.

 

 

 

...both calipers on the Altima rotor. You can see that on the front, they sit in the same location...but on the back, the mounting holes are different.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The G20 caliper on the larger Altima rotor is a much better fit. Couple of probs with this setup. It won't let you run 14" rims, which I was hoping for. Two...the inside diameter of the Altima rotor is a bit smaller...so even more metal had to be turned off the hub's OD. I had some left over tabs(mistakes) from the truck brackets so I started tacking stuff together to see what happened. I've got it figured out in my head now. So....that's about where it will stay for awhile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mklotz70]

The calipers are set at the diameter that I had to turn the hub to fit the Altima rotor. Gives a visual of how much metal was removed. Then a couple of shots of the hub after turning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The questions left are.......would there be anyone interested in this kind of setup. The 280zx stuff is getting harder to find. A lot of guys have invested in new strut cartridges for their stock struts and don't really want to switch to 280zx stuff anyway. It would be a bit cheaper on parts at the scrapyard, but that would probably be offset by the cost of the brackets...oh...and longer studs would be needed. I'm thinking this was more of an exercise in seeing if I could do it, more than a practical option. Also...are the hubs turned to far for people to consider it? Needing to have the hubs turned pretty much takes away any "bolt on" appeal. I could do it with core charges, but then guys would also have to ship the stock hubs back. Like I said....probably not a viable option :(

 

 

I'd like to thank Phil for the struts so I could mock all this up :)

[Pacific coast Datsun]

Thanks to this thread [TY Mklotz] i shortened a pair of ZX struts for a friend today. He will be running coil-overs & Tokiko inserts. I took 1 inch out of the height & welded them up. Pretty basic stuff, i took Mike's advice & put a ZX insert in the tube to prevent welding splatter from messing up the inside of the tube.

measure 5 times cut once...

made sure it's level then tack 4 times...

i tapered both edges & filled with the bead..looks like this \/

the insert looks like this after welding...not bad really

success...no slag on the inside of the tube....

this is just hand tight, it'll go another 1 - 1 1/2 turns with plyers...

I'll also be welding some collars on once the coil-overs arrive. Ratsun rules & more info for us to use...

[mklotz70]

you're more than welcome Mark....glad the info is being put to use :)

[mklotz70]

another strut thread with good info...

 

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/21348-simple-280zx510-strut-questions/

[The Dat-side]

What's the best way to get the stock strut (more or less insert) out of the tube?

[sssr20det510]

What's the best way to get the stock strut (more or less insert) out of the tube?

take off the top bolt thing and they pull out, it will make a mess with the oil so do it over somthing

[The Dat-side]

What's the best way to get the stock strut (more or less insert) out of the tube?

Well Datside, you handsome, handsome man, there is a rubber seal just under the threads. Remove that and smelly nasty oil will pour all over your driveway. Don't leave any tools down hill. They will become covered in oil.

[The Dat-side]

take off the top bolt thing and they pull out, it will make a mess with the oil so do it over somthing

Yeah got the bolt off but they wouldn't pull out. ended up taking out the rubber seal.

[sssr20det510]

Yeah got the bolt off but they wouldn't pull out. ended up taking out the rubber seal.

and oil went everywhere lol thats why i said put somthing under them LOL

[The Dat-side]

and oil went everywhere lol thats why i said put somthing under them LOL

Didn't see that until I had 'em off. I knew it was going to be messy, it wasn't that much.

[PurePontiacKid]

mklotz... I fucking love you... and hate you at the same time haha

 

you give me ideas and show me ways of doing stuff that I hadn't thought of befoar... then you make me want to go out and do that stuff to my car when I got other stuff I gotta do first! haha

[Creepy Cruiser]

Mike rocks!!!