orange B110 coupe

[fivetenguy]

They have a good bit more suspension travel stock than a 510. And much softer springs/shocks. They do ride very well.  B)

 

The vent windows in the front doors are something the 510 really needs, too...  

 

I'm 100% with you on this one. I love those vent windows in the front doors. Works as A/C when you're going fast enough. ^_^

 

Could always get a pair of 175/60-14s for the front, then save the unused front pair for when you burn off the rear tires.   ^_^

 

I was thinking camber plates. Have you guys tried them on a 1200? Will the plates give me the bit of camber I need to clear the front fender?? I figure if I'm going to pay about $120 for a pair of tires plus $20 to mount and balance, I might as well put that money towards camber plates. What do you guys think?

[datsunfreak]

I was thinking camber plates. Have you guys tried them on a 1200? Will the plates give me the bit of camber I need to clear the front fender?? I figure if I'm going to pay about $120 for a pair of tires plus $20 to mount and balance, I might as well put that money towards camber plates. What do you guys think?

 

Camber plates won't fix the problem. It clips the fender down low, right behind the bumper. It has to do with the fender opening being too short front to back. 

 

There are only 3 fixes for it. Pull the lower corners of the fenders out 1/2" or so (done that, works great, fairly invisible to non-1200 guys), trim about 1/4" off the edge of the fender at the bottom (done that, only a good plan if you are going to repaint the car), or install some flares (what I did on my current 1200).  

[fivetenguy]

Thanks for that bit of info DF. Hopefully I'll be able to fit the front wheels pretty soon.

 

Installed all the front steering rod ends and ball joints. I've included the part numbers for future reference. You can really tell the difference on the parts made in Japan from the ones made in Korea.

 

The bottom of this car is caked in oil. I scraped most of it off when I was putting the steering components together. Added some boring ass pics. Nothing exciting happened this week. I'm hoping next week I can get more done.

 

 

 

 

 

[fivetenguy]

Guys, I have a question: Are the front 1200 wheel studs interchangeable with the ZX? The ones currently on the 1200 struts are much longer than stock.

 

[njoz1200ute]

Looks good.  Don't forget to grease the components (like I did) :)

 

I would also recommend getting some new bushings for the radius arms and sway bar end links and the sway bar mounts.   Since you are down there already.

 

I did all of those and also bought bushings for the LCA's but couldn't figure out how to install them so I left them alone.

[datsunfreak]

The ones currently on the 1200 struts are much longer than stock.

 

Was it once owned by an enthusiast? Because those are definitely not the stock 1200 studs. Nissan Motorsports (aka Datsun Comp) used to sell some about that length?

 

But I will say this, stock 280ZX studs are hell of short...   :rofl:

[datsunfreak]

And if you're asking if you can knock those out and put them in the 280ZX hubs, then yes. They are interchangeable.  :thumbup:

[Burabuda]

neat project!

 

this was my coupe. also og paint

(i sold it with panasports, but another owner put the jumbo rotas on it)

 

[powerbench]

God I loved that car...^^^^^^^^

[fivetenguy]

Looks good.  Don't forget to grease the components (like I did) :)

 

I would also recommend getting some new bushings for the radius arms and sway bar end links and the sway bar mounts.   Since you are down there already.

 

I did all of those and also bought bushings for the LCA's but couldn't figure out how to install them so I left them alone.

 

Thanks for the reminder. Earlier in the week I looked for my grease gun but could not find it. I think I might have let someone borrow it...but I can't remember who.

 

Was it once owned by an enthusiast? Because those are definitely not the stock 1200 studs. Nissan Motorsports (aka Datsun Comp) used to sell some about that length?

 

But I will say this, stock 280ZX studs are hell of short...   :rofl:

 

Not sure if the guy I bought the car from installed the longer studs or not. He's definitely a datsun enthusiast but I don't know if he would have taken the time to install the studs. He gave me some rear shocks and 3" lowering blocks. These were all thinks he was going to install but lost interest since he was too big for the car.

[fivetenguy]

neat project!

 

this was my coupe. also og paint

(i sold it with panasports, but another owner put the jumbo rotas on it)

 

 

 

Thanks Burabuda.

 

Your old car is beautiful. I've always loved it.

[datsunfreak]

These were all thinks he was going to install but lost interest since he was too big for the car.

 

How big is he??   :blink:

[fivetenguy]

He's probably around 6'3" and 275lbs. He told me that he had to hold his head down when he drove it home because his head was rubbing on the headliner. Maybe he made it up to give me an excuse why he was selling it :confused: .

[datsunfreak]

He's probably around 6'3" and 275lbs. 

 

So am I.   :rofl:

 

Only problem I have is bonking my head on the roof every third time I sit down in it...  

 

Too used to the 510 roof height maybe...   ^_^

[fivetenguy]

Only problem I have is bonking my head on the roof every third time I sit down in it... 

 

 

I'm only 5'7" so I don't think I'll ever have that problem and that's probably the only advantage to being under 6' :rofl: .

 

I'm going to check out some Civic seats today. I hope they are half as nice as the owner says they are. I'm hoping that they are not too big or tall for the car. I was thinking of getting the original seats reupholstered, but I'm not going to be able to afford what they are going to want for the job. I've got too many projects going on and I'm by no means a wealthy man.

 

I'll try to get some work tomorrow and post more pics of the progress.

[KELMO]

1200 front stud part # 40222-22100

1200 rear stud part # 40222-18000

 

Cannot find my S130 catalog ATM....anybody with a catalog out there that can answer the ZX stud question?

 

Edit ...several hours later.

So it would seem that I no longer have an S130 catalog......dammit.

[datsunfreak]

I'm going to check out some Civic seats today. I hope they are half as nice as the owner says they are. I'm hoping that they are not too big or tall for the car. I was thinking of getting the original seats reupholstered, but I'm not going to be able to afford what they are going to want for the job. I've got too many projects going on and I'm by no means a wealthy man.

 

I'll try to get some work tomorrow and post more pics of the progress.

 

 

FWIW, 240Z seats are a pretty good fit, and aren't too hard to adapt to the stock rails. And fairly cheap to reupholster...

 

 

[IttyBittyDat]

FTG, Make sure and use a thread checker on those larger than life front studs. Sometimes folks replace the OEM 12.5mm x 1.25 studs with aftermarket 1/2" SAE fine thread studs. The threads look quite similar, and they will even allow you to start threading a metric nut onto the SAE stud...until it cross threads and buggers up the threads. (this is an "ask me how I know" topic, btw)  Also, if you go back to OEM studs, they may not fit the hub as snugly as they are supposed to due to the aftermarket studs having a slightly larger shank and reaming out the hub hole a bit oversize. ARP makes some darn sexy racing studs that are 12.5mm x 1.25 (for a Subaru) that have a nice tapered end and they may fit the oversized hub hole that the 1/2" studs left. (I'd post a picture, but I have only a few years left to live and can't waste my time trying to fumble through the pic posting procedure here. :-)  ) Cheers,

[fivetenguy]

1200 front stud part # 40222-22100

1200 rear stud part # 40222-18000

 

Cannot find my S130 catalog ATM....anybody with a catalog out there that can answer the ZX stud question?

 

Edit ...several hours later.

So it would seem that I no longer have an S130 catalog......dammit.

DF already confirmed that they do fit. Thanks for taking the time to check.

[fivetenguy]

FWIW, 240Z seats are a pretty good fit, and aren't too hard to adapt to the stock rails. And fairly cheap to reupholster...

 

 

Those seats look real good in there. There's a guy locally that has tons of datsun parts. I'm going to check with him to see if he has a good set.

 

FTG, Make sure and use a thread checker on those larger than life front studs. Sometimes folks replace the OEM 12.5mm x 1.25 studs with aftermarket 1/2" SAE fine thread studs. The threads look quite similar, and they will even allow you to start threading a metric nut onto the SAE stud...until it cross threads and buggers up the threads. (this is an "ask me how I know" topic, btw)  Also, if you go back to OEM studs, they may not fit the hub as snugly as they are supposed to due to the aftermarket studs having a slightly larger shank and reaming out the hub hole a bit oversize. ARP makes some darn sexy racing studs that are 12.5mm x 1.25 (for a Subaru) that have a nice tapered end and they may fit the oversized hub hole that the 1/2" studs left. (I'd post a picture, but I have only a few years left to live and can't waste my time trying to fumble through the pic posting procedure here. :-)  ) Cheers,

I confirmed that they were 12mm x 1.25. The studs went in nice and tight when I hammered them in.

[fivetenguy]

I have the front struts almost finished. I put new rotors, brake lines and pads. The old rotors were worn down but it appeared that the bearings had ben changed not too long ago so I reused them. I also realized that I did not take a pic of the caliper on the strut. I'll do that tomorrow with further progress.




 

 

[fivetenguy]

The difference in length of the studs. The shorter one is the front zx, the middle size is the one the 1200 came with and the longer one isthe ones you get from napa auto parts.
 

[fivetenguy]

A few questions: what's the torque specs for the inner and outer tie rods and the ball joints? The inner rods are stock 1200. The outer tie rods and ball joints are from an '80 210.

What about the springs? I've read that if I cut the springs a coil the spring will get stiffer. How are you guys doing it? How many coils are yiu cutting? I will be using collar clamp to set the height.

How much should i take off of the spring perch? Obviously enough for the strut to go through. Here's a pic of how I've cut them so far. Which is best? I have a welder so I can fix them if I've messed it up.

[datsunfreak]

Those seats look real good in there. There's a guy locally that has tons of datsun parts. I'm going to check with him to see if he has a good set.

 

FYI you can get new upholstery from MSA for less than $300 a pair, and they are pretty good quality. Not too tough to install either. So if you find some rough ones, you can recover them and have like new seats on the cheap. 

 

A few questions: what's the torque specs for the inner and outer tie rods and the ball joints?

 

I don't think they really have a torque spec? If you're using the cotter pins, just get them as tight as you can with a ratchet and you'll be fine. 

 

 

 

How much should i take off of the spring perch? Obviously enough for the strut to go through. Here's a pic of how I've cut them so far. Which is best? I have a welder so I can fix them if I've messed it up.

 

Assume you're cutting the 1200 perch to fit inside the 280ZX perch? If so, you're fine. 

 

As long as you have at least an inch or so all the way around it will hold the spring. You can cut it down to just a giant donut, or leave it as is. You don't have to weld it in, but it is nice piece of mind.

 

Another way we've done it is to find a piece of pipe with an ID just bigger than the spring, cut a 1" tall slice out of it, and weld that in. 

[fivetenguy]

Thanks for the tips, DF. I'll call the guy tomorrow about the seats. I'll also torque the steering tomorrow.

So the spring perch on the right had enough meat? I'm going to use collar clamps to adjust the height.

Can I cut the springs about a coil and a half to firm up the suspension a bit? Any problems with that? Going to use some old tokico shocks I have laying around.

I have the struts ready to go. Should I use 1" bump steer spacers? I have a couple of sets.