FricFrac Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 Or so says my mechanic friend as we wrench on my 4dr project passed on by 510Freak :) So begins the journey of yet another Datsun 510 4dr from 1972..... Quote Link to comment
FricFrac Posted April 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 Some pics of the car before I picked it up.... 1 Quote Link to comment
FricFrac Posted April 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 So when I picked the 510 up we were able to get it started by jumping out the starter. Threw it on the tow truck and took it back to my friends shop to figure out whats going with the starter.... for starts... literally... Typical mystery wiring going on. Not getting +12V from the ignition switch to the starter. Knowing the issues with the stock ignition switch after 40+ years on the old Datsuns instead of troubleshooting I grabbed an ignition switch from a 280ZX parts car and threw it in. One of my 280ZX mystery intermittent problems ended up being a duff switch after a year and a half of being out of service.... so frustrating but for the 510 it was a quick fix. 3 Quote Link to comment
flatcat19 Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 I predict a WTB ad for a 510 clutch pedal box in your future. 1 Quote Link to comment
FricFrac Posted April 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 Already have one in my 2 dr parts car with a 5sp :) 1 Quote Link to comment
KoHeartsGPA Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 I like that green, why rattlecan primer on it? Rust cover up? Quote Link to comment
flatcat19 Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 Already have one in my 2 dr parts car with a 5sp :) You gonna swap them back and forth when you want to drive the 4 dr? Quote Link to comment
FricFrac Posted April 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 Previous previous owner had it in primer. That's coming off to see what's underneath and get sealed properly. 1 Quote Link to comment
FricFrac Posted April 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 So for the KA24DE with the Suzuki 750 ITBS here is some of the progress. I'm tempted to put this into the 510 instead.... The original Patient: The modded intake and mounts: With the runners cut and the new thicker flange welded on there is material to match the GSXR ITBs and the KA24DE runners.... close but not quite so we make it work.... 1 Quote Link to comment
KoHeartsGPA Posted April 23, 2016 Report Share Posted April 23, 2016 That 620 is beautiful :thumbup: Quote Link to comment
FricFrac Posted April 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2016 That 620 is beautiful :thumbup: Thanks - I have a powerful love of Datsuns :) 1 Quote Link to comment
FricFrac Posted April 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2016 So once we have a car that can start next on the list is to make sure it can stop. Stop moving that is. The drums are locked on so its time to take them apart and see what's going on and do a little maintainance. The pads need to be adjusted so we take the adjusters out and clean them up and adjust the brakes - much better! Take it out for a test drive and it runs like a bag of hammers but we can get up to speed to jab the brakes a few times. Turn around at the cul de sac, stall and restart. Manual choke is almost unusable so add that to the list. Brakes work but the wheel cylinders are sticky so time to call around and see if I can get some wheel cylinders locally. I'm devastated by the ridiculously high price of parts for this car and I'm just getting started.... bye bye engine swap budget its all going on brake repairs. I pick up the $16 a pair wheel cylinders and wonder if I should have ordered in the almost free ones from Rock Auto for $7.80 a pair plus $11 shipping. I'm so pleased with my almost free brake parts that I leave the parts store without grabbing a bottle of brake fluid and head over to Gord's shop to do the brakes. Oh well it gets done the next day and instead I install a new choke cable to make use of my time. Rear brakes done... for now... Quote Link to comment
cleverusername Posted April 23, 2016 Report Share Posted April 23, 2016 I got brake cylinders for my old 510 for like $13 each from VatoZone. Quote Link to comment
FricFrac Posted April 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2016 Time to get this thing running properly. I don't really know what I'm doing so I bring in my expert who has been into 510's since she was one fender high. Photo courtesy of the Byron 510 Photo Archives. She's not afraid to swap in a new KA24DE into her 1993 240SX.... or should I say newly siezed engine - oh well make that two engine swaps into the 240SX :) I knew I had the right crew assembled to take this tune up task on... I had a 1981 1/2 280ZXT that she wanted to make into a driver. Typical Datsun - not to bad right? When we put it up on the hoist we could see the wiring harness in the rusted out gap between the floor boards and rockers so a part out it is. Nothing wasted here... I parted the car out and refurbished the wheels for her :) anyhow...back to the job at hand.... speaking of one fender high apparently we are suppose to screw the fenders to the car says the expert. So one of the main problems is that when the car is running and you turn the lights on it stalls. Not a good combo. It also likes to stall at the lights and stop signs unless you give it some choke and put it in neutral which makes driving the car not quite as enjoyable as I know it can be. It seems like its a spark issue and I suspect the voltage is dropping and the coil isn't reaching a high enough voltage for a strong spark. That is the perfect excuse to start going through the electrical. Something most people don't like doing but since I'm and Electronics guy its right up my ally. New battery terminals and cables and fix the ground points on the car. Car hesitates and stumbles through with the lights turned on - getting better. The headlights look a lot better too - getting somewhere. Pull the fuse block which gets cleaned and refurbished with new connectors, etc. Fuseable links get replaced with ANL fuses and replace connectors. Car runs and stalls less... something else is a problem here. Car has a matchbox dizzy - that gets rewired with weather proof heat shrink and solder instead of the butt splice connectors - ew. Also has an MSD coil... and a ballast resistor... still connected.... so yea my 12V coil is running at 6V. When the lights were turned on it was probably dropping to 5V and all the improvements was bringing up the voltage fractionally. Jumpered the resistor out and we have a fully functioning ignition system. Now I can drive at night with the car in gear at the lights - yay :) Looks like the plug wire, cap and rotor have been changed recently. The Bosch plugs get pulled and look decent so they go into the garbage can and a set of NGKs goes back in. Pull the valve cover for a valve lash adjustment. Before valve adjustment: After valve adjustment: (note: this smart alec forgot to take the after picture so yes its the same picture....) Oil flush and change and we're up and running :) 2 Quote Link to comment
FricFrac Posted May 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2016 So next on the hit list - make the car smell less like gas and more like fresh air. Car was a little stinky then I filled the tank and discovered that the filler neck is leaking. I read up on quite a few different solutions including the 280ZX filler which I have a parts car sitting in my yard with the filler in place.... for now and the car is almost parted out (to the delight of my wife). I decided to get a couple of pieces of 4" heat shrink with the meltable inner jacket to seal it up so I can drive the car around without hallucinating until I can get the filler neck fabbed up and installed. I took the stock clamps off because I figured the large screws would be a bit of a pain to deal with and replaced them with standard hose clamps. As I took the pipe off the filler neck I realized it was torn all the way through and getting the heat shrink up there would be nearly impossible. If the whole thing wasn't sealed then it wasn't going to work. I figured I'd just tape it up with some electrical tape. I knew it was going to rot away but I just wanted a week or so of relief from the fumes till I could fab up the 280ZX system. Then I thought instead of electrical tape why not use some self vulcanizing tape instead. I started wrapping it up and I was thinking well now it's not vinyl and it doesn't have glue in it so maybe it will last longer. Actually its rubber.... and the neck is rubber.... maybe this will work out as a more permanat fix... only time will tell but after a week of driving it around and another partial fill up there isn't a drop to be seen. We'll see how it holds up but I know its better than my original temporary fix. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted May 7, 2016 Report Share Posted May 7, 2016 Real rubber is dissolved by gas, so the gas neck and all hoses are likely some kind of synthetic. Stalling at the lights is generally poor engine vacuum, very noticeable in an automatic that is in gear and under load at idle. Good valve clearance, and ignition timing usually fixes. Helps if there are no cracked vacuum hoses like the little one to the automatic transmission modulator valve and the stock air filter ATC. Adjusting the idle mixture can now be done to further strengthen the idle. The thermostat by-pass hose (beside the distributor) in this picture may be kinked. If it is the thermostat will be slow to open during warm up. Gauge will read low but rad hoses will get hard from the pressure. Once warmed up it will stabilize but it's actually over heating inside the engine. You can soak the fuse box overnight in a solution of vinegar. I added lemon juice and salt. Corrosion comes right off. Give a good rinse and dry. Quote Link to comment
FricFrac Posted May 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2016 Good pointer on the heater hose - add that to the to-do list. The gauge reads low all the time... as in it doesn't work :) I have a pile of gauges to go through as well as a couple of stock tachs I'd like to hook up (if they even work). I got a month out of the self vulcanizing tape - long enough to get my new filler neck from new-datsun-parts and to keep me from hallucinating while I drove around :) Just came in the mail so that's on today's to-do list as well. Already did the major electrical including the fuse block and several connector upgrades. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted May 7, 2016 Report Share Posted May 7, 2016 Constant low reading is likely that the thermostat is stuck open. (and another reason why it has a poor idle) Take the sender wire off and have your beautiful assistant hold it against the housing to ground it while you turn the ignition on. What you should see is the gauge slowly climb to full scale hot. This proves the gauge is working fine. This was in my '74 710. Likely the stock thermostat as it only has 23K miles on it. The rubber seal was all wavy and holding it open. Gauge would almost reach the bottom of the normal run range. If you drove it harder it would go up but slightly. Put in a 185F and it ran even better. Quote Link to comment
FricFrac Posted May 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2016 Thermostat is fine. I metered out the temp sender and it had failed open. Replaced and swapped the gauge cluster with the tach at the same time and it's up and running. Opens fairly quickly so we are all good there. Fuel gauge doesn't work so that's next on the gauge list. Lost my high beam indicator as well with the gauge swap. I'll look at that when I start messing with the tach. Time to start hacking some 280ZX struts up :) Quote Link to comment
FricFrac Posted May 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 I pulled the wiper linkage to refurbish it. The cowling was getting some surface rust - not really anything flaking but it needed to be dealt with. Normally I would use POR-15 but I came across the KBS rust stop system and after some research it seems to be comparable unlike some of the other systems out there which don't seem to compare to the finished product with POR-15. KBS is significantly cheaper as well. They also carry Rust Blast which is a Zinc Phosphate coating which is a great way to prevent corrosion. We have some great products for the hobbyist to work on their vehicles now. I picked up the KBS sampler pack which is a very inexpensive way to try out their products. The cowl is a real pain to work on so I use a sponge rather than a brush and long gloves then reach up inside the back of the cowl space and in all the nooks and crannys. The finish is very tough - almost like powder coating. It's a urethane high solid content paint and needs to be thourougly stirred to get the solids back into solution. Seems to be very similar to POR-15 in the finish. Happy with the results. It was a messy pain but its done and I feel a lot better about the cowl now :) 3 Quote Link to comment
FricFrac Posted May 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 Life is never dull although I wouldn't mind some dull sometime.... Water main sprung a leak somewhere. Spent the whole day with the excavator ($$$) trying to find the leak. We found leeit not far from here. Broken T. If I had of known where the leak was it was just a shovel away but that's not how it works :( The dizzy in the car was the stock points one with the upgraded Pertronix module. Well the module failed so I hunted down a 1979 Datsun 510 matchbox dizzy from Rock Auto and ordered that in. Of course its not the same orientation so its drop the oil pump and clock the spindle to the right spot. My friend Gord gave me a good tip for finding TDC quickly. Pull the #1 plug and bump it with the remote starter with your thumb over the spark plug hole and when you feel the air push you are at TDC. Check the piston with the pencil and you are golden - too easy :) Another good pointer on this job - vice grips to hold the spindle up. For icing on the cake the 510 is super easy to pull the pump - just snap off the seized bolts for the air deflector pan and the pump is right there. On the Z car we have to drop the sway bar, etc to do the same job. http://www.zdriver.com/forums/280zx-s130-forums-77/turbo-distributor-swap-guide-how-fix-maxed-out-timing-40948/ After a couple of adjustments its good to go. Set the timing to 11 deg advance and she seems happy there. Matchbox dizzy works great! Each little tweek has the car running better each go. I'm lovin this 510 :) 2 Quote Link to comment
kerleybird Posted May 12, 2016 Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 Keep up the good work! Progress is progress! 1 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted May 12, 2016 Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 Fix that kinked by-pass hose and make sure you plug in the temp gauge wire. The matchbox.... you got the coil to go with it? If not, you are not taking full advantage of the 'hotter' spark. Any '78 and up coil will do, and you can get rid of the ballast resistor. 1 Quote Link to comment
FricFrac Posted May 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2016 The bypass hose isn't kinked. It might be 80% or its normal straight diameter. Running an MSD blaster coil - works great :) 1 Quote Link to comment
soundboi Posted May 17, 2016 Report Share Posted May 17, 2016 looks like your making a step in the right direction. I noticed alot of electrical gremlins in my car also, swapped to a bigger alt (80 to 100amps) 0awg directly to battery pole and two additional grounds, works excellent now. also upgraded starter wire too, grounded dizzy base too 1 Quote Link to comment
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