"Zeke"- '72 510 2Dr

[Tedman]

With nearly 5000 miles behind the wheel of Zeke using a stock 510 seatbelt, it was time for an upgrade. I decided to go with a kit from Seatbelt Planet because it has the drop down shoulder harness (no more neck chafing!), and doesn't require any drilling/cutting or welding to create another mounting point in the chassis. 

https://www.seatbeltplanet.com/i-30499406-1968-1973-datsun-510-driver-passenger-seat-belt-kit.html

 

When I received the kit, I was a little surprised that the inboard lap belts were sheathed in semi-rigid plastic. This wasn't very clear to me from the pics on their website when I was ordering, but it was going to be a problem using the stock floor anchor points because it would require more bending and twisting of the belt than the plastic sheath would tolerate. Not sure what they were thinking here:

 

I decided to ditch the plastic sheaths so I popped the plastic buttons off and removed them. I was expecting a sewn button hole in the webbing but it looks like they just poked a hole through it. 🙁 Not really sure why they installed the buttons in the first place because it seems like the hole will compromise webbing strength. Must be plenty of strength margin built in, at least that's what I'm counting on. I reinstalled the buttons to cover the holes in the webbing.

 

I also purchased the recommended hardware kit but if you still have the factory hardware, you can just re-use that and save the expense. I did find the extra washers useful for spacing out the inertia reel to clear the outboard lap belt anchor loops. Here you can see a view straight down on the outboard sill anchor point with the lap belt anchor loop, washers and inertia reel installed on the passenger (right) side.

 

Other than that, the install was straightforward. Here's how they look installed:

 

 

 

One more issue- the inboard lap belt is too short. With my seats slid all the way back to give me enough leg room, the latch just barely makes it to the lower seat bolster. Over time the latch will no doubt eventually wear holes in the seat upholstery. I have since ordered the optional 6" extensions to solve this problem.

 

Here's how they fit with me in the seat:

 

 

FWIW, Seat Belt Planet also has a more modern style end release latch kit for the 510 with a cable style inboard lap belt.

https://www.seatbeltplanet.com/i-30499405-1968-1973-datsun-510-driver-passenger-seat-belt-kit.html

Personally, I like the more retro lift latch style and would rather have the latch on my hip than having to reach down over the edge of the seat to fasten.

 

Overall, the quality of the components, hardware, webbing, mechanism and operation is good. Once I get the lap belt extensions installed, I expect the fit to be perfect. And I'm convinced these new belts are safer than the 47 year old stock belts I was using. Knowing what I know now, I would order custom inner lap belts approx 6" longer and without the plastic sheaths.  

 

In other news, I also installed a pair of these unobtrusive billet cup holders from Lonely Driver. With the new inertia reel belts it will be super easy to reach down for my favorite mug on those long drives in Zeke.

 

 

[hobospyder]

I need some of them cup holders in my life

[WAGON JON]

This is a fantastic build!!!

[edekalil]

Very nice.

[Draker]

What kind of floor mats are those? They look nice.

[Tedman]

2 hours ago, Draker said:

What kind of floor mats are those? They look nice.

 

CocoMats from:

https://www.cocomats.com/coco/

I agree. They look good and are very well made. 

[DARIN 510]

On 3/27/2018 at 5:30 PM, Tedman said:

So I need to ditch the clear reinforced lower fuel filler hose because the gas is turning it to slippery goo. After doing some more research I found and ordered a 2 1/4" ID rubber fuel filler hose from Filler Neck Supply Co.

23976 Gates 2-1/4" Inch (SOFT WALL) Rubber Fuel Filler Hose

This hose should be more compliant and fuel resistant. Also, the OD is 2 5/8" instead of 2 3/4" so I should be able to use the factory hose clamps, though I also ordered a pair of T-nut clamps just in case. 

 

While I'm waiting for the filler hose to arrive, I decided to tackle the fabrication of a passenger side kick panel. I bought a 1/8" thick  2'x4' sheet of Masonite (aka hardboard) at Home Depot.  I used the driver side kick panel for a template and traced it out, then cut it out with a jig saw.  I used a hole saw to help make the cutout for the cowl drain tube. Here it is before and after painting.

 

 

And here it is installed, along with the package tray:

 

I have enough Masonite left to make a new spare tire cover, so that's on the to-do list now. 

 

Before I installed the kick panels, I was also able to fix the dome light door pin switches.  Neither was grounding due to crappy wire crimps at the switch end. It's been a LONG time since I had working dome light door pins in a 510, so I'm super stoked that the dome light is fully functional now!

What package tray is this from ?

[Tedman]

1 hour ago, DARIN 510 said:

What package tray is this from ?

 

It was a factory option for the 510, p/n 96800-A5400:

http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/bluebird-1968-1973/body-(sedan)/instrument-panel/86#2

 

 

 

[DARIN 510]

Yah I saw that on carparts but I thought the number was only for rhd. Cool thanks 

[Tedman]

Haven't posted much about Zeke lately, so thought I'd give a brief update. Zeke has racked up nearly 6000 trouble free miles since "completion", including a road trip from SoCal to Monterey for the 2018 Historics, the Targa California rally in 2019 and the SoCal TT rallies in 2018 and 2019. Fuel mileage has ranged from a low of 17 to a high of 23 mpg, with an average of 20 mpg. Not bad for a cammed L20b with dual Mikuni 44s! The speedo just rolled over 10,000 miles recently:

 

 

 

Such a fun car to drive! Not as quick as my SR 510, but still plenty quick, and that dual Mikuni growl is always music to my ears!  Here's a brief in-car vid clip of Zeke in action:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ZPJ2BgmVWBKEXnPRgpJB67Y564lBoobY

 

Enjoy the ride!

 

[mrbigtanker]

Very nice I love your car.

[thisismatt]

East Camino Cielo.  Did you go up or down Gibralter, too?  Fun drive (no so much for passengers).

[4perrev]

Kick panels turned out great.  It brings me back to the day I made some for the 521 w/speakers.  Love fabricating new/old stuff.  Best part is....you made it yourself!!  Again, sweet ride buddy!

[Tedman]

Had to try out my Watanabes on Zeke.  15x7 +21 offset with 205/50s. This is the set I normally run on my SR car and I've been meaning to try them on Zeke forever, but first I had to modify the rear sway bar because it interferes with the inner tires. Now the wheels fit great! Here's Zeke in my driveway, ready to head out for a 510 day run up to Angeles Crest. The neighbor's yard makes a nice backdrop.

 

 

Pit stop off Big Tujunga Canyon. It was a beautiful day in the San Gabriel mountains. 

 

Here's the problem I had with the sway bar interference. The kick out in the bar that goes around the spring perch touches the tire on both sides:

 

Nothing a little heat and muscle can't fix!  First I used the chain and turnbuckle to pull the arms in where I wanted them and then made a hoaky jig to test fit while bending:

 

Heating the corner bend with a MAP torch so I could bend it:

 

Here's the torch kit I used. I bought an extra canister, but didn't need it. This is the TS4000 High Heat torch. There's also a TS8000 which is supposed to be an even higher heat torch with a regulator knob. It probably would have saved some heating time, but I decided against spending the extra money for the TS8000.  Besides, time is something I've got plenty of right now...

 

It started glowing red hot after about 15-20 minutes with the torch. Heating the outside of the bend seemed to focus the heat best. First I would heat the inside for about 10 mins, then bring it to what you see here by heating the outside of the bend. Cherry red and ready to bend!:

 

By turning the bar end-on and placing it against the floor and leaning on the other end with all of my weight I was ultimately able to bend each arm inward by about 3/4". I could only get about 1/8"-1/4" per bend attempt before having to reheat. Hey, I'm a skinny guy. Fortunately, once hot, the reheats only took a few minutes. When finished bending, I let it air cool over night.

 

The next day, after touching up the with some flat black Rustoleum, a test fit showed plenty of clearance to the wheel/tire on each side. Mission accomplished! I did have to juggle endlink spacers at the heim joints to get the endlinks back to vertical. You can see in the photos below that they were now canted inward at the bottom. I put 120 miles on the car today and it works great!

 

[carterb]

On 11/22/2019 at 10:57 PM, Tedman said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for all the info Ted.  I have been installing www.retrobelt.com kits in my cars but wanted to do a drop down shoulder on the next one.

[paul97]

On 10/6/2017 at 9:57 PM, Tedman said:

So here it is a week later and Zeke's cylinder head is still sitting on my work bench. What happened? The short answer is that I changed my mind and decided to try and optimize the cam wipe pattern on the rockers after all. I was able to borrow a selection of shorter lash pads from a buddy (thanks Seth!), and determined that I needed five 0.160" pads and three .170" pads to center or slightly bias the wipe patterns towards the pivot ends on all eight rockers. L-series lash pads are in short supply these days, in case you haven't noticed. Fortunately I was able to source the needed sizes from Top End. 

 

In the above process it became apparent that my valve spring retainers were too tall.  Even with the 0.180" lash pads I had been running they were sitting ~0.060" below the rim of the lash pad cup in the retainer. It's a wonder none of them made contact with the rocker arm underside! With the shorter lash pads, this was going to become a problem, so off to TSR I went to have the retainer cups shortened by 0.080". Mario chucked up and machined the first retainer in his lathe while I observed, and then with a few pointers, he let me machine the rest. So now I'm and apprentice machinist!  Here's the retainers after machining the lash pad cups.

 

And here's a 0.160" lash pad installed on a machined retainer sitting on the valve stem at installed height with the keepers in place. You can see that the contact surface sits slightly above the cup rim negating any possibility of retainer/rocker interference.

 

Yesterday I re-installed all of the valve springs with the modified retainers. Today I received the new shorter lash pads, so this weekend I can finally finish the cylinder head assembly, install the head, and proceed with final engine assembly. By this time next week... 

 

In other news, I drilled six holes in the tranny tunnel and installed the S110 200SX closeout plate. I sealed it with some generic weather stripping on the underside. That's an S110 inner shift boot. Looks pretty slick! 

Do you know where can I get one of those plates and boots?

[Tedman]

2 hours ago, paul97 said:

Do you know where can I get one of those plates and boots?

 

Unfortunately, I do not. I got this one from a wrecked 2nd gen (S110) Datsun 200SX a long time ago, and then I bought a new boot from the Nissan dealer. Those cars are rarely found in the junkyards anymore, so it will be tough to find one unless you can find someone parting one out. It wouldn't be too hard to make your own from sheet metal and cut the hole to fit a shift boot that's readily available. Good luck!

[paul97]

Thanks for the info. I ended up ordering one from a MGB.

[Tedman]

Last time I took Zeke out for a spin I noticed a rattling noise under the hood upon engine cold startup and warmup. Went to get gas and after filling up, there was a new whirring noise coming from under the hood. Further investigation revealed that both noises were coming from the vicinity of the alternator.  Reaching down and tugging on the alternator I found it to be slightly loose. Hmmm. With the car back in the garage, I removed the alternator and found the problem. My trick alternator mount tricked me!

 

Here's my mount, one that I had pulled off some long forgotten L-series equipped Nissan in the JY many moons ago and modified by drilling out the bolt threads to fit a single long M10 bolt. The idea was that the long bolt was less likely to shear than the pair of short bolts normally used. 

 

 

 

What I had failed to take into account is that the rear most alternator ear (left in pic) was not being clamped and therefore relied on a close fit to the bolt shank to keep from vibrating. Without a steel insert in the ear, the engine vibration eventually pounded the aluminum through hole slightly oblong, which caused the rattle I was hearing. The whirring sound was the fan belt due to slight misalignment of the alternator from the oblong ear hole.

 

Fortunately, I had on hand the more common later L-series alternator mount which accepts the larger clamping bolts (M10 vs. the stock L16 one which I think are M8?), and installing that mount (like the one pictured below) solved both problems!

 

 

[Tedman]

You know your project car is pretty much done when you start posting about installing trivial stuff like a glove box or trunk light! But my other 510 has these mods and I missed having them on Zeke, so here we go. 

 

Amongst the boxes of parts that came with Zeke, I found this combo pin switch/lamp. It may have come from a 240Z or some other Datsun. After testing and cleaning some of the rust off, I started making a simple bracket to fit in the upper left corner of the glovebox.

 

Below you can see it installed. My '72 glovebox already had two small unused screws in the upper left corner, so I removed and used those to attach the L-bracket to the top of the glovebox where there's already a slot for wires to pass through. I believe a factory glovebox lamp assy mounted here on some non-USA deluxe 510s which would explain the existing screws, wire slot, and rectangular recess in the plastic.

 

 

 

 

Since my switch assembly only had one wire (for power- grounding though the body of pin switch and mounting bracket completes the circuit), I had to add a ground wire from one of my bracket attachment screws to the metal dash frame.

 

No more fishing around for stuff in the glovebox at night!

 

 

Edited August 22, 2020 by Tedman

[Tedman]

I you've ever done any overnight trips in your 510, or just needed to find something in your trunk at night, you know how dark it is in there without using one hand to hold a flashlight or your phone. My other 510 came to me in 1984 with a trunk lamp actuated by a mercury tilt switch installed by the original owner. Since none of my previous 510s had a trunk lamp, I quickly learned to appreciate this feature. And I checked- mercury tilt switches are no longer available, probably due to EPA restrictions.

 

So, I used what I had on hand-  a lamp assembly from the S15 wiring loom left over from the SR20DE conversion in my other 510, and an old school car alarm pin switch.

 

Here's the pin switch mounted in a sheetmetal bracket I made which attaches to two of the three trunk latch screws. A length of plastic corrugated tubing protects the constant hot power wire. I also installed a 4A fuse on this wire for good measure. 

 

I mounted another simple bracket to the left bolt for the fuel vapor separator. There's not a lot of places to attach a lamp bracket in the trunk without drilling holes!

 

 

It actually does a pretty good job of illumination even though the trunk is somewhat shadowed on the right side. Works for me! 

 

Gratuitous roadside pic:

Edited August 22, 2020 by Tedman

[carterb]

Awesome idea Ted

And an awesome car to boot!

 

(boot, get it?  as in UK reference to the trunk)

 

--carter

[Tedman]

The latest on Zeke:

Around page 9 of this build thread I posted about attempting to rebuild a half-shaft (for the fun of it at the time) and being stymied removing the u-joints. Fast forward a couple of years (how time flies!) and I had found a worn outer u-joint on the right rear half-shaft on Zeke. It was time to learn once and for all how to replace a u-joint since I was fresh out of good used half-shafts. Thanks to Bananahammock for schooling me on how to remove the bearing cups back on page 9. His technique worked great, and I was able to successfully R&R the u-joint.

 

Pic of the replacement u-joint with grease fitting:

 

Here's the half-shaft with the new u-joint installed. 

 

 

Edited January 10, 2021 by Tedman

[carterb]

Way to go Ted!

[Tedman]

So, bolstered by my success replacing the u-joint, I decided to rebuild my best spare half-shaft, as a spare.  The disassembled half shaft:

 

I managed to get it put back together with fresh grease (heating the "tube" part helped a lot!). The factory boot was in great shape, so  saved my new one for a more worthy rebuild. Here's the partially reassembled shaft with the boot band clamp tool I "thought" would work with the new OE Nissan band clamps:

 

Turns out the OE Nissan band clamps don't have enough excess length for this tool to work. Crap!

 

Not quite sure what to do now. Suggestions?