Draker's 1972 1200 Sedan - "The Pickle"

[Draker]

5 hours ago, KELMO said:

55044-H5001 (OR H1001) QTY 8 FNT UPPER LEAF SPRING

55046-H1000 REAR UPPER QTY 4

55047-H1000 REAR LOWER QTY 4

 

I replaced these once on the grey coupe. It was in this century but I'm pretty sure the year started with a zero. Back then I was able to get 2 of the 3 parts OEM IIRC.

 

Thank you. I am thinking about placing an order from NZ for a few OEM parts so returns are not an option. So I'm trying to get it right he first time.

[datsunfreak]

On 5/30/2020 at 1:45 AM, Draker said:

I just dialed in the camber at -.3*. Wiki says -0.25* - 0 is the ideal range. That seems a bit light, so I bumped it down a little more.

 

Zero camber is only best suited to tire longevity.   😄

 

 

Edited June 11, 2020 by datsunfreak

[Draker]

 

I ordered this alternator a long time ago at the recommendation of datsunfreak. Since I’m kinda of at a transition phase of this project I’m starting to plan the 5 speed swap and work in the engine bay. 
 

I want to move the alternator to the top mount location. The lower mount is just a bit too crowded with the coolant hoses. I’m looking to swap to a divorced intake and exhaust manifold setup. Also lastly swapping in an electronic distributor.

 

new alternator and bracket seem like it will work great. Eventually I’ll swap out all the wiring harnesses. They are melted and jacked to bits. They work great.. but they gotta go.

[]2eDeYe]

That is a cute little guy

[Draker]

2 hours ago, ]2eDeYe said:

That is a cute little guy

 

and double the amperage of the stock alternator! 🙂

Edited June 20, 2020 by Draker

[Draker]

I took this out for another test drive today after adjusting the struts to the softest setting. The ride was better, but it’s still a bit too stiff for a daily. Could it work? Sure.. but softer would be preferable. I mentioned this before but I think I’ll buy some 125 and 150lb 10” springs and try them both. I’ll return the loser back to amazon.

 

also noticed the front hubs were getting a bit hot after the test drive. I followed the tightening procedure from the manual, so perhaps it’s normal. I’ve never noticed it on my 510. Or maybe it’s hot from the brakes. I didn’t do a ton of braking during the drive but I’ll keep an eye on it. 
 

work continues on the door panels. I got both door panels glued to new backing material. Today i cleaned them with SEM soap and then wiped them down. Tomorrow I’ll see if I can get some color on them. Pics and details to come. 
 

[Duncan]

On 6/18/2020 at 11:04 PM, Draker said:

 

Also lastly swapping in an electronic distributor.

 

 

I had a 1200 Coupe prior to the Sunny, and I installed a Pertronix unit.  I drove that thing daily for about 3 years and never had a problem with it.

 

Your sedan is looking good! 

[Draker]

I was able to get some color on the door panels. They are still drying so we'll see how they turn out. At the moment they are pretty glossy which I hope dries more of a mat finish.. more like the stock panels. Lets face it, the drivers side panel was in shit condition to start with, so anything is an improvement. The passenger side was actually decent, but still had a lot of defects. So this kicks off the transformation to a black interior. Long ways to go.

 

[Draker]

Those pics make it look patchy, but they are still wet in the photos. More pics after 24 hours.

[Draker]

 

Knocked out the clutch cover plate. I thought I had ordered all the 5 speed swap parts already.. but after searching high and low.. no clutch master/slave, hoses, bushings were found. And no clutch either... wtf. 
 

so I ordered everything except the clutch. Gonna try the one from the b310 I got the tranny from. It looks like it’s pretty low mile. If it sucks I’ll do the job twice I guess. Normally I would just do it.. but the tranny is like 50 lbs. easy stuff.

[Draker]

Anyone know if the manual pedal box is different then the auto box? Looks the same and only the pedals look different. I’m currently fighting to remove the auto pedal.

[KELMO]

From what I could find, it appears that they are. In the catalog I was able to find what was called a pedal bracket and only one choice for part # (46570-H1600).

The illustration was not one of the best I've ever seen. I looked this up for the Coupe and it is also the same part #.

[Duncan]

I did the rear cargo area panels in my wagon using the same stuff. (Along with the sop and prep)  They look very clean, but they're not "overly" shiny.  I'd say they came out as a light semi-gloss.  The photo of the one you did doesn't appear overly shiny to me, IMHO.

 

 

 

[Draker]

5 hours ago, Duncan said:

I did the rear cargo area panels in my wagon using the same stuff. (Along with the sop and prep)  They look very clean, but they're not "overly" shiny.  I'd say they came out as a light semi-gloss.  The photo of the one you did doesn't appear overly shiny to me, IMHO.

 

 

They look much better after letting them dry over night. I would agree with semi-gloss.

[Draker]

 

Got a new pedal.

 

 

Here's what the door panels look like in the sun. You can see they are still torn in a few spots and holes from being mounted with sheet metal screws. I could have tried to fix those, but I gotta draw the line somewhere. I'm not done with them yet, but this is how they look today. Also they aren't tacky at all. I thought they might be so I bought some tac-free.. just in case. I'll save it for another project I guess.

Edited June 22, 2020 by Draker

[Draker]

18 hours ago, Draker said:

 

Knocked out the clutch cover plate. I thought I had ordered all the 5 speed swap parts already.. but after searching high and low.. no clutch master/slave, hoses, bushings were found. And no clutch either... wtf. 
 

so I ordered everything except the clutch.

 

 

AND.... I found the parts. Get this.. they were IN THE CAR. I already put them in there in prep for the swap. I found them on the rear floor boards. I guess I have spares now?

 

I started to take a look at the seat belt situation in the car, and then boom, parts. 🤣

Edited June 22, 2020 by Draker

[thisismatt]

50 minutes ago, Draker said:

 

 

AND.... I found the parts. Get this.. they were IN THE CAR. I already put them in there in prep for the swap. I found them on the rear floor boards. I guess I have spares now?

 

I started to take a look at the seat belt situation in the car, and then boom, parts. 🤣

 

Naw man, that's just the new non-contact covid delivery.  Those are the parts you just ordered 😆

[Draker]

Starting to look into seat belts for the car. I have b210 dual retractor belts in there now. They are pretty annoying since the seats can't slide back without hitting them. I've got some belts from my beige 69 510 that seem like they would work pretty good(originally from a peugeot). I'll get new belts for the 510 that have the top mount extension.

 

I just tried test fitting the belts and they too get hit by the seat.. and they need 3 mount points. So I'd like to find a safe way to move the lower mount back about 5-6 inches,   illustrated below.

 

 

My thoughts were either a rivnut, or welding in a nut and large washer behind the marked location. Anyone seen this done?  I am not set on using these seat belts either.. if anyone has stumbled across a better seat belt solution, I'm all ears.

Edited June 22, 2020 by Draker

[Draker]

I guess going through the floor could be it easier option to achieve the same result.

 

[datzenmike]

On 6/19/2020 at 5:04 PM, Draker said:

 

and double the amperage of the stock alternator! 🙂

 

Sliding across the living room carpet and touching the door knob is twice the output of the stock alternator. Really like the alignment tools. I'm at 150 on my stock cut coils and find then very likeable firm, but it's a heavier car (710) With me in it, 1,300Kg or 2860 at the weigh station at the land fill. I would guess a heavier car would absorb the stiffness.

[Draker]

10 minutes ago, datzenmike said:

 

Sliding across the living room carpet and touching the door knob is twice the output of the stock alternator. Really like the alignment tools. I'm at 150 on my stock cut coils and find then very likeable firm, but it's a heavier car (710) With me in it, 1,300Kg or 2860 at the weigh station at the land fill. I would guess a heavier car would absorb the stiffness.

Thanks Mike!

[Draker]

On 6/21/2020 at 4:41 AM, KELMO said:

From what I could find, it appears that they are. In the catalog I was able to find what was called a pedal bracket and only one choice for part # (46570-H1600).

The illustration was not one of the best I've ever seen. I looked this up for the Coupe and it is also the same part #.

 

Confirmed this. I was able to just pop out the old auto brake pedal and insert the manual clutch and brake pedals. 

[Draker]

I was finally able to order the rubber from datsport today. I first emailed them at the beginning of April. You could imagine every datsun nut worldwide was sitting in their garage wrenching and ordering parts. I kept emailing them every two weeks to check in and I was able to get to the top of the list and place an order. I spoke with them over the phone and to compound the issue of being busy, they had a hard drive die on their main computer. So they are backed up quite a bit. He said he had 80 emails to respond to from just this morning. Yikes! They are really nice people though and have great customer service. I was starting to get a bit impatient, but I can understand.

 

I also placed an order for some parts rubber bits from New Zealand. The exchange rate is favorable in both cases, so it ends up being a cheaper even with shipping to get OEM parts from there.

 

 

[KELMO]

My order from them showed up over the weekend. Ordered in the beginning of May.

[datsunfreak]

On 6/21/2020 at 9:56 PM, Draker said:

I guess going through the floor could be it easier option to achieve the same result.

 

I'd probably go through the vertical bit on the rear bulkhead rather than the floor (a few inches back from where you're looking). That way the belt is not trying to pull itself through the floor, which it could easily do in a wreck.