Just another (LOOK AT ME!!!) 69 DIME build thread.

[510revisited]

Ok. Post apocalyptic update. I finally installed the in tank fuel pump, with home made baffle. The car fired right up from its four month slumber. Ran a little rough, but hey, it started. Got it warmed up, and took it out. Ran great. Tooled around town, and no problems. About 20 miles or so in to tooling around, and i decided lets go hit some ups and downs, and twisties.. not the best idea. I noticed when i turn left it tries to die. My theory is i cut a small relief in the homemade baffling to clear a factory indent in the bottom of the tank. I think its enough of hole to allow fuel to rush out of the baffling. Im at a loss here. Reaching out to anyone who can help. This is my second electric pump, first in tank. I like the sniper system, but am getting frustrated.. i believe the issue is the pump/tank setup.  Ive already hacked up the tank enough that i may just have to go with a replacement, or custom... 

[slowlearner]

If you have plenty of fuel in the tank, a small relief wouldn't starve it on LH turns. I'd be checking your tacho wire or earth points. I had a similar issue some years back on another car. Tach wire moved and grounded out on LH turns. On another car, the earthing post was loose enough that certain turns compromised the earth and it did weird things.

[510revisited]

2 minutes ago, slowlearner said:

If you have plenty of fuel in the tank, a small relief wouldn't starve it on LH turns. I'd be checking your tacho wire or earth points. I had a similar issue some years back on another car. Tach wire moved and grounded out on LH turns. On another car, the earthing post was loose enough that certain turns compromised the earth and it did weird things.

I just filled it up, and ran it around a hard left corner. Ran fine. I did notice my oil light coming on and off. My oil pressure sending unit is removed for an oil pressure guage. I noticed the wire was touching the body.. i doubt it was that, but.... you make sense... maybe it was that..

[slowlearner]

Its probably not the oil light wire, but it could be something like that related. Check your wiring in other spots. 🙂

 

Hang on! That's not right. Connect your oil sender! 😱 Seriously, oil lights are pretty important. 

 

 

 

 

[510revisited]

1 hour ago, slowlearner said:

Its probably not the oil light wire, but it could be something like that related. Check your wiring in other spots. 🙂

 

Hang on! That's not right. Connect your oil sender! 😱 Seriously, oil lights are pretty important. 

 

 

 

 

I have an oil pressure gauge mounted in the typical spot under the ashtray. I plan to put the sender back in so i can have both guage and light. I looked over all the wiring. Didnt find anything wrong. Took her for a nice back roads, canyon carving drive. About 50 or so miles (no speedo cable) and didnt have ONE issue. Now, granted when i had issues earlier i was at a 1/4 tank (failed to mention originally) and this time never dropped below 1/2. So idk. Maybe it was that wire. Maybe not...

[510revisited]

Well, here it is. The day has arrived where i believe i can actually cruise into work with some style, and grace.. as mentioned above i just got back from a spirited, canyon carving, freeway cruising 50 ish mile trip. Had no issues. Minus it needs better seats, its too bouncy in the front STILL, needs better leverage on the throttle linkage (real stiff pedal, common complaint with holley)

And an alignment. Oh and an exhaust.. oh oh, and a 5 speed. All in due time. Im happy with the performance of the efi ystem, so far. What i get a kick out of the most, is how it fires right up, and does not diesel when shut off. It has some issues, but i believe them to be exhaust leak related. Again in due time. Now its off to bed dreaming of datsuns!! Or maybe just leave way early for work! Thanks for all the help.

[slowlearner]

That's awesome. Congratulations! With EFI, it's ready for some BOOST now. 🙂 

 

I'm super tempted to using a stock manifold on mine for EFI. 

 

P.s. have you got the front badge that came on 69's?

[510revisited]

Boost is the nnext plan. Only after all the kinks are worked out. Im thinking a supercharger 

[Doobie]

Hey I’m the guy with the 620 you commented on my thread,Where did you get your throttle cable set up from 

[510revisited]

1 hour ago, Doobie said:

Hey I’m the guy with the 620 you commented on my thread,Where did you get your throttle cable set up from 

Its a lokar diy. Summit racing has them

[510revisited]

2 steps forward, one back. Took it to an exhaust shop to get a quote and the guy was an arse. Didnt want to do it the way i want it. To top it off, as i was backing out to leave i felt a strange pop on my brake pedal then the brakes got super soft. So obviously i have abandoned the exhaust, and am now focusing on the brakes. New master, 3/4, zx fronts, and for ease of finding modern parts im thinking of swapping to disc in back. Im not planning to have a lot of power in this car, though i am toying with supercharging it. I do plan to maybe return the master for a 13 or 15/16, as ive been doing my reading.. im also swapping springs from 200 lbs to 125 all the way around. Waiting on summit for that one. Im taking apart all the zx struts today to prep them for all the new stuff. Will get pics later...

[banzai510(hainz)]

If not a lot of power in car why swap the rear brakes 89% of stopping is in the front.

the ralley cars in Africa still ran drums and were fine with a lot more powe

 

Hard to say when you backed out but I would look at the rear and put new shoes on there as they are cheap.rockauto and parts geek.i would look at maybe it slipped the slot for the wheel cylinder or the adjuster

[510revisited]

Im only swapping for ease of finding the parts. Maybe im wrong. Not for performance. I understand that its not that much performance difference. Im gonna be in the rear anyway to do bushings, bearings, and such. So i figured id swap them then. If all the consumable parts are available im not opposed to using drums. As for the pop, im gonna just redo it all, in the front for sure. The fluid is super black. I just want better brake performance in the front. Its gonna get all new everything. I dont know how old stuff is, who did what last, blah blah blah. In all honesty i haven't even taken the drums off to look. Of course id make the decision then..

[510revisited]

Well, i guess this would explain the pop. Found all this when i pulled the driver drum. The spring on the bottom that holds both shoes had both hooks broken. And the spring on the bottom of the rear pad that holds it to the backing plate is completely missing. Both pads are pretty worn, so i may just rebuild them. Im still on the fence about swapping to discs. Pulled the passenger side. It appeared fine. Worn too, but nothing wrong.. 

 

[banzai510(hainz)]

I haven't changed my rear brakes on my 510 in like 20yrs.

 

I forgot about those hats the hold the shoe up against the wall , good catch.

 

On my 521 the lower adjuster was sliding around causeing my brakes to over heat, think the wheel cylinder was stuck or something. the adjuster would move and jam up. Also the pedal would act weird.

 

 

on 510 clean that 7mm square adjuster threads up top  back it out then put new shoes on. Buy a spare also as they are cheap.  and spring set while they still sell them

[510revisited]

Well, looks like i will be stuck with a new pair for the next 20 myself. I ordered all new shoes, and springs. I will most likely take your advice banzai and buy an extra set of parts while they are still available. However that in my eyes is a good enough reason alone to do the disc swap. In all honesty though, i was amazed that all the parts i needed (before i jump in and destroy everything) are still available. 

 

[banzai510(hainz)]

i HAVE EXTRA PARTS BUT HAVENT USED THEM EITHER.

I like to get a set of drums but Im out of room.

seems to me I have more 521 stuff now as a daily drive that and actually use those parts. The 510 I don't need the parts cause I don't drive it anymore. I don't like daily driving a really low car(my 510) with 5 speed, Roadster clutch and high Gear ratio(3.70). takes more work to drive during the daily traffic.  the 521 im in 3rd gear by 25mph and ez clutch and old 4 speed slips into the gear w/o using the clutch on the upshift.  stock tires ez to turn steering wheel ect….  

 

 

[510revisited]

Ok, in preparation of the new brakes ive started to take apart and clean up my 280zx struts and hubs. I noticed on the hubs, i believe where the bearing seal sets in the "lip" around the hole is ever so slighlty bent. I will assume it was me cause in hindsight, one im an ass and didn't think, two i did it on a metal work bench without a softener between bench and part. Im tempted to tap it back into round, but just wanted some input. Im worried it will leak, obviously. Any and all is appreciated. 

Edited May 2, 2020 by 510revisited

[grannyknot]

Damn, don't you just hate it when you are the cause of the screw up?  I did that to one of my hubs and it still worked fine,  I lightly tapped the top ring back to roughly round, installed the bearing then cleaned the area for the seal with solvent and installed the seal with some gasket sealer wiped around the outside of the seal.  That way no sealant gets pushed into the hub and you get a lip of the excess sealant sitting right where you need it to fill up any gaps that are out of round.

[510revisited]

2 minutes ago, grannyknot said:

Damn, don't you just hate it when you are the cause of the screw up?  I did that to one of my hubs and it still worked fine,  I lightly tapped the top ring back to roughly round, installed the bearing then cleaned the area for the seal with solvent and installed the seal with some gasket sealer wiped around the outside of the seal.  That way no sealant gets pushed into the hub and you get a lip of the excess sealant sitting right where you need it to fill up any gaps that are out of round.

Lessons learned right. I thought about doing the exact same. Reshape, clean, install, sealant of some sort.. thanks for the feed back.

Edited May 2, 2020 by 510revisited

[510revisited]

In the process of painting all the parts for the 280zx brake swap. Heres a before, after, and painted shot. Got the races installed, and the new rotors to hubs. Im debating painting the discs (obviously not where the pads go) but haven't decided yet. The car will be parked on the coast occasionally in the ca bay area. So maybe i will. But heres some pics...

[510revisited]

OMG mary joseph of nazareth, praise allah, holy moses!!! What a fucking difference actually having back brakes makes. I installed all new shoes, and springs and holy shit it made a big difference. Now, ill say this. When they wear out (probably when im 80) im swapping to discs. But in all honesty after i figured out some tricks i did the second side way quicker. All done in a mornings work..

Old

New

[510revisited]

Just a small update. Ive been taking her out on longer and longer cruises everytime. Day time, and nite. Seems to cope with the nor cal summer heat pretty well. Cruising i really never see above 180. At a stand stil she will rise to 200 or so, but i only have the fan on the motor. No electric fan. The sniper has provisions to run 3 separate fans, all triggered to come on at a certain temp. Im contemplating running one, as i have one that works... we'll see.

The sniper is doing pretty good. Has a few quirks. One of which i was able to tune out with the software, which gave be a good boost of confidence. The car would go super lean on deceleration and backfire a lot through the tail pipe. And when i would come to an abrupt stop it would try and die due to the lean deceleration. Almost as if the computer was half a step behind. I made the adjustment and now she doesnt pop and snarl downhill. And doesnt almost stall at a stop. 2 birds, one stone you could say.

I still suspect i have an exhaust leak which is probably the real culpret for the lean deceleration condition. I plan to do the exhaust in a few weeks. So i will be able to find out if i have a leak or not. Either way, it will allow me to drop in my 5 speed as well. I still need to replace all the front brakes with the 280zx swap. Have everything, just too damn hot for me. Speaking of brakes, my rears are making noises again. Just slightly on the passenger side i believe. Under braking. I replaced all pads, and springs. Did not turn the drums (i know, go ahead and say it), did not replace the wheel cylinder, or adjuster. Both, or rether all 4, seemed to be in good shape. 

Im happy with the sniper. Kind of. I can say this, SO FAR, with around an oil changes worth of driving with it, i never felt like it would strand me. It has always started. Sometimes a bit harder than normal, but from a cold start, 99 percent first try. Now im trying to stay positive. Again, i suspect an exhaust leak which even holley says can be a big issue. I should have done my homework more, and measured the height of the throttle body. With the setup as is, i cant run my hood. I had switched to a smaller filter setup, but that also interfered with the hood. I have a few ideas, which may work. Thinner adapter for the tb to intake, and maybe shave some lip off the aircleaner. Or custom adapt the old cleaner to the tb...

Again, i plan to wait for a complete review once i know my exhaust is good. Oh, and my brakes too. I wont lie, ive had doubts, and have been exploring different routes. I do like the jenvey heritage dcoe. Would allow me to put my hood on. Would look more period correct and still be efi. Would have to buy a cpu seperate though. Good thing is the car is already setup for an efi fuel system...only time will tell... 

 

[510revisited]

Started the brake swap officially yesterday. Drained all the fluid, and removed the master cylinder yesterday. All is well that ends well. And thats where it stayed. Got into it today, and managed to remove my front passenger strut. Went to swap all the coilover stuff onto the 280zx strut and some how pressed my strut bearing in upside down, and installed the left strut onto the right side EVEN after double checking. Time to step back, cool down, and go at it again later. I know its been discussed by me and others, but i decided all left marked parts will go on the left side. Im running bumpsteer spacers. Arghh... it was going SO WELL! Any ways here are some pics..

Shortened 510 strut. 

Destroyed new bearing trying to remove it. New one is on order

Rear t3 coilover. Spring weight changed fromm 200 to 125. All four corners will be seat at 125..

Edited July 28, 2020 by 510revisited

[510revisited]

    So, it is with great regret that i write this post today. Two days ago, i finalized the 280zx front brake swap. I took the car out for a test ride, and was in the process of "bedding" the brakes. Literally, on the last bedding procedure i hit gravel, locked up the brakes, lost control of the car, and ended up in a ditch. The car landed on its driver side. 

    I myself am ok. I had my seatbelt on, and NO passengers. I remember the entire thing, though i did hit my head on the b pillar pretty hard. I was able to get out of the car on my own, and called 911. I was also able to turn the car off as well. I climbed out the passenger window and flagged someone down. After all was said and done i spent the next few hours in the er being checked out. I have no cuts, or bruises. I'm sore, but 100 percent ok. No drugs or alcohol were involved. Mere stupidity in my own opinion. 

    The car. What we all care about the most (im joking) The damage, as of now, after a half assed inspection. Driver front valance has some damage under the bumber. Driver fender, and arrow head light are done. Driver Door seems mostly ok, opens and closes, but seems a bit harder to shut. The rocker panel got crushed a bit too. Quarter panel is pretty bad. C pilar is pushed in enough to have popped out the back window. No glass was broken, AT ALL. The car still rolls so the running gear seems ok. I have not inspected the engine. It leaked a shit ton of tranny fluid while it was on its side as well. I think the driver rear control arm is bent as well, someway, somehow... Again, everything has been half inspected. I got it towed to the house, tucked it into the garage and have stayed in bed till now..

    My plan. Maybe. Im no body guy, but i figured if the black glass popped out that means the window frame got tweaked. Im considering buying a complete stripped shell of a 69 and swapping everything. The other option would be to pull out the damage, or find a c pilar with quarter. Again, I can build bridges, highrises, and a lot of other shit, but im not a body guy. As with many of you, this is a release of stress for me. And a creative outlet. I ENJOY working on this car. I dont wanna see it go to waste... so as a member of the community im coming to you for advice, and who knows maybe some help. Any and all is appreciated. Now, some pics.