Nana Spec 69' 510

[Noll]

I dunno if I'd call myself a master lol. Depending on just how bad the bottom is I'd either make a bunch of small patches using the original metal as a template (ie don't cut anything till the new bits are built), or, if more needs replacing, maybe making a buck to form from? I've not tried it myself, but expanding foam on the rear of the panel, removing it, and then a layer of fibreglass might work decent to have the correct shape to form new metal around?

Edited May 17, 2020 by Noll

[slowlearner]

5 hours ago, Noll said:

I dunno if I'd call myself a master lol. Depending on just how bad the bottom is I'd either make a bunch of small patches using the original metal as a template (ie don't cut anything till the new bits are built), or, if more needs replacing, maybe making a buck to form from? I've not tried it myself, but expanding foam on the rear of the panel, removing it, and then a layer of fibreglass might work decent to have the correct shape to form new metal around?

 

I wondered if I'd got it backwards, cutting off the quarter first, but I figured I needed to know what was behind it too. I'm ordering the inner drop panel as well now. There are too many complex shapes in the drop panel and they're all around the edge I need to weld the outer panel to.

[Noll]

5 minutes ago, slowlearner said:

 

I wondered if I'd got it backwards, cutting off the quarter first, but I figured I needed to know what was behind it too. I'm ordering the inner drop panel as well now. There are too many complex shapes in the drop panel and they're all around the edge I need to weld the outer panel to.

oh yeah, gotta see what's behind there. Just make sure to test fit/mark the outer section before you cut and replace the inner so they both end up sitting correctly, not too high/low.

[slowlearner]

3 hours ago, Noll said:

oh yeah, gotta see what's behind there. Just make sure to test fit/mark the outer section before you cut and replace the inner so they both end up sitting correctly, not too high/low.

 

Totally. I'm terrified of screwing that bit up. I'll cut it too long to begin with. 😉 

[slowlearner]

Confession... I'm totally procrastinating. I have a full bottle of welding gas, lots 0.6mm wire, $270 worth of repair panels and I'm just scared of stuffing it up.

 

Someone wail on me or coax me into doing it. 😟

[Lockleaf]

Stuff it up.  Its just metal.  You can cut it off and do it again.

[hobospyder]

Cock it up

 

Its always good to learn from your mistakes and you won't make that one again

[slowlearner]

19 hours ago, Lockleaf said:

Stuff it up.  Its just metal.  You can cut it off and do it again.

 

Rather not! Prefer to do it once and do it properly. It's $300 worth of repair panels. Yeah, I know what you think about repair panels.

[Lockleaf]

Nah man i totally get not wanting to waste the money.  I'm just saying don't let the possibility of failure stop you.  Start with something simple to figure out your process, then you can move on to others.  Then you hopefully reserve mistakes to one location as well.

[vanmansam]

Pete, Im the guy that messaged you on instagram about the main power wire to your fuse box. Liking the build, keep it up!

As for the rust on the rear quarter inner, rather than cut out the holes and try to patch them I would most likely start by cutting some small steel plates, bend as necessary, then back them up behind the holes.  Then weld the holes shut. Its one way of doing it, and no one will ever see the patch so beauty is not critical.  Then depending on the available access on the inside of the quarter where the exhaust is and how thin the metal and the first round of welding went I might go around the edges of the plate with the welder from the other side.  can use various sized plates for this technique, I recently did similar on my dads Fiat Spyder on the front trunk floor.  If that wasnt enough strength, then I would start thinking about bending and cutting and fabbing. 

You can also just stitch those holes shut with weld and no backer but its tedious and you need monk like patience and its not any prettier. If youve ever welded rust thinned metal you now how prone to blowing out it is.  But with a plate sistered on one side, theres a bit more metal for the heat to dissipate too and its add some structure.  Another option when stitiching holes shut like that is a copper plate or copper pipe pounded flat as a backer behind the holes.  Same heat sink effect as the sistered steel plate, but the weld doesnt stick to it.  Not knowing your experience level, my last piece of advice is be sure your welder setting are set well before you get going on the car.  the guy I link bellow has a great video on his channel about setting up any mig welder for sheet metal, its basically just trial and error on a scrap piece the same thickness as the project though.  

Also check out this technique, I think its one of the best Ive seen yet for body panels and I wish I had known about is sooner.  One of those "why didnt I think of that" things. I plan to try this out the next time i need to do panel welding.  Seems like this will be perfect for that nice straight line you have.

 

[vanmansam]

On 5/17/2020 at 6:45 PM, slowlearner said:

I'm ordering the inner drop panel as well now. There are too many complex shapes in the drop panel and they're all around the edge I need to weld the outer panel to.

Sorry just typed all this out without full reading.  Sorry for the double reply. If you ordered the inner replacement panel then thats the way to go. 

But as posters above have said, whatever technique you use, just pick one and pick a day and go for it.  For the inside panel no one will ever see it, and for the outside, its low and the bumper hides most of it and theres a reason bondo (oh ya ur australian. BOG) exists. 

[slowlearner]

On 5/29/2020 at 8:35 AM, vanmansam said:

Pete, Im the guy that messaged you on instagram about the main power wire to your fuse box. Liking the build, keep it up!

As for the rust on the rear quarter inner, rather than cut out the holes and try to patch them I would most likely start by cutting some small steel plates, bend as necessary, then back them up behind the holes.  Then weld the holes shut. Its one way of doing it, and no one will ever see the patch so beauty is not critical.  Then depending on the available access on the inside of the quarter where the exhaust is and how thin the metal and the first round of welding went I might go around the edges of the plate with the welder from the other side.  can use various sized plates for this technique, I recently did similar on my dads Fiat Spyder on the front trunk floor.  If that wasnt enough strength, then I would start thinking about bending and cutting and fabbing. 

You can also just stitch those holes shut with weld and no backer but its tedious and you need monk like patience and its not any prettier. If youve ever welded rust thinned metal you now how prone to blowing out it is.  But with a plate sistered on one side, theres a bit more metal for the heat to dissipate too and its add some structure.  Another option when stitiching holes shut like that is a copper plate or copper pipe pounded flat as a backer behind the holes.  Same heat sink effect as the sistered steel plate, but the weld doesnt stick to it.  Not knowing your experience level, my last piece of advice is be sure your welder setting are set well before you get going on the car.  the guy I link bellow has a great video on his channel about setting up any mig welder for sheet metal, its basically just trial and error on a scrap piece the same thickness as the project though.  

Also check out this technique, I think its one of the best Ive seen yet for body panels and I wish I had known about is sooner.  One of those "why didnt I think of that" things. I plan to try this out the next time i need to do panel welding.  Seems like this will be perfect for that nice straight line you have.

 

 

Thanks for that! Great video. I've seen that method before and I was tempted to use it. My issue is the outer repair panel has to go around TWO corners in the wheel arch and around the back. So that makes things a little more complex, but I might have a go at this anyway. I was planning to have a go at it today, but my right knee when PING! last night and it seems like I've got a slight tear in my MCL. So sitting cross legged under a Datsun today ain't gonna happen. 😞

 

I'm not letting things stop me too much though... I pulled out all my EFI bits today to see what I have and it's promising.

 

 

These are bits I had left over from my VW build. Some Bosch GM Commodore V6 (Buick V6) injectors. They were a bit too small for my turbo VW motor, but should be about right for the L18. I've also got a GM 1 bar MAP sensor and some injector plugs. I found a bung for a intake air temp (IAT) sensor, but mine will sit in the engine bay in the open because ITBs + no airbox.

 

 

These bits have come in recently. Sard fuel pressure reg, GM flex fuel sensor, GM IAT sensor and Ford falcon crank sensor. I decided to go flex fuel for cheap octane. Yes you heard right. I'm not actually that interested in E85. We have a local pump fuel called E94. It's almost as cheap as 91 and is available everywhere. So it made sense to spend a couple hundred on a sensor and plug to take advantage of that. I'm not quite sure what to do with the GM quickfit fittings. And the sensor is MUCH bigger than I was expecting. I've got more questions about this, but they can wait for now. No doubt you didn't fail to "hook your peepers" on the Raceworks 310LPH fuel pump. It's an Bosch 044 style pump. As soon as I pulled it out of the box, I knew I'd totally over-speced the fuel system and that means one thing...

 

Down the track this thing needs boost... 🤣  

You didn't honestly think I'd suggest installing a smaller pump did you? 🙄

 

The local authorities have such a bad sense of humor about modded cars, I'm thinking about a supercharger setup I can install in a few minutes... or a rear mount turbo that bolts in easily for race days. That's dreaming for now though really. 🤓

 

I dropped around to my favourite tame machinist's house and he'd put this together for me. 🤠

 

 

He drilled and tapped the crank bolt as well making up a mounting spacer for me DIYautotune 36-1 wheel for direct crank triggering. Sayonara dizzy and points!!! Welcome to the 20th century. So the next challenge figuring out how to mount the crank sensor such that I DON'T have to move the sensor every time I need to change the belt.

 

 

I'm wondering whether I'm able to mount the sensor at 45deg to the toothed wheel. I'll ask the local boffins and get ready to smacked around the head... again.

 

Edited May 30, 2020 by slowlearner

[nad015]

Whaaaat the hell is e94?? Haha

never heard of that. Obviously 94% ethanol, I didn’t know that high a percentage was available in Australia.
I used e85 in my L20b for a while, and my local servo sold flex fuel or whatever it’s called, it’s supposed to change the ethanol content according to the seasons, I always checked it when I filled up and it was always 85% ethanol.

[nad015]

Oh I might add, unless your engine specifically needs higher octane of e85 or such fuel. There will be no use running it.

my L20b at the time was something around 12.5 or 13-1 compression and would only run on e85.

[slowlearner]

Silly me, the fuel is actually called e10. There's an explanation here...

 

https://www.canstar.com.au/car-insurance/which-petrol-should-you-use/

[slowlearner]

Not able to crawl around on the floor yet due to my knee mucking up, but I was able to do a little more in the boot (trunk) this arvo.

 

 

As you can see a previous owner, covered the inside of the quarters with old carpet. This was presumably to prevent heavy or sharp things knocking dings from the inside. A common issue on old cars over here. Peeling that off, I've been thinking about whether to patch in all, or just the lower portion of the inner drop panel.

 

I spent some time scraping back 50yo seam sealer. The rubber seal also came out in one piece which is great. I think I'm going to replace the whole inner drop panel. Lots of spot welds to drill out, but I reckon it's worth the effort.

 

In other news my mate Lachie copped this barn-find 1200 sedan for a song the other day.

 

 

It's a genuine 1 owner, auto, granny car It's literally got 119,000km on the clock. Almost zero rust, but a few reasonable whiskey dents. I've encouraged him to start a thread so hopefully you'll see that soon.

[nad015]

Oh yeah e10 that shits sold everywhere. Not exactly high octane though. 
think it’s higher than 91. Doubt as much as PULP though.

the e85 I was using I think is 105

[nad015]

Oh, and that’s one sweet 1200 sedan. 
My second favourite datto!!

whats he going to do with it?

Edited May 31, 2020 by nad015

[slowlearner]

10 hours ago, nad015 said:

Oh yeah e10 that shits sold everywhere. Not exactly high octane though. 
think it’s higher than 91. Doubt as much as PULP though.

the e85 I was using I think is 105

 

It's 94 octane. So close enough to 95, but a heap cheaper. 

 

10 hours ago, nad015 said:

Oh, and that’s one sweet 1200 sedan. 
My second favourite datto!!

whats he going to do with it?

 

I think the current plan is to just get it running and maybe put it on club rego. It's a sweet car in many ways, but it needs a proper cleanup from sitting around for about 20years.

[slowlearner]

Managed to get to the parts shop this morning and pick up a few things. The first of them is this bosch sensor...

 

 

Clever little thing does BOTH oil pressure and oil temp. Comes with this 5 pin plug, but only uses 4 of them.

 

 

 

Apparently it's off something Audi/VW (VAG), but there is a downside. The factory VAG thread is M10x1 would you believe? Weird Germans. So it needs an adaptor. Hopefully that all works well. I also got a temp sensor. Simple thing really, and my pet machinist is making me up a M16-M12 adaptor so I can use it and keep the factory temp sender.

 

 

It uses a bosch EV1 plug so that's easy enough. 🙂

 

 

[slowlearner]

Picked up some parts today and saw this poor old thing...

 

 

It's getting parted out. I suspect your's was worse @Noll

 

[Noll]

9 hours ago, slowlearner said:

It's getting parted out. I suspect your's was worse @Noll

 

 

Indeed, mine was farrrr worse. That doesn't look bad at all, just floors and rear arches for the most part. I'm surprised it's being parted out, I've seen AUS people save way rustier cars.

[slowlearner]

Of course there was more rust than that. It was gone around the windscreen and other places, but I wondered how hard it would be to save after seeing yours. I guess the answer is still, "lots of work". Besides I have one simple panel to fix and I haven't done that yet. 🙄

 

In other news, I was out SW Motorsports recently and they had two 510s there. One with a rotary and the other with... wait for it... a Subaru Ej20T. 😲 Now I mean I know some people like to be different, but that's ridiculous. There was literally 2mm between the front belt covers and the frame rail, and that was after they'd clearance the rail. Crazy stuff. I would have thought an SR or FJ would be much easier.

 

Anyhow, onto real work. Stuart did me a deal on a NOS bosch alternator.

 

 

 

It's internally regulated, so what's the deal with wiring? Stu said something about a loop wire. 

Edited June 5, 2020 by slowlearner

[thisismatt]

Remove the stock external regulator, lop off the plug pigtail, and crimp or solder the correct wires together, plug back in. 

Edited June 5, 2020 by thisismatt

[slowlearner]

Awesome, will try that!