datsunfreak Posted March 11, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2021 The more I think about this, the more I think it's totally the way to go... So I went on my lunch break and got a clutch master cylinder from a '98 Ranger... 😁 The used one is just for a mockup. Once I make sure it works I will order a new one to use. 👍 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted March 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 So I dug out the Ranger pedal assembly bracket... Made sure the master I had worked, and it goes here... On the Ranger, most of the master is inside the truck. The firewall is just about here... Obviously it isn't going to work as is, so I started looking at how to just use part of it. Which led us here... Gave that a looksee, but still not quite right. Notice, you can't actually access the mounting holes... 😄 So I removed the section with the mounting holes and made another plate that moved the firewall mounting holes to the other side... Bolted together, it looks like this... Fit that up into the car, marked the two holes I needed and drilled them. Once that was bolted in, I was able to drill the 2" hole for the master cylinder to pass through the floor, then fit the master up to the bracket. All bolted in, here's what it looks like from the engine bay side... It gets the master fairly low, and unobtrusive. I like this much better than the F150 master up high beside the brake master. 👍 That big square hole on the right was a plate that has a big rubber grommet in it that the engine bay harness passes through. That shit was in my way, so... 😄 I may re-use it to pass the new harness through, but I had really wanted it to come out the center of the firewall behind the engine. We shall see about that when the time comes... 4 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted March 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2021 I did double check and make sure the pedal had sufficient stroke, and it seems to. The pedal is at a nice height as well. 👍 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted March 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 Spent some time today stripping down the engine bay. Got everything off the inner fenders and radiator support. Also removed the power steering pump and crank pulley to ease exit of the engine. Removed the majority of the engine bay wiring harness and disconnected everything from the engine. So hopefully, next time I can jack it up and pull the bolts out of the mounts and yank the engine. 👍 Looks kinda nasty right now, but should look good soon... It's funny how a 289 is not really a small engine, but it sure looks tiny in this car... 😄 As soon as the engine is out, I will be removing the heater box, and making a block off plate for that area. Then I will scrub down the engine bay and put a coat of POR-15 on it, and probably some satin black paint over the top of that. If it does get a heater, it will be 100% on the inside, not on the firewall. I am leaning towards one of these, but would like to explore an all electric option... 3 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 5 minutes ago, datsunfreak said: Spent some time today stripping down the engine bay. Got everything off the inner fenders and radiator support. Also removed the power steering pump and crank pulley to ease exit of the engine. Removed the majority of the engine bay wiring harness and disconnected everything from the engine. So hopefully, next time I can jack it up and pull the bolts out of the mounts and yank the engine. 👍 Looks kinda nasty right now, but should look good soon... It's funny how a 289 is not really a small engine, but it sure looks tiny in this car... 😄 As soon as the engine is out, I will be removing the heater box, and making a block off plate for that area. Then I will scrub down the engine bay and put a coat of POR-15 on it, and probably some satin black paint over the top of that. If it does get a heater, it will be 100% on the inside, not on the firewall. I am leaning towards one of these, but would like to explore an all electric option... Used to be able to sit with my ass on the fender and my feet inside the engine bay while fixing them. When you dropped a tool it was easy to find! Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 BTW, a 351W bolts up soooo easy... 3 Quote Link to comment
Draker Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 Damn is there an echo in that engine bay? It’s massive! 3 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted March 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 12 hours ago, EDM620 said: BTW, a 351W bolts up soooo easy... And there is a very good chance that one is about to. 👌 12 hours ago, EDM620 said: Used to be able to sit with my ass on the fender and my feet inside the engine bay while fixing them. My '65 C10 truck, that's how I worked on it. This one, the hood is just too damn low... 😄 12 hours ago, EDM620 said: When you dropped a tool it was easy to find! I learned yesterday that since I lowered the front, when I drop a wrench and it hits the ground, I can actually reach down through the engine bay and pick it up... 😁 4 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted March 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 On 3/17/2021 at 9:23 PM, EDM620 said: BTW, a 351W bolts up soooo easy... I am now wondering if that will eat up more visual real estate, or just make header clearance more difficult... 😄 I was looking at a guy who put a 460 in his, and that definitely fills her up. So much so, I started looking at 460s on craigslist... 😈 1 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted March 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 Speaking of big blocks, this is interesting... 😁 https://www.thedrive.com/news/32064/fords-new-7-3-l-gas-v-8-can-be-tuned-to-600hp-and-fit-in-a-fox-body-mustang 2 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted March 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 Also, I decided rather than clog up this thread with more steering wheel stuff, I just started a new thread for that. Follow along if you like... 2 Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 (edited) Man those cars were HUGE!!!! Edited March 19, 2021 by banzai510(hainz) 1 Quote Link to comment
Chopper Jim Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 Go big (460) if you can. It will be more fun. That and you will always wonder why you didn't. Just my .02. Chopper Jim 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted March 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, Chopper Jim said: Go big (460) if you can. It will be more fun. That and you will always wonder why you didn't. Honestly, the more I research it, the power versus weight says a 351W is a safer bet? A typical late model 460 is around 250hp (351W is 290hp), and 400tq (351W is around 350tq). Problem is, the 460 weighs around 200 pounds more than a 351W. So for a 15-17% HP loss, a 12-15% torque gain, along with a weight gain of 200 pounds on top of the front wheels (which would mean new front springs too), is making it look like a 351W is a no brainer. It's only a gain of around 30 pounds over the 302. Plus the 351W is a literal bolt-in. A 460 needs custom mounts ($180 for a pair). So you are half right. There's a chance I might wish I did, but I won't be wondering why I didn't. 😁 Edited March 19, 2021 by datsunfreak 2 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted March 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 1 hour ago, banzai510(hainz) said: Man those cars were HUGE!!!! 17 feet long, and wider than anything I've ever owned (short of my '78 Thunderbird maybe)... 😁 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 I agree. You should stick with the 351 so that when I put a 360 in the Dajiban, I'll be back on top of the shop car's displacement pyramid. 3 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 2 hours ago, datsunfreak said: Plus the 351W is a literal bolt-in. Easier than literal! Only the deck height of the block differs. The 351W can easily put out serious power w or w/o turbo. There's more than 1 reason it was in production way longer than the Cleveland. Your car should be fun to drive, I used to autocross a late model LTD with an HO spec built 302 - power steering had a hard time keeping up though! 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted March 20, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2021 19 hours ago, EDM620 said: I used to autocross a late model LTD with an HO spec built 302 - power steering had a hard time keeping up though! I have actually worried about that already, and I'm still not sure what I will do with the power steering. A few companies make kits to retrofit more modern pumps, like this, but I would love to do an electric pump conversion using one of the readily available European pumps like this Volvo conversion. It will be wicked cool to be able to turn the power steering on and off at will. 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted March 20, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2021 We started the engine removal process today. Jacked up the car and removed all the bolts from the engine mounts. Oddly they all just slid right out. I guess 50+ years of stiction is now holding the engine up... 😁 Took all the bolts out of the trans crossmember, but left it in place to hold up the trans for now. Theory being since it's above the frame but below the trans, when we lift the engine with the hoist, the trans should just sort of flop off the mount and slide out, leaving the crossmember in place. That crossmember has had a pretty rough life from the looks of it. We may try to straighten it to reuse it, or just make a new one. That will depend on where the trans mount for the new trans wants to be... At this point it's ready to pull out, but we couldn't because the hydraulic jack on our engine hoist decided to shit itself. When I mentioned it to Tim, he said don't worry about it because his uncle Sam is buying us a new one this week. Weird, I don't remember him having an uncle called Sam... 1 2 Quote Link to comment
Racer X 69 Posted March 21, 2021 Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 22 hours ago, datsunfreak said: I have actually worried about that already, and I'm still not sure what I will do with the power steering. A few companies make kits to retrofit more modern pumps, like this, but I would love to do an electric pump conversion using one of the readily available European pumps like this Volvo conversion. It will be wicked cool to be able to turn the power steering on and off at will. So does the system have an on demand setup? A pressure sensor that detects change in pressure with wheel input and run the pump as needed, or something like that? 22 hours ago, datsunfreak said: We started the engine removal process today. Jacked up the car and removed all the bolts from the engine mounts. Oddly they all just slid right out. I guess 50+ years of stiction is now holding the engine up... 😁 Stiction. I like it. My vocabulary just grew by one word. thumbs_up by Racer, on Flickr 22 hours ago, datsunfreak said: Took all the bolts out of the trans crossmember, but left it in place to hold up the trans for now. Theory being since it's above the frame but below the trans, when we lift the engine with the hoist, the trans should just sort of flop off the mount and slide out, leaving the crossmember in place. That crossmember has had a pretty rough life from the looks of it. We may try to straighten it to reuse it, or just make a new one. That will depend on where the trans mount for the new trans wants to be... It is so cool you're making this a stick shift. All cars should have manual gearboxes. Manual gear boxes put the man in the driver's seat. thumbs_up by Racer, on Flickr 22 hours ago, datsunfreak said: At this point it's ready to pull out, but we couldn't because the hydraulic jack on our engine hoist decided to shit itself. When I mentioned it to Tim, he said don't worry about it because his uncle Sam is buying us a new one this week. Weird, I don't remember him having an uncle called Sam... We must be related, my uncle, whose name is Sam, is sending me a check or something too. And I gotta spend some of it on shop equipment repair or replacement. The compressor I bought from Sears through a commercial equipment supply line of tools way back in 1980 is finally giving up. I noticed it was cycling a bit too much, and went looking for leaks. Didn't have to go far, the cylinder head is leaking. Time for a new pump, as repair parts are NLA, and the original manufacturer long out of business. 1 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted March 21, 2021 Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 3 hours ago, Racer X 69 said: All cars should have manual gearboxes. Manual gear boxes put the man in the driver's seat. YUP Connected by both hands and both feet 2 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted March 22, 2021 Report Share Posted March 22, 2021 10 hours ago, Racer X 69 said: We must be related, my uncle, whose name is Sam, Well now then we might be cousins, but my uncle is uncle Buck, I do believe he & Sam have met through our grandma Victoria... I am expecting a little gift from him as well, hope to put it towards paint & body 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted March 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2021 17 hours ago, Racer X 69 said: So does the system have an on demand setup? A pressure sensor that detects change in pressure with wheel input and run the pump as needed, or something like that? The Volvo does, yes. It has a maximum pressure sensor and any time that maximum pressor is reached the pump shuts off. Since the pressure only drops when you use it, it should not want to run constantly. The only issue with it's design is that it is meant to run off the CAN-BUS of the Volvo, so the pump only runs at 70% power when it receives no CAN-BUS signal. I have read that this is enough for anything but the most hardcore of track day sawing, but some more research may be in order. Some have said that if you send a signal to the CAN-BUS port via a rheostat that it can be "hacked" to produce 100% (or whatever percentage you like). There's also another potential donor from the late model Mini. One nice thing about it is that it's a little more compact, and uses a remote reservoir, so placement options are more varied. I've seen one guy even mount it in the trunk... I believe the Mini pump does not have the CAN-BUS issue either. It's not as boosted as the Volvo (smaller, lighter car), but should run at 100% power without a CAN-BUS signal. The real selling point for this to me is the ability to just switch it off whenever I want. Keep the steering light on surface streets but heavy on the freeway. Or just hide the switch as a next-level theft deterrent... 😄 17 hours ago, Racer X 69 said: It is so cool you're making this a stick shift... All cars should have manual gearboxes. I concur. 👍 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted March 25, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2021 Got some more stuff stripped from under the hood, including the heater box assembly. I was a bit worried about removing it and leaving a giant gaping hole in the firewall I'd need to fill, but it turns out I was worried about (almost) nothing. The majority of the heater components (heater core, blower fan, blend door, etc.) are all located inside the box itself. There's only two small(ish) holes in the firewall to fill. The one on the left will likely just get a plate to fill it, and the other will be where the new heater will mount... Now a strange way they designed/assembled this car is that the fresh air duct for the heater box is inside the fender. And that means the blower fan section of the box is hidden underneath that giant bracket that the hood hinges bolt to... Fortunately, the heater box was cracked in three places, so I was able to remove everything but the part that holds the blower fan. 😄 After the engine is out. I can remove the big bracket to pull out the rest. 👍 1 Quote Link to comment
Soundline Posted March 25, 2021 Report Share Posted March 25, 2021 On 10/10/2019 at 8:44 AM, datsunfreak said: So, I was looking for a manual transmission for this car and had come to the conclusion that a Mustang T-5 was my only good option. All of those I found were either beat to death and needing a rebuild, or nice condition and really expensive. After doing some digging, I found out that the F150s from 88-96 with a 300 engine used a better/more modern 5 speed built by Mazda (aka M5R2). And since the 300 has the same mounting points and flywheel bolt pattern as a 302, it should bolt straight up to a 302. http://datsun510.com/uploads/monthly_2019_10/large.20191010_095254.jpg.0fd3783f3246311ff3f368be29cdcdba.jpg Obviously shifter location is a bit far forward, but I have the looooooong shifter from the truck that I can tweak to make it work. Also as a nice bonus, this uses a hydraulic throw out bearing unlike the T-5. This will be a much easier swap. Apparently the T-5 didn't do so hot with the torque of the 300 straight six, so that's why this was built/designed. It's rated to handle a fair bit more power/torque than a standard T-5. I really like the galaxy. I, however, have 5 years of experience with the M5R2 transmission. I went through three rebuilds and three transmissions in those five years. There’s a defect in the way these are designed causing 5th & reverse to disintegrate. They do not tolerate abuse, and dislike long ventures. Commonly the 5th would come apart on the freeway at 65 mph about 100 miles into my drive. I ran a 1989 F-150, 300 cu/in, M5R2, 4x4, 8.8” rear with Yukon locker, 2” suspension lift with 32x11.50 and 33x12.50. I cannot, in good conscious recommend it. Maybe I’m just very unlucky. Quote Link to comment
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