carterb Posted March 1, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2023 Now it looks like I might need a new heater core. 😥 At least judging from the pool on the footwell and garage floor. 1 Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted February 7 Author Report Share Posted February 7 It looks like I have not posted in almost a year. A couple things have happened since then... We had some beautiful winter days And lots of snow! Spring time brought the true source of my water leak... Using a mirror, I could see the seepage between the head and the block Not a pretty sight and I kept having to top up my radiator every month. No apparent leaking into the cylinder but you can see it has no trouble finding its way outside the block. 1 Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted February 7 Author Report Share Posted February 7 Took some pics and dimensions for a friend to reproduce this sticker for his Bluebird Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted February 7 Author Report Share Posted February 7 Bluebird parking only! Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted February 7 Author Report Share Posted February 7 (edited) My clutch had started slipping by this time so I found a replacement clutch kit. The clutch kit was easy to find. The time to replace it was not. My life was consumed by a huge project at work and my brother lost his life to cancer on May 25, 2023. He had asked me to be his executor before he died. I can tell you that even though 150,000 people die every day on this planet - when you try to conduct business on behalf of one of them - the institutions you are required to interact with behave like my brother was the first person in history to have lost his life. So stressful! Work got even more intense in June and caused me to make a trip to the UK in July. While I was away, my friends Jeff and Paul swapped my clutch for me. I can't tell you how huge that was to come back from the UK and have that taken care of and off my list. They have my sincere gratitude! It looks like even though I have an L18 bottom end, it was still running the L14 clutch. Have you ever seen such a tiny L-motor clutch disk?! 180mm And no life left that's for sure! Edited February 7 by carterb 1 Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted February 7 Author Report Share Posted February 7 Summer isn't very long in Washington but it sure is beautiful! That's Paul's old 2002 WRX beside Slowpoke. He got a new Lexus lease car for work so I bought the WRX off of him for a little summer fun and winter duty. Thanks again Paul! Then one day... *BANG*!!! Lost the new muffler on the way to work! But it hung on long enough for me to get to a parking spot and remove it from the hanger. Looks like I get to try welding exhaust for the first time. It broke at the base of the old weld New weld functional but not pretty Almost back in business! Look ma! No leaks! 1 Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted February 7 Author Report Share Posted February 7 Typical Electroimpact Datsun car show! Skyline sighting 1971 1400DX Bluebird 4dr at work Summer turns to winter More snow! My snow tires just don't seem to handle this like they should Oh... Perhaps it is because they are over 16 years old! Well... Put is on the list... 1 Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted February 7 Author Report Share Posted February 7 Work finally slowed down and Christmas break provided an opportunity to take care of that head gasket leak. Upon removing the head, I found that the bolts by the firewall must have been torqued by a 3rd grader... Just a tad more than finger tight. It's *possible* I could have just torqued them down and got back on the road but I was committed now... First to get rid of the JDM rust water I left the intake and exhaust in place and just lifted up the head with a crane. Head looks decent - may need new valve stem seals next. Block an pistons look to be in good nick too! Gee, can you tell where it was leaking? All back together now and no leaks and after flushing the block and radiator 3 times, the coolant is even *slightly* less orange. : ) Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 If stored out of the sun they are ok. B-210 and '79-'82 210s used a 180 disc on all A12/14/15. 180 pressure plate might be the same as the L14. Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted February 7 Author Report Share Posted February 7 When Jeff and Paul changed the clutch for me, they recommended that I service the driveline soon. And also the front wheel bearings. I took care of the bearings when I did the head gasket but I needed another opportunity for the driveline. I finally removed it a couple weeks ago and took it to Drivelines NW for new u-joints and balance. It came back very pretty but put quite a dent in my wallet. $250 for this work now. Nothing is cheap these days... And finally - instead of maintenance - I took the opportunity to UPGRADE the car. N510 chassis have 4.3 something rear end gears and the engine is really singing on the freeway back and forth to work so I thought I would swap in a stock 3.9 rear but Jeff said I was being silly and I should put in an LSD instead and he was of course correct so I grabbed a 3.7 R160 LSD. The stub shaft bolt head had been sheared off! What the heck! Then I remembered. I was running that rear end in Granny with a faulty CV axle set up and the axles bound and ground the bolt heads off while driving. I will have to deal with that later. So I grabbed another one that looked nice and clean. And swapped in the stub shafts from the stock rear end I just removed Insert rear end here: More betterer! I got some advice from the bluebirds list and filled with Royal Purple 75/140W synthetic oil w/ friction modifiers. At $25/qt it must have some magic too or purple food coloring is the most expensive food coloring in the rainbow! It drives awesome and I am happy and you are up to date! : ) 1 Quote Link to comment
carterb Posted February 7 Author Report Share Posted February 7 10 minutes ago, datzenmike said: If stored out of the sun they are ok. I've used them on every Datsun 510 I've owned during winter time. I might have bought them new in 2007 - I don't remember. I'm in Seattle though, so define "sun". : ) 1 Quote Link to comment
rosso Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 1 hour ago, carterb said: Glad to have you back - missed you. Sorry you have been going through a lot Thought you might enjoy seeing a wagon at the track. Turn the volume up if you want to hear anything at all.🙂 piknik pacific raceways.mp4 1 Quote Link to comment
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