Retro Wave Posted August 16, 2020 Report Share Posted August 16, 2020 I have a 1972 datsun 510 - was an auto but was converted to a manual 5 speed / L20 engine some time ago by PO (Previous Owner) I don't have pictures at the moment but i was wondering about something i discovered while poking around the 510. I started taking all the front engine bay wiring and relays because they were in bad shape and wanted to clean it up and replace whats worn/ damage OR eliminate what i dont need (thats gonna probably be another thread on its own). I then went under the car to disconnect the speedometer cable(which was disconnected and never connected) & the emergency brake cable till i notice that my transmission cross-member was missing 1 bolt and the passager side has two spacers between the crossmember and the floor of the car. I was wondering is this correct? and if so what would be the purpose to add a large spacer between the crossmember and floor. I haven't measured the distance / space of the spacer but they look simular to what i was skim reading here first picture page 4: https://www.the510realm.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=29668&start=45 If its not correct then it wold be safe to say that i can remove them? Im not to familiar with this setup / mod OR what results it does unless its something important thats going way over my head. I'll try to get pictures to show you what i am talking about Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted August 16, 2020 Report Share Posted August 16, 2020 The spacer is likely to situate the 5 speed center line to the same height as the original automatic. Replace the missing bolt and drive it. If there is no vibration call it good. If you have a vibration eliminate the following... Broken brake drum. Bent rim Damaged or out of balance tire/rim Bad U joint in drive shaft or the two half shafts. Balance weight fallen off the drive shaft. Dented or damaged drive shaft. May have been sprayed with undercoating like mine was... Then... If there is vibration you might want to borrow or buy an inclinometer (they're cheap) and measure the angle between transmission and drive shaft in the front, and the angle between differential and drive shaft in the rear. The vehicle MUST be resting on it's own wheels and you can have a friend sit in the driver's seat as ballast. Oh, half a tank of gas. Ideally both angles must be the same. This is because a drive shaft with any bend at the U joint accelerates and decelerates as it turns. This is because the U joint is turning in an ellipse, or trying to. Note below the left side turns at a steady speed but the right has to speed up and slow down to follow it. By having both angles the same the two cancel each other out. 1 Quote Link to comment
Retro Wave Posted August 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2020 👍 wow that pretty much answers my question thanks mike. I'll be getting one of those protractors and seeing if everything lines up. As of now I took the engine / transmission off the car for a bit of cleaning and updating. now I gotta figure out what transmission i have so that i can buy the right clutch kit.... and a whole list of parts / wiring 😵 Quote Link to comment
Retro Wave Posted August 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2020 here are the pictures of transmission on the car with two spacers. I gotta do some cleaning down there. when the transmission is back on the car (nice and clean) I'll do the measurements because when i saw that space away from the body it concern me but datzenmike since you said that its normal just measure its straightness . At least that puts my mind at ease alittle transmission is out. Im guessing its a FS5W63A 5-SPEED Dogleg It looks like the one from dime quarterly Vol 11 - issue 4 Page 5 BUT the owner said it came out of a pickup truck and the info on here + 510 realms said opposite its from a '79 510 or 200sx. I got no info on this. I guess i'll make another post in the appropriate section on this Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted August 19, 2020 Report Share Posted August 19, 2020 1 hour ago, Retro Wave said: 👍 wow that pretty much answers my question thanks mike. I'll be getting one of those protractors and seeing if everything lines up. As of now I took the engine / transmission off the car for a bit of cleaning and updating. now I gotta figure out what transmission i have so that i can buy the right clutch kit.... and a whole list of parts / wiring 😵 The transmission has zero to do with your clutch selection.The pressure plate size depends solely on the flywheel it is bolted to. If it was converted to a standard then it probably has a clutch in it. just measure the diameter of the clutch disc or the friction area on the flywheel. This is a 200mm... L20B cars came with 200mm but trucks used a 225mm clutch. If you have a good clutch in it now all you need do is swap the transmission in. Keep and use the current clutch arm and release bearing collar but get a new release bearing. Yes you have an L series 63A dogleg 5 speed. Volume 11 issue 4 is my article. L series doglegs came on the first gen 200sx and was an option on the '78.5 and '79 A10 (HL510) It might have come off a truck but someone must have swapped it there. The 63A is an adequate transmission for an L20B in a car and slightly better in a very light car like the 510. It's not suitable for use in a heavy truck and why the 71B from the Z cars were used. I don't know what this is but the cross member should be bolted to the under side of the floor. Hundreds of 63As have been swapped into the 510 and I haven't heard of any drive line angle problems. Quote Link to comment
Retro Wave Posted August 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2020 Oh-Oh, so what would u suggest? I thought it was kinda fishy especially for that large gap away from the floorpans. should i remove the spacers? I have no prior history on the car and the PO isnt car knowledgeable & doesnt know about cars. So 100 percent i assume it wasnt him. probably the owner before him. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted August 19, 2020 Report Share Posted August 19, 2020 I think this is an attempt to keep and use the stock cross member and the rear transmission mount. Usually a custom one is used. By spacing the original cross member properly you can use both. There is an article in the Dime Quarterly on how to build a pair of adapters that fit between floor and cross member so that it positions the mount to fit a 71B or a 63A 5 speed... Quote Link to comment
Retro Wave Posted August 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2020 hey datzenmike, I wanted to say thank you very much for the help, there isnt too many people out there that will take their time to explain in detail or even help. I don't know too much because Im young / inexperience but i can always try to help others out when i have an answer. As of now all i can do is show pictures, progress and try to explain in detail so maybe others can read, see photos and compare AND maybe it might answer their problems. again mike thanks alot. I haven't done anything to the car beside have the engine/tranny out and cleaning the undercarriage. once i have it clean and ready I try to measure it with a protractor level like in your picture and see if its level with and without spacers. Even though i 100 percent agree that those spacers dont look right and transmission crossmember should be sitting flush/flat with the floorboard. If not then i'll have to make those adapters from dime quarterly I'll be back soon... Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted August 23, 2020 Report Share Posted August 23, 2020 You may still be able to buy a custom cross member for fitting a 71B or 63A.... Techno toy tuning... https://technotoytuning.com/nissan/510/datsun-510-universal-transmission-mount Experimental Engineering.... http://www.the510realm.com/viewtopic.php?t=14181 1 Quote Link to comment
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