frankendat Posted October 7, 2023 Report Share Posted October 7, 2023 On 10/5/2023 at 5:15 PM, dimlight65 said: I'm glad you mentioned motorcycles. Every time someone makes some comment about my car not being safe (and I'm not calling you out here Frankendat), I want to say to them, "Do you say that same retarded shit to the guy riding a Hardley?" As for speeds around here, I'm usually the one zipping along at 85-90 and cursing the soccer mom parked in the fast lane... hence my, "I drive like an asshole" comment above.😋 Is it going to get me killed someday? Perhaps, and I'm ok with it. We are of like mind. The high mpg Japanese rigs (stock) like my LJ20 do not have the nuts to zip anywhere at 85-90. If you can achieve those speeds, then you have all you need to get out of the way. My thoughts on a Smart (which I transitioned into the LJ) were to transplant a small VW or Lombardini (now Kohler), or Ruggerini (now Lombardini) TDI into one. It should top out at around 50-55 but it could get there quickly and pull down mpg in the 80-100 range. Sadly, the LJ project has seen little progress these last years... money, priorities, life, but I have yet to yield. I was reminded of my project because when friends have checked it out they too mentioned it would get me killed and my reply was the same as yours. What is the overall width of a Smart? 1 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted October 16, 2023 Report Share Posted October 16, 2023 On 10/5/2023 at 3:45 PM, frankendat said: There is an abundance of super quad dully king whatevers in the West. We have that problem here too, and "if it ain't a diesel you ain't shit" attitude is prevalent. Huge lift, huge tires, tiny brain, tiny balls. And they'll NEVER be off road. Mass is a significant factor in collisions, I'd reckon more so than speed, and with soccer moms behind the wheel of the biggest station wagon hubby can buy (Suburban/Expedition etc) and focused on yapping on the cell phone, wheeling about in any small car could be considered a risky lifestyle! BEV's are not popular here in Oil-berta, so at least I don't really have to contend with things like the "new" Hummer squashing me like a bug. Did you know the battery pack on those alone weighs more than many small cars? Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted November 5, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2023 (edited) On 9/12/2023 at 7:56 PM, dimlight65 said: Parts arrived! On 9/12/2023 at 7:56 PM, dimlight65 said: shocks & struts... I have been sitting on these parts for almost a month now, waiting to get the Dajiban back on the road. Well, today was 80,000 mile oil change day. When we saw this... John said to me, "Young lady, you are not leaving the house dressed like that!" or... something to that effect. Needles to say, we* installed the new shocks... as well as struts... and front brakes... The rear drums and shoes were fine. I'm going to sit on the new drums and shoes until the next time we do the front brakes... probably. While we ate lunch, a local tire shop installed a pair of new 205-55/15 tires on the rear... They are round, black, hold air, and make the car go around turns. Good enough is good enough! Speaking of going around turns, I took a detour on the way home and drove one of my favorite twisty roads. I didn't think I was going that fast, but the electronic nannies sure did! I probably need to check the pressure in those rears, now that I think about it. I'll bet they are up around 60psi! *and by "we", I mean John totally did all the hard work while I changed the oil. Edited November 5, 2023 by dimlight65 Giving credit where credit is due! 1 Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted November 5, 2023 Report Share Posted November 5, 2023 Damn. With that much tread separation, I'm surprised you couldn't feel the hump when you were slowing down for a stop sign or a stop light. But then again, you didn't say either way.. That really looks like a fun little car to rip around in. I have a small sedan delivery and it's really fun to drive. 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted November 5, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2023 1 hour ago, Duncan said: Damn. With that much tread separation, I'm surprised you couldn't feel the hump when you were slowing down for a stop sign or a stop light. But then again, you didn't say either way.. That really looks like a fun little car to rip around in. I have a small sedan delivery and it's really fun to drive. A) I absolutely could feel it! At around 10 to 15 miles per hour, the car rocked side to side like the tires were egg shaped... which, of course, they were! 30 to 40ish miles per hour it was just a bad vibration. 65 to 70ish and it smoothed out. Over 70 got shaky again... um, I assume. 2) It is quite fun to hoon this thing. It's "quick enough" to be fun, but isn't "fast" by anything but the most gracious definitions of the word. I friggin' love the thing! I will admit that the ludicrously short wheelbase makes for some interesting handling at times, but so far the electronic nannies have saved my hummingbird ass from my bald eagle driving aspirations. 1 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted November 5, 2023 Report Share Posted November 5, 2023 I've only seen 1 tire before that bad, sadly it was the spare on our tow car, discovered after a flat on the highway race car in tow. 1 Quote Link to comment
Duncan Posted November 5, 2023 Report Share Posted November 5, 2023 I noticed I started getting a slight vibration in my '40 Ford above 60mph. The tires look good on it, but it dawned on me that I need to look up how to check date codes on tires, {I used to know) and I also need to take a very close look at them. I've owned it two years now, and have done neither of the above. Most any Datsun owner will tell you that even stock, they are fun to drive. My Mom had a new 240z back in the day, and that car was a LOT of fun. I had a '69 Camaro back around that time, and I think I had more fun in the Z than my muscle car. Agent 86 is looking good! Quote Link to comment
KELMO Posted November 5, 2023 Report Share Posted November 5, 2023 8 minutes ago, Duncan said: I need to look up how to check date codes on tires, {I used to know) and I also need to take a very close look at them. I've owned it two years now, and have done neither of the above. There are 3 "ovals" on the side wall. One large and 2 small (in length). The first one has the DOT # in it. The last one will have the date code which is 4 digits. The first 2 digits are the week and the second 2 are the year. For instance, I just checked the tires on the 411 and the date code was 4414. So, they were made the 44th week of 2014. Thanks Mark, now I gotta go buy tires. Which begs the question, if the vehicle is stored inside, out of direct sunlight, does the rubber deteriorate at the same rate? I will try and post a pic later and go one step further to jacking Dimlights thread. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Rustbin Posted November 6, 2023 Report Share Posted November 6, 2023 12 hours ago, KELMO said: There are 3 "ovals" on the side wall. One large and 2 small (in length). The first one has the DOT # in it. The last one will have the date code which is 4 digits. The first 2 digits are the week and the second 2 are the year. For instance, I just checked the tires on the 411 and the date code was 4414. So, they were made the 44th week of 2014. Thanks Mark, now I gotta go buy tires. Which begs the question, if the vehicle is stored inside, out of direct sunlight, does the rubber deteriorate at the same rate? I will try and post a pic later and go one step further to jacking Dimlights thread. The rubber deteriorates more with heat and UV's. Tire techs will not work on tires beyond their expiry date but they may still be fine. I learned this from my son who works for Cal tire. I have often driven with tires that are beyond the expiry date but I check the pressure regularly and inspect for cracks and bulges. A slightly bent rim can vibrate a one speed and be smooth at slower and faster speeds. I have Kumo tires on my Corona that are from the late 1990's that almost still hold air and some Walmart tires from 2004 that are cracked but still have good tread that are fine for driving around the yard but I wont trust them on the road. 1 Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted November 10, 2023 Report Share Posted November 10, 2023 On 11/5/2023 at 8:47 PM, Rustbin said: The rubber deteriorates more with heat and UV's. I believe that for longer term storage, putting the car on jack stands so the rubber is off the ground will further extend the life of the tires. Sure, radials won't "flat spot" like old bias-ply, but IMHO it's still relevant to time. How many RV's sit there for months on end with the tires baking in the sun, to suddenly get dragged out on the highway? Most I'm sure. Scary if you think about it. ⏲️💣 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted November 19, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2023 I decided to put the center caps back on finally. The cap-head screws that came with the wheels broke through on two of the cap so I replaced them... I'm not sure about the gold tone of my replacement bolts though... I think they will be ok, especially if I stop pointing them out... probably. 3 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted November 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2023 The leather on the shift ball began to separate... so I bought some "Mad Tight Drifter" (or "Rice Boy" if you'd rather) parts... I cut the excess rod off... so the "carbon fiber" ball would sit like this... Then I pulled the console and old gaiter out... and compared the "carbon fiber" gaiter to the original... With the removal of one panel of "carbon fiber"... the new gaiter went into the console... I then popped the console and new gaiter back into the car... and installed the "MTD" (or "RB" if you prefer) shift knob bits... As with the Bride gaiter I just put in the Dajiban, I'm not 100% happy with how I bunched up the attachment to the stick. I may re-do it to make it "blouse" better next trip to the shop. We'll see. Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted December 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2023 (edited) I went for a hoon a couple weeks ago and afterwards the front end started clunking at low speeds. The freeway was fine (or at least I couldn't hear it clunking) but surface streets were really bad. We tried lots of things to narrow down what it could be and finally decided that the bump stops and gaiters really were important. We're getting pretty good at removing all the gubbins to access the top of the struts! If you look closely, you can see where the bump stop is supposed to be and how not having it could cause all kinds of camber and caster movement... So these (which for Mercedes parts were reasonable at about $50 per side)... totally solved the clunking problem. I'm quite chuffed. Edited December 9, 2023 by dimlight65 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted December 14, 2023 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2023 After 40 years of wanting a set, I'm finally going to get some Ronal wheels. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted January 15 Author Report Share Posted January 15 We're having another "blizzard" here in Texas... I mean, c'mon! That must be, what? An inch of snow? It's like the end of the world! Oh, wait... it's supposed to be 55° again Thursday. Never mind. Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 Well at least you're spared the cold that we've just gone through here, daytime HIGH temps were -38C (-36.4F) and once you add the wind chill it was -49C (-56.2F). 3rd coldest day in our recorded history. JAYSUS! Right now it's a more tropical -20.2C (-4.36F) - I think I can resume my tanning tomorrow! 1 1 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted January 16 Report Share Posted January 16 Hell. We got -8 Saturday/Sunday. I don't feel so bad now. Might snow tomorrow, maybe. Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted January 20 Report Share Posted January 20 I was in Langley Thursday, buddy in Maple Ridge got 13 1/2" snow Sorry for jacking the thread! Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted January 31 Report Share Posted January 31 On 1/20/2024 at 5:49 PM, EDM620 said: I was in Langley Thursday, buddy in Maple Ridge got 13 1/2" snow That happened here once. On a Christmas Eve As I recall... First time in my 51 years in Texas I had seen more than 2" of snow. 😄 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted February 15 Report Share Posted February 15 Well, since Tim didn't update this thread... 😄 We got a spare shifter out of another 453 and tried to see if we can bend the shaft and tap it to 12x1.25. It looks like we can. Pics to follow... We also got a spare rear view mirror out of the same wrecked 453 to see if we can extend the drop down to move the mirror down 1". It looks like we can. Pics to follow... We also got a spare tachometer to see if we can install a small boost gauge on it. It looks like we cannot. 😋 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted February 17 Author Report Share Posted February 17 On 2/15/2024 at 10:19 AM, datsunfreak said: We got a spare shifter out of another 453 and tried to see if we can bend the shaft and tap it to 12x1.25. It looks like we can. Pics to follow... This was a thing that we did today. First off, I removed the Mad Ti... OK, fine! I removed the Rice Boy shifter Wednesday and put a stock ball back on for the time being. Oddly, the car felt quicker somehow. Anyhoo, here's neutral stock... And here's the mechanism in stock form... We put a bend in the rod... and tapped it 12mmx1.25... And after much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, we got it all back together... The new position is awesome! I'm quite chuffed. I am going to buy another "carbon fiber" gaiter because I want to make it... well, better than this half-assed job. I learned a lot doing the Bride gaiter in the Chickenhawk. Quote Link to comment
EDM620 Posted February 18 Report Share Posted February 18 Whut? Hello Kitty shifter??? No manly men doing manly things with a Hello Kitty shifter... Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted February 18 Author Report Share Posted February 18 15 minutes ago, EDM620 said: Whut? Hello Kitty shifter??? No manly men doing manly things with a Hello Kitty shifter... LOL, I had a Hello Kitty shift knob on this car for a while. It was too tall and ran into drinks in the cup holder so I took it off. Maybe now with the bend... Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted February 22 Author Report Share Posted February 22 Took a picture of the Hello Kitty shift knob... And speaking of shifters, the side-to-side gate cable came loose this morning. Had to have it towed to the shop so I could disassemble it again and reinstall. This time, instead of relying on the little white fingers to retain the cable, I added a nut and bolt. It should stay together this time. 1 Quote Link to comment
dimlight65 Posted February 22 Author Report Share Posted February 22 The inside mirror has always been too high. I could only see a few feet behind the car. Of course, I took no "before" pictures of it installed, but here's the mirror unit... I took another mount, trimmed it a little, and added an extension... so I could mount a Nissan goose-neck mirror... Then I shortened the extension a little and popped it all in the car... I can get it a lot lower than before, and therefore can see much further down the road behind me. And before anyone asks... Yes, it does vibrate. All headlights look like figure eights. We'll add some damping to it later, somehow. 1 Quote Link to comment
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