Lego's 71 510 wagon

[Rustbin]

It is best to keep the OCD happy right away because getting back to it seldom happens and it will pick at you every time you think of it. I have slightly out of adjustment drawer front that I've been meaning to fix for the last five years and I only notice it every night before going to bed. Your project is looking good and I hope your getting satisfaction out of the process.

[Legoman27]

11 minutes ago, Rustbin said:

 I hope your getting satisfaction out of the process.

 

Absolutely
definitely feels good seeing how far it's come plus how much better my welding has gotten over time

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

On 5/28/2024 at 6:38 PM, Duncan said:

I'm having bad deja-vu after looking at all the rust repair you're doing.  I had a wagon in a similar state.

 

If the panels are moving while you're welding them, could you use sheet metal screws to hold in place, then come back and weld up the holes after?  I've used that method a LOT over the years, and it usually works very well for me.

 

Nice work on that wagon!

 

 

Sheet metral screws or clecos. Both have their uses.

 

I've been playing around with welding in sections at a time instead of tack welding the entire panel and working your way around it. The reason is because if a panel is welded on more than one axis, there will be shrinkage and movement along the way, and if you tack the entire panel in on all axis, the shrinkage turns into warpage, so I'll weld one entire leg, then another, until it's all welded up.

 

Does that make any sense?

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Um, wtf just happened? Can you fix this Mike?

[Dguy210]

10 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

Sheet metral screws or clecos. Both have their uses.

 

I've been playing around with welding in sections at a time instead of tack welding the entire panel and working your way around it. The reason is because if a panel is welded on more than one axis, there will be shrinkage and movement along the way, and if you tack the entire panel in on all axis, the shrinkage turns into warpage, so I'll weld one entire leg, then another, until it's all welded up.

 

Does that make any sense?

 

10 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

Sheet metral screws or clecos. Both have their uses.

 

I've been playing around with welding in sections at a time instead of tack welding the entire panel and working your way around it. The reason is because if a panel is welded on more than one axis, there will be shrinkage and movement along the way, and if you tack the entire panel in on all axis, the shrinkage turns into warpage, so I'll weld one entire leg, then another, until it's all welded up.

 

Does that make any sense?

 

10 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

Sheet metral screws or clecos. Both have their uses.

 

I've been playing around with welding in sections at a time instead of tack welding the entire panel and working your way around it. The reason is because if a panel is welded on more than one axis, there will be shrinkage and movement along the way, and if you tack the entire panel in on all axis, the shrinkage turns into warpage, so I'll weld one entire leg, then another, until it's all welded up.

 

Does that make any sense?

 

 

"I'm having bad deja-vu"...... 🤣

[datzenmike]

You can say that again!

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I don't know why it posted four times. Thanks for fixing that.

[Legoman27]

Trunk floor is all in one piece again

knocked down a few high spots, but most of the grinding will have to wait for another day

Up next, cleaning the gas tank and putting together an exhaust

 

 

 

 

 

[Legoman27]

so update, it still runs!
fresh battery, some gas down the carb and it fired right up

it doesn't run nearly this terrible when I remember to open the choke

 

even moved under it's own power. Last time that happened was august 2019
It'll be nice not having to push it every time I want to move the car

 

 

 

New exhaust is in, but still need to fix a broken stud on the header & actually put an exhaust gasket in

 

 

 

[Legoman27]

More attention toward the engine bay now

Removed the speaker wire that was used as a key bypass at some point
I think it was maybe an attempt to put in a starter relay, but was janky with electrical tape splices and disconnected long before my ownership

 

Along with the old relay, I pulled out some jumper wiring that I'm not really sure what the purpose was anyway

 

There's not much left of the horn under the battery tray

I remember a lot of mud & leaves pooled here when I got the car

These bolts actually came out intact after a lot of time with some vice grips and swearing

This whole corner of the wheel well will need to be replaced, but I'll address that some other time

 

 

driver side support arm isn't great but not as bad as I was expecting

seems mice left a few presents in there

 

 

Gas tank is cleaning up remarkably well considering all the rust that was in the trunk

Evapo-rust really seems like some miracle product at this point

Before

 

~24hr soak

 

 

 

Still trying to get the pickup tube to clear, but some time with a pressure washer seemed to get a lot of the remaining junk inside the tank

All the hoses needed to reinstall the tank and evap system are on order DQ V9 ISS#1 was a great reference

the level sensor I've got seems mostly intact, but I've been having trouble getting resistance readings from it

I can occasionally get a reading when probing the underside of the sender (normally inside the tank), but getting anything from the contacts on the topside is near impossible
maybe some evaporust cleaning with the rest of the tank will help
Cant remember where I got the info & someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but the sender from a 720 truck (other than the shape of the float arm) is supposed to be the same right?

 

 

 

Also pulled these out of storage to get cleaned up. They are a bit corroded, but they've never been curbed, and should be easier to get tires for than the steelies

[Legoman27]

goal - cars & coffee on the 14th

 

DMV appt is set
Tires are on order and should be here monday or teusday
gas tank cleaning is going well, but I should probably get some extra inline fuel filters just in case
 

 

Dug out the old seatbelts
The fronts seem to be in okay shape

The rear belts are scrap

All are on the list to replace

 

 

disconnected most of the wiring in the engine bay
seems that one of the lighting circuits melted at some point in the past
Might be the reason this car was parked if I had to guess. There's this area that was "repaired" and then another spot further along the harness that melted

the twist splices in the electrical tape probably didn't help

Either way, I'll probably leave most of the lighting disconnected for the time being

 

 

With most of everything out of the way I figured why not throw some paint at it
This'll get redone when I get around to swapping the engine anyway

slowly getting better

 

[banzai510(hainz)]

I see the Ford relay. I have this on my 521 for the starter as my keyswitch looses a volt or so and makes that clicking sound. I had the relay and used it but the black box light ones are the ones used more often.

 

save those jumpers incase.

 

saw the vid of it running.

I dont know if cold.

I alwasy do a valve lash set up then time it tomake sure the oil pump drive is in correct if its way off to stay running.

adjust the mixture at the base of the car and speed screw

Edited July 5, 2024 by banzai510(hainz)

[Legoman27]

1 hour ago, banzai510(hainz) said:

I see the Ford relay. I have this on my 521 for the starter as my keyswitch looses a volt or so and makes that clicking sound. I had the relay and used it but the black box light ones are the ones used more often.

 

save those jumpers incase.

 

saw the vid of it running.

I dont know if cold.

I alwasy do a valve lash set up then time it tomake sure the oil pump drive is in correct if its way off to stay running.

adjust the mixture at the base of the car and speed screw

 

 

planning to do some bench testing to see if the relay still works. if so I'll put it back in

 

Car was definitely cold, but runs better when I remember to open the choke
still needs some tweaking and a fuel pump that doesn't spray everywhere
I've never set valve lash, but figuring out that & a timing check are definitely on the list

 

[Legoman27]

Five hours in and I've got the engine harness to a point where I feel like it wont burn the car down

lots of splices and careful inspection
harness is re-wrapped and will be going back in tomorrow

[Legoman27]

more stuff done
 

Had a minor ordeal with the starter solenoid. most of the the threads stripped out of the copper bolt

soft copper though, so squish it a bit with the press and cut new threads

With everything back together the starter solenoid seems to be sticking and just barely catching the starter on the flywheel

I've got a new starter coming in tomorrow, hopefully that'll fix my issue
I'll hang onto the old starter either way, solenoid was working fine before, so may just need some better cleaning
 

 

 

Wheels are cleaning up okay, but could do with some more help than I can give
they'll have to be good enough for now

 

Front wheel bearings & seals are replaced

 

 

Got it out of the garage and went around the block once

drives well enough, but I've got a sizeable exhaust leak I still need to fix

new fuel pump works too

got up to temp pretty quick too
speedometer didn't work, but that'll have to be something I address later

[Legoman27]

pickup tube in the tank cleared finally thanks to shoving a steel cable down the pickup tube

 

got my tires mounted & put most of the front fascia back together
it looks far less like a heap now

 

seatbelt is back in
plugged the last of the vacuum lines

gathering bits to put the drivers door back together

 

Next couple days will be real busy

[Legoman27]

Gas tank is finished and back in the car
starter changed out
heater core hoses changed






Starter gear shouldn't move back & forth freely
Guess I put the solenoid back in wrong on the old one, oh well




Either way, the maiden voyage was a success!


Fuel gauge even works


Granted it runs about as well as I do, but it gets down the road
Next thing on my list will probably be replacing the carb, I'm sure the old hitachi is worn out at this point

Debating what path to go down, as I know very little about carbs
I've got a pair of mikuni's that I think came off of an old toyota, maybe a celica, & a redline manifold to go with them. I would like to use them eventually, but they're in an unknown condition
on the other hand I could get a new weber 32/36 kit - which would hopefully limit the need to diagnose any worn parts, so I could just focus on tuning

[Legoman27]

Last couple weeks have been real busy, but I've been trying to do a bit here, a bit there

Picked up a rotary polisher& have been working on cleaning up my overzealous use of spray paint
before

 

After

 

Thin paint and inexperience come together in a few spots

Picked up a repro gas cap
for the price its fine, but not sure I'd recommend it

 

new horn pad

 

new pad came with a ring
new one was stamped steel vs cast something for the original
pad swapped over no issues at least

 

new tail lenses as well
should be able to have reverse lights again
plan is to use VHT "nite shades" red to paint to the right color, but I'd like to find a similar amber paint for the turn signals


 

 

Edited August 26, 2024 by Legoman27
typo

[Legoman27]

wanted the side markers to flash with the blinkers, so i picked up some dual-pole sockets to put in

doing some research I figured out that this jumper I removed previously was intended to go to a headlight relay

it doesnt match the Bosch 5 pin relay that seems like the typical retrofit nowadays

 

Best I can figure, it should take one of these 6 pin relays - from Isuzus, Hondas & Nissans i'd guess in the early 80's?

I've got one on order so we'll see what happens when it gets here

cant find the springs for the headlights so I've got some new ones on the way as well
regardless, I don't plan to use or trust 54 year old headlight wiring more than the bare minimum

[Legoman27]

Last big thing that's been done is a distributor rebuild

fully cleaned & new grease applied
then Per suggestions of resident gurus, I went and tried my hand at re-curving the distributor

 

 

Seems to run better than before - It's at least harder to kill at idle 🤷‍♂️
Trying to time the distributor was fun, near impossible to see the timing marks past everything in the way

 

I need to do another compression test
maybe heat cycles have freed up the rings on the cylinder with low compression?
a man can dream right?

[WAGON JON]

The rust repair is spot on! You killed it with the die plates for the trunk floor board. So legit! 

[Legoman27]

Working on a few things

Discovered that my steering lock was useless -
1. it would only lock when turning right

2. the entire column would rotate when the lock was engaged

Turned out the slot where the lock engaged was completely worn out

 

and the three screws holding the column in place were all broken

 

 

After replacing the screws and welding up the wear in the lock slot, everything seems to be working correctly

Up next was getting the headlights working
Low beams came on with the dash switch, but the parking lights turned off

 

Turned out to be a combo of two things
1. It turns out I have the wrong fuse box,

so 12v was being sent to the headlight circuit at all times
Realized this thanks to this thread on the 510 realm
https://the510realm.com/viewtopic.php?t=33032

My fuse box:

What I need

Note the separate bus bar in the top left for the lights

Currently looking for the correct fuse box, but in the meantime this should handle things
- depinned L & R headlight circuit & used some inline fuse blocks to recreate that functionality

not super thrilled about the flimsy amazon bullet connector carrying all the power for both headlight circuits, but it works for now

 

2. someone snipped this jumper wire at some point
- likely when the lighting circuits had a meltdown

 

After fixing that jumper & opening the switch to clean all the connections

 

and another 20 mins of wondering why it still didn't work, I remembered to plug the relay back in, then the lights worked pretty well

I probably should still go through and clean all the connections a second time, just to make sure I've got the best chance of not melting down

Started to pull everything apart for a steering / front suspension refresh

 

I foresee new strut tops in my near future


though I've already got some 280zx struts, so I may go ahead and lower the front of the car  sooner than I'd anticipated

Edited September 29, 2024 by Legoman27
fix broken link

[Legoman27]

A few updates, but nothing huge
Suspension bits have all been painted and are back in the car with new bushings

 

Passenger inner tie rods seem hard to find for some reason
ordered a second drivers inner by mistake and found this
L to R
Moog / 555 drivers inner

Mevotech drivers inner
old passenger inner that was on the car

I'm inclined to believe that the Moog /555 part is correct, though I'm confused how the casting would have ended up  marked L but curve the other way

 

The steering box is the main thing holding me up at this point
The cage for one of the input shaft bearings has completely come apart

wear on the gears doesn't seem to bad otherwise

I've got some bearings on order that might work 🤞
if not, I'lll reach out to redheadsteeringgears.com and see if they have a set they can part with

[banzai510(hainz)]

Wow great work. I remeber the fuse box thing also. it was the buss bar under neath I believe .there 2 versions one had a full bar the other was 2 copper bars if I recall but I figurexd it out also.  Frank said he put a better fuse box in but went home the lights didnt work right. Thats why I keep all my stuff and say dont change anything unless its a ExXACT fit.

 

as for the dist slots .JB Weld is faster and ezer.

 

but the swastika wheels got to go. that wagon is to good for them. Wheels make a break a 510.!!   I run black stock with chrome trims rings

[Legoman27]

26 minutes ago, banzai510(hainz) said:

but the swastika wheels got to go. that wagon is to good for them. Wheels make a break a 510.!!   I run black stock with chrome trims rings

 

 definitely will be in the cards down the line at some point
I think a brass / bronze mesh style wheel would look great with the blue
(if you excuse my mediocre photoshop)