Muttley

[Tedman]

Meet Muttley, my '72 4-door 510. This one is a theft recovery, circa 2001. I acquired the car last spring, and recently got it running and driving for the first time since it was stolen. It has been pieced back together from parts from many 510s, so it is truly a mutt.  It has an L16 with W53 peanut head and 280ZX 5-speed.  I have since rebuilt the Weber 32/36 carb, replaced the brake and clutch master cylinders, refurbished the brake calipers, installed new rear wheel cylinders and shoes, and installed a Safari rally suspension. My vision for this car is a tribute to the BRE Sugar Daddy Baja 510.  Here's a few pics from as-bought, a current pic, and my inspiration.  

[Rustbin]

I wish you the best success in this endeavor. I think your wheel choice is nicer than the original.

[Stitebunny]

Fun project!

what does the rally suspension consist of?

[Tedman]

23 hours ago, Stitebunny said:

Fun project!

what does the rally suspension consist of?

Over time I have pieced together most of the factory rally suspension parts for this build. I installed a used pair of front rally struts, but one of the dampers was seized, so I have installed a NOS pair of GAB HD/rally cartridges. I also installed the factory offset strut insulators and longer 610/710 lower control arms to counter the positive camber introduced with the increased ride height. I opted for an aftermarket 23 mm front anti-roll bar rather than the factory 19 mm bar because realistically this car will likely be driven primarily on pavement. In the rear I installed a used pair of factory rally springs, along with a pair of used KYB gas-charged rally dampers.  I got lucky with the KYBs as they seem to have plenty of life left in them. I don't know what brand the factory used for the rear rally dampers, but likely Tokico or KYB. The front rally struts have Tokico stampings.  The only other changes I've made to the suspension are urethane front lower control arm bushings, conical urethane T/C rod bushings, and urethane upper rear damper bushings. Overall the ride is on the firm side, but not harsh. For reference, the rally spring rates are very close to the old 510 Mulholland/Interpart lowering springs.

[Tedman]

On 2/7/2025 at 7:39 PM, Stitebunny said:

Fun project!

what does the rally suspension consist of?

BTW- I see that you live in Renton. Lived there for a few years when I was a kid. We could hear the hydros on lake Washington from our house during Seafair. 

[Tedman]

On 2/7/2025 at 5:59 PM, Rustbin said:

I wish you the best success in this endeavor. I think your wheel choice is nicer than the original.

Agreed. I think the original used stock 240Z steel wheels. I'm considering painting or powder coating these aluminum wheels to be more faithful to the original color scheme, but personally I think they look better with the natural aluminum finish.   

[Tedman]

Some pics of Muttley's interior. Still a work in progress.

[Tedman]

In the engine bay, I installed a Koyorad radiator, new alternator, an Odyssey battery and a new clutch master cylinder. I rebuilt and installed a good used front brake master cylinder that I had on-hand, and I rebuilt the Weber 32/36 DGV carb that came with the car. I also had a new 2" exhaust system installed using the muffler and tip that came with the car.

[Tedman]

In the trunk, the fuel tank was cleaned and installed with all new hoses. I fabricated a trunk floor fuel line feed-through plate with rubber grommets to replace the NLA large oval rubber grommet. The trunk also carries a 165R13 Pirelli spare tire that I had mounted on a stock steel wheel, as well as a stock scissor jack, wheel chocks, and lug wrench.  

[Tedman]

I refurbished the heater in Muttley last fall. Fortunately, the heater core was leak free. I replaced the heat control valve with one that I had on hand and had previously rebuilt, and I replaced the hoses with sections from some OE 510 hoses that I had on hand, plus a metal angle piece that I had left over from an SR20 engine conversion on another car. It's really nice to have heat, even here in Southern California, but by today's standards, the windshield defog function is lacking.  

[Tedman]

A few miscellaneous details

Edited February 9, 2025 by Tedman

[fiveoneO]

This things super cool! Nice work.

[Rustbin]

Did you just get the idea and then search out the parts needed or did some fortuitous acquisition spur you onto this project? It looks good, you seem to be quite thorough with building this car.

[Tedman]

On 2/9/2025 at 7:01 PM, Rustbin said:

Did you just get the idea and then search out the parts needed or did some fortuitous acquisition spur you onto this project? It looks good, you seem to be quite thorough with building this car.

 

Fortuitous acquisition. I came across these factory rally struts about 20+ years ago at a UFO SoCal swapmeet, something I had never seen before. They were cheap, so on a lark I bought them, and the seed was planted. I picked up the rear springs (had to buy a set of all four to get the rears), rear shocks, and other stuff, bit by bit, in the intervening years. Once I had the suspension parts, I started fantasizing about actually building a 4-door rally-style 510. Those fantasies marinated in my mind for several more years until I found myself retired from my job, and with time on my hands. Then last year I found out that a good friend had a 4-door project 510 that he was possibly looking to sell to fund a '33 Ford hot rod project, and, well, here we are. 

[Tedman]

GAB Super strut cartridges replaced the wet strut guts of the factory rally struts. The original rally strut guts are shown at top in this photo, and they are far are beefier than the stock 510 strut guts.  The original application for these GAB cartridges was for a Bluebird SSS 79/11 which would correspond to a 1980 USDM 810. They are approximately the same length as 280ZX strut cartridges. 

[Tedman]

Rear KYB rally shocks. 

[Tedman]

Offset strut insulators and longer 610/710 lower control arms. 

[Tedman]

A few more details of Muttley.  Map light assembly, custom gauge panel, 280ZX shifter with 510 lever boot, Gates fuel filler hose.

[chukar]

This will be fun to watch.  I love how detailed your build threads are.  I got some great ideas from your Zeke build.  Thanks

[iceman510]

Nice work as always Ted.  

 

Good to see more detailed content beyond what you already shared on the Bluebird list.

[Tedman]

I've been working on Muttley's next induction setup lately, a SSS Hitachi SU setup that was purchased from a buddy who had upgraded to Weber sidedrafts. He bought this carb set new from Datsun Comp in the early/mid-'70s. I have cleaned them up, and they appear to be in very good condition. FWIW, the original BRE Sugar Daddy Baja 510 ran a set of these carbs back in 1972 Baja 1000.

Edited February 14, 2025 by Tedman

[Tedman]

Muttley's current engine compartment.

Edited February 14, 2025 by Tedman

[Tedman]

Recently completed a ~500 mile road trip in Muttley to the Anza Borrego desert. This would be our most ambitious outing to date. Muttley performed admirably despite a few faux pas on my part, namely a loose RF T/C rod nut, and loss of one of the rear diff mounting bolts. The dipstick also came loose resulting in a little oily mess on that side of the engine. The loose T/C rod nut and diff mount bolts weren't discovered until we returned home. The loose dipstick was discovered at our first fuel stop, and quickly remedied with zip ties. Otherwise, Muttley totally exceeded my expectations, handling the tarmac with poise, and conquering our first off-road trail excursion with flying colors. More adventures to come! 

[Tedman]

Entering the Anza Borrego Desert State Park from eastbound SR 78

Edited March 2, 2025 by Tedman

[ggzilla]

Is that what the Kia Borrego was named after? Fine big V8 SUV. I could see it tooling up and down those trails...

 

I love these Baja style builds. And nice work on the back area, lighter and better looking than the plywood my Datsun had

 

On 2/8/2025 at 8:16 PM, Tedman said: