ksbeta

Problem resolved, post deleted. My brain kicked into gear and sorted this mess out.

Thanks all. Car sat level before... but all the suspension parts were pushing 30 years old at that point. Tires, shocks, springs, bushings... all worn. So it's hard to say. We ultimately ended up removing the higher perch when buttoning it back up today.

Pulling apart the suspension on the '71 today, and noticed that the rear strut towers didn't match. The driver's side has an extra piece welded on to hold the spring about an inch higher up the tower than stock. This car was built to autocross in the early '80s, and all I can figure is that this was done as a rudimentary method to compensate for the driver's weight. Nothing was modified up front. Any other possible reasons this may have been done? I'm switching over to an Illumina setup. Any potential impacts of leaving this as-is, for spirited recreational (but non-track) driving?

Steve, that exhaust is staying on the '70, but I might consider trying to get a shop to recreate it. Can't figure why they made the pipes come together for that short section, but it seems to work.

That thread is great, thank you both. I'll keep reading, cheers!

Having scoured the exhaust forum and reading up on twice-pipes, pipe diameters, etc., I'm hoping to get some insight on the Pros & Cons of a few setups, and get some advice for the new build. I've got three setups: 1) What's currently installed on my '70 2) New setup purchased locally on Craigslist 3) What's currently installed on '71 Forgive the crude drawing, but it's a notional sketch of the three setups: #1) Headers run into ~2" pipes until about the center of the car, where they come together into what looks like a 3" pipe for about 2 feet. They then split back into two ~2" pipes and head to twin 'resonators' at the rear of the car. This setup came with the car, I know almost nothing about it, and sounds absolutely fantastic: Resonators: #2) Setup purchased on Craigslist, guy had stored for awhile. Three parts: (a) Nissan P/N# 20010-N3000, twin 1.75" pipes coming from the header, combining into a single 1.75" pipe, where it attaches to ( single 1.75" pipe, through a 'resonator,' and continuing down a 1.75" pipe to © an Ansa-style exhaust. No header included here. a: b: c: #3) Setup currently on the car. Older headers, connected to what appears to be a 2.5" pipe that goes uninterrupted to the rear of the car where there's a more traditional looking muffler. I heard this setup while connected to the motor briefly (L24, light-Cam, twin Weber DGV's), and it sounded okay. Nothing to write home about. Short clip, not too helpful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9q7RirnZzg - - - - - - - So, the whole point? The '71 is getting a new L28, matted to 44phh Triples, with some camshaft work done. The exhaust that's on there currently is new from the headers-back, but since I have setup #2, I was thinking about putting it on. I'm worried the pipes are too small, but like the resonator/ansa-style combination. Would #2 be too small for this new motor (e.g., limiting?). Is there an 'ideal' for these cars? I've never worked with exhaust before, and want to make sure this is done right. I guess I could always try and re-create the setup of the '70 (#1), but thought I'd solicit some help first. Long Read, sorry. Thanks in advance for whatever bits of wisdom you've got. Bill

And the finished product. Thanks to Guy for his help with the paint, and Banzai Motorworks for the decals. Not sure why it looks red in this photo; ended up using the same Chevy Engine Orange from above.

Keith, We just re-did the site for Datsun Spirit - www.datsunspirit.com. Used Wordpress, good for blogs and/or static sites. Let me know if I can help if you go this route. Bill

Thanks 5thhosemann. Any chance you have a photo of those on the car? I'd like to see that size on there.

It's been awhile on this thread. Not for lack of activity - don't get me wrong. Let's call it a lack of direction. Enamored with the realm of possibilities, the build changed direction a few times. Fortunately, we're back on track with a firm vision. About this time last year, I stumbled upon a set of Triple Solex carbs, of the 44phh variety. Together with the manifold and linkages, this ran me about $100 from someone parting out a car. "This is a sign," I thought, that my car was destined to run with the best. With parts from Wolf Creek, we went about rebuilding them ourselves, and matted them up to the engine. So, let's get on the same page: Stock L24 & E31, matted to the original 4-speed and drivetrain. While Eiji at Datsun Spirit worked miracles getting them tuned, it was painfully obvious that no matter how much I wanted it to happen, those carbs would always be a bit too much for that engine. In 4th gear at 4-grand they sounded majestic; every underpass and tunnel in the Northern VA area has rang with the chorus of the straight echoing through the resonators. It's intoxicating and addicting. I wanted this setup to work - but something would have to change. The carbs came off the car, and were shipped up to Wolf Creek (still there). They'll be going on my '71 later this winter, but more on that later. Can't steal the thunder from here. The SU's from #1222 were sent up to Z-Therapy and given the full treatment. They're back, and ready to roll. We'll be doing a full-rebuild this fall. One of the other members on here was in possession of an E31 head that had been rebuilt by Kim Blough of Idaho Z Car back in 2004. He must have taken pity on me, because after 8 years of carefully storing it on a shelf, he sold it to me. It's fantastic. Straight and true, never been milled. Had a cleaning pass of just .002. That's it. Hardened seats have been installed as well, and I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better head than this. Possibly anywhere. The member who provided this should know he has breathed life back into this project in a big way. So there's the direction. We're going to return this car to its early, near-original glory. And why not? The reason I fell in love with this car in the first place was its power in spite of its simplicity. Complicating all that would be a waste, so the guiding principles will continue along the lines that the project started with: Originality, and simple quality of life changes (within reason). Along those lines, we'll be considering the transmission. Another project provided an FS5C71A 5-Speed, which research and discussions have revealed would have been the only option for putting in a 5th gear back in the early '70s. Provided we can prove its functionality, this will likely go in the car as well, so the highway runs to Skyline Drive don't have me spinning at 4,500. So that sets the plot. The next couple weeks will see some of the tear-down, and over the winter we'll get this put together. Thanks for your time.

John, Thank you for the insight. I'll really need to measure the wheel, but I suspect they have a negative offset. Someday I'll figure this wheel & tire thing out. These are the wheels. If you really squint, you might be able to see why I'm replacing the tires.

Marty - Thanks! Looks like the offset of my wheels will also factor into it; I need to measure those tonight. The car does have the stock front valence. And while I hope to get it on the track, it's more realistic that the bulk of the driving at first will be on the road (can't wait to get it out to Skyline Drive in the spring). Perhaps these aren't the right solution for me. I need to man-up and buy some 15" wheels. Thanks again Marty.

I've been reading everything I can on the site with regards to this size, but haven't seen a definitive answer yet. Could use some help, if someone is running these. Have an opportunity to purchase an unused set of TOYO RA1 tires in 225/50R/14. This is appealing to me since I have two 14" wheelsets in the garage, and no good rubber (haven't found the cahones to buy a 15" wheel yet). The car will have Tokico springs and Illumina struts. They're going on next week, so I don't have any experience yet with this height/setup. Can anyone hazard a guess how much rub I'm going to have? I'm worried that it'll just be way too wide. The car came with 215/60/14 installed (though I never got to run them), but my math, however poor, shows that the 225/50/14 would actually be 1.27" narrower (24.13" vs. 22.86") in diameter. Any insight would be appreciated; you could potentially save me money and a headache. [TABLE=width: 48] <COLGROUP><COL style="WIDTH: 48pt" width=64><TBODY>[TR] [TD=width: 64, bgcolor: transparent, align: right][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: transparent, align: right][/TD] [/TR] </TBODY>[/TABLE]

They sure do, you're right. I was eager to get started, and I'm fairly certain I still saved money even with 2 cans of duplicolor.

I got an "earlashingandunbeating" from my wife when I bought my car. Similar, but not helpful in your case. Good luck!

Was reading this older thread about restoring the 240z Airbox: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/thread37440.html Went to the store to grab the Dupli-Color DE1620 Chevrolet Orange and next to it on the shelf was Dupli-Color DE1652: Chrysler Hemi Orange. On the shelf, DE1652 appeared to be a better match to the original Airbox color. This coming from someone who (a) didn't have his airbox in front of him, and ( has never seen a Clean, Original box. Mine has 40 years of grime on it. I had a spare in the garage that I accidentally ran over last year. Never threw it away, because situations like this come around which totally validate being a pack rat. Airbox: Supplies - Tal-Mar's Airplane Stripper is the best stuff ever. It never ceases to amaze me. It was pulling paint off before I'd even finished spraying the whole thing. Basic research indicates that 3M bought Tal-Mar and ceased production for now. The product available at Advanced Auto Parts now is called Airplane Paint Remover by Klean-Strip. I attempted to use it on this project and was very disappointed with the results. Long story short: Find a supply of Tal-Mar and hoard. Half stripped, leaving some original paint to compare: DE1652 on the left, DE1620 on the right, original paint at bottom: Comparison with my as-then untouched airbox for the '70. (I found out later in the process of stripping the other airbox that it had a layer of very red paint on the outside; it had clearly been resprayed at some point with an incorrect color. The backing (at left) shows the original color: Attempting to get the comparison in better light. DE1652 is bottom right, DE1620 is top left, and the original is in the back. Conclusion? Hard to say. They're really close, and fluorescent lighting doesn't lend itself well to taking pictures of orange paint. I'm thinking DE1652 looks closer to the original, if not just a little 'duller.' DE1620 appears to be redder, but certainly 'pops' more. I'll take another look in broad daylight tomorrow and make a decision before painting my other box. One could avoid all this by buying the color-matched original online, but again, this just happened because I was at the store, faced with two options, and had a bent airbox to test on. [that's the most I've ever typed the word "box" in a single post].

Sign the contract, sign the title, look him in the eyes and tell him he can have the carbs back for $6,500.

Tried sending you a PM, but it broke my PC. I have an antenna; if you want to PM/Email me I can provide more details. Provided it doesn't break your computer too. ksbeta(at)gmail.com

Trying to do some research here, and I'm getting mixed answers. Per this (http://datsunzgarage.com/heads/), the N47 was the first head to have hardened valve seats. I've heard conflicting information though, that early '75 cars came with Brass-N42 heads, while the later '75 and '76 cars had hardened seats in their N42 heads. Can anyone shed light on this? Did all N42's come with brass seats, or did Nissan swap over at some point during the N42 run? Thanks, Bill

Optimist*

Looks great! Want to donate those Panasports to my '71, which is soon to join the ranks of cars with Eiji's motors?

I'm interpreting his description of the brown car to imply that it's about a 6/10, and has a 'strong body.' Optomistic, to say the least. http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/cto/3380465651.html

Sorry; I'm not the one selling that car on eBay. I was just commenting on how its ostensibly my car (BRG, Gold Mesh...), but in much better shape. I think the owner of that car is a member here, so I too wish him the bust of luck with the sale.

So #1,704 popped up on ebay, sporting nearly the same dress as my '70: http://pages.ebay.com/motors/link/?nav=item.view&id=221136320456 While mine might not look that good for long while yet, there are two things that can be said about #1,222 as of today: 1) It got a new home. My first house purchase included a spacious garage for both my '70 and '71, perhaps a friend's '75 for the winter, and.... 2) Bruce's package showed up. I haven't been so excited to see a box since lego's were under the tree when I was ten.

Carl, Chuck, Thanks for the replies. Yes, I certainly did. I'll compare them the next (third... [groan]) time I remove the transmission. Frustrating to think I bought a kit and it wouldn't work, but I suppose when it's not from Nissan, it wouldn't be guaranteed anyway. This was my first thought; one of the above referenced threads documents my attempt to free that. The first time I dropped the transmission, I was looking for this rust but it wasn't there. The new parts have only been in for about 3-4 weeks. Chuck - I may need to take you up on this; but first I need to see if the new transmission has all the parts. I appreciate the offer and will keep it in mind going forward. Engine idles around 1k; I still need to fine-tune the carbs idle. Was interested in getting it moving first. If anyone wants some DGVs let me know. They'll be obsolete sometime this winter. This has been a giant lesson in humility, that's for sure.