Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Datsun has a new heart

Im almost finished welding up the uprights for the car. overall i think this has been worth even if i am not changing the geometry. also the Z has a new heart. i know this wasnt the engine everyone was expecting: vq35de; but this was a great deal and the inline six purists got to me. also i started to look at the engine weights. even though this is a inline and is an iron block it isnt that much heavier. the s54 is probably 70 pounds heavier the vq35de also is a v6 which im not particularly fond off despite it being strong in every other aspect. now i cant change my mind anymore :)












Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Waterjet Parts, TTT Parts, and Cowl Repair

I got a large shipment of parts. i got a bunch of TTT parts and the waterjet parts that i need to weld up my corners.

I am also going to explain how i repaired my cowl and flushed the wiper holes. I wouldnt normally post tutorials but this mod is very tricky. i messed up my first one due to warping. Anyways you will need to go very slow with the welding and spread it out. i did about 1-2 tacks every 1 minute. I wouldnt go any faster than this. also make sure that the patches fit flush with no gaps. I used a vise grip to keep the patches flush with the parent panel when tacking them in place.

After all the welding was done i hammered the panel as flat as i could make it. the next step is to grind the weld down. go slow you dont want to warp it with to much heat. also i left the rolled lip on the underside of the wiper arms to minimize distortion, but you need to grind this down when your done so that you can shape the metal easier. Another trick is to angle the flap wheel at ~80 degrees to feather the weld bead down without taking alot of metal off. Hopefully the panel is still pretty flat and not warped. mine was still a little warped and i had to use a blow torch to heat the metal and a wet rag to rapidly cool it. this shrinks the metal and gets rid of the "oil" can effect.

Hopefully all these tips will help you repair your cowl and/or flush your wiper arm holes



















Saturday, September 8, 2012

Machined Parts!

I finally finished all the machined parts for the suspension build. This is where i have spent a majority of my time for the last couple of months. Im getting the control arms, coil overs, and camber plates from Techno Toy Tuning. The next month should be exciting. Stay tuned for welding and getting the car rolling!









Sunday, May 6, 2012

New Datsun!

I got a new chassis and this one is in much better shape. The car was stripped down fairly easily this time around. a couple of updates: im going with a VQ35DE from a 350z. this engine fits behind the front axle line and i found a killer deal on the entire OEM electronics to run it. Im also going to fit some wilwood brakes and a hydraulic handbrake in the rear. the rear will be based of a subaru sti lsd and rear drive line. this means custom uprights; not only for the sti hubs but for the new brakes. the front is also going to get custom uprights. i figure it better to make a stiffer upright that can mount the brakes and use a 350z front wheel bearing than it is to make a new hub to mount to the stock front upright. I 3d scanned the front and rear uprights and the diamond racing wheel that i purchased for my spare tire/to get dimensions off of. Right now i am cleaning up the little bits, designing the corners and getting ready for sandblasting