Project Mako - 1967 Datsun 1600 Restmod with SR20DE Power!

[spriso]

Keep Moving Forward

With my new ARP front wheel studs delivered today, I was finally able to finish assembly of the front hubs with our Spriso Motorsports 26mm big brake kit-- it all bolted together beautifully, and now with the front sway bar on, the front end is getting closer to completion-- still have the idler and steering box to get sorted out, but I have a plan for that.



The front brakes are complete other than the calipers-- I should have them back from powder coating very early next week...





Still happy with the progress, no matter how small...

Michael

[Gregs672000]

I need a bib...

[mojorising84]

Is that a 510 wagon lurking in the background?

[spriso]

David wrote:

Is that a 510 wagon lurking in the background?

Yes! We have a beautiful original paint 71 510 wagon in for some electrical work (someone had cut the wiring harness out of it) so we are restoring the electrical systems and making it run and drive again for a local customer.



I was a 510 guy long before roadsters, so its nice to revisit my roots!

Michael

[spriso]

Front Brake Conversion

Made a little more progress on Project Mako's front end this week with the completion of the 300ZX front brake conversion. The brakes are our 26mm 300ZX front four-piston brake caliper conversion. These use the aluminum Sumitomo front brakes from a 1990-92 Nissan 300ZX-- the light weight caliper is easily rebuildable, and fits under most 15" wheels.

I stripped down the caliper bodies and had them powder coated red, and then rebuilt them using new pistons, and seal kits from Nissan:



All assembled and ready to go back onto the frame:



The calipers were then installed using our caliper mounts over the custom discs provided to us by Coleman Racing Products:





Next up, finish the steering and the front end will be complete!

Michael

[vorpal]

Very nice... I did the same with a set of Nissan Z32 calipers that will eventually wind up on Red 67.5. Will be ordering the mounting kit from you in the next couple of months...

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[spriso]

Vorpal wrote:

Very nice... I did the same with a set of Nissan Z32 calipers that will eventually wind up on Red 67.5. Will be ordering the mounting kit from you in the next couple of months...

Hi Rob-- we have both the 26mm and 30mm kits in stock, so just hit us up when you're ready! You will love your brake conversion!

Michael

[mojorising84]

I've always had a soft spot for wagon's. My first car was a subaru legacy wagon which served me well through quite a few snowy winters in the midwest. And as far as wagon's go, the 510 is one of the best looking.
It's great to see the progress of everything coming together, can't wait to see the body get dropped on! That blue is gonna pop.
Just out of curiosity's sake, do you happen to know the taper of the upper and lower ball joints?

[tangoterje]

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Fantastic thread, really inspiring!

I just rebuilt some similar calipers a couple of months ago, they were from a S14. The seal retaining c-clips were really difficult to get to stick, they were slipping off all the time. I ended up sanding slightly on the insides to try to create some friction towards the rubber seals, but it´s not exactly nice to think about them possibly popping out. Any advice?

[spriso]

Tangoterje wrote:

The seal retaining c-clips were really difficult to get to stick, they were slipping off all the time. I ended up sanding slightly on the insides to try to create some friction towards the rubber seals, but it´s not exactly nice to think about them possibly popping out. Any advice?

The seals can be difficult to seat if there is excessive paint or powder coating on the ridge around the opening where the piston drops in. I only use genuine Nissan seals with my rebuilds, but I have run into issues with customers who have had similar problems that you described using aftermarket seals.

Obviously, you want the seals to seat properly-- this is what protects the caliper piston from getting road debris into them and possibly scarring the bores of the piston-- and why we refuse to use Wilwood calipers (they don't have dust seals!)

Mojorising84 wrote:

Just out of curiosity's sake, do you happen to know the taper of the upper and lower ball joints?

I do not-- I have never measured them. I'm sure someone has on here though!

Thanks for the comments and support of Project Mako-- we keep making steady progress between customer jobs-- and I am very pleased with the way this is coming together!

Michael

[tangoterje]

Tangoterje wrote:

The seal retaining c-clips were really difficult to get to stick, they were slipping off all the time. I ended up sanding slightly on the insides to try to create some friction towards the rubber seals, but it´s not exactly nice to think about them possibly popping out. Any advice?

The seals can be difficult to seat if there is excessive paint or powder coating on the ridge around the opening where the piston drops in. I only use genuine Nissan seals with my rebuilds, but I have run into issues with customers who have had similar problems that you described using aftermarket seals.

Obviously, you want the seals to seat properly-- this is what protects the caliper piston from getting road debris into them and possibly scarring the bores of the piston-- and why we refuse to use Wilwood calipers (they don't have dust seals!)

Michael

Ok thanks for the advice. I usually buy Pitworks seal kits, but I can’t remember if I did with these calipers.

[vorpal]

Agree with what Michael said above:

1) make sure there is not powdercoat residue in or around the seal grooves
2) use Nissan OEM seals and clips.

I remember the clips and boots being a little fussy, but after a couple I got the hang of it and finished all 4 calipers.
However, there are two small o-rings on the upper fluid channel between the caliper halves that did not come in the seal kit and I couldn't find it in the parts diagram. You can see them if you enlarge my third pic with the caliper halves shown. I carefully cleaned and re-used them.

[spriso]

Vorpal wrote:

However, there are two small o-rings on the upper fluid channel between the caliper halves that did not come in the seal kit and I couldn't find it in the parts diagram.

Yes, those o-rings are special (square edge) and are not included in the kit-- so make sure to take special care of them if you are rebuilding these calipers!

Those always get put aside in a small zip log bag while the calipers are rebuilt to make sure that they don't get lost.

Michael

[tangoterje]

Ah ok, I might have to do them again then. Pitworks kit incoming!

By the way, and this probably should be a separate thread, but I suspect there won´t be many replies anyway so I´ll write it here:
Endless S4F calipers, anyone know much about these? They´re supposedly compatible with MK63 setups, but I have my doubts that they´ll just bolt in without changing the brackets. They take 280x22mm discs, so slightly smaller diameter than the 285mm stock ones, but obviously vented. Plus they´re lighter and not so prone to flexing. I assume nobody here has these, as google turns up 0 info. I have a MK63 setup bolted up here though, with a bracket sourced from Spirit Garage in Gunma. It would be interesting to see of the S4F caliper would be a 1-1 bolt swap onto the brackets. I drove a Hakosuka in Japan with that setup two years ago, the brakes were very good! And I´ve seen them on SR311s in japanese car magazines, so I know it´s a thing.

[CSP311]

Ah ok, I might have to do them again then. Pitworks kit incoming!

By the way, and this probably should be a separate thread, but I suspect there won´t be many replies anyway so I´ll write it here:
Endless S4F calipers, anyone know much about these? They´re supposedly compatible with MK63 setups, but I have my doubts that they´ll just bolt in without changing the brackets. They take 280x22mm discs, so slightly smaller diameter than the 285mm stock ones, but obviously vented. Plus they´re lighter and not so prone to flexing. I assume nobody here has these, as google turns up 0 info. I have a MK63 setup bolted up here though, with a bracket sourced from Spirit Garage in Gunma. It would be interesting to see of the S4F caliper would be a 1-1 bolt swap onto the brackets. I drove a Hakosuka in Japan with that setup two years ago, the brakes were very good! And I´ve seen them on SR311s in japanese car magazines, so I know it´s a thing.

A little, they are meant to be direct replacement for the MK63, but also used on other cars with differing brackets. The MK63 requires the bracket for the SP/SR (as you said) so I suspect the same bracket should work the same...no concrete proof. I know a little as I am going MK63 on my set-up, got the calipers, yet to get a bracket (I am frequently buying from Japan).

My (limited) understanding is the MK63 was stock front brakes (single and vented) for some of the larger Nissan models, like the HA30 Gloria. A correct period mod, from the late 1960's when the like of the Gloria was around.