Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

woohoo!




Got the fuse box, 10ft power cable to fuse box, start switch, and 70A relay for the radiator fan.

Probably just the picture angle, but that looks HUGE.

It measures 3.5" by 3.75" by 1.5" thick.

The transmission I am planning on using is one I had built for my 521 pickup rock crawler, but I think I am going to use a late 82-82 280zx turbo automatic for it instead.

Here are the basics...
Input/counter gear: SD22 with a tooth count of 32/21 = 1.52 counter shaft ratio.
1st-3rd gears are stock late 280zx countershaft and their associated output gears
5th gear is late 280zx with a tooth count of 26/44 (.590 ratio)
Also used a stubby output shaft and rear housing from a later 720 4x4 truck to shorten the transmission's length.

1st gear 14/34 = 2.429 * 1.524= 3.702 1st gear
3rd gear 27/28 = 1.037 * 1.524= 1.576 3rd gear
5th gear 44/26 = .591 * 1.524= .901 5th gear
These ratios were great for a rock crawler, but I'm not sure I need gearing that low for the Fairlady.

I think I will replace the SD22 input shaft and counter gear for the 280zx input shaft and counter gear to help on highway RPM's.

This should give all stock 280zx ratios of
1st 3.06
2nd 1.858
3rd 1.308
4th 1.0
5th .745

70mph RPMs of 2860 on 195/50R15 tires, with the 3.7 rear gear.

I have an option to put in a non-ZX 5th gear and get 5th up to .67, which brings 70mph RPMs down to 2572 all other things being equal.

The SD22 has a redline of 4000RPMs, and the industrial version of the sd22 had a limit of 2600RPMs sustained, so I would like to keep my engine around that rpm level for highway cruising.
I would like to swap in an 82-83 200sx rear axle so that I can take use of more differential ratios(3.54 and 3.36) and have the beefier axles, but it may be too wide to fit under the 1500 body...

I didn't realize the diesel trans had such a high numerical 5th gear. or is the .901 the one you built?

The trans I had put together was a mixture of gears from SD22 trans and a 280zx transmission. Nothing ever delivered from the factory.
The 3.702 1st gear was the main objective of that transmission, to lower the crawling speed for my 521 4x4 in off-road situations.

Also the .901 5th would help pull on the highway since big tires eat horsepower and overdrive becomes useless on most 4x4 trucks.

Picking up some 14x7 SSR MK3 wheels tomorrow. Hopefully getting some tires too. Probably just going to pick up some Douglas xtra-trac II walmart tires. Ran them before on my 81 datsun 210 and was more than pleased with the performance per dollar spent.

Very nice wheel, what's the offset? 7" wide might be hard to fit a 1500.

Made some progress..

I got the engine with stubby transmission test fitted. I had to grind down some ribs on the transmission case and its still close, might need to massage the tunnel a bit.
The bad news is that the throttle body cap does not clear the hood, but I was already planning on having to fix that.

Engine mounted with transmission:


Ribs had to be ground down:




Today I removed the engine(again), built door jam stabilizers that bolt to the upper hinge mounts(using some junk hinges), and to the latch holes. Seemed to work pretty good. Then started removing the body.


Its good to have huge jackstands.


Frame rolled out.


floating fairlady



and a little goodie that I found in the glovebox that was locked. I unscrewed the sheet metal hinge screws from the back side with some long pliers until I gained access into the glovebox.


also the 1964-65 authorized dealers list booklet. Unfortunately most of the pages are stuck together and try to tear if you force it to open. Its very moldy... :-/




North Carolina vehicle inspection sheets


and tag registration receipts.


Awesome!!!!!

Lots of great progress and good finds.
The inspection stuff is great to have, NC used to be really strict on inspections, depending on county. They checked everything, headlight aim, condition of the wiper blade, all lights, exhaust and tires. Good to know that it was at least passable on those dates.

what a treasure chest! great stuff to have

Good progress. Keep us informed. Cannot wait to see the finished product.

Pics from today. Started frame repair. Also ground the top of the frame and sprayed some white Rustoleum.

What is the plan for the intake mods?

The plan is to build a 90 degree adapter off of the intake manifold and point the throttle body toward the front of the car.