1970 SRL311 Resto-mod - SR20DET (Lucy)

[Mattk]

Wade
Wait a second you're in Dallas Where about?

My thread, albeit slow, is "Going KA...not BEAMS...yet!" You're making a lot more progress than I am.

I'm working on a 4link as well but I'm going triangulated so no panhard bar. Just a note on that you do not want to aim for 100% anti-squat, that's mainly for dragsters. I can help you out with that if you would like. I'm being helped out by an old GM engineer that designed solid rear suspensions for racing which hiem joints did you go with.

The welding comes with practice. I've watched YouTube videos and then gone and burned some wire.

Now that I've seen your lug conversion my "final" decision on my wheels my not be so final

Cheers
Matthew

[beebo]

The car and my folks are in Plano. If there are any roadster parts, or possibly KA compatible SR parts that you are needing, let me know.

I'm actually doing a triangulated setup as well. I went with the Ebay special HJ's ordered through QS Components. $190 for (8) 3/4" x 3/4"-16 heims with threaded tube bungs and 3/4" x 5/8" high misalignment spacers. Also, I ordered some pre fabbed brackets for the axle and the frame from another vendor. They were for 1/2" bolts, so today, I drilled them all out to 5/8", got hardware and pre assembled them for tack welding this week. Just wish we had the weather we did last week. This is just to get me by for a while before I decide to buy some real nice heim joints.

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Tomorrow I'll be going up to metal supermarket in East Plano to pick up some 1.25"OD .120" wall DOM tubing to build the links. Gotta spend the first half of the day at the DPS first

I'm shooting for a 50 to 60 % anti-squat. I sketched out the geometry to get a ballpark on what I need to shoot for, and set it all up to be easily modified based on what i find when I try and start mocking it all up. A factory Roadster has a center of gravity height of 18.5" and a weight distribution of 56F/44R. I figure a drop of approximately 50 pounds on the motor, an addition of 75 pounds on the rear axle, and relocating the battery to the trunk, I can shift the weight distribution closer to 50/50. Also lowering the car lowers the CG as well, so I set it to 16.5" Here's what I came up with as my go by:




A couple things that concern me, and they may or may not be issues, is how far forward my instant center is, and how close the frame will allow me to come to this plan. The 8.8 uses a cast center housing which limits where I can weld the upper links. with the roadsters narrow frame rail spacing, i'm not sure what kind of angle I can get on the upper triangulated links. The plan is to run the lower links parallel to the ground and parallel to the car's centerline, welding the brackets to the bottom of the frame rails right where it starts to sweep up, and where the original leaf spring brackets used to be. shouldn't be a problem. I hope to get the upper links about 70% of the lowers in length, and get an overall angle of about 60deg between the two. We'll se what the real world has in store for me tomorrow!

Cheers,
Wade

[Mattk]

Which steel yard did you go to? I went all the way out to Discount Steel in Saginaw. Its way out there but the prices were right and they have a good selection. I also am getting my rod ends from Steinjager.com. Same size as you but Im going with a 1.25"OD x .281 wall. I'm looking at skipping the bungs and just tapping the DOM itself. I also like the thicker wall because I like a high factor of safety as I might try squeezing even more ponies out of the turbo.

Sent a PM with my design.

And yes the DPS suuuuucks!!! (basically the DMV for all the non-Texans)

Cheers
Matthew

[silvertiger]

I bought all my rod ends from this company. Love the idea of them being sealed. Called the company told them my plan. They recommended
http://rodendsupply.com
XM, XF Rod Ends – Chromoly Steel – Self Sealing NylaFiber
or
AM – AF Rod Ends – Steel Bearing Self Lubricating

[beebo]

1.25"OD x .281 wall.

Crank that safety factor up to 11!

I bought all my rod ends from this company. Love the idea of them being sealed.

When these wear out, ill be replacing with something like those as well. QA1 has some like that, that are most likely the same part with their brand on it. It is kind of unnerving having these heim joints exposed like they are. cant grease em or it will just pick up dirt and wear out faster lol.

So i did manage to get a bit done despite spending my third day in a row at the DPS. Got my TX license back finally!
I got some new wheel bearings for the 8.8 and popped em in there to support the axles when I mock it all up. When I shortened the axles, the passenger side axle only needed to be shortened 2-3/4" which is less than the factory machining of the splines. Because of this, I cannot have it resplined, therefore cannot use it in the long run. I was lucky enough to find another drivers side (longer) axle on ebay for cheap, and with free shipping lol. Since the axles have no splines yet, I can't install the differential and insert the axles. What i did was cut a little piece of 1" tubing to simulate the retaining pin thats in the carrier, and use a rubber pipe connector to keep it all together for the time being. This sets everything up right so I can see where the rear wheels will sit under the body. They will be 1/4" out when rotors are installed though. After looking at the space I have for the four links, I felt confident enough to go ahead and make the welds on the rear end. I only got a couple brackets tacked to the frame before the sun went down.

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Depleting my Roadster budget in a hurry, Anybody want to buy a 240z and give me more funds? Damn Datsun addiction... I'd be better off with mild drug addiction.

Cheers,
Wade

[jfilipenko]

I'm curious about your wheel/tire set-up. What size wheels? What size and type of tire? They look spot on to my eyes!

***Nevermind I just saw the details on the previous page - thanks!

[beebo]

WOOOOOO! I'M BACK!!!!!

So I've been at pretty much 95% travel since January for work. Before I left, I had ordered the SR20det mounts and alignment jig from Spriso hopes it would arrive before I had to fly out. Unfortunately I did not have the time and was gone for several weeks. I managed to free up a weekend to knock that out before my next trip. I do owe Mr. Spreadbury an apology for holding onto the jig for so long, I'm sorry. This made it so freaking easy, it was awesome! Set the jig up, trim the mounting plates, weld 'em, cut some gussets, weld 'em, DONE! Highly recommended.

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This is how it sat until last week. I'm done travelling for a couple months, and my boss gave me a week off. Perfect! Datsun day, every day . My goal was to get the frame painted and the front suspension bolted up. I didn't get that far, but much progress was made. I mocked up an SR block/trans in the frame, and had to notch a little bit more. All of the frame cutting and welding for the SR is now complete! I spent a day wire-wheeling, scrubbing, and power washing the frame. I then used black KBS frame paint. They had 3 products: KBS-Klean (basically a degreaser), KBS Rust-Blast(etches the metal and removes rust), and the paint itself. The paint is a self leveling enamel, and i applied it with a brush. It said to apply two thin coats, but it was such a PITA with how i have the body still above the frame, I just did one thick coat. full cure is 96 hours, but after about 12, it was extremely hard, and could not be easily scratched off. There are spots that I just couldn't get with a brush, so next time I get time to work on it, I will go over it all with some spray bombs.

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I forgot to snap some pictures of my new goodies before I left Dallas, but I ordered Comp front springs, 23mm sway bar, KYB gas-adjusts, and front and rear drilled/slotted z32 brake rotors. I'm really close to getting it sitting on its front wheels. The 5-lug hubs are now finally installed on the roadster spindles. I had to space out one of the bearings because the roadster spindle was about 3/16" too long, making the bearings unable to seat properly. An NL30 Nordlock washer set was the exact outer diameter as the outer diameter of the roadsters outer wheel bearing. This was fit into the hub prior to the bearing, spacing it out .22". The bearings now seat correctly, and the spindle nut can be tightened. OEM Nissan wheel seals were tapped into the back. They sit right where they should on the shoulder of the spindle. The cotter pin hole lines right up with the slots in the castle nut as well!

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Thats pretty much where I'm at right now. The next goal I have for the car is to finish up the 4-link, and get the rear axle built. After trying to mock up the triangulated 4-link, I realized that I just didn't have the space I need to pull it off. That idea has been abandoned, and the new plan is to do a parallel 4-link with a watts linkage. The bottom bars are already fabbed and installed. I'm designing a bracket system for the upper bars, and should have it sent out to be water-jet early next week. Also a watts linkage center pivot section is on its way from GriggsRacing. Once i get this thing rollable, its coming down to Austin with me, and progress should be much faster and more consistent!

Cheers,
Wade

[spl310]

Lots of progress! I'm looking forward to seeing the front brake build out.

[notoptoy]

Amazing build, welcome "back" and thanks for sharing. Looking good!

[GeoffM]

'Sup HSS Strat buddy.
Wow what a project! Looking forward to see the rest of the build.

[Mattk]

Awesome!!

[beebo]

Thanks everybody! Here's where I'm at on the rear end build. I don't have photos of everything, but I'll post what I can.

So the bottom bars have been fabbed, and brackets welded the both the axle and the frame (where the fore leaf-spring bracket used to be). These bars sit parallel to the ground, and have no points of adjustment other than length. For the upper bars, I will mount the brackets sideways(bolt will be vertical), and on the inside surface of the frame rails. For the brackets welded to the axle, I designed a 2-part bracket system. This will have some smaller brackets welded to the axle, that will have provisions to bolt on the main brackets. I really wasn't a fan of existing pre-made weld-on brackets that have multiple mounting holes on them. With this bracket design, different height brackets can be fabricated and bolted in, giving very fine 4-bar adjustment.

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After shopping around for a Watts linkage, i found that they typically come in full kits designed for a specific chassis. I didn't want to spend $1000 bucks, and throw away or have to modify half of the kit. I found a company called GriggsRacing that sold a bolt on Watts linkage center section separate from the actual linkages and chassis mounts. It is absolutely beautiful! When I unboxed this thing, i got goose bumps!

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I still have to cut down the extra driver side axle that i got and have them resplined. Moser engineering offers this service, and seem like the go-to guys for this. Once this gets done, I can start reassembling the axle!

http://www.moserengineering.com/moser/shop-services/

The last piece of the puzzle is the shocks. I was looking at QA1 coilovers for the longest time, but I found some from RideTech that look pretty good. $650 for rebound adjustable coilovers in my choice of length and stroke, and springs in my choice of spring rate. my thinking right now is to weld no some brackets to the front side of the axle and use the existing frame bar that the roadster shocks mounted to. I'm hesitant on this because I don't know what kind of forces that bar can take. I'll have to take some measurements and do some load calculations on it. It may either need some reinforcement, or to be recreated a little bit stronger.

http://www.ridetech.com/store/coil-overs/

Cheers,
Wade

[GoldHawg]

Just curious, did you ever consider going with a three link instead of a 4-link rear end? I'm still wondering if this could be done given the Datsun has room under the package tray.

I really appreciate all the photos of what you are doing. Keep up the good work!

[fj20spl311]

How about a torque rod system like this one from Griggs Racing?

[beebo]

Wow! 11 months since my last update. No no no... I have not abandoned this build. I've just been a little side tracked. In a nutshell, I picked up another small project that I just could resist, I've been travelling a LOT for work, and a bunch of other life stuff. Anyways, that's all slowing down, and I'm finally finding the time to dedicate to the Roadster! PhotoBucket isn't working for me right now, so I've got a couple links to photos on my google drive.

The rusty spots in the floor pan need to go. Slowly but surely I got some new metal down there. It's not the prettiest patch job, but it will covered up so meh...
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B572v ... VZLOU5HUzQ
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B572v ... EFrLTBxUkE
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B572v ... zRXWnpOMnM


I had those brackets in my previous cut post up by a local laser/waterjet company. welded 'em up to the rear end, and finished out the upper bars for the 4 link.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B572v ... zZQQVZ3Y0k
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B572v ... 1RmLUU1dms
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B572v ... 0ZIYzN6RWc
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B572v ... VJkdE0wUVk

The axles for the 8.8 were just shipped off to Moser Engineering to get re-splined. They supposedly have a super quick turn around time, so I'll be able to reassemble the rear pretty soon. Also, the bottom end for the SR20 was just dropped off at a local machine shop for deck resurfacing, cylinder honing, and crank/rod/piston balancing. The guy didn't give me a lead time on this, so I really have no idea how long it will take him. I'm always nervous dropping my stuff off into other peoples hands I'm excited to finally start assembling this motor though.

How about a torque rod system like this one from Griggs Racing?

Yah know, I never really considered this. I don't know why i just skipped past this setup... after reading about it, it seems like it could work very well in the roadster.

Just curious, did you ever consider going with a three link instead of a 4-link rear end? I'm still wondering if this could be done given the Datsun has room under the package tray.

I really appreciate all the photos of what you are doing. Keep up the good work!

Haha, funny thing is that i never considered this, but it will end up being what I will go with. So after welding up the four link, I quickly found a problem. Because the bars are so dang short, and it is full heim joints, the thing binds like crazy! I overlooked that fact that when the bars are not perfectly parallel (upper and lower), the axle housing acts like a massive swaybar! lifting one side of the axle almost immediately raises the other side. I'm simply going to remove one of the upper bars and make it a "parallel" 3-link. I think thats a thing

Hopefully I can start laying down some more consistent updates for y'all. I hope y'all are all doing well!

Cheers,
Wade