Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

charlee0620 wrote: Fri Sep 14, 2018 12:49 pm Hi Matt
I’m mounting my KA as close to level as I can because I could find a diffinitive answer for the mounting angle either.

Matthew

So I did see a mention of the engine angle being between 3-5 degrees (viewtopic.php?t=15614#p123852). I'm not going to blindly trust it but I'll keep it in mind.

So I cut the collar off the driveshaft and the transmission mount (the design used by TacomaBoy) is in place but the shaft is still too long. Does the brass shield on the back of the transmission need to be cut/removed too?

To answer my own question, I will indeed need to have the drive shaft shortened. I'll wait on that until I have everything where I want it.

In other developments, I decided the gas tank was as good as it was going to get and went through the process of sealing it with the POR 15 kit. It was pretty straightforward and so far it looks like it did a great job. Fingers crossed it sealed any tiny imperfections I missed.

Other progress: The transmission mount and test fitting the engine and transmission.

4x4 inch angle and 2x2 inch angle. Design inspired (stolen) from Tacomaboy

As you can see here, I notched out an area to make it easy to install and remove the bolts to the transmission. I'm considering notching the frame to make things even easier. I may also trim the bottom part of the mount for a little weight savings. By the way, the transmission mount used is the Energy Suspension 3.1108G. I originally bought the Prothane version of the Turbo 350 trans mount and it was too bulky to fit.

It looks like I have more work ahead of me. It is now clear that the alternator won't work in its original location, so I'll be fabbing a bracket for the old power steering pump location and going with the Justy alternator. I have another oil pan with the hump trimmed way down that I'll put on after I drain the oil.

Did test fitting this weekend. Things are looking good. The shifter comes up exactly where it should and there weren't any real clearance issues. I bought the Subaru Justy alternator and am working on making the brackets for it (I bought a laser alignment kit to help me line everything up). I kinda want to try the KA alternator since I think there might be enough room for it in its original spot.


Next up is making sure the motor is aligned correctly and mocking up the motor mounts.

I'm finally back to working on the roadster and trying to get as much done as I can during the nice weather. I've moved away from trying to make it perfect and pretty. I have the rest of time to make adjustments; I just want to get it on the road. New motto: "Done is better than perfect"

Motor is mounted (just tack welds for now). Angle seems good and so far everything clears. Might need to shave down the exhaust manifold flange like TacomaBoy for easily getting it in and out since the steering shaft is so close.

Next up was the alternator. I struggled with this for a long time and thought about it over the winter. The issue is that it needs to be aligned across multiple axes with the crank and water pump pulleys. I realized that what I needed to do was keep it in the same plane as those other pulleys and then a light bulb went off. Plywood works pretty well as a plane. It's ugly, but it worked pretty well.

Here are the mounts. They look rough, but done is better than perfect. I can try to model them in CAD if others are interested.

I think fuel lines are up next

I went to mount the gas tank last night and realized the Civic pump and sending unit sit too high. Do people normally cut out the trunk floor? I'd like to avoid that. Is there any issue with having the tank sit lower? Does anyone know of straps that will work for that?

Thanks,
Matt

I believe my swap originally used a Maxima pump, but I later swapped to a generic pump after the original failed after about 10 years of service.

My plan is to enlarge the access hole and cover, Shim the tank to the body 1", and lengthen the straps.
I have applied for a get out of jail card .).)

I ended up just grabbing some 1/8 inch mild steel from HD and bending it up with the help of a vise and trial & error. I'll need to make some spacer blocks for the top, but I think it should be good.

So I decided to spend the money on a 3-row Champion radiator. fj20spl311 said to go with the 2L radiator. I have it but it doesn't seem like it fits. It's a little too wide and runs into the steering box on my 1970.

Does anyone know if there's a version of the Champion 3 row that's a drop-in for the 1970 1600?

Bingo! Ordered the other version (CC1600) and it didn't take much more than drilling new holes in the brackets on the body that the radiator attaches to. I also knocked down some of the weld bead on the bottom of the radiator near the steering box to make sure there was enough room for flexing and expansion. I also go the hard lines for fuel and return run. After initially trying with steel and having trouble bending to my liking and flaring the ends, I switched to copper-nickel and I will stick with that. It's so much easier to bend and flare! Now I gotta figure out radiator hoses.

Bump
Pm sent

Ok, I need some help. I'm trying to figure out the cooling system, but don't know enough about it. The radiator I have doesn't have a filler neck on it. I've read I can just put one on the upper hose and that should be fine.

• Can I just put the filler neck on the upper hose?
• What are the 2 small tubes coming out of the top of the radiator for?
• How should the expansion tank be hooked up?
• From my reading it sounds like the expansion tank cap should be the type that opens with pressure and the fill cap should just be a cap. Is that correct?
• Do I need an overflow tank as well? It looks like there's a bracket for one.

Thanks,
Matt

See Below:
Can I just put the filler neck on the upper hose?
Yes. The reason no filler neck is that this is designed for a 1600 motor, which has the filler cap on the thermostat housing. The 2000 Radiator might be a better choice for you as it has a filler neck built in.

What are the 2 small tubes coming out of the top of the radiator for?
Again, this is built for the 1600, so the one that goes toward the motor went into the filler cap/thermostat tower. The one on the side goes to the expansion tank.

How should the expansion tank be hooked up?
See above.

From my reading it sounds like the expansion tank cap should be the type that opens with pressure and the fill cap should just be a cap. Is that correct?
Yes, that is correct. For the 1600 anyway.

Do I need an overflow tank as well? It looks like there's a bracket for one.
Not on a 1600 application, the expansion tank has a tube to route a hose down and out for overflow. It vents to atmosphere/ground.

Your cleanest/best choice is to get a 2000 radiator.

Second choice is to have that "T" removed and run the overflow from the radiator hose to the expansion tank.

There are several choices on pressure cap locations that will work.
If you can find a non-pressure cap for the hose fitting, that would be the usual set-up.
If not, its necessary that the cap in the hose is lower pressure than the cap on the expansion tank. I would use a 6-10 lbs on the hose and 12-15 lbs on the tank.

A pressure cap is a two way valve, allowing the pressure to escape when its too high in the system and allowing the expansion tank fluid to return when the pressure is higher in the tank than the system.