Sunset build thread

[notoptoy]

Did you try swapping sides with the "correct" bearing, to make sure the spindles weren't different?

[krismon]

Did you try swapping sides with the "correct" bearing, to make sure the spindles weren't different?

Yup, I did.

[notoptoy]

Then sounds like a bogus bearing to me. Are they name brand - SKF or such?
I hate to China bash, but I got some bearings for my 99 Explorer from JC Worthless cause they were so cheap.
They were shot in 10K miles and had to replace them - didn't save a dime.

[krismon]

They are Federal-Mogul/National, had assumed better quality from a long established American brand. Just checked the box-made in China. I guess there's a reason it's not in the Fortune 500 anymore. Going to buy the same bearing again and hope it fits, try to return the bad one. Getting the bearing races in and out was 90% of the work, and I don't want to do it again.

[krismon]

Tom, Sorry I've been thread bouncing the same problem. But I think the problem is just me! I got the other National bearing to fit by hand, had to wiggle it in ever so slowly or it would get stuck! Now I just have to figure out how to slide it in while it's on the hub/rotor assembly. Maybe the tolerance is tighter? Also today got an SKF (German made) bearing and same thing.. super tight, have to have the exact right approach angle on the spindle for it to slide on.

[krismon]

Putting everything back together... on the '69.

http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun311 ... fault.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

shows an oil seal spacer on the inner bearing (#6), I didn't see one when I took the hub apart. No biggie with modern oil seal?

[krismon]

Oh my! Six months!

Since Halloween good stuff..

-new front brake pads (one was too wide and I had to sand it down to fit through the caliper)
-front wheels are on like donkey kong!

Frustrating stuff..
I finally drop the car off the jacks and try to drive out. No bueno. rear wheels hit the leaf springs BAD news. wheels went on ok with the suspension unloaded, but on the ground, ouch. I need spacers back there! Ok, let's leave it be, for now.

I work retail, so it's busy season. Thanksgiving rolls by.. then Christmas, a little travel.

It's now January... Oh! I have a car that's up on jack stands in the garage!

Measure twice.. I order spacers: 20mm 4x114.3 Hubcentric Wheel Spacers



Since the studs on these are metric, I had to order same style as the front in metric. that's gonna be confusing later on.

Spacers come in, they sit in a box in the laundry room as life goes on.

February comes along and I'm installing the spacers in the back.. easy peasy. I look from under the car.. whoa wobble -- quarter inch lateral wobble. Must have bent the wheel when it hit the suspension way back in November. Then I get this bright idea, let's put another wheel on there... wobble still there. I now know that I must have bent the axle and not the wheel. So I decide to deal with that later. It's not that big of a wobble, and I'm wishing for one of those RX7 rear ends anyway(who will sell me one?). It's now 11pm and I go to bed.

Fast forward ->->-> April. Yeah it's been crazy with work and travel and stuff.. I get the car off jack stands, try to start it, no battery. Ouch, I have a draw that I know about, but forgot to disconnect the ground like I always do (I have a knob). Out come the jumper cables.. grab my mother-in-law's camry and try to start.. crank-crank, no start. meh... fine, turn the knob, disconnect the ground, leave the car running until I get about 12V on the battery before I connect my trickle charger.

Time goes by, it's now May.. hey! that red top should be charged by now.. hah! it's been 3 weeks! Crank, crank, no start. hmm I have spark. I have fuel pressure. You can probably guess by now that I forgot to put sta-bil in the tank way back in October. Major ouch. What I thought would be a weekend job turned into a series of crapola and now I have a tank full of fouled up gas, carbs were all gunked up. It's getting hot and I'm not gonna mess with my gas tank at home. So this happened last week:



Some $$$ later, tank is cleaned, car runs, carbs are still kinda wonky. I reach out to Keith Williams, who tells me that we can do the carbs at home. New wires and plugs happen because the old plugs were fouled, been running a little rich. Can't find weber jets in vegas to save my life.

Went to pick the car up, drove it 10 miles back home with a full tank of gas.. first thing I do when I got home is put sta-bil in the tank.. and drive it around the block a couple of times.

Today.. Tore into the carbs and cleaned best I could. Will need to revisit the jetting soon.

Pics from today, nice sunny day in Las Vegas.




(yeah, the not-to-be-named shop bought the low window soft top, tried to install it on the frame AND taped the weatherstripping on to the car and not the top.)

I've decided to put my current todo list on this thread so that I can keep track of it, can everyone can see my (lack of) progress:
-fix rear axle (or find the rx7 swap, anyone have one to sell me?)
-carb tuning
-figure out front center caps.. maybe buy some new grease caps and smash them to fit? 3d print new ones?
-obtain and install soft top (frame is still good)
-figure out the power draw
-get the windows to roll up and down
-working gauges (+oil pressure & water temp senders)
-wiper motor needs hooked up
-gas hood struts?
-windshield sprayer needs hooked up (thanks for setup, zippy67roadster-- who I see is at 999 posts.. one more dude!)
-music? (I'm writing some software to put a raspberry pi with a touch screen where the clock currently is)
-air conditioning?
-I'm sure more stuff..

[Alvin]

lookin' good!

[Gregs672000]

I hear you on the to do list... Seems like it grows bigger while the days grow shorter!

[krismon]

Carb work today. New venturis (32mm), new F2 e-tubes and jets. Hooked up the wideband. Got ready to go for a drive, but the temperature switch on the radiator fan appears to not be working anymore. It's too hot to not have a radiator fan, even for a short drive. Could be the relay... Will bypass tomorrow and go for a drive.

[Gregs672000]

Carb work today. New venturis (32mm), new F2 e-tubes and jets. Hooked up the wideband. Got ready to go for a drive, but the temperature switch on the radiator fan appears to not be working anymore. It's too hot to not have a radiator fan, even for a short drive. Could be the relay... Will bypass tomorrow and go for a drive.

And the jetting adventure begins...

[krismon]

And the jetting adventure begins...

And then it stops.. I had just got idle dialed in at a nice 1000rpm at 12.5 AFR.

I ran out of gas in the garage. Electric fuel pump kept running while the float bowl emptied, must have been at least 5 minutes, maybe more.. now with a full tank of gas, I get 1psi. Time for a new fuel pump. @Chuck66 was right! Rookie mistake. I really do need to get the fuel gauge working.

Kris.

[Gregs672000]

Aint it fun? The wide-band is a must. I would see if you can get her to idle closer to 14 ratio if possible... 12.5 at wide open throttle, 14.7-15 at light cruise with a good response richer with acceleration, and 12.5 when you stomp on it. If she drops into the 10s or so when you jump on it go smaller on your accelerator jets or consider adjusting the pumps throw on the rod (assuming its adjustable). I believe the rod determines the volume available, and the jet determines both the duration and the amount... A smaller jet squirts fuel longer since the hole is smaller, if the pump diaphram is allowed to empty itself. A bigger jet will dump the same volume but in a shorter time (so more fuel at once). I would change pump jet first, then mess with the rod or pump volume if needed.

[krismon]

the guys at sidedraft_central(yahoo group) have convinced me that 12.5 from idle all the way to WOT is the ideal tune. I'm trying to get as close to that as possible.

[Gregs672000]

the guys at sidedraft_central(yahoo group) have convinced me that 12.5 from idle all the way to WOT is the ideal tune. I'm trying to get as close to that as possible.

Perhaps, but based on what? 12.5 isn't a bad richness, but it's still rich. It provides an extra level of protection for a high compression engine, but a relatively stock KA should produce as much or even more power at closer to 14.7, which from what I understand produces the fullest burn with the lowest emissions. Especially unloaded... 12.5 at cruise is dumping fuel out the pipe and may make you run a bit hotter. I'm no expert, just my understanding and some experience... Don't ya love it when someone says one thing while another says something different! Only way to know is to run both set ups on the dyno.