Forgotten Dreams: Restoration of a 1964 Datsun 1500 Roadster

[dbrick]

So it's still a one piece shaft, just modified to fit? Would be great if a way could be found to cut the one piece shaft and the later shaft, machine them to match an existing "double d" and use a sleeve from a factory collapsing column to couple them. We can dream .

[notoptoy]

Michael:
Thanks for the update. I remain extremely jealous of your fabrication abilities and skill.
I appreciate the sharing!

[Tomakze]

I just read all that has been posted so far, and all I can say is WOW. I wish I had the resources/skill you do! I can't wait to see more!

[spriso]

Fall Update

I have not had as much time to work on the 1500 as I would like, we have been busy with Eric's 510 project and a few other projects, but I have made a little progress.

Water Temp Sender

Jon Frampton is restoring a set of 1500 gauges for the car and of course I want the 1500 gauge to work correctly with the SR engine. To make that happen, I need to use the correct water temp sender that matches the gauge. Dean at Datsunparts.com had a NOS temp sender, so I ordered one with the correct retaining nut and all that was left to do was figure out a way to incorporate it into the SR20DE engine!



Since the SR20DE engine is all-aluminum, I needed to make a bung that I could weld into the upper water neck. I had a nice piece of round stock that was close to the correct diameter, and after about 1/2 hour on the trusty South Bend lathe, I had a simple bung that I could weld into the water neck:





The SR20DE water neck is an odd, narrow design, and fitting the long 1500 temp sender was going to be an issue, unless I wanted a really long mounting boss, which I didn't. Fortunately, the everything worked out nicely:



And a view from the inside:



All that is left to do is weld the bung into the water neck which I will do the next time we are welding some aluminum and we can scratch that off the list!

[23yrRebuild]

So it's still a one piece shaft, just modified to fit? Would be great if a way could be found to cut the one piece shaft and the later shaft, machine them to match an existing "double d" and use a sleeve from a factory collapsing column to couple them. We can dream .

This is what I did using parts from Borgeson to make the length adjustable.

[spl310]

Very nice work on that bung! I am just curious as to why you decided to keep the gauge stock rather than having Jon put more modern guts in the gauge that way you can use a sender that is more readily available. 1500 stuff is just plain drying up. I think that the guts out of a later gauge could have been installed, then you could use a later sender which is very common. Cosmetically, it would have been a non issue.

Oh, do you know what the differences in ohm values is between the 1500 and later senders?

[notoptoy]

Very nice work as usual Michael, I like the idea of keeping the guages stock. I think it's a neat touch on a modern interpretation of the drivetrain!

[spriso]

Sid wrote:

I am just curious as to why you decided to keep the gauge stock rather than having Jon put more modern guts in the gauge that way you can use a sender that is more readily available. 1500 stuff is just plain drying up.

Jon is already putting electronic guts for the tachometer and speedometer into the 1500 gauges, and I did not want to have to ask him to change another thing on this gauge set!

The 1500 temp sender was available when I looked for it, so it was not a big deal just to keep the gauge stock.

When I was investigating this a couple years ago, I figured out what the ohm resistance was on the stock SR sender and the 1500 sender, I will see if I can find the notes. Had Datsunparts not had the sender, then I would have had to figure out something else, but I will be using the stock 1500 fuel sender and the stock 1500 water temp sender, so we should be good to go.

Michael

[spriso]

More Frame Preparation

Before the body can go back on the frame, things like the brake lines and fuel lines need to be installed. Since this Fairlady is going to be fuel injected, I needed to build a new fuel feed and return line (we scrapped all the original lines!)

Starting with a piece of 5/16" hard line, I made a bubble flare. How do we do that, well here is how I do them:

1. Cut off the 45-degree double flare with a cut off tool, and debur the tube.

2. Use a standard flairing tool but instead of using the side with the recesses (for brake line double flares), turn it over so it looks like this:



3. Then put your standard die into the end of the tube and clamp down just enough to put a bulge in the end of the tube:



4. You should now have a nice smooth bump at the end of the fuel line for the fuel line to slip over.



We cut little notches into the seam so when we cross-over the frame side we won't have to cut into our tire clearance-- you can see this in this overhead view here:



Since the 1500 shock support tube is not recessed like on the later frames, I had to put a bump in the return line so it would clear it:



Then through the hole in the body support and flush along the frame:



Once we are through the body support mount, it is a straight shot to the fuel filter:



The fuel filter mount is standard stainless steel Nissan mount that you can find in any wrecking yard:



We mount the fuel filter on the frame rail as it only needs to be serviced every 30,000 miles (on a daily driven car), and it is easily accessible. It also keeps it out of the engine compartment for a cleaner look.



The front half of the fuel lines will be built once the body is back on the car. They will fit flush with the rear of the engine compartment and I like to custom bend them for each application for a tight fit.

The rear brake line is installed at this time-- since we like to move the brake lines so they go down the driver's frame rail (instead of the passenger side) a new line is bent (ignore the messy floor!):



It crosses over the top of the frame rail right behind where the body pad would go:



Over the edge of the frame and through the center of the hole for the body mount:



And down the frame rail towards the front of the car:



You get the idea...

I also visited the painter-- the interior is getting close, the dash has had its first coat of paint (which is totally washed out in this image):



Painter James did a great job getting paint under the entire dashboard which will make things nice when I am working under there!

The color is Volkswagen Aquarius blue:



Michael

[notoptoy]

Very nice work Michael. On the notches in the frame, do you just cut those, or are they re-welded? How much of a cut are you making, 1/4 or 1/2 inch or so?

[spriso]

On the notches in the frame, do you just cut those, or are they re-welded? How much of a cut are you making, 1/4 or 1/2 inch or so?

There is about a 1/2" overlapping seam on the edge of the frame rail. We cut that as close to the edge of the frame as possible, and if we expose the two halves, then they get welded and ground back together.

Here is an example from an earlier build:



Then with the brake line installed:



Hope that helps,

Michael

[notoptoy]

And then I take it you weld on the metal tab to secure the line. It looks like you use the same type of fitting as in the original set-up, is that so? I find that to be an odd fitting, and am curious as to if there is any special purpose for that fitting? Thanks for the post, I really need to learn how to weld!
Tom

[spriso]

And then I take it you weld on the metal tab to secure the line. It looks like you use the same type of fitting as in the original set-up, is that so? I find that to be an odd fitting, and am curious as to if there is any special purpose for that fitting?

Yes, that is the normal brake junction moved from the passenger side of the frame to the driver's side of the frame. We buy our brake line in 5-foot sticks, so you can't run it in one length. Yes, I could buy it in spools to get the longer length, but I have never seen anyone get it straight enough for my purposes when they were done unrolling it.

Michael

[spriso]

End of January Update

Visited with the painter tonight and the body is very close... we have a zillion little details to get sorted out, but we assembled everything checked the body gaps, test fit a windshield, etc. and it looks very good.









I am hoping to have it back in the next few weeks... then the real work begins!

Michael

[notoptoy]

It's looking fantastic! Can't wait to see it painted!
Your posts are always amazing, Thanks!!