Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

Just mentioning
Did you see that Alabama GP (new ?) course last Sat. on TV ....very cool

Yes, the first hurtle in rebuilding something is completely taking it apart. To really clean the a-arms, one is committed to removing years of neglect. If you do not know when you spent a weekend lubing your car, you deserve a project like this!

Today an other Datsun Roadster mile stone was passed. The upper and lower a-arm bushings were successfully changed. I now understand one more of the secret hand shakes of this cars ownership. I will write it up later, first I want to savor the glass of wine.

Next, the reason for including the upgraded spring perch is in the next photo.

Just a quick note on the painted undercarriage, the car is "not" getting restored. Nope.

If you SS Wire brush the brake rotors it puts some nickel on the metal to stop rust

The front hubs and rotors are next in line. This side is off the car and the bearing races are out. I will collect the set of rotors after tonight's rebuild session and try to have them surfaced removing as little as posable from the disks.

Brake pads are next, still hunting for something that will do everything, short of track time. Yes, I am looking at using the Dunlop calipers. Again, Auto Crossing is not road racing. Weight kills speed generation.

This car is an exercise in momentum. My base line is my 1982 BMW 320i, stock 1.8 ltr with a 5 speed. This is a fun car to build and carry speed!

Good Work! Yep, those bushings are a challenge Eh? I see you got the right shocks, they're great!

PSA: Does your front end have the cotter pins in place? More importunately, are the correct nuts in place that require cotter pins?

The front end work on Monday included removing the tie rod assembly on the driver side. The nut at the spindle gave way with the usual tap. The inboard required a pickle fork. The boot was already ripped, in fact all the boots on both sides were junk. I did not tug on either side or give them a second look. They were getting replaced.

But yesterday there was a "Oh Shi." moment on the passenger side.



No, not the fact the tires rod is bent, just a little. It's the dame pinch bolt on one end, applied over a stripped tie rod bolt. That was for all intensive purposes no more than finger tight.

First, I do not think the previous owner had any knowledge of this bog of a fix. They had spent real money on the upper and lower ball joint replacement. I would like to have an in-depth conversation with that person, the shop or tech., this was intentional.

Yes, nothing about these cars is inexpensive. Yes, the cost of the tie rod assembly is substantial. But after having spent the money to do the ball joints...

Yep, at this point I'd do what ever needs to be done... won't get less expensive, and you'll never have to do it again.

Working out from the a-arms, the races are fresh in the hubs and the disks have been just skimmed. This combination, along with some new bearing and brake pads will get the car into a driver configuration.

For now.

This is the before picture of the car, I can not wait to get it off the jack stands and back on the ground.

And we are out of parts to install, temporary. So lets review, other than reusing the upper and lower ball joints, every thing that was consumable was completely used up. Now I am very aware how much these two items cost. Thank you to the previous owner, but I now understand why the car was parked. I wish I had pictures of the tires I removed from the car, they were a testament to how bad the lower a-arm bushings were.

If you are going to take on the refresh of the lower arms, remove the complete assembly from the car. When putting it all back together, after you have cleaned the assemble, this is the one thing that really helped: Remove the lower shock mount and loosen all the bolts that hold the lower ball joint the the two parts that attach to the bushings assembly. Getting the lower bushings to seat is so much easer, the listed torque spec is a guide. I was reminded it is a series on metal on metal on metal with a bit of grease squeezed in between the layers. When assembled it has to rotate.



Getting to this point would have never happened with the a-arm assemblies on the car.

Next, getting the sway bar back on the car proved that it did not get easier the second time. But it is done and when the tie rods are delivered we are done. Many thanks to a dear friend for his help, knowledge and tools. With out Robert this would have take dramatically longer.

An update, it's still on the jack stands but..

The tie rods are in and the rotors are back on the spindles.



Getting the calipers clean and loading the break pads should have the front end complete. Getting it to a shop to complete the front end alignment is next. Now that we have figured out how to set the timing, it runs very well.

The calipers are in place!

If you do not remember when you changed your brake fluid, make an appointment with you car and get it done. What came out of this system was way past its use by date. I understand just changing the fluid could trigger a cascade of required repairs. Yes, not my car but that front end sheet metal is getting very hard to replace.

Next on my list is the drivers side motor mount. If the carbs had to come off for a rebuild changing it would be that much easer. But coaxing them back into tune is working. Joy! Darn it.

But now I can finish up the 4 speed shifter boot. I already have the shims.

Taking a page from the Lotus school of automotive endeavors and adding lightness to the car the starter is getting swapped. Yes, getting the old one out is no fun and having an opportunity to replace the battery lead is being done. Now the header will fit, after it gets purchased.