Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

Well I spent an hour taking getting the front jacked up and on stands . And taking stuff off from the cooling system . Any ideas on how to get the water neck off? Grr . Also took off the front wheels and it looks like the po put the Volvo calipers on it !! I guess that's why there are all the trashed stock pistons in the trunk ! Pics to follow

Score for you on the upgrade. There are several threads on removal of the water tower. Search on that.
Most important piece of advice - TAKE YOUR TIME, have lots of patience - it will not come off easily, but you CAN get it off without trashing it. Many have tried and failed, and many have tried and had success. All have cursed mightily.

Well the upgrade needs some work as all the breaks are super rusty . But hopefully I can rebuild the calipers . After some research I guess heat and a mallet ,oh yeah and patience are the best tools for the water tower. We will see . I have already sprayed it with pb and wacked on it for a while

garths311 wrote:Well the upgrade needs some work as all the breaks are super rusty . But hopefully I can rebuild the calipers . After some research I guess heat and a mallet ,oh yeah and patience are the best tools for the water tower. We will see . I have already sprayed it with pb and wacked on it for a while

FWIW, my success with the water tower came from drilling a small diameter hole along each bolt (the '67 had 3 but the engine was an early one and that seems unusual), soaking with PB, tapping daily with a rubber mallet, and then after about 4 days it was loose. That was after about two weeks of heat, various oils/lubricants, and repeated tapping with no apparent progress.

Good luck!

Wow I can't wait ! I guess I will start working on draining all the fluids . Any recommended type of oil for tranny and rear end ?

garths311 wrote:Wow I can't wait ! I guess I will start working on draining all the fluids . Any recommended type of oil for tranny and rear end ?

Good old 85w-90 gear oil is fine. Fill the rear to about 1/2"-3/4" below the fill hole. Overfilling makes it leak at the axles. Plan to remove the axles and pack the wheel bearings. Unlike normal cars, these have grease packed wheel bearings.

I have written up the thermostat thing a few times, here's one version.
http://www.311s.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.ph ... 976#p90976
Next time someone does this, please take pictures.

If you have cores, replacement Volvo calipers are relatively cheap, they are reported to work well. The core charge is usually the killer for those buying them for a conversion.

That sounds like the trick thanks for the link

Go slow, Take lots of pictures, and tag everything. Don't fall into the "I'll remember where tht goes" trap. I had a five year, unexpected gap in the project and now I spend my time trying to find stuff.

I have a large box of ziplocks and a sharpie . I plan on labeling as I go and a few large storage bins as well .

Taking pictures is key. It saved my ass a few times. And of course labeling and tagging.

Plus pictures are great when OTHER people ask a question and you can say....."When I did it, it looked like this!"

So I'm wondering . Since I am going to drill and tap the water tower bolts any way what's stopping me from just cutting this pos off the block? Then I can just use a punch to knock the studs out .

Well, I guess nothing, but cutting the thing off will rarely, if ever, result in a nice clean cut and you end up gouging the heck out of the aluminum. Which then ends up in a FAIL which means you end up buying a new housing. If you go this route, Ross at Sports Imports usually has some.....

Seriously considering the waterneck conversion with a 2k radiator is there any issues with the radiator fitment?

I think a lot of people go this route, the only advantage I can think of to the OEM system is in the ability to "burp" the system with either the bleeder screw on the tower or the cap on the tower.
I'm sure others can chime in on the feasability of the elbow.