I think its time for a build thread - I just got the body put back on the frame - I am rather slow, so I didn't want to start a thread and have it sit there for months. So to catch up a little: (click for larger photos)
My name is Michael, I live in Eugene, Oregon, and bought my 67 1600 roadster 20 years ago, for $1250. It had no top, was missing various bright bits, and a few holes in the floorboard. I drove it for a year or so, then started taking it entirely apart. The engine turned out to have a couple stacked head gaskets on it, and was beyond help, so I started looking for something else to put in it. The body had a dent every six inches, etc.
Much as I like a nicely restored roadster with all the shiny bits and period look - that is not this car, nor am I the right person for such work - I like to alter things (: - so bear with me, and my apologies to those safeguarding roadster history. In no way would I argue that this swap makes sense, it is a car purely for my amusement - and I like the feel and sound of it on an Oregon country road.
Eventually I got it painted and back together with a 260z block, 240z head and an old datsun 4 speed. (radiator and battery in the trunk)I drove it for a few years, it was rather quick, and nicely balanced but various unfinished bits, odd gremlins, and other life issues intervened(mostly female), and it sat, rather neglected, until a snow laden carport fell on it, breaking the windshield, wings, and putting a dent in the back fender (the roll bar took the rest). So I decided it was time to go back through it, get more of the details right, and get it back on the road. The following chronicles that effort. After pulling the engine and body, finding a new windshield and frame, and sending the (remaining) shiny bits off to be rechromed, I started looking for a 5 speed...
May, 2014
I figured I should have a second brake circuit, and saw an alfa at my shop neighbors dyno that had a beautiful brake bias/dual mc setup and decided to do something similar. I got a set of Tilton pedals and modified the firewall to suit, welding in an 1/8 sheet and a little sub-frame to support the pedals:
mock up:
The pedal ratio is much better than stock, which I hope should help brake pedal effort.
firewall:
with paint and mc's (Tilton 75's):
Speaking of paint, I took some time on the body, fixing dings, and spots I wasn't happy with. I had never liked the door gaps on my car, wide even for a roadster, so I spent some weeks welding 1/8" welding rod around 3 sides of each door, a process that might have been easier if I was a better welder. Not sure where the photos of that are, seem to have misplaced a folder. The paint I did this last fall, spraying a couple coats of Southern Polyurethane’s white epoxy primer (great primer), followed by a couple coats of pure white. Then an intercoat, and two more with silver and white pearl, then 3 coats of clear coat. I have a few runs from the last coat of clear to sand out (it was getting too chilly to paint, just made it before it got cold), but other than that happy with the paint. Still need to buff it out, but figure that is a nice spring days job (:
About the hood. Later pics will make sense of the shape - I made it during the first round, by cutting most of the sheetmetal out of the hood, laying a piece of wire mesh with copper wires attached to it over the top and shaping it over the engine, the valve cover and front SU carb providing the shape. Then I filled and shaped it, made a female fiberglass mold, removed all my mesh and wire so I just had the outside edge and hinge of the original hood, which I fiberglassed into the mold. 18 years later it's still solid, so I guess it worked.
Meanwhile, I ran across Xnke on Ratsun, who was offering to convert JDM Nissan S15 six speed transmissions to fit L series engines, and thought "hell yes". I bought a six speed in N. Carolina, had it shipped to him, and sent him a front bellhousing from a l-series four speed. The only remaining hurdle was the speedometer - s15 six speeds have the speedo in the differential, but some have a place for it in the housing, just not the speedo gear. Xnke needed an internal speedo gear from an old datsun four speed, he called all over the country, only to have his last two leads dry up. Apparently the right metal gear was not to be found - until, in a moment of brillance, I thought to look in the old four speed I had gotten for free, used in the first edition, and just pulled out. I pulled the four speed apart, found the gear, sent it to him -voila! I did need to buy a speedo pinion, but that felt cheap after not having to rig a new sort of speedometer.
So next were frame mods to fit the six speed:
Between the length of the L6 and the tranny, there wasn't much left of the frame crossing, and I wanted it to set as low as possible, so cut the center out trough.
I cut a section of 6" rectangular tube (1/8), and then reversed the top angles, so there is a seam midway up each side of the U, welded to the frame parts and lengthwise. Plug welds in the bottom of the U tie it to the reaming and existing bottom. The recess is for the tranny tailshaft counterweight.
The rectangular section on top in the next photo goes under the front of the 'U', connecting the front two X legs, there is a similar one under the back, to provide a little "section" depth.
Here is a test fit picture, showing the rear cross piece reinforcing:
Meanwhile, the old flywheel just looked sad, and very heavy (28lbs, probably from a 4 cylinder) - a shiny new Fidanza Aluminum flywheel at less than half the weight, and a new Exedy Clutch were easily rationalized. (rationalization is an important skill for a roadster owner - in theory I should be able to remove two tranny mount bolts from under the car, remove the hood, 4 motor mount bolts, disconnect numerous wire and hoses, and pull the engine and tranny - but I am not wanting to anytime soon (:
The engine has about 5,000 miles on it - it's a 260z block, bored, with a 240 head, Schneider 270/280 .460 lift cam, springs, LD28 waterpump, higher volume oil pump, etc. I am saving my quarters for a 123ignition distributor (set mech and vac advance curves on a laptop or phone, f1 style spark balancing, very nice, but $$$) I got new headers, modified them to suit and added two a/f sensor ports, then had them ceramic coated.
The (round top) SU carbs are off getting their throttle shafts rebushed. More on them later. I got the engine cleaned up, reworked my homemade throttle linkage/balance tube a bit, and tapped(1/4"npt) into the water jackets of cylinders 5 and 6, plumbed via aeroquip hose to the thermostat housing and hose to radiator, respectively. There are some cooling threads on Hybridz that describe the rationale and details.
It's getting late, to be continued shortly
Michael
