Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

Thanks nismou20. I checked the hole of the rear support with 5/16", 21/64" & 11/32" twist-drill bits, and only the 11/32" bit wouldn't go through the hole. Did you bore your mount out to 3/8" ? That would make for a stronger mount than the 5/16" bolt, & would require the hole in the front mount to be enlarged only slightly -- easy to do on a small drill press.

I think my small 3/8" bench drill press can handle the front mount rework, using a 25/64" or 13/32" bit with reduced shank. To handle the rear mount however, I will have to clamp it in the milling fixture on my old Craftsman 12" x 36" lathe. While not a terrible setup to manage, it will take some tweaking, as I never did buy a three-jaw chuck for the machine, only a 4-jaw. ( bought the lathe from Sears in '64 ).

One of the problems I mentioned in the earlier thread, was ( and still is ) getting the bottom bolt out of the support, without removing the fuel pump. One poster suggested using a crow-foot adapter so the ratchet-wrench can be offset away from the pump. I have a single 3/4" crow-foot I got years ago, but would have to find a single 14mm foot that would fit my 1/4" ratchet. I don't have a 3/8" drive set, & my 1/2" drive ratchet is too big to fit the spaces involved.

If you can recall the tools you used to get the rear support off the block, it would be most helpful, so I can avoid adding any more stuff than necessary to my work-bench.

Thanks again,

Garry

I used Allen head bolts on the mount.
Dan

Garry, I can’t remember but it’s about 3/8 or slightly larger. I just grabbed a bit and went to town on the aluminum rear mount in hand. The existing hole guides the drill bit easily through. Can’t comment on the bolt you’re trying to remove as I’m running a Electric Fuel pump and my mech pump location is blocked off. Oh, and I bought a larger fan belt as noted under tech wiki. Looks like we are close, I’m in Pasadena and I’m not going anywhere for awhile as my car is down. You can always come check it out.

Ok, update on both the hole size & y tool assortment. I went up to my tool shed and retrieved a coffee can full of old drill bits that I brought home from my Dad's house, after he passed away in 1990 & tested all the "likely" candidates until I found one that fit the rear support hole (nearly) exactly. I plan to use that bit in my 4-jaw chuck & the support in the milling fixture to center the bit and line it up with the support. I will replace the "pilot" bit with a 25/64" bit, & use that to drill out both the rear support & the front triangle.

After some " head scratching" I remembered that I had a 3/8"drive ratchet set in my motorhome tool-box, & found that Sears still offered a 14mm crowfoot attachment in 3/8" drive. I will pick that up Tuesday, if it is in stock at the West Covina store, or order it online otherwise.

BTW I am just across the SG Valley from Pasadena, so I hope to get over to the roadster shop on Altadena Drive, after the car is running again, to have all the brake lines replaced ( don't remember shop name offhand ). I used to get over to the Eaton Canyon & Kinneloa Mesa area regularly, but my friend ( and ex co-worker ) that lived there, died last year. Are you on the East side, West side ( Fair Oaks ) or mid-town. I am pretty familiar with the city, as I attended Wilson JH on Madre Av. in '44 & '45.

Garry

Hey Garry, I’m just a mile up from Skips off Altadena Dr by Pasadena High school. Welcome whenever! Good luck with the project. We have another Roadster guy close by in Arcadia and AJ in Azusa.

After the initial brain-freeze, I did a search that hit on Linda's reference to Skip Miller's shop on Altadena Dr. I did a quick zip-by in the Jeep, to make sure I could find the shop later on. I did phone Skip a month ago, to see if he did radiator work, & said that was too specialized. Since my cooling system didn't leak until my water pump blew up, I decided to test the existing one ( still ok ) & remount it until show problems. Doing a Google search on radiator repairs vs. re-builds & new 3-row aluminum ones, I concluded it was better to replace than repair.

BTW, my departed friend lived on Fairpoint Ave., just off Sierra Madre Drive. When went to visit, I would go up New York Drive, rather than farther west to Altadena Dr. If you have any connections to the "student body" at Pasadena HS, PM me, as I am looking for a youngster to mow the 2' tall grass on my 3/4 acre hillside. I just mowed a path to my avocado tree, & my hip still hurts.

Garry

Update on the alternator move --

I drilled both the rear support and front plate out to 25/64", to take a 3/8" through bolt. That diameter fits the 3/8" bolt perfectly, but the reman 10SI Delco alternator that Amazon sent me has a 10mm mounting hole, which makes for a pretty sloppy fit. The alt also came with a single-groove pully, so I will have to put in at least 1" of spacing between the front support plate and the timing cover. I don't anticipate a problem finding tubing to fit the bolts, but I wonder if the stock bolts will have enough thread to secure the plate to the engine block. Did most folks who mounted the single-groove alt use stock bolts, or did they buy longer metric bolts?

As for the mounting-ear slop, I suppose that if the mounting lash-up is torqued up tight with Permatex sealing on the threads, it might not shake loose enough to cause the belt to go slack, but I am inclined to make mods to the hole, to take up the slack. A bushing is available to convert the hole from 10mm to 3/8", but that would not accommodate the 3/8" bolt. I could try wrapping the bolt with several turns of Teflon tape, to tighten it up, or maybe one turn of Teflon plus a "ring" of JB Weld. What do you folks think?

Garry

If moving the support plate out with spacers, then best to compensate length of bolts the same, since it is the timing cover you want to make sure you have good thread engagement.
Best to not use soft materials for shaft shimming, as the belt tension and engine vibes will start to work the material out from the start, and it will soon be extruded out one end.
A shoulder bushing or some spring steel off a roll is a good option.

Thanks for the reply, Fergus.

I don't believe I thought things through too well yesterday, as I was busy fighting a busted DE pool filter. I will research the timing-cover bolt type and buy a longer pair from McMasters. Regarding the shaft slop, you got me thinking, when you said the magic word "shimming". When I re-mounted my Craftsman lathe on a new bench several years ago, I bought a couple of grades of brass shim-stock to use for leveling the machine. I probably have some scraps laying around, to use on the alt mounting ear. I figure 0.0625" added to the diameter of the bolt will take up the slack, so a full wrap of 0,031"or 0.032" shim stock should do the trick.

Garry