The Bronze - '69er Resto Project and continuing build-up.

Only the most active and interesting projects from our members. Projects must be approved to be in this forum
User avatar
Byron510
Moderator
Posts: 12658
Joined: 01 Jul 2003 23:06
Location: Maple Ridge, BC

Re: The Bronze - '69er Resto Project and continuing build-up.

Post by Byron510 »

Thanks for the kind words Derek, it means a lot as a significant amount of time has gone into the Bronze car.

Like many cars here, the Bronze just developed through ongoing improvement over time, and I can't wait to do more on it.

Byron
Love people and use things,
because the opposite never works.
User avatar
Byron510
Moderator
Posts: 12658
Joined: 01 Jul 2003 23:06
Location: Maple Ridge, BC

Flashback Friday

Post by Byron510 »

So I'm combing google images after looking at Andrews post for his 77 200SX for sale, I wanted to see what the Japanese bumpers looked like on the car. It's been so long since I had seen a photo. So I get about 20 photos down and come across this....
IMG_8735.JPG
IMG_8735.JPG (66.19 KiB) Viewed 6555 times
It's Don's 200SX ( with stock bumpers) and The Bronze....before it was The Bronze! This photo was taken at my fathers place sometime before 2001, because that's when the restoration started. There are some notable club members in the shot, but it's a photo I've never seen before. It's interesting what pictures might be out there. This was how the car was built in 1971, until I started the restoration in 2001. At this point I believe I would have only put a motor in it, done the brakes and put new rubber on the car.

And I'd forgotten how low the car was on 13" wheels!

Anyways, I don't know who took this photo and posted it on th internet somewhere, but happy Flashback Friday!

Byron
Love people and use things,
because the opposite never works.
User avatar
Byron510
Moderator
Posts: 12658
Joined: 01 Jul 2003 23:06
Location: Maple Ridge, BC

Re: The Bronze - '69er Resto - Engine bay wiring tuck

Post by Byron510 »

I was asked to post some photos on the wiring harness tuck I did on the Bronze back when I did the build. I really liked the work I did then, especially in the engine bay itself. After 15 years, there have been no faults with the location of the harness or the execution of the layout and hardware used. When I did the build, my digital camera gave up the ghost near the end, and the wiring harness was one of the last things done. So this is a collection of photos complete out of any time line and pieced together this morning- some taken out of my build thread because I can't find the originals, some taken out of other project and show threads, and some taken a few minutes ago out in the garage. So if things are changing all over the place, don't worry, i was just documenting the wiring harness install.

One area I was not impressed with in this build, but I never went back into it, was the wire routing around the fuse box itself. It is functional, and has worked no problem, but it never looked very good in the area. After one foot in any direction, it looks great and everything is clean and tidy, but right at the box, well not so good. As noted, I did add a secondary fuse box as the original would not allow for the extra EFI feed points that were added.

To start with, here is the route of the harness.
Wiring route under fender.jpg
Wiring route under fender.jpg (258.12 KiB) Viewed 6440 times
The fuse box was relocated to the inner kick panel area of the car to keep it clean and dry. The chassis harness for the front of the car exited out the kick panel in three connectors into the rear side of the wheel well. These connectors are basic electrical hardware connectors, complete with a rubber gland nut that squeezes down on the wires making a water tight seal. I believe these are used for home wiring where a wire needs to pass through sheet metal siding outdoors. The yellow arrows indicate where the wiring harness goes through the bulkhead gland nuts.
Wiring route fuse box 1.jpg
Wiring route fuse box 1.jpg (116.32 KiB) Viewed 6440 times
The engine bay harness splits off and follows my brake line plumbing (also kept out of the engine compartment) down the inner side of the fender well, under the frame rail and back up to the engine under the stock filter location, here it split forwards to the alternator, oil pressure switch, temperature sensor and distributor, and rearwards to the starter.
IMG_8806 (Medium).JPG
IMG_8806 (Medium).JPG (159.37 KiB) Viewed 6440 times
IMG_8807 (Medium).JPG
IMG_8807 (Medium).JPG (129.26 KiB) Viewed 6440 times
IMG_8809 (Medium).JPG
IMG_8809 (Medium).JPG (109.84 KiB) Viewed 6440 times
DSCN6613 Mod 1.JPG
DSCN6613 Mod 1.JPG (325 KiB) Viewed 6438 times
The rest of the harness continued from the inner fender, along the top fender "rail", down into the engine bay for a very short distance, then out in front of the rad support above the headlights, across the car, back into the engine bay for a short distance above the headlights and into the LH inner fender for the last fender marker lights and the coil wires. And no, I did not run the three wires from the coil to the distributor through the engine bay - which would have been very easy. I ran them backwards though the entire harness to the RH fender well and up under the engine to the distributor from the bottom of the engine.
IMG_8810 (Medium).JPG
IMG_8810 (Medium).JPG (174.8 KiB) Viewed 6440 times
IMG_8804 (Medium).JPG
IMG_8804 (Medium).JPG (171.79 KiB) Viewed 6440 times

Lastly, the component missing is the wiper wiring. This I ran from the fuse box, joined the dash harness and exited out into the cowl vert and then through the fire wall right above the wiper motor.

DSCN6649 (Medium).JPG
DSCN6649 (Medium).JPG (229.02 KiB) Viewed 6440 times
It made the installation very clean - especially when carbureted.
DSCN6380 (Medium).JPG
DSCN6380 (Medium).JPG (228.06 KiB) Viewed 6438 times
When the EFI was installed, it still made for a neat set up. The EFI harness poked through the fire wall just above the starter in a similar gland type connector, the ECU hung just under the glove box area.
DSCN8841 (Medium).JPG
DSCN8841 (Medium).JPG (218.6 KiB) Viewed 6438 times
DSCN8843 (Medium).JPG
DSCN8843 (Medium).JPG (265.91 KiB) Viewed 6438 times

The funny thing is that for all this effort, very few people in 17 years have ever commented about the lack of visible wiring. When the car was carbureated and it was really apparent that this was a bare engine bay, it was Rob who posted at some point to someone's comment that there was nothing special about a photo of this engine compartment. Rob's comment was that there was an incredible amount of work spent on what you don't see (no wiring, no brake lines, no extra plumbing at all). Thanks Rob, I always appreciated that comment.
Once the car went EFI, there was just simply more hardware on the engine and things got busy. With the addition of the oil cooler and bigger rad, it didn't help with the bussiness, but still most of the wiring remained as hidden as possible. What really helps is that this lack of wiring around does make cleaning the engine bay easier. I do put many miles on this car - it's no trailer queen. Consequently, it gets dirty, and when I do clean it I appreciate the effort I spent over the years on keeping as much out of the engine bay as possible.

I hope that helps you guys asking about the engine bay harness tuck I did on the Bronze.

Byron
Love people and use things,
because the opposite never works.
User avatar
TheHeretic
Supporter
Posts: 222
Joined: 20 Nov 2014 13:55
Location: Pleasant Hill, CA

Re: The Bronze - '69er Resto Project and continuing build-up.

Post by TheHeretic »

This was very helpful! Will definitely be using this link and pictures when doing my harness next winter. Thanks so much for taking the extra time and effort to post.
Carpe Diem!
Ryan
User avatar
VelvetHammer
Supporter
Posts: 246
Joined: 31 Oct 2008 20:34
Location: Marina del Rey, CA

Re: The Bronze - '69er Resto Project and continuing build-up.

Post by VelvetHammer »

TheHeretic wrote:This was very helpful! Will definitely be using this link and pictures when doing my harness next winter. Thanks so much for taking the extra time and effort to post.
What he said. You're always very detailed and your posts and insight are much appreciated!
User avatar
VelvetHammer
Supporter
Posts: 246
Joined: 31 Oct 2008 20:34
Location: Marina del Rey, CA

Re: The Bronze - '69er Resto Project and continuing build-up.

Post by VelvetHammer »

Just finished reading this entire thread, all 67 pages...
Quite the odyssey, Byron! And some great craftsmanship along the way.
Very inspirational to get my car back on the road!
User avatar
Byron510
Moderator
Posts: 12658
Joined: 01 Jul 2003 23:06
Location: Maple Ridge, BC

Re: The Bronze - '69er Resto Project and continuing build-up.

Post by Byron510 »

You read the light the whole thread - wow! No wonder it's been three days between these posts :D

Thanks for the kind words. The actual restoration was covered not in this thread, but in the Gallery that used to be part of this site. The Gallery thread on my car, Brads car and a few others were extremely detailed photo threads. Unfortunately through no faul of anyone's, the caller was lost at the stroke of a key in a site back up one night in 2005 or 2006. It was a shame - but I'm glad I ran a paralle thread so that some of it was documented. But the whole build wasn't actually here, there are side threads like the EFI. It's thread and other related stuff that happened to the car in battle. I've been itching to do something again though, it's dangerous!

Thanks again for your kind words.

Byron
Love people and use things,
because the opposite never works.
User avatar
Byron510
Moderator
Posts: 12658
Joined: 01 Jul 2003 23:06
Location: Maple Ridge, BC

Re: The Bronze - '69er Resto Project and continuing build-up.

Post by Byron510 »

In addition to the photo a few posts back, I've been asked to post up some photos of my Carb manifold (opposed o the EFI manifold in the previous post). So here is the carb manifold photos from when I assembled the Bronze with a rather crusty set of original Solex/Mikuni carbs which were purchased in new 1971 locally from Datsun Comp.
I have modified/welded on a pair of stanchions on this manifold to use the stock type linkage, but the rest of the manifold is externally as cast. Other than the machined flanges, and drilling/tapping of the studs for the carbs there has been no clean up of the casting itself.

Byron
Attachments
IMG_5955 (Medium).JPG
IMG_5955 (Medium).JPG (125.89 KiB) Viewed 5835 times
IMG_5954 (Medium).JPG
IMG_5954 (Medium).JPG (129.85 KiB) Viewed 5835 times
IMG_5953 (Medium).JPG
IMG_5953 (Medium).JPG (138.02 KiB) Viewed 5835 times
IMG_5952 (Medium).JPG
IMG_5952 (Medium).JPG (138.93 KiB) Viewed 5835 times
Love people and use things,
because the opposite never works.
User avatar
Byron510
Moderator
Posts: 12658
Joined: 01 Jul 2003 23:06
Location: Maple Ridge, BC

Re: The Bronze - '69er Resto Project and continuing build-up.

Post by Byron510 »

When cleaning the suspension while doing a nut and bolt check before departing for Canby this year - I came across signs that there has definitely been contact between the control arm and the body work. Proof that on my set up, with corner weight jackers in place and the spring rate in use, it is still possible to bottom out on the bodywork/chassis. It also became very clear that I too will have to engineer a bump stop. There is only evidence on one side of contact, and I would think that with the paint removed as it has been, this has happened more than once!
IMG_1782 (Medium).JPG
IMG_1782 (Medium).JPG (112.14 KiB) Viewed 5448 times
IMG_1783 (Medium).JPG
IMG_1783 (Medium).JPG (66.91 KiB) Viewed 5448 times
As my shock and spring combo has never worked well for me as the shock is too stiff for much of it’s work. I’ve also found the current spring rate too low as evidenced in autocross videos taken of my car while in action on R compounds. Possibly heavier springs would be better matched to the shocks, but I have to find something that works with the weight jackers that are in place.

It’s certainly a winter project. I've considered the coil over option as the bump stops could be easily incorporated into the package, but I honestly still don't quite trust the products out there. If I had feed back from you guys that actually hill climb/ auto cross on R compound or race tires and pay attention to your set ups, it would be greatly appreciated. As you can see by the impact above, this isn't a 'stance' issue as boulevard cruisers can be built anywhere with most products out there. This is more of an engineering issue which does need to be addressed.

Byron
Love people and use things,
because the opposite never works.
User avatar
Byron510
Moderator
Posts: 12658
Joined: 01 Jul 2003 23:06
Location: Maple Ridge, BC

Re: The Bronze - '69er Resto Project and continuing build-up.

Post by Byron510 »

Well, the Bronze received great accolades from none other than Peter Brock a couple weeks ago at the Canby Datsun Show. During the show/event, I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Pete in front of the dinner crowd at the Saturday dinner during the weekend program. That in itself was a great honor, and to have such an enjoyable session with Pete - to hear his stories which were very meaningful to him and quite important in his life - to sit there on stage as it were, beside Pete while he shared nearly 3 hours of his time directly with us... well I can't say enough about the man. He lived up to everything I could have hoped for. And he took the time to answer everyone questions afterwards in a very detailed way, showing all in attendance incredible courtesy and respect.

On the Sunday I managed to nab Pete as he walked by my car. Like he did for many of the cars in attendance, he wanted to spend the time and ask good questions about everyone machinery. When my turn came, Pete took a seat in the passenger side, and immediately commented on how tight the roll cage was to the chassis, commented on the custom machine work and wanted to know who did it all. When I told him I was responsible for all the fabrication and machine work, he immediately asked for my contact information and took down my name and number as wanted to recommend my work to others in the area that he knew. Pete also commented that if I lived in his area, he'd have me doing work for him.. I've never felt so proud as to have a man with Pete's credentials say such a thing. It was truly an honor. And BTW – Pete did follow up with a person email to me three days later… a man of his word.

At any rate, below are two pictures of Pete gracing the Bronze, one with him writing down my contact information while sitting in the passenger seat, and the other with him beside the car. Certainly an honor.
IMG_1943 (Medium).JPG
IMG_1943 (Medium).JPG (180.22 KiB) Viewed 5447 times
IMG_1944 (Medium).JPG
IMG_1944 (Medium).JPG (199.96 KiB) Viewed 5447 times
Thanks Mr. Peter Brock for spending the time with us at Canby this year, and mostly for taking the time to meet with so many of us at the show.

Byron
Love people and use things,
because the opposite never works.
Danthewire
Posts: 87
Joined: 24 Nov 2007 19:31

Re: The Bronze - '69er Resto Project and continuing build-up.

Post by Danthewire »

Good for you Byron its nice to have someone like Peter confirm the quality of work on your car.
Great pictures too.
User avatar
funwithmonkeys
Supporter
Posts: 1336
Joined: 05 Sep 2013 09:34
Location: Vancouver, BC

Re: The Bronze - '69er Resto Project and continuing build-up.

Post by funwithmonkeys »

What shocks are you using Byron? I am using the QA1 adjustable and it has more than enough adjustment for me with the 1100lb rear springs. I know my rear has never bottomed out but I am a good bit higher than you.
If no one from the future comes back to stop you from doing it then how bad of a decision can it really be?
User avatar
Byron510
Moderator
Posts: 12658
Joined: 01 Jul 2003 23:06
Location: Maple Ridge, BC

Re: The Bronze - '69er Resto Project and continuing build-up.

Post by Byron510 »

Danthewire wrote: 18 Jun 2018 15:54 Good for you Byron its nice to have someone like Peter confirm the quality of work on your car.
Great pictures too.
Dan, it was an honor just to talk with Peter. But to also be able to interview him and then have him comment about the machine and fabrication work on the car was just awesome - I do feel quite proud.

And to confirm again of the BRE connection to the car through it's original builder Bob Stevens and his time at BRE was also very cool. Now with both John Morton and Peter Brock confirming this connection with the Bronze's builder to the BRE team in the last two years. I guess the Bronze is worthy of being a real BRE tribute car in a way. Very cool indeed.

Byron
Love people and use things,
because the opposite never works.
User avatar
Byron510
Moderator
Posts: 12658
Joined: 01 Jul 2003 23:06
Location: Maple Ridge, BC

Re: The Bronze - '69er Resto Project and continuing build-up.

Post by Byron510 »

funwithmonkeys wrote: 18 Jun 2018 17:03 What shocks are you using Byron? I am using the QA1 adjustable and it has more than enough adjustment for me with the 1100lb rear springs. I know my rear has never bottomed out but I am a good bit higher than you.
Thanks for your feedback Norm.

So to confirm you are using Specialties 1100 lbs spring in the stock location with QA1 adjustable shocks or are you using coil over units with the QA1? Would you have a part number by chance on the adjustable shocks that worked for you? I’ll see if I can get some length specs for min/max and see if they’ll work for me.

Thanks Norm.
Love people and use things,
because the opposite never works.
User avatar
RMS
Supporter
Posts: 1920
Joined: 12 Oct 2009 01:03
Location: Richmond BC Canada

Re: The Bronze - '69er Resto Project and continuing build-up.

Post by RMS »

I too run the specialty spring in the stock location and the Q1A TS704
two_68_510s wrote:I guess our donkeys are quicker then your sled dogs!
Post Reply