New from Sunny South Africa

[Heinrich]

little update.(not so much on the car as the situation)

i came to a point where my workshop was a glorious mess.so i decided to clean up a bit .
i ended breaking down shelves for wood storage and making new ones, moving all the carpentry stuff to the back and all car related items to the front of the workshop.

(bad pic , sorry)


next, the green donor car will be stripped of anything of value and discarded off.
once that is done, i will continue with my car.

i am quite excited about all the space i am going to have once the donor is gone.

[Heinrich]

the donor is now completely bare and on its way to the scrap metal dealer.

i got more than one awkward look from people seeing this go down the road.(including my wife)

free photo uploading sites

[Byron510]

That's a pretty funny photo for sure.

Man that shell still looks pretty good from this angle. Too bad you were not in NA, a fellow member here could have used your RH front corner.

So how's the actual project coming? Updates?

Byron

[Heinrich]

Actual project is a bit slow.
i underestimated a building project time and finance wise,but that is almost finished.

the car should continue in about a month's time.

the shell is in bad state, i thought about cutting off some useful bits but only the roof was not rusted.
every structural part is rotten away.i tried giving it away to other datsun enthusiasts but they declined as well.

i have since acquired some bigger wheels/casters to make a bigger and more versatile trolley for the shell to be able to load it on a trailer for when it goes for some body work.

I have been away from the car project for long enough to have gathered a LOT of motivation to continue again.

[Heinrich]

i assembled the bonnet, fenders and apron on Friday evening and took it to the panel beaters to have whatever small flaws the nose has fixed before i start fitting the engine and radiator/inter-cooler

it was nice to have something that resembles a car again.

[two_68_510s]

Yeah, mon!

[Heinrich]

Hello again.

i had 3 days to myself over the holiday's and used the wisely.

I fitted the engine and gearbox , made the mountings,tacked up the turbo manifold and started cutting/fitting for the radiator and inter cooler.
i had to cut into the bottom support about half way to be able to fit the radiator.not a bad thing as once opened i saw it is rusty and i would probably replace it wait a new custom piece.
clearances everywhere seems fine except for the steering drag link.it interferes with the ribs on the bottom of the SR20 aluminium sump.i will try and machine it away for clearance and see what happens.
i have read somewhere about flipping the drag link but could not really see how that is going to work except if you cut and re weld it, witch i am not all that comfortable with.any suggestion/different car parts that i can use that does clear.

still some work left on the inter cooler as well.the fit is not 100% yet and i have to make new tanks as well.

also found a pump unit to use for the fuel tank, a handbrake lever and fuel filler hose out of some Nissan.will post pics as that progresses.

[Heinrich]

need some info/guidance regarding ease of engine fitment.

i have removed/re fitted the engine about 3 times now, and i can imagine it will still happen a couple of times.i find it really hard to move it in/out without hitting either the firewall or the top of the radiator support(for lack of a better explanation).

has anybody made the top part of the radiator support removable(able to bolt it in and out) for easier engine with gearbox fitment?

i prefer to do it from the top and not the bottom because i would not like to remove the engine cross member and suspension every time.

[Heinrich]

I need some info/guidance regarding ease of engine fitment.

I have removed/re fitted the engine about 3 times now, and i can imagine it will still happen a couple of times.I find it really hard to move it in/out without hitting either the firewall or the top of the radiator support(for lack of a better explanation).

has anybody made the top part of the radiator support removable(able to bolt it in and out) for easier engine with gearbox fitment?
did it make a significant difference in strength of the structure?

I prefer to do it from the top and not the bottom because i would not like to remove the engine cross member and suspension every time.

[greenthumb]

A little late to this party, but missed your post from a while ago.
Once you try it once removing engine and trans through the bottom, you'll never go back. It is so much easier and more refined. No more swearing and cursing as components bang and scrape into things on the way down. Good luck! Car is looking great

[Byron510]

I would agree with Henk 95% of the time. If preservation of the wheel alignment isn’t an issue, you will find that removing and installing the engine from the bottom (once you’ve fabricated a set of pick up points to bolt into the front bumper holes), it is so easy. First off, nothing gets scratched, the hood doesn’t need to be removed, there’s no wrestling the transmission into the clutch in confined space, and best of all its fast which is why the factory did it this way. 15 minutes to re and re both parts. The struts can stay in the car, but the steering as well as the front X member will need to come in/out together. Of course you do need a lifting point above the car. I used a chainfall above the car myself, but there are many ways to do this. Once your set up to re and re this way, as Henk said you’ll never go back

Byron

[Heinrich]

Thank you Greenthumb/Byron.

upon the last insertion of the engine I did cut the car to make it easier.

everything seemed to have stayed where it should once i cut it.

i have since modified the bottom frame rail and made mounting brackets for the radiator, that is finished.
i have started with the inter cooler, tanks and pipes are tacked on to check fitment, and i was after a long search able to find 63mm aluminium bends locally that was small enough radius to make the cold side come together.

also fitted a center handbrake in the tunnel and finally fitted the seats as well.
The seats are bolted through the floor, the inside(close to the tunnel) seems to be strong enough, but the outside is a bit flimsy, so my plan is to add support underneath the car once i have it on the rotisserie to properly clean and paint the floor.
I managed to find a set of seat rails that could neatly be modified for the seat/car combo.(from a Hyundai getz)

also (90%) sorted the drag link/sump clearance issue with milling away the ribs on the sump.there is a 2mm interference where the milling bit was not able to reach, but is easily sorted with a grinder and flapper disc.

currently busy with filling holes where i cut too much away for the inter cooler piping, and generally cleaning up of the engine bay.
fixing valance brackets and making it a bolt on panel.


will post pics as soon as i take some.

work is constantly getting in the way of hobbies,

[JordanTr]

Sorry to poke the engine removal bear but here’s a video of a removal on my car.

https://youtu.be/XznLphFbjt0

[Heinrich]

pretty cool,thank you.

does look easy, i must say.

[Heinrich]

Hello All.

small updated.
cooler and radiator fitment is now final, fixed the unnecessary holes around the cooler and radiator.
seats are mounted although i still have to make supports under the floor but will only do that once the car is on the rotisserie.
also fixed/modded the transmission tunnel for the gear lever and fitted a handbrake .
also made the top radiator support a bolt in and finished it up.

i find myself working in circles so instead of trying to finish all the metal work everywhere and then rustproof and prime the whole car, i am going to see if doing a segment at a time will work out better.i will start with the engine bay and see how it goes.

also stared to clean and strip the door hinges, seems they will need all new bushes and pins on all of them.