The Red Baron

[TheHeretic]

While the interior was out I decided it was a good time to relocate my battery. I had already moved it from the engine bay to underneath the passenger seat but while it was there I was always concerned about a possible rear seat passenger kicking it. Decided a few small holes in the trunk was worth getting it out of the passenger compartment and also making it much easier to trickle charge or be jumped.

Previous location under the passenger seat

New location in the trunk




Cleaned up the rear package tray/divider with some flat paint (yes that is the original one) along with a new metal wheel well cover. The original cover was ok but starting to sag quite a bit.

[TheHeretic]

Had this 2nd brake pedal in my possession for about a year now and finally installed it last night. Made a fairly big difference with the overall braking feel as now I don't have this delay from when the pedal is pushed and the piston on the master cylinder is engaged. When doing the swap from auto to manual, the manual brake pedal that I picked up must have had plenty of miles on it and the hole from the clevis pin was elongated as shown. The "new" pedal was purchased at a swap meet and I was told it only had something like 30K miles on it before the car was wrecked.

[loungin112]

Hey there Ryan,

I've been following your build for a while and really like the approach you are taking with it. So far, your build is the closest for what I envision for my build. Somewhere you mentioned swapping in a 240sx and mating it to your l20b. I plan on doing the same, so I'm eagerly waiting to see how yours goes.

[TheHeretic]

Thanks for the kind words - I have completed more work on the car, now just need to upload pictures and write in the details. Knowing that even someone is following the build gives me some more motivation!

It's likely that the tranny will be going in over the summer. Have already talked to Troy Ermish about getting one of his aluminum driveshafts made for the tranny swap. The additional cost is pretty minimal ($100 or so) compared to getting a steel one made. A slight advantage over steel in weight but according to him, the biggest advantage is less vibration.

[loungin112]

Aluminum drive shaft you say? Sounds like that needs to go onto my list as well. Seeing as how I was going to purchase the modified bell housing from Emerish anyways, I guess I could just throw an aluminum drive shaft on to the invoice as well. (Darn...that was way too easy to commit more money to the 510!)

Either way, please keep posting to your build thread. I do find it motivating as well to see a 510 being built the way I hope to build mine....when time finally becomes more plentiful for me.

[TheHeretic]

Been super busy with work and family recently. Had some time to "modify" the original trunk mat to fit the new trunk-mounted battery. Felt a little guilty with the first cut and I'm glad that I have a second trunk mat just in case. Happy with the outcome for sure though.

[TheHeretic]

Okay now this build gets going! Went over to visit with Dave at Rebello to discuss them building a motor for me after I got the paint job completed later this year. He originally suggested I do a 2150cc motor to save money (still $$$) but after we kept talking about my goals and how I would be driving the car basically fast between 40-90mph on canyon roads and vintage rallies, he suggested that they build one of their newer packages. It's a 2360cc motor using a Z22 block, forged pistons, custom rods, offset crank for more stroke, etc. We'll see what the dyno numbers are but should be close to 200hp and great low-end torque with the ability to rev well to 7000rpm.

Was going to do the engine in 2018 but after driving home decided to do it now and push out the paint. Would rather get all the engine and driveline stuff buttoned up and then finish the cosmetics. Dave said 2-3 months for the build...

[TheHeretic]

In preparation for some work to be done by Troy Ermish next week, I finished up getting the FS5W71C(240SX) transmission ready to install. Picked up the transmission off a posting on Facebook last year with a cracked housing. Then Steve Edmonton was kind enough to ship over an extra 5 speed Z bellhousing he had lying around. Took both the bell housing and transmission over to a local transmission expert who completely rebuilt the transmission and machined/installed the housing. He mentioned that the only gear that really needed some work was the reverse but you never know with a used part and the last thing I wanted to do was install it and have to pull it out again.

Got it back home and cleaned it up a little. Installed OEM plugs to block some sensors that I had removed and also upgraded the shifter to a NISMO short shifter. Claimed 10% reduction in shifting length and more of a direct connection to the transmission with still stock noise levels.


Cracked old shifter bushing





Comparison with Nismo shifter (bottom)

New Nissan drain plug

New Nissan speedo pinion gear and housing

All done!

[iceD]

How long is the transmission? That's a nice bracket for the battery. Did you make it?

ice D

[TheHeretic]

Didn't make it but it can be purchased here for $50 - http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Micro-Min ... 40580.html. The transmission is a little over 32" depending on where you measure. Basically same length as the SR20 transmission. Need a modified tranny mount and also to open up the tunnel to accommodate the rectangular shifter housing.

[TheHeretic]

Over the weekend worked on getting the front doors put back together after the sound deadening pads were placed inside the doors (see previous posts). Clearly wanted to keep the OEM look and only use Nissan/Datsun parts if anything needed replacement. Interestingly I ended up using the Datsport inner window squeegees instead of a set of NOS ones. Tested both of them and while the Datsport ones were a little harder to get into the wedge, they fit against the glass much better and were thicker as well.

Before pics










Used stock sheeting as a template and cut out some new door vapor barriers using heavy duty construction sheeting from OSH Hardware. Applied with 3M putty strips in similar locations to the stock glue.










New door plugs were installed




Cleaned up the paint and installed the Datsport inner window squeegees. Very nice fit!




New door locks and grommets were installed





Not a big difference! New one on the left.


New window cranks were installed

New one on bottom


Couldn't find NOS arm rests but was able to pick up a set of reconditioned ones that had been modified to accept the chrome trim the original ones have.

Main reason for replacement was that the original arm rests were coming apart

[TheHeretic]

Final pics of the door "restoration" project. Hah! More of a refresh than a restoration.



Yes door panels are original and just cleaned up










One of my favorite parts of the car!

[TheHeretic]

Getting work done at Troy Ermish's shop in Tracy, CA. Originally I was going to just install the tranny myself but the cost to have him do it was pretty minimal when added on to a custom aluminum driveshaft and his CV axle kit install. The old 200SX dogleg shifted great but the bearings were getting much noisier and overall the tranny needed some attention. With the new 2360cc motor being built right now, the new torque would really have made it tough on the dogleg. Install pics!

Up in the air (sneak peak at the new rims)


Found out I had an aluminum 11lb flyweel (240mm) which is nice.


240SX transmission installed with Z OEM mount and one of Troy's custom crossmembers.


New Ermish CV kit finally installed!

[TheHeretic]

Car is back from Troy's and the new CV kit and aluminum driveshaft made a big difference in a reduction in NVH. Still noticing a minor vibration at speeds above 75mph so will likely need some tinkering with the driveline angle to make it as smooth as possible. Today the modified oil pan showed up from Armando's Racing Oil Pans out of El Paso, Texas. Dave Rebello recommended that I get one as part of the engine build. Affordable at $420 + core and shipping! With DP Racing now charging $1500(!) for a competition oil pan this ended up being a great deal.

[loungin112]

Still following your build with interest!

Can't wait to see how the 240sx transmission mates to your engine. Also...could you post some pics of the aluminum drive shaft? How much did that set you back?

Thanks for sharing the updates, I'm fortunate that you are performing a build that will be similar to mine, so that I can learn from your successes.