Jeff's '70 2 Door

[cwd240z]

Car looks really good! I like the idea of the clear gravel guard (once I paint mine). Do you have any close up pictures of it? How does the edge look where you masked it off?

Like Byron said, it sure feels good to be able to put some miles on it, doesn't it? After 5+ years, I've probably only put about 20 miles on mine so far, but it's been fun.

[slowerthantime]

510 day is just a couple weeks away
That’s a long drive for a Tuesday meeting, but you can have an Okanagan Chapter version.

Byron

I would be up for hosting 510 day in Summerland if anyone from the interior wants to visit. Let me know.

Chris, the clear gravel guard seems to do an OK job but still chips, just not as bad. I taped just below the bend on the quarter and rockers. I have to get down on my hands and knees to see it...not visible from standing. You can't see the edge in the wheel arches. I probably could have rolled the edge when it was green to blend it but didn't think it was worth the risk of making a mess of it. 3M makes a clear adhesive protector that might work better than the spray on stuff.

[slowerthantime]

I have been having a blast in the car this summer. It is so much fun to drive and I'm amazed at how much interest it attracts. It seems that everyone my age or older had one, or had a buddy who had one in high school.

I guess this means it's a new car now! I wonder how many laps that odometer has done.


Added a dead pedal. Made up a bracket that bolts to the cage, so it is adjustable.


I started out in the spring with a set of NOS Advan 032Rs that I got with a set of wheels that I bought. Apparently they hadn't aged well and were worn out in 1500km. I replaced then with a set of Falken Azenis RT660. I like them, they seem sticky and have a firm sidewall. They feel predictable when they let go. They really improved the behaviour of the car in ruts on the highway.


I seem to be constantly trying to lean out the A/F. I thought I had it sorted out in the spring in the cooler weather but it got richer in the heat. I've been back and forth with idle, main and air jets and am currently running one size bigger air correctors from the spring set up. Its not perfect but I it seems to stay in the 12.5 to 13 range when driving. Idle seems to change on a daily basis.

I jumped into my first autocross in Kelowna. So much fun! I'm slow but stoked on getting quicker. Photo Credit Dean Pratley.


After my first event, I was told that my exhaust was too loud. I'm running a Troy Ermish header into a 2.5" pipe with a Flowmaster HP2 muffler. I decided to start with adding a resonator and keeping the Flowmaster. The job turned into a bit of a pain. I decided to replace the slip fit joints with v-bands, so I was able to cut the exhaust out. I had to take the steering box out to get the header out. Just as well as the steering box was pretty jammed (even though I had rebuilt it). I had a rebuilt spare that I was able to use. I also took the opportunity to deal with a few rattles and add some heat tape where things were getting too hot.

I used an 18" bottle style stainless resonator from Vibrant. In a really unscientific before and after test, I used a decibel app on my phone to measure the noise level 15 meters from the side of the car and 15m from behind. The side measurement dropped from 98dB to 92dB and the rear from 102db to 94dB. It is still loud but the tone has changed completely. The sharp raspy sound is gone and is now a much lower rumble. No trouble from the tech folks at the autocross this week.

This week I have a new noise. Pretty sure its the bad kind. Driving the car during acceleration and cruise feels fine. If I coast, it sounds like shaking bolts in a coffee can. That noise goes away if I push the clutch in. Not sure if its transmission or diff. At idle there seems to be a new knocking sound in the transmission that goes away when the clutch is pushed in. I have a rebuild kit for the transmission, was going to be a winter project. I might post an ad on the classifieds to see if someone has a transmission that might get me through the summer/ fall.

[slowerthantime]

Sadly, a last minute trip to Australia meant that I couldn't meet up with the Octoberfast crew. My consolation prize was pure luck. 2 hours after getting off the plane I found the Melbourne All Nissan/ Datsun club annual meet at the local shopping centre near my parents place. I want out for a coffee and was stoked to find some very cool cars on display.

[RONSLYCHUK]

Lucky you Jeff. I loved Australia when I was there many years ago.

[slowerthantime]

Hey, glad to be back on the Realm. Thanks to the admins who have been working on the problem.

I'm into my winter to do list. The main item was to get rid of awful bearing sound when coasting in gear. Noise went away when I pushed the clutch in. The transmission was shifting fine otherwise and was ok under power (at least as much as you can hear anything in this car). Since the transmission was about the only thing that didn't get rebuilt, I thought I would give it a shot. I have never rebuilt a transmission before.







So far I have disassembled it. Everything was clean with no evidence of metal in the oil. The main shaft bearings turned smoothly but had a lot of play. Let me know if you see anything concerning (other than that I pulled a gearbox apart and don't know what I'm doing).

I have all new bearings, syncros, seals, o rings and an oil gutter (it was missing the bit that goes through the mid plate).

There is a bit of oil at the end of the striking rod. I'm guessing there is a seal in the striking rod guide and the expansion plug in the end will have to come out to get to it. Has anyone done this? Is there a replacement for the NLA plug?

[slowerthantime]

My transmission rebuild was delayed by finding a RH thread main shaft nut. The nut is NLA. None of the local machine shops had an M27X 1.0 tap, so I ordered one from China but they sent M37. I eventually found a tap in the States, bought some hex bar stock and had a couple of nuts made. I have extra bar stock and can get more nuts made if anyone is stuck with the same problem.





Replaced all bearings and new syncros. Hopefully I put it together properly. Hoping to get it back in the car this weekend.



If anyone is looking for a replacement seal for the striking rod, this Honda part is the correct size and is available in most motorcycle shops.

[Stu]

Nice job making the retention nut. The car is looking awesome.

[slowerthantime]

I got the car back together and had a few adventures getting it started. Turns out the GM HEI unit was fried. Replaced that then it was time for a test run with the newly rebuilt transmission. I was apprehensive but it drove beautifully.

When I pulled back into the driveway there was a snail trail of oil behind the car and a growing puddle of it underneath. Oil was pouring out of the front of the bell housing so threw some kitty litter on the puddle and walked away to contemplate my many shortcomings.

I figured it had to be rear main seal or transmission front cover gasket/ oil seal failure. There was no loss of engine oil and about 1/2 of the transmission oil was gone. So I pulled the engine and trans again and took the front cover off. The gasket looked fine but the oil seal was missing. What a dumb ass! I remembered measuring the shaft and the seal and lubing the seal. I was sure that I could remember installing it....then I found it in a zip lock bag of old parts on the counter, neatly lubed up and ready to go.



The next problem was the clutch plate soaked in oil. Thankfully, the South Okanagan Chapter of the 510 club has recently doubled in size. Our new member Jason, formerly from the slums of Maple Ridge, came to the rescue with a new clutch plate off his parts shelf. Thanks to the speedy parts delivery I was back on the road the following weekend. Thanks Jason!

[Stu]

Just had to laugh and say I have never done anything like leave out a seal Been there, done that.

I'm actually happy when something like this is totally obvious. Way better than some isosteric issue that takes forever to diagnose.

[slowerthantime]

Happy Father's day to the dads out there.

Awesome gift from my family. The artist is local, let me know if you want his contact info.