Am I in over my head? '70 2 door from scratch

[shlammed]

Agreed. thanks for the regular updates!

[ostaylor]

Using my evenings wisely to get things done...

While I was away, the washer nozzles that I sourced through a Facebook 510 group showed up...

Washer Nozzles.jpg (282.42 KiB) Viewed 508 times

I soaked them in Rust Check and then gave them a once over lightly with wire brush before painting them with chrome paint and adjusting them to align with the vents. I'm really happy with the end result and got everything hooked up with the water bottle. Not final placement of the lines and still need to rewire my Honda wiper motor modification... but progress!

Washer Nozzles Installed.jpg (251.34 KiB) Viewed 508 times

Washer bottle installed.jpg (198.03 KiB) Viewed 508 times

Also received the rear hand brake pivot point. I disassembled, cleaned this up and chrome painted it before reassembly with a bit of grease. The mount needed some adjustment as it must have been crushed a bit, but overall went in quite nicely. Now to figure out how to connect with my DP Racing / Wilwood rear brake setup.

Handbrake Rear Pivot.jpg (446.16 KiB) Viewed 508 times

Handbrake Rear Pivot Painted and Installed.jpg (222.89 KiB) Viewed 508 times

A little thing... but I was lucky to source another fresh air vent controller. These 1969 ones are hard to find and I was only able to get another right hand one. I was able to modify it by disassembling it all and then bending the mounting surface of the bracket 180 degrees. I got it all straight and painted it before reassembly and installation. I've still got to figure out the mounting once the dash is in but really happy to have these.

Left fresh air vent installed.jpg (277.48 KiB) Viewed 508 times

The Apex Engineered rear end installation continues to be one step at a time and some settling in issues... Don at DP Racing has been a huge help. The brackets and Wilwood brake parts he sent look great, but a bit of a problem with the hole alignment to the mounts on the trailing arms. I'm working with him to determine if these can be slightly modified, or I need replacements. I'm really looking forward to finalizing this and getting the balance of my rear drivetrain installed so I can measure for wheels and tires and get those ordered.

DP Racing Rear Brake Mounts Installed.jpg (177.76 KiB) Viewed 508 times

DP Racing Rear Mount Hole misaligned.jpg (155.78 KiB) Viewed 508 times

I am really excited to have mocked up the installation of my Classic Air controller unit and my rear defrost controller. This is just a paperboard mock up but I only had to slightly modify the original heater controller area for this fitment. If someone wanted to go back to stock in the future, it would not be a problem.

Dash Heating Controller Modifications.jpg (330.81 KiB) Viewed 508 times

Dash Classic Air Mock Up - close up.jpg (446.31 KiB) Viewed 508 times

[ostaylor]

I won't update on the Apex Engineered rear end as that saga continues... I remain optimistic that it will all work out, but I've continued to run into issues.

Great news, I've got my engine back!

SR20DET rebuilt.jpg (291.28 KiB) Viewed 436 times

I also dropped off my transmission for a once over and hope to have it back within a week or so. Once it is back, I want to put the engine and transmission on a mount so I can raise and lower the car onto it as I work through all of the fitment issues.

My Classic Air system does not have a direct fresh air input so I blocked the 510 fresh air intake. I have run the manual fresh air intakes where they belong and hope to feed the AC into those as well.

Fresh Air Intake blocked.jpg (281.38 KiB) Viewed 436 times

I was missing one of my rear seat / panel ashtrays so sourced that and cleaned them both up and installed them. As with the front, I installed 6 mil poly to seal things up a bit.

Rear Ashtray before.jpg (442.8 KiB) Viewed 436 times

Rear ashtray restored.jpg (244.46 KiB) Viewed 436 times

Rear door panels prep.jpg (320.9 KiB) Viewed 436 times

Rear door panels installed.jpg (254.5 KiB) Viewed 436 times

I am waiting for my brother (ahem) to reupholster my sun visors, but in the meantime, I installed the hardware and after cleaning up and painting my rear view mirror, also installed that.

RV mirror, sun visor hardware installed.jpg (305.82 KiB) Viewed 436 times

I realized I was missing the plastic shroud / housing around my ignition and thankfully my 510 friend who has been a saviour on this build, had one. I cleaned it up and installed it all and it looks great!

Ignition and turn signal installed.jpg (333.21 KiB) Viewed 436 times

I also installed the AC vents under my dash after test fitting the dash and starting the process of fitting the Classic Air Heating and cooling unit. More to come on that...

AC Vents Installed.jpg (353.27 KiB) Viewed 436 times

[shlammed]

It’s that DP bracket misalignment that is holding you up?

Can you just grind it out a little so you can bolt it up and carry on?

[ostaylor]

Nope, got that in after some help from Don. Can't speak highly enough about their professionalism at DP Racing.

DP Racing Rear brake mount complete.jpg (224.88 KiB) Viewed 366 times

The issue I am having now is bearing fitment to the Apex rear trailing arm. The bearing sleeve is 0.1 - 0.2mm smaller than the diameter of the bearing so it won't fit. I am waiting to hear back from Apex on their proposed solution.

[shlammed]

that seems like a very small undersizing.

How does a stock trailing arm measure compared to the apex?

[ostaylor]

A post weekend update after working on several things...

After a discussion with the guys at Apex, they recommended pressing the rear wheel bearings onto the axel shafts for the outer bearings and into the trailing arm hub on the inside. This worked...

Apex Trailing Arm Bearing press.jpg (175.96 KiB) Viewed 302 times

To get the full rear brake setup installed I am waiting on a tap and die set for 20mm threads to clean these up on the axel wheel nut. I expect Amazon to drop that with me today. Once the full assembly is in, I can finally complete the rear brake install and hope to get the CV joints in as well.

Lots of other little things going on - and two things I am in search of...

I got the passenger door panel installed and realized that I am missing the passenger door opening handle - please reply here or message me if you have one!

Passenger Door missing handle.jpg (286.54 KiB) Viewed 302 times

Starting to plan for the SR20DET installation and have realized that the thermostat housing and sensor housing have both been modified with rear pipes cut off. I assume this is because the car it came out of did not have a heater core, but it would have been better to just route the lines together rather than cutting and welding closed these parts. If anyone has one or both of these housings, please let me know.

SR20DET Cooling parts.jpg (440.15 KiB) Viewed 302 times

The cover on the valve cover was in decent shape, but very discoloured... So I cleaned it up, painted the raised lettering black and then taped those up and painted the whole cover in silver. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out...

SR20 Cover restoration.jpg (314.29 KiB) Viewed 302 times

SR20 Cover finished.jpg (353.68 KiB) Viewed 302 times

I also cleaned up and installed the throttle position sensor.

TPS Installed.jpg (186.25 KiB) Viewed 302 times

I installed a small parking brake indicator light in my Gilson SSS dash...

Parking brake indicator installed.jpg (436.13 KiB) Viewed 302 times

My brother upholstered some black vinyl on the rear parcel shelf and then I installed and wired my Retro Sound speakers. Again, very happy with how this looks (and hopefully how it will sound).

Rear parcel tray with speakers.jpg (328.24 KiB) Viewed 302 times

Big prorgress on my Classic Air heating and cooling installation... it was a little tricky to get this in the right position and mounted on the firewall. The 510 firewall is not a flat surface so I needed to build out some supports to mount the unit onto so it is square, level and secure. The big test will come when I refit the dash, but I am pretty confident that the current position is going to work well.

Classic Air Installed.jpg (383.78 KiB) Viewed 302 times

[ostaylor]

Realized that my back seat mounting brackets had been cut out... sourced them from my buddy / 510 guru extraordinaire and then cleaned them up and mounted them with self tapping screws. I forgot to take a picture of the fibre board that I installed over the vapour barrier... but it is there! I still need to install the wheel well covers which are on order and will finish this up very nicely.

Rear seat mounts.jpg (423.69 KiB) Viewed 251 times

Rear seat prep.jpg (553.34 KiB) Viewed 251 times

Rear Seat Installed.jpg (683.87 KiB) Viewed 251 times

I finally solved all of the rear brake and suspension issues and now have the full suspension and rear brakes installed. I also did a test fit of one of the CV Axels from Datsun Restomods....

Rear Brakes Installed.jpg (428.25 KiB) Viewed 251 times

Rear Brakes Installed 2.jpg (300.09 KiB) Viewed 251 times

Full Rear Suspension installed.jpg (416.3 KiB) Viewed 251 times

CV Axel installed.jpg (282.74 KiB) Viewed 251 times

With the turbo on the SR20DET and the Air Conditioning, I end up with 3 radiators where there was once one... The AC condenser

AC Condenser.jpg (411.26 KiB) Viewed 251 times

The intercooler...

Intercooler installed.jpg (346.1 KiB) Viewed 251 times

and the radiator

Radiator installed.jpg (405.22 KiB) Viewed 251 times

[icehouse]

Careful when redoing all the plumbing under the intake manifold on the SR. I deleted a bunch of that stuff on a KA once and it would overheat. There is a bypass that has to be hooked up, I think it cycles the water through the engine and around the thermostat, once it's warm enough the thermostat opens. If the water doesn't do the loop the thermostat won't open.

[ostaylor]

After many hours of work getting as much of the behind / under dash wiring done as I can before installation, I finally feel that almost everything is properly connected. I hate working under dashes - one of the most uncomfortable spots to work on a car.

Here is the almost complete back of the dash (don't laugh at my plumbing pipes... I am hoping to route my AC through my fresh air vents and that's the only way I could think to do it).

Dash ready for install rear.jpg (471.62 KiB) Viewed 190 times

And from the front.

Dash ready for install front.jpg (493.86 KiB) Viewed 190 times

And installed!

Dash installed.jpg (343.14 KiB) Viewed 190 times

I also picked up this cool antenna from Amazon... reviews were pretty good and I like how it hides away nicely. The brand is CHHLIUT and quality seems pretty good for $30 Canadian.

Antenna installed.jpg (374.28 KiB) Viewed 190 times

The RetroSound stereo and speakers I bought look great, but I could not figure out a way to mount the kick panel speakers without major cutting. I have a friend with a good 3D printer and came up with this idea / design. I'm surprised that there isn't already something like this out there for standard sized speakers but I couldn't find anything. Really happy with how they turned out.

RetroSound Kick Panel Mount ready to assemble.jpg (689.01 KiB) Viewed 190 times

RetroSound Kick Panel Mount.jpg (382.9 KiB) Viewed 190 times

The front seats I have are out of a Toyota 4Runner. They are super comfortable and have good bolsters but they don't fit perfectly on the stock seat rails so I had to have these lengthened.

Seat rails modified.jpg (616.21 KiB) Viewed 190 times

My test fitment went pretty well so now they have to come out for paint before final installation.

Seat rails test fitment.jpg (545.41 KiB) Viewed 190 times

Someone warned me about removing the radiator support brace and I am glad they did because it definitely bends very easily without the brace there. In order to accommodate the SR20DET intercooler, I had to have the brace modified a bit. I'm very happy with how it turned out.

Radiator support modified installed.jpg (415.54 KiB) Viewed 190 times

Radiator support modified installed front.jpg (433.06 KiB) Viewed 190 times

Hoping to get my transmission back this week and figure out the temporary mount for the engine and transmission so I can raise and lower the car onto it.

[RONSLYCHUK]

Beautiful work Owen. That is going to be an awesome 510 when all is said and done.

[gooned]

Nice too see more progress

[cwd240z]

Awesome progress!

Big progress on my Classic Air heating and cooling installation... it was a little tricky to get this in the right position and mounted on the firewall. The 510 firewall is not a flat surface so I needed to build out some supports to mount the unit onto so it is square, level and secure. The big test will come when I refit the dash, but I am pretty confident that the current position is going to work well.

Do you have any pictures of the mounting brackets you made for your a/c unit to the firewall?

I still need to install the wheel well covers which are on order and will finish this up very nicely.

Are you getting those wheel well covers custom made, or is there somewhere they can be ordered? I need some as well.

Here is the almost complete back of the dash (don't laugh at my plumbing pipes... I am hoping to route my AC through my fresh air vents and that's the only way I could think to do it).

The plumbing pipes is a solid idea, however it does look from this angle that they should be flipped 180 degrees, so that the side inlet flows more directly towards the dash vent instead of back towards the firewall/fresh air vent. Unless it is already like this, then disregard. Also maybe shoot some black spray paint inside of the silver ducting attached to the vents, so it's a bit more stealthy?

Keep up the nice work!

[Stu]

I’m not a smoker but also was excited to clean up and ‘restore’ my rear ashtrays. Such a throwback. Mine mostly had gum in them. At least the kids who rode in the back weren’t smokers

[ostaylor]

Awesome progress!

Thanks - I am worried about slowing down as the warmer / nicer weather comes but pretty pleased with my progress lately. I have been trying to get out to the garage and get at least one small thing done every day. This really makes a difference, particularly when one little thing turns into two or three.

Do you have any pictures of the mounting brackets you made for your a/c unit to the firewall?

I do not and not sure I can easily get at them but if I do, I will post pictures. I probably avoided it because they are kind of MacGyver'd - I was thinking I need to make them out of metal, but then realized that I really only needed to bring the two mounting areas and four mounting bolts out by less than an inch. So I decided to try some high density pressed board, which was easy to cut, drill and fit. I also benefit from the fact that when I tightened down the mounting bolts (I had to replace the stock ones with longer ones) the press board made very solid contact that won't rattle or vibrate.

Are you getting those wheel well covers custom made, or is there somewhere they can be ordered? I need some as well.

Custom made by an upholsterer that another local 510 builder (and Realm guy) has used before and has made many pairs for him. I might still be able to get him to get two pairs instead of one - if you are interested pm me and I'll tell you approximate cost with shipping to Texas but I am pretty sure it would be under $100US all in.

The plumbing pipes is a solid idea, however it does look from this angle that they should be flipped 180 degrees, so that the side inlet flows more directly towards the dash vent instead of back towards the firewall/fresh air vent. Unless it is already like this, then disregard. Also maybe shoot some black spray paint inside of the silver ducting attached to the vents, so it's a bit more stealthy?

Amazing catch - on the flow for that pipe!! and good idea on blacking out the silver ducting. Agree that the sparkle factor is an unnecessary distraction. They both need to come out anyway because fitting them to the AC requires a pretty specific direction if they are going to be nicely hidden under the dash.