Gracie II the D21

[DRIVEN]

Looks presentable.

[HRH]

Thanks!! It came out reasonably well, fender needs mud. Broke down and bought a new valance today, it comes on Thursday. That little strip is just too hard to make look pretty. The fender isn't too bad, but I couldn't mock up the corner light and I wish I had. The bottom edge needs to come out a bit more. It works for now though. Primered up the chipped mud in it from the previous fix, just to keep rust at bay for the winter unless I manage to fix it before that.

[izzo]

I've seen some updates.

[HRH]

Well I finally replaced the blower motor on the truck. It's been rather glitchy since last year. Sometimes it takes a minute to turn on, but other than that was working fine. I decided I would replace it this weekend. I thought I had replaced it once before, but nope. Original Nissan blower motor. Lasted 25 years. I can only hope the new one will last that long. When I took it apart to get the connector harness (new one came with wires) it was full of brush debris and dirt. The brushes were only worn half down, but the center looked pretty ground too. Rather interesting. New motor was pretty close, had to shim it up to not have it hit, but only one washer's worth. I'll post some pictures later.

[HRH]

[Laecaon]

Functional heaters are nice...

[HRH]

Yep! Still worked, but I was waiting for the day the blower motor decided not to work at all. Figured I should fix it before then.

[DRIVEN]

It's nice when they give you some warning like that.

[Taterhead]

^^^ Precisely. The turd Integra I had didn’t tell me until smoke started billowing from under the dash.

[wayno]

Almost all Datsuns talk to you before they break down/self destruct, they make a little noise, they cut out and then run like normal again for a while, they start to vibrate, they leave spots on the ground, but they keep on moving and get you home, but if you do not listen they will leave you stranded, that is what happens if one don't listen.
The classic Mini Cooper on the other hand doesn't mutter a word, it just breaks without warning, most undependable car I have ever owned.

[DRIVEN]

^^Truth^^

[HRH]

Lol, I still want an original Mini Cooper though. Bucket list car. I think I want the one the guys at Bad Obsession Motorsports are building though.

[wayno]

My cousin expressed an interest in mine.
I have had nothing but issues with it since I paid for it.
On the way home from Bend where I bought it I took it out of 4th gear going up that hill just north of Warm Springs and it would not go back into 4th for a very long time, once I finally got it in 4th I didn't take it out till I got stopped at a light in Gresham, but it shifted fine and has ever since.
The alternator seized on me while I was driving it, since the fan keeps the radiator cool it and I had to cut the belt to move it it had to be towed home.
While I was entering the freeway while I was still on the on ramp the steering wheel snapped to the left almost 2 lanes before I got control of it, I was so lucky no one was in them lanes, that turned out to be a front bearing, no warning, noise, or anything else, it just seized and then broke loose.
I have put very few miles on this car, oh and when it is hot out and the engine is totally warmed up it is hard to start with the starter, but it starts right up if I push it, put it in gear, and pop the clutch, good thing it is light and easy to push.
But no matter how long it sits in my garage it starts, I have non-ethanol fuel in the plastic tank.
It's fun to drive, it is like being on a motorcycle but it has 4 wheels, the thing really picks up speed after 3000rpms and it just keeps climbing/picking up speed, it takes corners like the Tron vehicles, you need your seat belt on to keep you in the bucket seat, but in the end I do not trust it for a trip, around town is fine, but not on a long trip.
A week after I got my 521 kingcab diesel derivable I drove it to Los Angeles and back without an issue, if I am going on a trip that is my vehicle of choice even though the Mini gets 39/40mpg going the speed limit.

[Laecaon]

I would love an old mini too. I think they are super awesome. Of course, I like your Roadster too.

[HRH]

As usual I forgot my pictures, but I recently replaced the insert H4 6x7 headlights I got at NAPA some years ago with some IPF units ARB sells. The previous units I have had a clear glass front, aluminum back, and looked reasonable decent, but for some reason they just never lit the road right. Too much focus, not enough everywhere else.

Anyway, got some PIAA bulbs for Gracie II the other day, and in the old housings, didn't notice much different between those and the CRAPA specials. So I figured I'd update the housing.

WORLD OF DIFFERENCE!!!! The IPF conversion lights are 30-60 bucks each online and are a HUGE upgrade. The cut off is much more appropriate. These are set up like the original sealed beam headlights. The reflector is smooth, the glass has refractors in it. The best thing is with the old lights, low and high beam were too far different. Position the lights low, and the high beams would be correct height. Position the low beams correctly, high beams lit up the sky. So I just dealt with it for the last 3 years and positioned it so the low beams (95% of my driving) were correct.

With these new IPF lights, the high beams actually work when the low beams are correctly positioned! The lights are bright but have a nice cutoff so as not to blind oncoming traffic. Side road vision is pretty good, though I wish I had swiveling headlights like the Mazdaspeed for turning onto dark roads. Still, very pleased. The PIAA bulbs light way better than even the old Silverstars I had in it. The IPF are glass fronts, metal backs. A little on the economy side of construction, but they work quite well and it seems simpler IS better in this case. The tang holds the bulb super securely, the rubber cup that keeps water out fits tightly to the base. They have more room to wiggle in the buckets than the previous lights, but I just tightened the headlight rings appropriately and Bob's your uncle!

And it's late, I'm tired, but much happier with lighting on the truck! Woohoo! I'll get you guys some pictures later.

[HRH]

Oh yeah, did the hardbody steering box a few weekends back, and all the steering parts except the p/s pump, it still works. The threads on the reman box were boogered, so I removed the nose cone and swapped it for the original one. Only thing I didn't do is replace the seal, which you have to do with the cone removed. It doesn't leak though, so I'm not going to worry about it. Easy enough to yank off in the truck if I ever do need to reseal it.

Also, if you ever do this, you need the pitman arm puller, but the common auto parts store one won't fit. You have to grind it down quite a bit. After that it works great! The last picture is adjusting the splines. Got it one spline off, which means the wheel won't turn the same amount left to right. Moved it after figuring that out. Funny enough, the original shaft is off a spline from perfect fitment, but it has enough clearance for the bolt so who cares!

New steering is much less sloppy than the old steering, very nice!

[wayno]

You have guts, I never pull steering gears apart, I have heard too many horror stories about doing just that and them not being able to get it back together.

[HRH]

Ah, they're not that bad. But thanks! The biggest pain is getting bearings for them, as you can see they're very odd cage bearings. I still have a b210 box I never put back together that was supposed to be for the 510. Probably ought to do that. I'm sure I could get some money for that with the Jay Leno Datsun effect going on!

[HRH]

Ermagerd. Finally did the front frame bushings that the lower control arms mount to. Looking for my clunk, didn't find it. They weren't actually bad. But I had poly to put in, so I did. Holy fuck am I out of practice. Took all fucking day. I'm sore, my hand and arm hurts from hammering and hitting my hand with the hammer a few times. And the worst part is, halfway through, after I had already done it the hard way, I realized the bottom of the front frame crossmember is actually quite open if you look underneath. Which means you can heat it with a torch there and make the rubber bushing pop out and leave the sleeve in for the Energy Suspension bushings. But I didn't pay attention to that. So I fucked up one first, luckily I had a spare bushing, so unsleeved that, installed after I finally got the pissy one on the passenger side, then was able to clean out the driver's side and re-use it.

[DRIVEN]

Was it at least cold as hell with a constant wind all day?