New World Datsuns...

Looks like pretty good progress to me. Looks like it will have a pretty decent ride height.

Thanks. Ride height should be lower than before but still high enough to be useable as a driver. He plans to put miles on it so that's why we haven't been going overboard with detailing.

We put in more hours today and got it in to roller status. My dad finished the rear swaybar as well as started running brake lines. He also made a couple parts runs. In fact, he's been making all the parts runs. It's a bunch of frustrating legwork. Glad he's got the patience.

I got the upper coilover brackets fitted and welded in. Then put the frontend together and dropped it on the ground. The last thing we did was bolt the starter and manifolds back on.





My dad is going to finish up the front brake lines and drill the rear bumper bracket holes. At that point it's ready for a trip to the exhaust shop.

Didn't know they made wave rotors for vehicles.

I don't know what the working theory is with that. It's just what came in the kit my brother ordered.

Mainly, they look cool and are probably slightly lighter. I know in the moto world they make claims about better cooling and such, but in a vented situation, probably just weight and looks.

Haha, doesn't really matter anyway. Wheels should hide them. Probably. He'll need to buy wheels and tires before it's really ready for the road. Not sure what he has in mind though.

I usually send my brother a text with updates. Too lazy to type it all out so here's copypasta...

"Cab is bolted down and rear bumper is on. Brake plumbing is done. We ran the fuel lines and pump. Shortened the travel on your alternator bracket for frame clearance. Resealed the transmission dipstick. Cleaned and painted the column drop. Got most of the wiring done except front and rear lights. Dad is going to install the column and putter around on little stuff.
Steering stuff should be here when I get back next week. I'm going to order a battery today.
We'll probably be needing a radiator and air dam in 2 weeks, as soon as the exhaust is done."


There's no pics because it looks pretty much the same. I'll be out of town for work until next week. Then we'll get back on it.

We haven't been hitting this too hard the last couple weeks but progress is being made. The wiring appears to be done and I cleaned up a bunch of the routing I wasn't happy with before. The battery has been relocated under the seat. All the plumbing is connected except for the radiator. The fuel pump and transmission cooler mount to the bottom of the bed so they're just floating there right now. I have the steering mocked up but need to order 1 more piece. Last thing I did today was attempt to vacuum bleed the brakes. My dad is going to install the toe board (hopefully for the last time) before the pedal can be hooked to the master. It's almost time for the exhaust.

Steering linkage parts are not cheap. Looks like fun.

That part has been kind of a pain. I misordered one joint and decided not to use another. The double joint is because that bend is just barely too tight for a single to articulate properly. Unfortunately a double joint will necessitate an additional support. I'm using wooden dowel for mockup.

Finally mopped up the steering on this thing. A top mount turbo probably would have simplified the steering quite a bit.



We also adjusted up the pedal and bled the brakes one more time. They're 90% there. I'm kinda thinking once the pads are bedded it might be GTG. Muffler shop next week.

Having steering hooked up is nice. Makes it easier to push around.

Minor update; This has been moved aside while I work on my wagon for a while. My dad did get it into the muffler shop and picked it up this morning. I think they did a pretty decent job.







They followed our directions to the letter, which is a nice change. The routing looks good too. Once I get my car out of the way we should be getting back on it.

Looks well routed.

I found routing it straight out the back turns my tailgate black with soot from my diesel exhaust, now I route all my exhaust out the side in back of the rear tire, that way I can see it also and look for issues.

It originally (well, since the mid 70s) ran from the manifolds, under and outside the frame with the mufflers under the running boards. Then back under the frame and out the back. We rerouted everything inside the frame but the tips are in the exact same spot. Nice thing about EFI is soot isn't much of an issue.

will you be rerouting the gas lines ? They look close to the exhaust pipe.

Those, along with the transmission cooler, attach to the underside of the bed. There was several inches of clearance before so it should be close to the same once we get the bed remounted. If it turns out to be too close we'll either reroute or heat shield it.

Fail day!
We had planned to spend the day working on this. The plan was to calibrate the new fuel sender. Since my brother has always been famous for running out of gas we were going to put 2 gallons in it and set that to "E". My dad put a little gas in it and found it had a pinhole in the bottom. Dammit. Problem is, it goes on top of the frame so we can't put the bed on until this is fixed. Anyway, my dad scrambled and found a place that agreed to take a look today but said probably Tuesday before we get it back. He's dropping it off now. I suggested a cash tip/bribe to do it while he waited.

Barely visible just below the bottom rivet.