The new 1200 acquisition

[Gray]

I desperately want to see the swaybar issues/salutions.
Was this an auto chassi?

I dropped the swaybar a bit to fit the engine in. It is supposed to clear without modifications, but I need to swap it out for the thicker one I picked up a while back anyways.

This unfortunately is a manual....itty bitty tranny tunnel. I cut off the original mounting points for more clearance and in the original rough alignment the stumpy transmission seems to just fit. I expect I'm going to need to do some minor banging on the tunnel with a BFH or a slide hammer to make everything clear nicely. Unfortunately, I'm not really going to get the time off for Christmas I thought I was. So it is going to sit once again for a while.

[RedBanner]

Bummer, im verry interested.

[izzo]

This is a bummer. Love seeing this thing getting worked on

[RedBanner]

Having to pass tractor trailers multiple times a day dring thru idaho. Cant help but day dream about ka power

[Gray]

Having to pass tractor trailers multiple times a day dring thru idaho. Cant help but day dream about ka power

It's the damn hills I hate...

Anyways I can now say the 1200 site is just damn wrong. There is no way short of bashing a big ass clearance into the oil pan that the stock 1200 swaybar will fit. You just can't slide the engine far enough back. So either a MADDAT or maybe 510 KA swap crossbar or I'll get real clever with the mounting points and modify the LCA or something. Probably that as I'm a cheapskate who owns a Datsun, which I know is redundant.

Did get some work on it done over last weekend, transmission mount is done, holes drilled and all that fun crap. I also beat the shit out of the tunnel *BFH and Crowbar* to get to fit and I've got new 510 motor mounts. Engine and trans is in and mounted and accounted.

Test fit the radiator too and it is super damn tight to the front of the engine and that is with only a finger width of clearance from the back of the head to the firewall. I may need to do some clearancing on the back of the core support to get everything to fit. It still is gonna be a tight bitch when it is done.

No new pics as it looks about the same. I'm out of the country during February and the next couple of weeks are insanely busy. I'm hoping to get some progress done this long weekend though as I wanna drive this bitch to Canby this year. So much stuff to do though.

This post courtesy of Jager and clearanced hard cider

Viva La 1200!

[RedBanner]

Swingin a bfh under a car is a serius work out. Nowdays i just cut a section of 4x4 and lower the car onto it where ever i need some clearence.

[Gray]

Swingin a bfh under a car is a serius work out. Nowdays i just cut a section of 4x4 and lower the car onto it where ever i need some clearence.

Crowbar did most of the work, but I've done the use the car's weight before or use a jack to move things.

On to something new:

Space for the radiator was super tight so did some work on that tonight. Started with changing out the studs on the water pump. Also I think I might pull the crossmember back out and take an extra 1/4 inch of height off the mounts to free up some clearances for the transmission tunnel, although that wold put the oil pan to crossmember clearance at almost nothing. Or maybe I could just put a spacer between the crossmember mounting points and the frame to drop it slightly, shouldn't change the angle of of the LCAs enough to matter I'd imagine. Also way easier.

Starting:


This pulley is unused. However, I was a little worried in pulling it due to the obvious weight and rubber mount inside. Looked online and it is NOT a harmonic balancer and seems safe to remove. Anyone with experience on this? It really provided a lot more clearance.




After removal of the extra pulley and swapping the bolts:


Test fit of radiator:

[RedBanner]

Pics arnt loading for me, but i reseached the front pully, i cant confirm if its counter balanced or not. Some places say yes, others no. Ill check back later for pics maybe my browser.

[RedBanner]

There they are. Damn. That is close on the rad. I like the idea of spacing the crossmember more than losing too much oilpan clearence
If it did effect the lca angles a rca would take it back way more than needed.

[Gray]

There they are. Damn. That is close on the rad. I like the idea of spacing the crossmember more than losing too much oilpan clearence
If it did effect the lca angles a rca would take it back way more than needed.

Spaced the crossmember down 3/4 of an inch, made such a huge difference on tranny tunnel clearance. I also pulled the crossmember back out and redid the mounts a bit to give better coverage under the motor mounts, everything is nice and happy and aligned with the transmission. I didn't really get much extra rad clearance, only one finger width between the end of the head and the firewall so not much to go with anyways.

I kind of want to get a new radiator too as this one has the lower hose on the wrong side, but 26 inches is the max width and the aftermarket ones are all ~27-28. Also I already have this radiator so I may just use it anyways.

Next up is swapping the rearend for the 510 wagon rearend and installing the lowering blocks. Or I may start on the wiring harness and relay block. I may just start with the electrical stuff as I can get it knocked out pretty quickly.

I tested my header setup and it does not clear the steering box at all, so looks like I'm going to need to try a cast iron stock KA24e exhaust manifold, if not I'll have to get a turbo manifold off ebay and work on the exhaust clearance. I can't really find any info on what others have done for the ka24e swap in a 1200, just some small pics on datsun1200.com.


Current needs to run (off the top of my head) are as follows:
Install 510 wagon rearend and new brake cable, replace drum shoes while I'm at it. I'll have to see if this is going to eventually require fender flairs or not....
Pull and clean gas tank.
Install high volume low pressure fuel pump next to tank. Run electrical.
Install swirl pot and low volume high pressure fuel pump, run new fuel lines to engine bay. Run electrical.
Install intake manifold.
Rewire old wiring harness into new wiring harness and do all the assorted relay boxes and other electrical (I find the electrical stuff easy so not too worried about that).
Get exhaust manifold and make up temp side exit to get to the muffler shop.
Acquire and shorten driveshaft...I may already have a 510/b210 auto driveshaft that will work I need to look through my stuff.
Install radiator and add fans..wire for electrical...I still need to buy a temp probe to start the fans. I can use an on/off switch temporarily for test runs.
Misc. electrical bullshit.
Wire up alt.
Wire up ignition switch.
Install seats.

Change out front breaks for MKlotz big brake kit which I already have the parts for.
Buy/install tires for the advans I have.
Buy small optima battery or remote battery, the battery tray is already shaved and I have a mount for a small battery on the frame rail in the engine bay.
Hookup speedometer cable and other tranny related switches.
Some other stuff I've forgotten.

Fill with fluids.
Test fire and troubleshooting.
Shake down runs.

Probably need to install a radio and speakers at some point too, or just use my bluetooth speaker temporarily.

Drive to Canby

[RedBanner]

Seems like alot, but if you dedicate time and stick with it you can make it for sure

[Gray]

Got some work done it, 510 wagon rearend is in. Also changed the crossmember drop to 1/2 inch from 3/4 inch, noticed the crank pulley was kind of close to the front frame rail, ended up with about a 1/16th to 1/8th inch of clearance, I might clearance the rail abit if it becomes a problem...should be okay. Also picked up a OEM cast iron exhaust manifold and cleaned it, thankfully that clears (barely) the steering box whereas the headers had no chance in hell (headers were free and came with the engine). This engine is just such a tight bitch in this car, I'm actually thinking "tight bitch" may end up being the car's name but I'll have to drive it first, or maybe something having to do with it being pale yellow, haven't decided yet.

Exhaust manifold from Pick-n-pull, I also have the Y-pipe and a bit of the heat shielding. I wire brushed/cleaned it and hit it with high-temp paint, which I only had in silver so it's silver.


Cleaned up and installed the starter, as it is a ka starter to Z stumpy transmission I drilled out the starter threaded holes, then ground off some surface rust and give it a lick of paint.


Crank pulley clearance after various fuckery, I'll probably just end up clearancing the frame rail a bit.


Out with the H145 in with the H190.


H190 installed, seems to fit pretty decently. I used the bottom bits of the shock mounts that got from Raymond (tendril) and a set of lowering bolts (have blocks just not installed...yet). The shocks are shot but the hole on the shocks is large enough it just needs a different rubber inset (or I'll machine up a nylon one). Brake hose to rear brakes needs to be longer also. I'm not sure what length the shocks are, I wonder if 510 wagon rear shocks would be close enough?? I didn't have a fitting rubber bumpstop so I'll try and pick one up later to install. I still need to pull and clean the gas tank and install the FI pumps so I'll be back under there shortly anyways. Still need to pick up brake shoes and do the rear brakes. I originally had begun degreasing the diff to be repainted and got sidetracked...so screw it..it goes in dirty.

[Gray]

So that tight clearance on the front crank pulley...screw that, decided to clearance it and reinforce it afterwards.

So made some cuts and then reinforced with a piece of angle iron.



First pass of welds from the top and some extra metal cut and added to fill up the top gap...not my best work but it's a tight spot.


More meta added to box the ends and roughly cleaned and hit with grey primer so it won't flash rust. It really should be ground down to look the best, but it was already past midnight by the time I finished and running the grinder is loud. I'll probably touch up next time I work on it as I hate ugly welds, even in places that don't show.


Also got the rear drums back on and a new brake hose hooked up. I had bought new brake shoes but the old ones had obviously been recently replaced and were just about as thick as the new shoes so I just cleaned things up and put it back together. I pulled the gas tank plug while I was under it, tank was empty, looks like someone had replaced the rubber hose between the tank and hard line recently also. I'll probably pull the sender and stick a flashlight in to look around, I have a feeling someone may have already cleaned the tank (tank plug was clean and no debris/dirt was evident).


Next step is to hook up the emergency brake cable. I also need to figure out a plug for the EGR outlet on the exhaust which is the only thing holding up putting the exhaust manifold on. Probably next big thing to go in will be the radiator. I'll be doing a bit of cutting on some of the core support sheet metal for that, not exactly necessary but it will give more clearance for the fans and help it cool better. In the tool section I picked up a new welder but I haven't gotten around to unboxing it yet, need to figure out the gas setup first.

[RedBanner]

Nice progress man!

[Gray]

Radiator is in, I ended up cutting out some of the front sheet metal to get a bit more clearance and grinding the welded bit. Drilled holes and used hose to make the bottom isolation mounts for the pins. I actually have the correct top mounts from an N14 but I tore the house apart looking for them and couldn't find them. So I played around with a couple of different ways of doing this and eventually the top mounts got some HDPE blocks I machined up. The HDPE block was cut and squared and a hole bored for the hose to slip through with the pin from the radiator. Hopefully I will find the correct top pieces or hit up a PNP and replace them, anyways it should work. I'm still not decided on this radiator. The bottom outlet is on the wrong side for a KA (I bought it originally for the A12). I think I might just end up replacing this with a 1986 VW golf radiator instead as the inlet/outlet are on the right side for a KA. I played with the hoses a bit today also the bottom outlet hose if I keep this radiator is going to be interesting.

At least crank/water pump to radiator clearance doesn't seem to be an issue anymore.

I also test fit my dual fans. I'll need to pull the radiator back out to get them to fit. Looks like I could just barely get one fan on the engine compartment side or put both fans on the grille side, or maybe one on each side.

[wayno]

Keep picking away at it, finish each piece of it and move on to the next, before you know it, it will be done.

[Gray]

Keep picking away at it, finish each piece of it and move on to the next, before you know it, it will be done.

Definitely. That's been the goal

[datsunfreak]

Anyways I can now say the 1200 site is just damn wrong.

There is a lot of misinformation on that site.

There is no way short of bashing a big ass clearance into the oil pan that the stock 1200 swaybar will fit. You just can't slide the engine far enough back. So either a MADDAT or maybe 510 KA swap crossbar or I'll get real clever with the mounting points

FYI, Maddat makes a 1200-specific bar for your swap.



You might be able to make a stock A10 bar fit too.

[Gray]

FYI, Maddat makes a 1200-specific bar for your swap.



You might be able to make a stock A10 bar fit too.

Pretty, but more than I want to spend (with shipping). I'll probably end up going that way eventually but I'm going to try to modify the mounting points to make the 1200 bar fit, it's a bit of a low priority. I'm still not clear on what difference there is between that and a 510 KA swaybar. B210 swaybar fits the 1200 (and vice/versa) with only minor mods, and I thought the B210 swaybar/front end bits are essentially the same as a 510 swaybar in the mounting, so shouldn't the 510 KA swaybar fit, and be easier to get in the US?

I looked at an A10 bar when I was initially going to put the engine in the B210, they had both in the same wrecking yard so I tried to see what it would require to fit, didn't seem like it would work.

[DRIVEN]

My 510 has a total of 3 swaybars. I found that a B210 and 510 front bar were almost identical. So, by your above logic, I would think that the KA 510 bar should be a close fit.