"The Goon" Build (KA Datsun)

[ManoNegra]

Been wondering recently why no updates on this build.
Sucks about the motor - been there a few times - but looks like you've been making good progress.
Keep it up man.

-Juan

[WagDatto]

Hey, thanks man! My body told me that 8:11 was wake up time, and my alarm followed suit 15 minutes later... BITCH!! I've got less than 5 hours of sleep in me, and I'm hunting for some underwear so I can do work.

I'll update this afternoon. Even now that I'm a bit more suber, I still think that I can maybe get the motor in tonight.... We'll see!

[allntrlundrgrnd]

This is awesome.


Cant wait to see the rest of it come together.

[Grantspec]

That's the glory of a KA is they are disposable motors. Its nice to have a spare laying around. Looking good though my fellow supercharged brother.

[WagDatto]

I'm sad that the supercharger project is on hold AGAIN!!

The new motor only needs exhaust mani gaskets and a new throwout bearing before it goes in... I'm picking up an impact while I'm out, too, so that I can throw on the Fidanza flywheel. Clutch still has some meat, and it's a Centerforce centrifugal pressure plate, so it should be a good combo.

My body decided that after going to bed at 3:30am, it would be just perfect to wake up at 8:11am. I've been working since then. Lots of pictures, I'll update soon.

[WagDatto]

Just over 25 hours by myself (save for the last hour or so with my brother tinkering on the small stuff with me. Thanks again, Phil!!), the new motor is in and it runs. Ran into a small snag with the wiring harness, since I opted to use the shortened/depinned one... Signal wires from the Dizzy weren't going to ECU anymore... I'm going to check the MAF for continuity before I call it done, just in case... But I'm assuming everything is fine there?

In any case, the car runs. Haven't had a chance to drive it yet, still have some small things left to do before that point anyway. We broke off a stud on the exhaust side, which sucks.... Last one, too!! Oh well, we'll try to extract that today and toss in a spare.

The car runs smooth! The lightweight flywheel dropped my idle a little, so I need to bring that back up to keep it from dying when I let off throttle, but other than that, it sounds great!!

New Cometic headgasket, water pump, seals/gaskets, etc, etc, etc... It's gorgeous, too! With the RTV abundance, I'm praying for no leaks... I want to keep this motor looking pretty!

Contemplated FWD... Phil suggested AWD Pulsar swap. Lolz


Motor ready to drop in:


Motor dropping in:


Motor dropped in:

[Bubbles]

I know it doesn't matter what I think, but I fully support this.

It's unique and you're doing work.

[93nismo]

i was hoping for a super awsometitz ending with the supercharger.. but i guess ill just have to come back another day. im lovein it homie:]

[tricky_ab]

Crappy to hear about the lack of a supercharger...I'm still diggin' this build!

[WagDatto]

Well the motor runs.. I extended the wiring for the Dizzy, hid it in the driver's frame rail and popped it out up by the radiator, so the wiring is VERY clean in the engine bay now!!

Bad news:

Clutch was feeling really weird last night, and today after the motor was done, I tried putting it in gear... No dice. It sounded like a skitting noise... I assumed it was the new T/O bearing knocked loose. Sucks, because I went through all the trouble of installing the motor without removing the transmission! Oh well!

Drained the tranny, removed and painted the driveshaft chrome, dropped the tranny (Thanks for the help, Kelly!), and it looks like the T/O bearing stayed in place just fine! The clutch line did have a little knick in it, but not to the line itself, just to the braided lining. Maybe that gave me the odd feeling, and I was overthinking the noise? Oh well...

We muscled the blue tranny in (it's going to look AWESOME!!), and FINALLY got it popped into the motor!! Such a pain in the ass on a 510, the tranny tunnel is JUST big enough for the KA tranny... Started trying to tighten down the bolts and it wouldn't go. The bolts would NOT pull the tranny into the motor!

After arguing with ourselves about wanting to drop the thing again... We pulled it and found that the aligning stud up top, and an aligning sleeve on the driver's side were still wedged into the holes, which was keeping it from slotting together... Pain in my ASS!!

I need to grab the easy-outs from Phil tomorrow anyway to fix the exhaust stud that broke off anyway, so I'll be able to get those out really quick and hopefully be able to pop the tranny in easier this time...

Then the driveshaft goes in, and we fill the tranny through the shifter before I put that all back together... Then hopefully... HOPEFULLY, my car will stop being moody and drive. The motor runs so smooth when you start it, and sounds great, and leaks no fluids, and it revs SO much faster with the new flywheel.... I want to roast the tires!!! I've got a set of 13" Datsun wheels just BEGGING to be slapped on the rear axle and burnt up....

Speaking of which, any break-in required for a Cometic MLS headgasket?

[ManoNegra]

Originally Posted by WagDatto

Speaking of which, any break-in required for a Cometic MLS headgasket?

Nothing special, same as breaking in a fresh motor
buddy used Rotella-T 15-40W for the first few hundred miles
before switching to synthetic and a new filter.

[WagDatto]

Hmm.. Alright, well I'm using 10w30, but I'll just take it easy for the first few days (boooo....) and change the oil at some point.

Woke up this morning and my abdomen is bruised from resting the transmission on it last night. Tonight is not going to be too much fun....

[ManoNegra]

We take a different approach to engine break-in
run the engine a bit hard during break-in to allow the rings to seat properly
one of those things people have different views on...

[WagDatto]

It runs. It drives. It sounds and feels as good as it looks, too. Clutch needs to be bled a time or two, but other than that, it's working like it should.

Also, when I rev the motor, there is a slight vibration... Comes and goes with revs, regardless of load. I'll fiddle around and see if I can figure that one out, too, but I'm stumped for now.

The wire tuck turned out amazing, but I'll have to fiddle with a few things to make it perfect. I'm excited to see what you guys think as far as that one goes. So far, no fires, so I think that's my biggest accomplishment!

How she's sitting:


Full view:


Some close ups of wiring and such:



Relocated Dizzy wiring:


Few shots of the tranny:

[ManoNegra]

Any particular reason you went with the black RTV Sean?

[WagDatto]

I had it available, shouldn't be any issues... It's not being used anywhere where there's an extreme amount of heat or oil. I ran it there on my bad motor without any issues... Oh wait.. RTV KILLED MY MOTOR!! Haha JK.

We'll see what it does and go from there.

[ManoNegra]

oh, ok since grey is what is typically recommended for our cars.

[WagDatto]

Yeah, that's what I heard, but I still don't think it will cause enough of a different to notice.

Vibration hasn't gone away. Coming from somewhere inside the bellhousing... Tonight, I'll jack the car up and look in the inspection holes and see if I can find anything out... I'm assuming something's just not seating... But I should be able to reach a screw driver up there and maybe realign it? That'd be nice.....

[ManoNegra]

You mentioned a re-used clutch disk earlier.
Any chance the springs were a bit loose on it?
I've encountered similar vibrations on 5 speed swaps when we installed used-but-good components.

[kcndizzle]

Hey buddeh! Long time no talk; that new motor is looking ultra-smexy in there with all of its multi-colored glory and that wire tuck is tits!

[WagDatto]

Things I'm looking for:
WRX/Evo
Frontier/Tacoma/Import truck (looking for double cab)
Q45/LS400/VIP'able car
IS300
Something 2000ish or newer that's fun and an import, let me know what you have!

I'm open to spending a little or being paid a little depending on the car, it doesn't have to be a dead even trade.

I'm not set on getting rid of it, but I'm trying to explore my options. It's hard for me to focus on pushing toward a career right now when I've got a car that I want to work on and sink money into.

Please call, text or email with any questions or for offers.
Sean
916.505.81O8
[email protected]

Full build thread can be found here:
http://community.ratsun.net/topic/8891-510...charged-ka24de/

1972 Datsun 510 Wagon

Motorset
-1994 KA24DE
-JUST swapped a low mileage dual cam in. Inspected the pistons and bearings, and everything checked out. Has a brand new Cometic Headgasket, new oil pan gasket, new timing chain lower and upper set, new tensioners and guides, new front and rear main seals, etc, etc. Everything on the motor for the most part has been painted/polished/powdercoated. Using Nology Hotwires, and the distributor has a new cap and rotor. Uses a Fidanza lightweight flywheel, and a Centerforce centrifugal pressure plate and aggressive street clutch disk.
-Wiring harness and ECU are from a 1995, to make full use of the F3 plug. The harness is wired in using the Female side of the F3 plug, so the full engine harness can be removed without cutting any wires. The engine harness and F3 plug were also de-pinned of all unnecessary wiring the proper way, and the interior side of the harness was shortened about a foot, so it mounts neatly to the kick panel and I planned on making a cover for the ECU and the piggyback I would have used for the supercharger.
-Included is everything I've acquired for the Supercharger swap I'd been building. This includes: two Eaton M62 blowers, one in bad condition, can be used for mockup, rebuild or sale, and one that was opened, cleaned, ported for wastegate, sound reduction holes welded, and polished/painted. Brand new oil is ready to be put in. Also including a .5" aluminum adapter plate for the KA manifold to Eaton blower with tapped ports for IACV, vacuum and boost gauge, an upper intake manifold with no butterfly valves that has been polished and cleaned, and already has SR20DET 370cc injectors installed in a freshly cleaned KA24DE fuel rail on it. Intake elbow and piping, couplers and clamps are all ready to be bolted on once everything is on the motor. I also have a Alternator bracket/boost belt tensioner that can be used or modified to make better. A GReddy Emanage Blue, misc oil filter relocation parts and other misc parts are also included in the "kit."
-Transmission is a low mileage S13 5 speed that was owned by an older couple, then sold to a younger gal. Shifts smoothly into all gears, and was cleaned inside the bellhousing and out, and has been painted True Blue with several layers of clear coat to make it easier to clean up for a show. Has a brand new Throwout Bearing installed.
-Datsun 521 Clutch Master Cylinder helps to redirect the clutch line to an easier location, connects to a SS braided line and new KA slave cylinder.
-Uses a stock 510 sedan driveshaft (painted chrome) that goes to a stock wagon axle with fresh gear oil (painted gloss black).









Interior
-Starting at the front: Stock gauge cluster surround, radio bezel (has been cut at one point to fit a stereo, am using a DATSUN plate as a radio delete), and glove box. Gauges are a stock 510 Speedometer (possibly broken, might be able to fix it), stock 510 Tachometer and the temp/gas gauge has been replaced with an AEM wideband gauge to monitor the air/fuel mixture in the exhaust. Glove box has a metal BRE badge. I also have installed an electric water temperature gauge, mechanical oil pressure gauge and a nice programmable fuel gauge under the ash tray in a 3-gauge cluster. Dash pad is a stock 510 pad that has had cracks repaired, and was upholstered over with a foam base and black vinyl material. Gives the dash pad a little "squish" and looks modern.
-Steering wheel is a Momo 510 hub, connecting to a NRG slim quick release (lets you remove the steering wheel), and is bolted to a Maziora 350mm JDM steering wheel (changes color in light from Green, to Gold, to Purple) with chrome spokes. I can also include a 350mm NRG wheel which has black spokes and black leather wheel with a Yellow center marker if you prefer it.
-The interior is carpeted using the typical Loop Pile carpet in front passenger area, and I used black "indoor/outdoor" carpet under the rear seats and into the cargo area for a more durable, but still matching, carpet kit.
-Datsport transmission tunnel cover shoots up to a stock KA shifter and two 3" aluminum shifter extensions topped with a Hurst "pistol grip" shift knob. Shifter extensions can be removed if you prefer.
-Front seats are from an early 90's BMW 3 series and are black leather with very minor cracks, no tears. They are very comfortable, and hold you in place very well without being too aggressive. Rear seats are stock 510 wagon, and are not currently installed, but I will include seats and all brakets to reinstall them if you want.
-Currently has no headliner, but roof has been sprayed with textured "bed liner" paint which has reduced a fair amount of vibration and noise. Also sports a "newer 510" dome light and lens that functions perfectly.
-Has all door panels, kick panels and interior handles.
-Ignition has been rebuilt using NEW key cylinder and ignition switch, and has a functioning steering wheel lock.
-Optima redtop battery is mounted behind passenger side rear seat using a FBI Billet Aluminum Optima mount, which holds it from the bottom for a clean look and to eliminate the chances of shorting to a post across the top. Thick gauge battery cables are run using new post clamps, and the rear seat folds up and down without interfering with the battery or wiring.












Suspension
-Front: 280zx struts have been shortened and use rear MR2 Tokico Illumina shocks. Shaft collars hold up Ground Control adjustable sleeves and Eibach 300# springs under Ground Control camber plates.
-NEW 280zx Brake Master Cylinder runs to NEW stainless braided lines.
-Brake pads have tons of meat on them. Wheel bearings were replaced and greased recently, and make no noise upon spinning.
-I replaced the stock 280zx wheel studs with extended Nismo studs front AND rear for more aggressive aftermarket wheel options, and the option to run spacers if you need to.
-Front struts were painted High Gloss Black, covered with a rainbow metalic flake mixed into the first 3 layers of clear, and followed with several more layers of clear to keep them clean easier.
-Rear: 510 wagon leaf springs were professionally de-arched and stiffened and feel GREAT compared to the front spring rate. Leaf springs have NEW FACTORY bushings front and rear, and longer U-Bolts to clamp down on 2.5" steel lowering blocks that feature a pinion adjusting "tilt" to keep the driveshaft angle correct at the new ride height.
-Shocks were replaced with KYB OEM replacements when I bought the car a few years ago, and feel good, though they're the only weak point in the rear suspension.
-Drums were taken in and surfaced, and all shoes have been inspected to make sure the rear brakes were good, as this was a car I've been driving every day. Rear wheel cylinders have been replaced with brand new ones, and the brakes feel great front and rear. Car stops when you tell it to.
-Rear is using a sway bar with brand new hardware, though I'm not sure of the brand.
-Suspension pieces in front have been powdercoated (adjustable T/C rods, control arms, crossmember)









Body
-To be honest, most every panel needs some work. The car looks GREAT in pictures and from 10' away, but if you're looking for show quality body work and paint, this car needs a bit before it's at that point.
-Valance was a NOS piece for the project it was originally mounted on and never driven. Mounted on it is a BRE Spook chin spoiler that should be replaced.
-Grill surround trim is all there and in good shape (eyebrows, hood trim and lower trim).
-Front fenders are full fiberglass BRE style bubble flared fenders and have some minor damage, but look great from 10' away.
-Hood is in GREAT shape
-Doors all open and close, though the driver's door latch needs to be adjusted because you have to close it hard for it to hold the latch.
-Front windshield is a NOS replacement and has ZERO pitting.
-All glass is in great shape, though the hatch glass does have a small gouge in it from what looks like a rock someone hit it with a long time ago. It's not cracked, just gouged a little.
-I imported metal window visors from Malaysia, which really make the car look cool, in my opinion.
-All weatherstripping is new EXCEPT for the cargo windows and hatch window and rear 1/4 windows. Front windshield, interior/exterior window squeegies, front and rear door, front and rear window channel felt, wiper boot seals were all replaced and the car stays DRY inside!!
-Rear fenders have been pulled to accept my wheels at this ride height. I can have them reworked to be a bit cleaner if you like, or I can include the rear box flares if you want to continue the project where I've left off.









Things to Note
-The wheels that are currently on the car (Hayashi Racing - Talon) will NOT be coming with the car. The wheels are my brothers and he doesn't plan on getting rid of them. We can work out a possible set of Longchamps or you can provide your own set.
-The Bluebird grill... I would PREFER not to get rid of. If it's worth it to you, we can work something out. You would be getting a fully polished 70-73 grill.
--Details on the grill: I got it with zero cracks or issues, tore it all apart and stripped the paint. I repainted the metal center Gloss Black, and polished the top trim lines. I also painted the plastic bezels Gloss Black with Chrome trim lines.
--Another note, we also have a 68 grill that could be installed instead... But again, I would prefer to get rid of the car with the 70-73 polished grill.
-The roof rack as well is not included, but if it has to go, I'll let you have it, we can work it out.
-Car comes with lots of extras, as well, like an underdash A/C unit with wiring and fan, bolt on dump pipe to replace muffler, extra wheel bearings for the front, and other little goodies.

There are many things about the car that I haven't touched on, I'm sure, but if you skim through the past 25 pages of this thread, you'll see the work put into it. I easily have over 10k into the car, not including the supercharger kit or the new motor, but obviously don't expect to get 10k for it! Again, I'm just looking for something new, I guess... All the work that I want to do on the car right now requires taking it off the road, and I can't do that right now.

Pictures from the Sacramento Datsun Swap Meet Sunday

[ManoNegra]

oh man, say it ain't so
I feel you Sean, I often ask myself why I keep messing around with old cars.

[WagDatto]

Well.... After a phone call tonight, it sounds like Texas might be getting a badass KA'd 510 in the near future.... Sad, but excited!

[vervedatsun]

I am starting to restart and really finish a 71 datsun 510 2 door with a ka24de swap should be way sweet. So yah i do need some help and actually need a valve cover for my ka motor seems to be a couple of them I need the less popular one!!

looks like the same one you have actually have any others?

[WagDatto]

I only have one spare valve cover with the 3 bolt center, but it's on the spare motor I have. Sorry, unless you want to buy the full motorset, the cover stays with it!