Most of us old guys learned how to fix stuff because we broke it taking stuff apart. A guy shouldn't miss out on all that fun, how else does one learn how to patch stuff back together? We are here to help, but sometimes you just need to break stuff for the memorable experiences. We type slow, to provide you the opportunity to screw it up, then we can tell you how we fixed it after we screwed it up. Its all about the shared experiences man... The more it costs, or the harder it is to fix something, the longer and better you remember the error, then there it less chance of making the same costly mistake again. If you take this stuff too seriously, it takes away the fun of it all.
Can’t like this enough ^^^^ exactly how I learned 90% of what I really can’t remember Still breaking ****
Fought like heck to get the Datsun steering wheel off. I didnt want to inflict further damage, so I didnt use a puller or any pry tools. In the end I pulled the whole steering column apart and pressed the wheel off the shaft. The new grant adapter is actually for datsun 280z, the diameter and splines match perfectly. I did have to trim down the backside of the adapter though, cut 1/4" from it. New wheel is on. The diameter is good, but I'm not a fan of the depth.
Time to start cosmetic stuff. Opinions needed. Should I repaint the valve cover black, or white (same color as lettering), or blue? Calipers color also. Red, blue, black, gray, or silver?
Usually, unless you need the wheel closer, you will get a wheel that is the same offset as stock. But that can be hard to do when going for a specific 'look'. That's a rabbit hole. Clean it and leave it stock. Or. Paint/modify for some kind of homage. Or. Get artsy. Cleaning and/or painting it aluminum is gonna make you hate everything else that is bare AL underhood, next the intake will be painted, then you will hate amything that is black and plastic/rubber. Or... Paint the VC a color that is an homage to a past racing team. Older Z cars or later RB Skylines I *think* had blue or black painted VCs. Cars themselves back in the 510 era used red/white/blue livery. If the 'white rice' is really calling to you, then Honda Type R red is the way to go On the Mazda side, B6 was used in 323 GTXs and Mercury Capri XR2s. They used squared cam tunnels that are finned, 'DOHC' & '16 VALVE' are in red which would leave the engine ambiguous. IIRC those engines used a divorced plastic timing belt cover. Which would leave cam gears partially exposed.... Another rabbit hole. OR... Get artsy and paint the cover flat/semi black but paint cam tunnels same as your under hood wiring harness weave. Would take a bit of pinstriping. Or simply paint the VC opposite color of trucks current blue. Orange. Contast would be nice, but you might need to paint one other small item on the truck to 'tie it in'. Most single piston semi floating/sliding calipers are just... ugly. Best color to paint them is a dark cast iron grey or black. Either semi or matte. Visible rusty drum brakes and racer red single piston calipers are original sins in the hobby. Fixed calipers, for the most part, are aesthetically pleasing and can be brightly painted. There is also those caliper covers, but the cost and look of them is quite... ...different.
I some how suspect this project is going to move on from the original plan, pretty quickly. Just thought I would point that out... Nothing wrong with that, it seams to happen a lot, its happened to me before (more times then I want to count). It starts with a fun upgrade, then we have the chance to drive the ride a little. Its so much fun, we start thinking about how we can improve the current project. Sometimes we just can't help ourselves... I'll be watching form over here... while I'm thinking about how I want to improve my current project, that has nearly reached its original plan.
Dang it Gene! Again with the paint... I finally got the steering wheel finished up, and its growing on me. The truck how drives like a go kart, just have some fine tuning left to do with the pedals. The wheel does seem a bit close to your chest, but when your actually driving its quite comfortable. My old man said he needs a booster seat to drive it though because he can't see over the wheel. I had to pause on the brake job. I bought the larger caliper brackets used, and the guy sent me a wrong pair of front brackets. Same as I allready have on the truck. Correct ones are getting shipped today. The ones he sent are in the left. I can't imagine living in a place where a 30+ year old part looks like that. The one on the right came off my car, and that thing came from what I thought was a clean environment haha
The location those parts come from has a lot to do with what they look like. Years ago, I bought a 30 year old car that lived its entire life in CO, I live in the north west corner of Illinois. That car had a dent in the front bumper, one day I got under the car to see if there was going to be any chance of loosening the chrome bumper bolts. To my surprise, those chrome bumper bolts looked like brand new! I loosened them with a short end wrench, straightened the bumper, then reused the original chrome bolts to ***emble the bumper. You wouldn't have been able to do that on a 5 year old car in IL then. The difference in what some parts look like from other areas of the country are astounding. It almost makes you want to move there to work on cars.
Put this on the back burner for a little bit. Life got busy. I noticed the other day I dont have any tail lights for some reason. Weird electrical gremlin. I took my test light and poked into the wire at multiple places around all the splices. I have power in the wire. The license plate light is a standard cheapo housing with a twist in bulb. When I put my test light to the center contact my tester didnt light, then I accidentally arced it out on the housing and it sparked. Then I magically had power and now the bulb lights. "Fixed it" The tail lights are leds. I have turn signals working, so i know I have a good ground. The tail/ running lights dont light. I did find power on the circuit board for tail. But neither side will light. Im at a loss
Test the lights and see if they are working , I use n old 12V drill battery with jumper wires for just such a test.
The Jalopy Journal
