New RL411 Bluebird owner

[jfbrink]

Hello,

 

I took delivery of my very own 411 SSS on Sunday, for which I paid next to nothing. What does next-to-nothing get a person these days?

 

-No collision damage;

-Very little rust;

-Almost all the interior and exterior bits and pieces;

-An ill-fitting A14 engine (literally) dropped in the engine bay.

 

The engine apparently got in there in an early-80s swap attempt that failed due to the fact that the engine totally doesn't fit in the car. I am deciding whether I will swap in a modern EFI drivetrain as I did with my SPL311 (http://www.too-many-parts.com/rs) or convert the car to electric drive.

 

Here are some pics:

 

 

Best,

 

Jesse.

[fisch]

Super nice 411 there! Looks like a great project! I would think the A-series would be one of the easier swaps size wise? (If there is such a thing as easy!)

 

Love the drawing on the garage door too!

[67411sss]

Nice score!! Have you measured to see if the miata sump will clear the front crossmember? It seems to be right in the way for most swaps (how does the A series fit in relation to that?) If your handy at fabricating (which it looks like you are) then it should be an awesome swap(maybe a supercharged version:D)

Best of luck/

[MikeRL411]

You have the rear view mirror, the glove box can be easily recovered and it looks from what I can see that your package shelf survived. Off to a good statr! I have a spare factory under dash bracket [one mounting bolt broken but can be epoxied back on] to replace that aluminum box you are using to hold the choke, light switch and heater/defroster fan control if you are going to restore the car. Let me know if you ever attend the Torrance last Friday shows and I will drop it off for you.

 

Any engine swap would have to be compatible with the R engine rear bolt pattern to keep the Borg Warner automatic transmission. I'm of course partial to the 1600 type R but the ordinary roadster version needs to be modified to fit. The roadster 2 liter [actually a factory update conversion of the type R block] might be a possible swap. Not sure which side of the block the starter ended up on but I believe it's on the Driver side since the 2 liter starter part number is the same as the RL411 sedan starter part number. 510 starters are a no go, the starter solenoid hits the steering gear and side frame. If you pick up an engine, be sure to get the starter!

[Mr. Squirrel]

thats one clean looking little ride and good luck on your project

[Noiin]

NICE ride!. looks better than mine!

[jfbrink]

Well, the A-series engine that is in my engine bay does not fit so well. Besides sitting a bit too close to the firewall for my tastes, the sump is way too deep in front and the oil filter will never clear the engine mount, even if I found a lower sump. See pic:

 

 

I believe that the non-SSS cars would not have the oil filter problem (different engine mounts). I do know that a guy named Doug with a 410 wagon on the Yahoo "Early Datsuns" list has an A-series in his car. It seems to fit level and clean, but there are no pics of the bottom to show how.

 

I measured the Miata engine in my Roadster today and that engine is way too long. Also, the sump would never ever clear the cross member or the steering cross bar. So, it's back to the drawing board. Sourcing an R16 with all the 411 SSS specific goodies seems like a hassle. And, I swore I would never run dual SUs on a car again. I'm also loathe to use the sluggish BW35 transmission, but my wife needs auto.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Jesse.

[MikeRL411]

The BW isn't sluggish if both bands have been properly adjusted. The band adjust on top of the case is hard to get to and usually 'forgotten" to adjust if you leave it for service, but it is charged for. You need a crowfoot adapter. Loosen the lock nut, torque the smaller diameter adjusting stud to 10 foot pounds and then back off one full turn. Tighten the outer lock nut to 10 footpounds or so, not critical. Drop the pan, insert a quarter inch spacer [aka the square portion of your quarter inch socket extension] between the adjust screw and its stop and torque to 10 inch pounds. Complete the job with a new filter and put the lower cover back on. You will be surprised at how well it performs [so long as no previous owner has greased or shortened the mechanical downshift cable, both actions no nos]. Without the SU bracket you will have a hard time getting the mechanical downshift cable to work, so keep the SUs. The 411 driver's manual has the adjustment proceedure for the SU that really works. If you think you need to adjust yours and will be at the next Torrance last Friday meet, let me know and I will copy the pages for you.

[MikeRL411]

Additional thought. Maybe the reason your transmission is sluggish is that the mechanical downshift cable isn't even hooked up?

[jfbrink]

Mike,

 

I don't actually know if the transmission in my 411 works at all. Both it and the engine weren't even bolted down when I got the car on Sunday. My comment on sluggishness was based on other BW35s I have experienced, on mid-60s Volvos. Granted, they could easily have been poorly maintained, but they sure sapped a car that was much more spirited with a manual.

 

Given that I am starting with a non-original set-up, I am exploring swap options. And, if I am going to swap, I'm going to go for a modern EFI drivetrain, because I don't like carbs. The limited space between firewall and grill, plus the position of the front cross-member is very limiting, since I don't want to cut anything.

 

So far, though, the only option I've found that I can guarantee a fit for (I haven't made it to the salvage yards to measure other options) is a Suzuki G10 3-cylinder engine. With a turbo, it puts out more HP/torque than the R16. And it fits in well and will likely result in a 50/50 weight balance.

 

Still, it will be a buzzy little thing. My dad is pushing for a Mazda 12A rotary.

 

J.

[shifty]

So what happened to the R16 from your roadster?

 

The differences between a 411 R16 and roadster R16 are minor - valve cover, water pump, intake and carbs and oil pan.

 

There are a few kits that replace SU's with throttle bodies. That and a MegaSquirt system would be very interesting!

[MikeRL411]

The differences between a 411 R16 and roadster R16 are minor - valve cover, water pump, intake and carbs and oil pan.

And crankshaft pulley and alternator mount.

 

You can fake the water pump if [no, make that when] it fails by pulling the RL411 waterpump hub, pulling the Roadster water pumb hub and pressing the RL411 hub onto the shaft. This leaves a half inch of shaft sticking out, so be sure you have good engine mounts, or cut the shft length. Not sure if the crankshaft pulley is still available through Nissan.

 

Be careful removing and replacing the oil drain plug, it's an odd size [sAE semi finished to boot, not even SAE fine or coarse] and the helicoil insert can unwind from the block. If it does, tap the pan for a Ford 18mm aluminum head sparkplug repair insert and use a 18mm Toyota drain plug.

 

Been there, done that both times.