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710 project thread


Will

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Got the brakes installed today and everything went together pretty smoothly. 

 

Stuff I learned along the way:

 

1. To keep the holes in the disc brake plates properly aligned, I clamped both plates together to use the original plates as a guide when drilling new holes. This worked well, though I'd recommend that the plates be clamped as securely as possible to your drill press. I thought I had clamped them super-securely, but they still moved a little when drilling - that metal is very thick!!

 

2. It's expensive to get bearings removed and installed - having a hydraulic press would have sped things up a lot, and let this happen for less money.

 

3. The original drum brake axles look a lot like disc brake axles... they MIGHT be identical, so this swap could be done with even less parts.

 

Brake: installed:

DSCN5786_zps875f57c4.jpg

 

Clearance looks totally adequate:

DSCN5787_zps199d07de.jpg

 

Original brake lines can be re-shaped to line up with the new calipers:

DSCN5788_zpsba01b32e.jpg

 

Comparison, disc vs. drum axles:

DSCN5789_zps2a25c409.jpg

 

DSCN5790_zps4e6ee8b4.jpg

 

 

I needed to get some paying work done, so the master cylinder will need to wait until tomorrow. ...then shortening the parking brake rods will be the last thing I need to finish. (they need to be shortened about 1-1/2 or 2")

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got everything together today!

 

280ZX master cylinder was a pretty easy bolt-in swap... other than some brake lines that needed vise-grips to remove.

 

 

DSCN5795_zps1aefed86.jpg

 

 

I needed to shorten the parking brake rods by almost 3", and even then, they were a little too long (I was just barely able to get the cable tight enough to work.) Maybe the 200SX has a parking brake lever with more travel than the 710?

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Nice going will. I don't know about the sx hand brake. maybe lengthen a lever?

 

Could be... I'll test it out on a steep hill soon, (plenty of places fit the bill in this town!) but I think it's good to go for now. I'll wait to do more brake modifications until I can track down a 710 at a junkyard so I can modify parts without needing to put my car out of commission.

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cant wait to do the rear breaks on my GF's goon!!!!!!

 

 

great documentation!

 

Thanks! I hope I've been able to highlight all of the points that slowed down the project, so that it will go more smoothly for anyone else that tries this swap out. I'm really happy with it now that it is all finished!

 

 

...now on to the next project:

 

 

Carb rebiuld / fuel pump? (when I start the car after it has been sitting for more than a few hours, it takes a lot of cranking for the gas to reach the carb.)

 

New exhaust manifold gasket (it sounds like a tractor sometimes.)

 

Fix the dead temp gauge (I have a few spare clusters to use for parts...)

 

Swap the front sheetmetal (those fenders are taking up a lot of space in my clothes closet!)

 

Fix the crossmember mounts (one of the captured nuts snapped free, so I'll either need to drill two holes from the bottom and MIG it in place, or drill from the top and bolt it in place with regular bolts.)

 

Shorten the front struts /use shorter cartridges so that I can lower the front a little more - the spring are loose at full droop.

 

Choke cable hookup (don't need it too much out in California...)

 

Seat covers / carpet / soundproofing / paint (bottom of the list classy stuff.)

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are you coming to canby? 

 

Yeah - hopefully I'll make it this year. It happened  few days after I arrived on the west coast last year, but I really want to go - my girlfriend has never visited the northwest, and I really want to visit the dunes and everything and make a road trip out of it.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

...finally got around to fixing the temperature gauge. Checked it out by grounding the wire leading to the sending unit and the gauge read hot, so I replaced the sender and now it works, but the gauge reads all the way on the cold end of the "okay" space on the gauge. I'm not sure if the gauge is poorly calibrated - the heater does seem a little weak. I put in a new 180 thermostat this morning and the temperature gauge needle is still in the same spot.

 

    Another weird problem popped up - tonight when I turned on my headlights I only got high beams regardless of where the turn signal lever was switched. Parking lights still work normally - but I can only get the high beams now. ...odd.

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I fiddled with the connections a bit and my headlights are working normally - seemed to be something with the fuses or connections around the relays.

 

I also finally got a chance to install the JDM taillight that Indy510 passed along to me (though I don't have the matching one for the passengers side!)

 

DSCN5807_zps924ed1a5.jpg

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Borrow an Infra Red 'gun' and 'shoot' the thermostat housing when warmed up it should be close to the 180 thermostat you put in.

 

I don't know anyone out here that has one of those infrared guns, but maybe a meat thermometer would do the trick?

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Hey Will!!

 

Just found your thread.....met you a while back on a Datsloco fun run.....you still had that wood bumper though....

 

Looks like you found a pretty good bumper......so chiny!!

 

Keep up the great work and all the oics......

 

 

-Antony

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I started taking care of the rust on the new front sheetmetal - the fenders are NOS stuff that has gotten a bit dinged and rusty from age, but the valence panel has been used and abused. I stripped off the paint from the valence today, and it had just about everything - paint over undercoating... bondo... a large ding filled with LEAD...

 

Luckily despite all of the damage it will only need a tiny bit of welding.

 

...well, I have always wanted to learn how to work a hammer & dolly.

 

DSCN5837_zpsd2cc29ae.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

I finally got around to removing the trim around my rear window to check out whatever rusty horrors are beneath. It was very difficult to remove! First, I heard that it could be removed by pulling on the clip with a dental pick. All that did was bust the hook off of the pick:

 

DSCN5936_zps46cb079c.jpg

 

 

A sawzall blade worked much better! I just grabbed the clip with the tooth on the end of the blade and pulled to release the trim. If you try this, it'd be a good idea to wear a leather glove and put some cardboard over the glass so you don't sawz your fingers or the glass.

 

DSCN5937_zps632ecb86.jpg

 

 

All in all, it wasn't a complete disaster under the trim. I think I'll remove the clips before the car gets painted and then re-attach them with pop rivets or plastic rivets so that there won't be a bunch of unpainted metal to start rusting under the trim. 

- here's the worst of the rust (there's a hole on either side of the window seal):

 

DSCN5938_zpsb0b50c99.jpg

 

 

In good news, I celebrated getting a new job by renting a garage. For the first time since I've owned this car, it won't be parked on the street. Hooray! I'm planning on starting to disassemble it for bodywork and new paint once I get back from Canby, so garage space will help out with that goal!

 

DSCN5940_zps27690b42.jpg

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You were spotted in the sightings thread: ... http://community.ratsun.net/topic/3867-sightings/page-431 .. Why did you pull your rear glass out 4 days before the fun run??? ... :confused:

 

 

The glass is still attached!! - I just popped off the chrome to see how much metal would need welding under the trim.

 

I gotta get my car repainted so it doesn't get mistaken for a pick-n-pull victim!

 

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