Southeast Texas 710 goon!

[Rhapakatui]

Been driving it to work. It's developed a dead spot in the throttle that goes away when it warms up. I'm not sure, but I think the carb just needs fine tuning. I never have pulled the plugs and adjusted the mixture to get the color right.

 

Also, for anyone reading and wanting to streamline their exhaust manifold, use thread locker on your plugs.

 

 

I lost one of these somewhere down the road, and another one backed nearly out. I bought a replacement that I bought was the same size, but i guess it was a bit bigger, because when I was wrenching it in, it cracked the manifold. Next time I have it all apart, I'll just remove the plugs and weld up the holes.

 

Started the process of buffing the paint back into some presentable form. So far 600 grit has managed to get most of the powdery stuff and mildew off.

 

 

Its gonna have an interesting patina when it's all shined up.

 

I still hate that color though.

 

Gotta work on getting her some new shoes. I've developed a knot on one of my old beat tires, so she's restricted to grocery runs and back roads for now. I don't wanna buy new tires til I get wheels that I'm happy with.

 

And just for fun.

 

[Rhapakatui]

While she's down waiting for tires, I decided to start my first mod.

 

I'm pulling the front bumper in 3". First I thought it was just a matter of removing the mounts and the rubber strip, cutting out the shocks in the mounts, and welding the plate directly to the mounting pipes.

 

However, upon attempting this, I discovered that there is more metal under the rubber than it appears.

 

 

This means I have to take the bumper to the shop and cut off the area with the holes that is fouled against the lower valence.

 

Don't try this at home kiddos.

[Rhapakatui]

 

[Eagle_Adam]

Looks good

[Rhapakatui]

It was really easy too.  I don't know what anyone with park benches wouldn't do it.  All I did was remove the gas shock from the bumper mount and weld the end plate directly to the pipe on the mount.

 

Then I just removed the rubber and cut the part of the bumper off that it bolted to.  I left 4 tabs of that piece and folded that down to hold everything together and viola.  A park bench bumper that looks like it actually fits the car.

[Kathos]

I rock that bumper. How hard was it to pull the gas struts out of the bumper?

[Rhapakatui]

I didn't take good pictures of that part, but I'll explain as best as I can.

 

It's really easy. Just pull the bumper off of the car. Then remove the 4 12mm bolts that mount the bumper to the mounts. The plate on the end has two 14mm bolts holding it to the shock absorber. Take those off and remove the plate and the rubber gasket.

 

Under that is a Philips head screw. Take it out and it will release the pressure on the shock allowing you to compress it 1 3/4".

 

If thats all you want to do, then just put it all back together how you found it with the shock compressed.

 

If you want more, then power tools and a welder are required.

 

There is a 14mm nut at the other end that holds in the shock. Pull that, and you can slide it out of the pipe part of the mount. I had to use a good bit of force for that part. Its in there pretty tight.

 

When it's out, you will see that it's a short shock on the end of another piece of pipe. I used a band saw to cut those apart.

 

Then you just slide the pipe, minus the shock back into the mount. make sure to turn it so that the plates that mount to the bumper are in line with the body side of the mount, and weld it in place.

 

Then you have to trim the bumper as shown here.

 

 

 

I used an angle grinder with a cutting disc. Leave some tabs on the chrome side, but cut the back support completely.

 

Then bend the tabs down to secure the back part of the bumper, since you just cut off the bolt holes. I used a crescent wrench to bend them and then hammered them down tight.

 

 

Then bolt everything that's left back up.

[Kathos]

I havent taken a detailed look at it but does the front bumper really "pull" off?

Also, have you attempted this in the back?

[Rhapakatui]

There are 3 bolts on each side holding the bumper to the body. Then it just pulls off.

 

I haven't started on the back yet because I have to build a receiver hitch once I do. Superficially, however, it looks like it'll be the same.

[Rhapakatui]

On the back, I discovered that there is no need for any cutting or welding.

 

I decided to try moving the back in without removing the mounts.

 

 

 

Same as the front. Pull the plate off. Remove screw. Compress. Replace screw.

 

I did have to use a rubber mallet to get the most out of one side. On the other, I had to hold it compressed while a friend replaced the screw.

 

They moved in 2" even. If you go any farther, the bumper will interfere with the hatch.

 

The bolts on mine were really gauled up, so I broke several. I'll have to buy some more hardware before I get a good after shot.

[]2eDeYe]

Nice goon. :cool:

[Eagle_Adam]

cant wait to see how the rear one turns out 

[Abe Froman]

Nice to someone taking the time to cleanup the factory bumper's, instead of just taking them off.

[Kathos]

I tried this today. When I unscrewed the screw, it released pressure, but it still did not want to compress. So I unscrewed the bolt in the back, and that released more pressure. Then I compressed it, but it would not stay compressed. I screwed the screw back in but the bolt in the back would not long tighen all the way, it would just spin. Im guessing that I was supposed to put a tac weld to keep the bumper supports suppressed?

[Rhapakatui]

I didn't have much trouble at all. I was surprised just how easy it all was. I did have one that wouldn't stay pushed in until the screw was back in. I just held pressure on it while a friend put the screw back in.

 

I'm really regretting not taking pics Of the front now. Sorry.

 

Sounds like the back threaded part pushed into the shock on you. The part that bolts to the car is just a sleeve over the actual shock. You can pull that off of the shock and probably get that threaded piece to come back out so you can bolt it. If not, you can do like I did on the front and cut the shock off, slide the pipes back together, and weld it at the measurement you're shooting for.

 

I'll pm you my number, and we can swap pics so maybe I can see what you've got going.

 

Sorry it didn't go as smoothly for you.

[Kathos]

I figured that the rear screw spun into something that came out. I cant believe you were able to compress that shock. Either something is wrong with mine or wrong with yours. I took out the front screw, tried compressing it with my body, then a hammer, then a vice and it would only compress a small amount with tons of back pressure. When tried to seperate them, they didnt want to come apart either.

That rear screw (more like a nut on a threaded rod) never came off, but its definetly not connected interally anymore. If I can get it seperated, Ill be able to see whats going on inside. I really dont want to cut it b/c my car is a very clean original notchback.

[Rhapakatui]

I finally got around to putting the back bumper back on.

 

 

 

 

I'm not super happy with it. I'm gonna move it in some more. Ill have to mod the bumper a bit so that the hatch will clear, but I'd like it closer.

[Rhapakatui]

While I've been having fun playing with silly cosmetic things, and driving the hell out of my car, there has been a demon lurking in the shadows. I've basically ignored it. I've seen it every time I got in the car, or looked under the hood. However, being an iron worker, I've been afraid of it for years. So, I chose to not look it in the eyes, and hope it wouldn't eat me. Unfortunately, it has awakened from its slumber and started attacking my lighting.

 

The wiring.

 

 

I hate electricity.

[Rhapakatui]

Still haven't tackled those nasty wires.

 

She was having some fuel issues, so I changed out some lines, and got a new filter. Still not enough pressure to get the gas up from the tank to the front.

 

Dug around my parts stash and found a factory fuel pump. Now she cranks right up.

 

Then I played around a bit.

 

Lonestar sent me some grey trim for behind the doors.

 

 

I got some beauty rings, so I put the factory wheels on the back. I'll finish the update next break.

[Rhapakatui]

Okay, so here's the trippy thing. In the pic above, there is a one inch lowering block on the side shown.

 

This pic shows the other side.

 

 

There's no block on this side.

 

Side with block

 

 

Side without.

 

 

I'm sure my shocks aren't in the greatest condition, but I don't wanna buy new ones ATM. Should I just run it with one block til I get new shocks?

If I put the other block in will I be leaning to that side one inch?

I never checked it before I started lowering it. I only noticed when I sat it down and went to lower the other side. I was amazed to find it nearly perfectly level.

 

 

Question#2.

 

Lonestar also sent me the glass for the rear door window. Im having hell getting it in. Are there any tricks I should know?

 

Thanks all.

[Rhapakatui]

Oh, and here's some drunken doodling from later that night.

 

[Kathos]

I just delt with a slight lowering difference in the back. My uneven drop in the back was a result of an uneven suspension in the front. Putting a 1" lowing block on the otherside may not result in a full inch because it will even out the suspension some. Give it a shot, it doesnt take very long.

[Rhapakatui]

So, long time, no updates.

 

I've been tooling around in this heap on the back roads. Building up a collection of bottle caps in the console. Tuning the carbs here and there. Ignoring the wiring issues.

 

Now, my titan needs to go into dry dock for some repairs. I leave for work in the dark, and come home the same way. Basically, I don't know what the sun looks like on weekdays at home. The goon hasn't had headlights on the driver's side since I got it. It was only inspected because I know the inspector and distracted him with datsun talk long enough that he forgot to actually check anything.

 

Now I need a dd for work while the titan is being fixed. That means I need headlights.

 

After much pulling of wires, and unwrapping the wiring harness to clean connections, I now have this.

 

 

 

Doesn't look like much, but it'd the product of a lot of work. Plus a ton of beers drank while texting members and non members for moral support.

 

Thanks to tristin, skib, professor shanky, azhitman(for the wiring diagram on nicoclub), Connor(son of a friend who distracted me a lot), and many more.

 

Now, I just have to tape it up, reinstall, and find all of the new bugs that I created in the process.

 

More updates soon to come. Also I hope to start back on the datfiniti 620 soon. I dreamt it was running last night.

[ggzilla]

Wow what caused that lean?

[Rhapakatui]

Not sure, probably bad shocks. It's still like that.