First Car! 78 Datsun B210

[TheGam1ngK1ng]

So I replaced my rear shocks with some nice Monroes. It rides WAY better. Car was so bouncy before! Took the old ones off and found out that when they compressed down they wouldnt compress back up, so...lol problem solved. I also painted the grille satin black, which looks pretty sweet. Bled the brakes and the problem with the parking brake light is fixed. Thanks ggzilla!

[TheGam1ngK1ng]

 

Just went down to the local salvage yard and found a sweet 300zx in great condition! I stripped the gauge cluster because I love these gauges! It was only $10 so I thought that was a sweet deal. Anyways, is there a way to wire this into my B210? Modding the dash to fit the gauge cluster is the easy part. I just need help with the wiring! Any help would be awesome, thanks!

[Raggleflaggle]

Daamn I always wanted to do that, but I can't even rewire headlights, lol

[TheGam1ngK1ng]

haha. Just need some patience and a little help would be nice lol

[0r0B210]

 

Just went down to the local salvage yard and found a sweet 300zx in great condition! I stripped the gauge cluster because I love these gauges! It was only $10 so I thought that was a sweet deal. Anyways, is there a way to wire this into my B210? Modding the dash to fit the gauge cluster is the easy part. I just need help with the wiring! Any help would be awesome, thanks!

 

I would recommend purchasing the shop handbook for the Z and then using your shop handbook for your B to compare and guide you through this sweet mod.  I wanted to do this mod as well but haven't had the time or patience.  Good luck though, i hope it comes out how you want it to!  Peace Brother.

[TheGam1ngK1ng]

Thanks! I bought a service manual for my B210 a while back and I found this link on the fourms! http://community.ratsun.net/topic/4526-factory-service-manuals-are-now-available-for-download/

Ill print out the sheet and compare those 2 out! thanks a bunch!

[B210GX]

YOu will require all the analog to digital  sensors/sening units from the z for starters.

 

hopefully the ohms on the fuel tank sending units are compatible.

[ericsb210]

This project would not be for the feint of heart. 

 

Due to the amount of work required, bring your "Z" electronic gauge back to the yard with you and see if they will let you power it up (this would require re-installing it in the car)  to make sure it is operational. It looks like several of the "Z" owners have fitted the "analog" gauges due to problems with the "electronic" gauges.

 

Pick up a (looks to be a 1985 or 86?) 300zx wiring diagram as 0r0B210 suggested. Look to see if their are any relays anywhere in the car that are used in conjunction with the operation of the electronic gauge cluster. Evidently their is a power supply unit that also goes with it.  Pick up all of the relays and power supply unit.

 

Do as B210GX stated, pull the oil pressure and coolant temperature sending units from the donor "Z".

 

To make this project doable I would see if the yard would part with at least the wiring harness that would plug into the cluster and the wiring harness pieces that plug into the sending unit/sensors and relays/power supply unit that you will need.

 

The tachometer or the largest portion of the electronic gauge panel would be for a "Z" 6 cylinder. I am not an expert but I think there should be a way with resistors or what not (these would be installed on the wiring before plugging into the "Z" gauge) to have it read properly for your "B" 4 cylinder. this would be trial and error .

 

You will also need to get the "Z" speedometer gear it will have a wire attached to it that will run your electronic speedometer/odometer you will need to modify/adapt it to fit into your "B" transmission. I don't know if the "Z" speedometer gear head (the plastic piece) would be the proper size or give you the correct speedometer read out. First try the "B" speedometer head, if that doesn't work try to pick up various speedometer heads to get the correct read out.

 

If you are a patient person and wish to have an individualized "B" this could be a cool project. It wouldn't be inexpensive due to all of the parts needed though.

 

To give you some motivation and hope, I read on another thread where someone adapted this same gauge cluster to a 240. But they had installed a similar 6 cylinder in that car.

[TheGam1ngK1ng]

Thanks for all that info guys! I might hold off on that project until I get more electrical experience. Anyways I found this one dude on youtube.

He's crazy. The things he does with just some clay. I bought about 10lbs. of clay. Gonna try to make a hood scoop and some other things this by doing this. If you guys haven't seen this guy yet, you should watch him.

 

[TheGam1ngK1ng]

Hey would these seats work in my car? I'm not sure if they would be to tall. They are 37.5" tall. The stupid crappy plastic seats in my car are about 34"

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-Two-Tone-Reclinable-Racing-Seat-w-Carbon-Pattern-PVC-Leather-Red-Stitches-/291158573812?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43ca6742f4

Thanks everyone!

[TheGam1ngK1ng]

Alright, so I haven't updated this in a while, time to do so I guess! Haven't done anything extreme, but I have done stuff. Problem is that the more I've been digging into my car, the more half-ass-jobs I'm finding. Where to start..

So I started replacing the seats because...would you sit in those plastic seats everyday?! haha. When taking those out I noticed the previous owner decided to cut out the seat supports and make his own bracket that just bolts onto the floor. So because of that both seats wobble and the drivers side floor pans cracked and now the chair can move in every direction. Anyone have a fix for that? Do I just have to cut out the bad, weak, cracked metal and weld in some new panels?

So the trunk and hood are both misaligned. Tried to adjust both but I will have to drill new holes. Hood rubs on the windshield wiper cowl which is rubbing paint the paint off both parts. the trunk is very misaligned. one side is too high and the other is to low. that low side broke one of the plastic trims for my taillights. So I have to get a new plastic trim now unless if anyone has ideas on how to restore it?

You can see the 5 star Bondo job on the spoiler >.<

Restored and repainted my other one though

Dunno what the guy was trying to do but there are chunks missing out of the door panels  :confused:

I made new ones though, came out perfectly!

Also fixed and painted the cracked center console and heater control plastic trim. It looks awesome in the sun! Got a carbon fiber shift boot to match the seats  B)

[TheGam1ngK1ng]

My car is going to be down for a week or 2 because my steering wheel broke completely off when I was driving.

When it broke, I mean the welds broke and I couldn't steer the car when I was driving 40MPH. I just let it drift until it hit a curb, parked it there, ran home and made a stick lol

yeah, a stick.. :rofl:

Very embarrassing :rofl:  

whoever owned this car is trying to kill me  :geek:

[Raggleflaggle]

Man, that guy posted earlier too, lol.

also, you've done a freakin' sweet job with what you've fixed. Keep it rolling man, this could easily be a sweet ass B. I think I may know where some tails for a sedan are, not the surround but the red lenses, if you need em.

[TheGam1ngK1ng]

Thanks man! Planning some pretty sweet stuff in the future. I could use some new ones. The one that's cracked has faded lenses and dims the light so I could use a new lenses. So if you could hook me up I would love yah, no homo haha

[TheGam1ngK1ng]

Alright so I got some sweet new bitchin brake disks installed on my car. These are what I bought. http://www.ebay.com/itm/110996921901?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

I repacked the bearings and made sure everything was in the right spot, and when I was about to install my new brake calipers, I realized the existing caliper bolts were to big for the new Caliper bolt holes.

 

I triple checked the order and I ordered the right ones from Rockauto.com. The holes are too small for me to fit the bolts into the caliper so I was just thinking of maybe drilling them bigger? I know its kinda risky cause i would need to drill perfectly strait or else I would have mounting problems. I compared the new caliper to the old one and there is no difference except for the bolt hole size. Help anyone? Should I just return them and wait a few weeks for new ones? Cause I really need my car and I hate relying on people to drive me around.

 

Thanks fellow Ratsuners

[Spoona_Jay21]

Glad to see this Bee seems to be in pretty good hands

 

 

 

watchin this one.....

[Raggleflaggle]

Hey man, you get those tails?

[TheGam1ngK1ng]

Nah not yet, but I'm not desperate for them. 

[Raggleflaggle]

If you get em you get em fo' free. Most likely. Downside is the waiting or possibility he entirely forgot, but hey, can't do much for ya from another continent. Keep the updates coming bro. MORE OICS

[TheGam1ngK1ng]

You sir, are awesome.

Anyways, I havnt done much but I did get some custom brake disks and calipers. This 2 hour job turned into a 5day job so far cause rockauto sent me calipers that were too small and oriley gave me a caliper piston that was faulty. Anyways, here is a pic of the new disks, with new and packed bearings

[TheGam1ngK1ng]

Brakes are in! Brakes work soo much better with the new calipers and aftermarket disks. Still planning on getting my hands on some 280zx brakes though. My brake pedal still feels soft after bleeding the system 2 different times. Any suggestions guys?

Alright SO I was getting horrible gas mileage lately so I checked my carb and it was sideways haha. I guess one of the bolts fell out and it turned. It was running really rough until I straitened it. When I was tightening the carb down, a corner chipped off the throttle body?!?! :confused: Must of done something bad cause my Karma is killin' me lately!

I don't know where to get another throttle body for this because this car ain't exactly a mustang. Anyone know where to get one? In desperate thinking, I JB welded it for now. We'll see how it turns out in the morning.

Also I got 2 racing stripes instead of one now. I think it looks much better!


I also got myself a new handbrake! Hydraulic "drift" brake to be exact. Yeah...I'm cool B) Gonna install this baby soon!


Found a KA24E Engine for sale. $250, no wiring harness but he said it ran strong when pulled. 150K miles on it. What are your opinions? Should I buy or wait for a KA24DE or SR20. Hmmm. Anyways, thats it for now, but I'll keep you guys updated and I'll try to get more pics! I plan on doing "great" stuff this year!

[Raggleflaggle]

250 is fairly cheap for a KA, the dual cam version is a slightly updated block. There's been a bit of discussion on it in the A10s Unite thread, read up there. Other than that, is it a car or truck block? That will effect the oil pan/xmember fittage.

 

in my personal opinion, when a quoting a new engine is also the best time to do a reup on the engine itself. 150k on a KA isn't a lot or miles, but when's is a better time to be 100% sure of the state of your engine then when its already separated from a vehicle?

 

honestly I'd say leave it as is, a a KA in a B is a big project, I would want to have plenty of friends who would help out, and somewhere that doesn't mind having a immobile vehicle sitting in it indefinitely.

 

oh, and a plan. Plans help too.

[TheGam1ngK1ng]

I think I am going to do it! There is an auto shop at my school and I don't think my teacher will mind so much.

The engine is out of a 89 240sx. It should be fine since it is a RWD motor.

My carb is broken and Instead of spending about the same money to fix it and rebuilding the engine later on in life, I would rather spend the money on an engine that I will have more fun with.

A14's can be turbo'd but I think it is easier to turbo a more modern engine.  It can handle more power and torque and I wont be afraid about breaking anything.  

I got plenty of friends who would be willing to help because they love my car almost as much as I do!

 

$250 for the motor

or

$250 for a weber conversion kit + an A14 rebuiling kit + turbo stuff. (and I still wont get as much power as the stock KA)

[Raggleflaggle]

what about the trans?

YOU DIDNT MENTION YOU HAD RESOURCES FUCK YEAH DO ETTTTT

not that its hard to research it, but i have plenty of links if you needs them.

as for your reasoning, its pretty solid. just plan it out, and be ready for the downtime.
there was another guy who was planning on this, but the tread stopped updating, so the world may never know...

also, be weary, the diff, brakes, fuel system and dash will need to be updated as well. luckily, mhub made (makes?)a plug and play box for a KA,
 

[Raggleflaggle]

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/13912-datsun-b210-1200-and-210-l-series-swap-info/