Gumby - Dragon Green 521

[HOGIE]

I found an old alternator in my stash, might be IR and you're welcome to try and see if it works, HOGIE...

541-543-4356 Call me if you want to try it out, I'll take it to your house when you get off work...

  

Hey...found another one, this one smaller....I know nothing of them, they came with my datto 11 years ago and I had forgotten I have them...

I feel like I'm on a treasure hunt as I find really cool stuff I didn't remember I had....metal Datsun emblems included :thumbup:

Thank you. I have your number now haha

 

 

I this is what I picked up. Externally regulated. Looks like the small hole. Mmmmm small hole

 

I have both brackets

[HOGIE]

After I figure out why the last alt got fried and I get the IR alt checked out I'll probably go this route. Extra juice

[HOGIE]

far as I know the 521 alternator mount usues the smaller 12mm bolt heads which is like a M8 bolt. so the other Newer HIGHER AMP alternators use a bigger bolt hole.  That's why I say use a 35amper.

 

anyways I only take good volt reading with it at idle and no load . as a 35amper cant handle much with heater on and wipers ect. I drop before13 and even lower sometimes.  I just load ajust as I drive. 

I see where they put reducers rings in the bolt holes to use the smaller bolts yhats how they list a 50amper option on 510s/521 with L16s

On my Banzai 510 I had a machine shop drill out the mount straight thru to 3/8bolt  and used a latter assume l20b 620 external reg ALTERNATOR

 

that 74 alternator you just bought I bet has the bigger holes. Now you either got to make bigger holes in the alt mount or reduce the holes in the alt so it don't rattle/shake.  If they listed a L20b in 74 I know its a bigger bolt like M10 If I remember right.

 

HOUGE

I would have that alt cked out anyways. and the wireing on truck is OK hopefull  but ck the fuses also

 

Draker is correct on the jumpers but get the correct colors shorted.

I hope the wiring is okay too but im assuming I'll probably be hunting for a while.

 

 

Any ideas about what would make all this happen?

 

IR was charging just fine but engine was stumbling. Weird because it ran fine with old batt that didn't hold a charge and alternator that didn't put out enough current to charge batt. Well until the voltage dropped below 12volts. Thinking about it now, I was testing the voltage with the lights. First runners, then brights and that was when the alt let out it's smoke.

 

Why would it run rough that has to do with alt and batt when there is plenty of juice? Could something be pulling power away from the coil?

 

[banzai510(hainz)]

have no idea why it happen Bad ground maybe the reg melted.

 

I would try another stock alternator made for the 521. Yes a external 35 amper. Borrow one.

 

that's a cool little truck you got, I get comments all the time on mine. Since I put the stock rims painted white with small white walls I get even more thumbs up

[HOGIE]

I changed the alternator out for a old and grubby stock sized 35amp externally regulated alternator. Did some studying of the wire diagram and found that my harness didn't have the white wire coming off the alternator that's jumped to the starter.

 

 

From my spare harness I cut out that W wire, the Y and WB wire to the T connector, and the BY wire that goes to te starter. Soldered and hear shrinked them in, then wrapped them back up with electrical tape.

 

Did some hunting for shorts and wires that had poer that weren't supposed to. Didn't find anything

 

Soldered up a wire to my makeshift ignition switch.

 

Started up the truck and once again it was charging and increased with rpm BUT once again rough stumbling idle. Thought that it might be the plug wires. Put some known good ones on there. Tried a different ballast resistor as a stab in the dark. No difference. Points gap is good. Cap looks good. I'm at a lose

 

Next step, tomorrow, will be check timing which is the same as before all these problems started, check current at coil, input and output, and try a different coil.

 

 

If anyone has any ideas please throw them out there

[DanielC]

Spark plugs?  If a stock L-18, or 18, NGK BP6ES, or BPR6ES

[HOGIE]

Spark plugs? If a stock L-18, or 18, NGK BP6ES, or BPR6ES

 

They are ngk and they are brand new. I was planning on checking the gaps today

[banzai510(hainz)]

find it hard to believe a wire is just missing. I was assumeing this truck was working before

 

Most the(my 71 521 the  white red wire off the alternator turns into to a white wire. One to starter lug which feeds fuse box , another goes tot he volt reg. All is HOT from the battery

 

 

wish you would have taken photos, you might be fucking this up even more.

Most the wires on this rig look stock. SO I highly dought someone is just going to pull a wire out.

 

if the + alt wire has 12volts

the lug at the battery is the 12volt source

then you have 12volts at the volt reg also. If you have all this I say its good.

[KoHeartsGPA]

This is weird....you drove it from Al's to your house....backpedaling time, HOGIE.

[HOGIE]

This is weird....you drove it from Al's to your house....backpedaling time, HOGIE.

That drive was very rough. Sputtering the whole way and then the brake almost locked up.

 

Changed out carb. Still sputtering. Barely any vacuum and had charging issues. More brake issues

 

Electric draw + bad batt + alternator not charging.

New batt. Different alt. Fried alt. Redid wiring to alt.

 

Idle stumbles. Redid timing. TDS. Distributor placement. New rotor and cap. Still no smooth idle. Looks like not enough fuel getting to the filter. Filter is sucked dry faster than it's being recharged. Fuel pump? Filter? Lines? Going to check these. Still have an electrical draw

 

I'm going to do a fuse check to narrow down the draw, replace fuel filter and blow air back through the fuel lines.

[Draker]

I've got an old diag/scope roll around we could hook it up to if you suspect ignition issues. Also 4 gas analyzer 

[banzai510(hainz)]

what does the timming light show?

[HOGIE]

Advanced about 10degrees

 

what does the timming light show?

[banzai510(hainz)]

just point the out put of the fuelpump in safe direction and see how much gas goes out. The gas filter will never be totally full.

 

If look like a lot of gas  then pump is fine. at idle the truck can run off the gas in the bowl really for over 2 mins at idle before going dry in carb.

Now If idle is stumble but running above idle seems ok then the idle jet might be plugged.

I had a carb where I could ilde but then give more gas it would stumble. My main jet had a tiny rock in there. But would run when I had the choke pulled. When choke was pulled gas was running on the more the 2nd barrel enough to get home.

 

just use this as a trouble shooting what I mention above and below

 

also I had a stumble cause a condenser was going bad also and another time my distributor bushing was worn causeing the points to premature open and close(inaccurate)

[HOGIE]

Fuel filter was clogged up because I changed the filter and now it's almost full as I crank the motor

 

 

 

 

 

But that's all I can get.

 

 

 

 

 

More of the same. Battery is being drawn down. Charged the battery, the brand new one, last night. What would make the coil get hot. I understand that when attempting to cause ignition the ballast resister is bypassed and once ignition is achieved then the current flows through the resistor. Could cranking and cranking cause the hot coil?

[banzai510(hainz)]

well if ballast is bypassed its getting double the current so it will get hot.

 

 

well maybe a large amount of rust has passed by now into the carb.

 

 

get spark?

Get gas squirting in the man barrel when carb is cycled?

 

just pour some gas in carb and see if it fires off then look like more carb issue.

[HOGIE]

well if ballast is bypassed its getting double the current so it will get hot.

 

 

well maybe a large amount of rust has passed by now into the carb.

 

 

get spark?

Get gas squirting in the man barrel when carb is cycled?

 

just pour some gas in carb and see if it fires off then look like more carb issue.

I'll try adding gas to the carb. It gets spark when the battery has the juice for.

[banzai510(hainz)]

pouring gas in the carb bypasses all the idle and main jets. if it runs a abit then I would think its carb related.

 

I have seen when the it Sarts in the START POSITION but then dies. its usually a broken ballast or wire fell off or the key switch connector has corrosion.

 

 

My 521 has been missing(stumbling) a cylinder in morings and at stop lights with lights on . I went to do a valve adjustment then notice when I was going to pull the center oil wire it was loose and only the rubber boot was holing the coil wire on there. FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!

[HOGIE]

I did away with the points distributor today. Used the distributor and high energy coil off my 79 620 kc and joined the black/red and black/white wires going to the ballast resistor as per

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/50151-electronic-ignition-conversion-factory-datsun-matchbox/

 

Also adjusted electric choke on the weber and ran a wire off the + side of the coil to power choke.

 

Once again, located TDC and replaced the dist cap. The cap I was using also came off the el dizz from 620 and coil lead post or whatever you call it, part that is forced into rotor by spring, had a weak spring and had been arcing to rotor and probably part of the problem.

 

You think? jk

 

 

 

I need to remark the timing mark on crank pulley, it's not easy to see, and fine tune timing. Also fine tune the carb, idle and air/fuel.

 

 

But we're charging and running. Good progress

[DanielC]

Setting up a points distributor is very tricky.  The point gap is critical.  Too close, and the points do not open open quick enough to not spark at the points, that burns the points, and uses the energy in the coil, and the plugs do not fire.  Too big of a gap, and the magnetic field in the coil does not get strong enough to fire the plugs.

 

Going to a Matchbox Nissan distributor is the best way to go.  You rotate the engine clockwise to the firing position, about 10 to 12 degrees before TDC, number one, line the pointy parts of the rotor, and stator in the distributor, put the rotor on, and  put the plug wires on, from the distributor cap tower the spark plug was under, and the ignition timing is close enough to run.

[HOGIE]

Been driving the truck every day. It seems to be running a bit hot.

 

I didn't have the radiator flushed because the coolant that came out of it was perfect bright green, not brown or rusty at all. Thermostat is brand new, from knechts, and yes I know thermostats can be bad. Talking to my neighbor, a vw bug guy and jack of all..... plus machinist, says that running lean or rich at the carb can cause it to run hot. What's the best way to adjust fuel/air on a weber?

 

Also more of the same with the brakes. Which is brake pedal seems fine with play and then a firm pedal. Truck stops great. Then after a few miles pedal becomes firm with no play. Figured out that if I grab the pedal and pull it back out it returns to the previous state of having play with a firm braking pedal. Does this sound like a bad master cylinder? Proportioning valve? Brake line? Wheel cylinder?

 

I bought so Centric brake drums to replace the fronts. I did have the fronts turned but they seem to have some warp to them. When jacked up you can hear more drag in on spot as the wheel turns. Will this go away as the shoes brake in? Am I just being paranoid?

 

Got a ignition switch from my man Draker. Gonna have the tumbler keyed so I can get back to stick and do away with the push button starter

[Draker]

Turn the fuel mixture all the way in. Then turn it 2.5 turns out. That should be good. Lean will run hot, rich won't.

 

521 clusters are notorious for showing the wrong temp. Measure the temp at the housING and compare to thermostat.

 

You might pop that ignition switch in and use your key to try to turn it and start it. You'd be surprised... it might turn with a screw driver. Lol. My 510 did..

[Draker]

Regarding brakes, firm pedal while driving is usually a sign that a corner is dragging. Drive, wait for it to firm up, go feel all 4 wheels. The hottest one is the one that needs to have the asjuster backed off a bit.

 

It's interesting that it gets better if you pull the pedal out. The pedal is not directly connected to the master piston. It just rests against it and uses the spring in the master as a return along with back pressure from the springs within all the drums.

[flatcat19]

Do you have too much brake fluid in the resovoir?

 

Oddly,even being barely above the full mark is not enough room for fluid expansion.

Ask me why I know this might be a problem on the 521. Yeah.

[HOGIE]

Do you have too much brake fluid in the resovoir?

Oddly,even being barely above the full mark is not enough room for fluid expansion.

Ask me why I know this might be a problem on the 521. Yeah.

How do you know? I'll check level