nj0z1200ute - 1200 ute USA build

[njoz1200ute]

The next part of the build was to tackle the rear wheel tubs. As you may have noticed the previous owner removed the standard rear wheel arches from the shell. My only guess was to run wider tires or larger diameter rims on the back.

Unfortunately for me this was a lot of work to try to resolve. I had a set of standard wheel arches and when I test fitted them to the ute shell I noticed that the hole for the cutout was a lot larger than the standard wheel arch. So since the whole was cut larger I wasn't able to use the standard wheel arches for installation. 

Some quick thinking on our feet some family friends and I came up with the idea of using trailer wheel arches. We quickly sourced some smaller size ones from a Jet Ski dealership nearby. I picked them up for a great price as they were sitting on a shelf that hadn't been touched for years. On the way home we picked up some galvanised sheet and started to fabricate new wheel arches.

 

[njoz1200ute]

I've never welded before and this build would have been a great opportunity. However, given the time constraints (10 day build) I had the help of a family friend who knew how to weld.

Here are some pictures of the fabricated wheel arches during the welding process. Given the temperature of the welds, in some spots the galv sheet started to flex. This slightly deformed the overall wheel arch and created a few gaps here and there where it met the shell. It would have been better to use a thicker sheet. I think the sheet we used was .8mm or 1mm not sure. The other problem was that the heated welds started to burn the Raptor Liner in some spots and without careful attention we could have easily burnt the shellt to the ground. Luckilly all was well. The welds were not the greatest but did the job for now.

 

[njoz1200ute]

Lots and lots of metal grinding. My neighbors were not impressed. I could have easily spent 2 or 3 days grinding the welds to get them really nice and smooth but instead I only spent 1 day grinding both sides enough to get some etch primer on them. I used a wire wheel on the trailer arches and a hand grinder with a metal grinding disc on the actual welds. I also learned to wear long sleeves because molten metal bits are not fun when they land on your skin and arm hair. 

Anyways here is the finished tubs for now. I would like to improve the quality of them in the future by either filling in smoother and more solid welds or by using a sealing compound to fill the gaps. Suggestions welcome.

 

[njoz1200ute]

While the tubs were being welded and I had a free hand, I was able to put together the rear wheel assembly. Installed new Nolathane bushings on the leaf springs, front/rear and leaf spring shackles. I reused the existing shackle pins and front eye pins but replaced the 4x bolts at the front eye mounting with new high tensile 8.8 bolts. I should also replace the U-bolts and nuts in the future as they seemed a bit quirky putting together. I have a feeling they came from another car or were meant for lowering blocks as the thread is really long.

All painted nice shiny gloss black.

 

[njoz1200ute]

Any easy way to confirm I have a H145 diff? I would rather have the H165...vroom vroom.

 

 

 

 

Trim the sharp edges from those trailer guards but use seam sealer or sicaflex on the seams/joins. Its paintable.

Looks ok and gal ok for salt roads but pita to weld. Mild steel much easier.

 

[njoz1200ute]

Pictures of repainted engine crossmember installed, wiper motor, and the engine bay. The engine by was already painted by the previous owner. However, you can see the Raptor liner on the front rails and in the transmission tunnel.

 

[njoz1200ute]

Any issues with re-using engine mounts?

 

 

 

Nup not if they are in good condition

 

 

Well they were a bit dirty, what do you look for in condition?

 

 

 

Cracks play inthe top plate etc
Dirty won't matter

 

I didn't check rubber mounts for play but I might do next time.

[njoz1200ute]

The next part of the build I pulled off the 5 speed gearbox from The General and prepared the A14 and the gearbox to go into the shell. The A14 was already complete clutch, flywheel, alternator, oil pump, etc. etc. All I had to do was realign the clutch (cause I took it off for a look) and bolt the 5 speed on. With the help of a borrowed engine hoist a friend of mine also came over to give a hand putting the motor and gearbox in. It was the first time I had ever done this on my own.

The motor and gearbox went it fairly easily. I was quite surprised how easy it is to put the two in together as one unit. (Should have done this to reinstall my spare gearbox in The General) The tricky part was getting the 60a gearbox (which I believe is a bit larger) to clear the top of the transmission tunnel. It did scrape a bit of paint off but I put a towel behind the motor to try to avoid any further scratching. Then it was a matter of lowering the engine and jacking up the end of the gearbox at the same time to try and get the motor level. 

Once I figured out that the gearbox needed to be jacked up a bit, as the motor was lowered, it made the install much easier. I reused the rubber engine mounts but replaced the nuts with new flanged nuts. I even thought of using lock nuts instead. I have been re-using a fair bit of the bolts and nuts. I hope that's okay to do.

 

[njoz1200ute]

Stupid me. I also forgot to finish installing my Maddat steering box brace. Now I can't drill the holes in the inner guard for the bolts.

[njoz1200ute]

Bummer that the previous guy cut off the gearbox mounts. Here are some pictures of my jerry rig gearbox. Also the tailshaft is 1 inch too long for the 60a gearbox. Still not sure what car the diff and tailshaft are from.

[njoz1200ute]

You can see I changed from rope to wire and stuffed a rag in the rear of the gearbox to keep the leftover gear oil spilling out. Some people have suggested using a spare yoke from a tailshaft to plug the hole, great idea for future reference.

 

 

gives you perfect chance to make new and better angled gearbox mounts and sit the engine lower with lower engine mounts maybe 

 

 

Is that supposed to increase performance somehow? 

 

 

 

 

[njoz1200ute]

Next was new steering.

Here is a picture of the steering before I installed replacement parts.

 

[njoz1200ute]

That ball joint took me hours to remove.

Here is a picture after. New inner tie rods, outer tie rods, ball joint, radius rod bushings, draglink, idler arm. No new bushings for sway bar yet though. I don't know how important they are to replace but I will do them later. Also did not replace the lower control arm bushings. Again is it okay to reuse the pins and bolts? The tie rods, idler, draglink, and ball joint came will all NEW hardware. Only thing I replaced on my own was the sway bar mounting bolts which I bought High Tensile 8.8 rated bolts for. The rest is the standard bolts/nuts.

 

[njoz1200ute]

I am hoping that I installed all this gear properly or else I'm gonna end up off the road balls deep in a cornfield somewhere, awwww shooot.

No seriously. I did not follow the workshop manual's torque settings because I don't own a torque wrench. 

And I've been told you need a front alignment done when you do new steering.

Anything else to double check?

[njoz1200ute]

 

 

Good stuff!! 

Check out my thred when you get a chance.

Thanks d.w. I've seen your build thread as well. Very nice work.

[njoz1200ute]

 

Good to see you still at it.

Just use a bit of angle for the g'box mount, and plates through the floor like the CA guys use.

 

Don't reuse split/cotter pins.

 

 

[njoz1200ute]

 

 

it's all lovely white

 

split pins I reuse, unless they have been bent too many times

 

As for the mounts my CA uses original mounts, pity you can't get some welded in

Thanks guys. Are cotter/split pins the things that go through the bolt and castle nut and you bend with pliers? If so i got all new ones

 

Although the new ball joints had lock nuts instead of castle nuts

 

 

[njoz1200ute]

Moving along, the last stretch of the photos of the 10 day build. I installed the existing front struts for the ute. I suspect they came from a 1200 coupe as did the original leaf springs, but I do not know for sure. How do you confirm? The brakes are completely missing but I have the bits and pieces in a box. I will have to learn how to do brakes in the future. The rear brakes have also been stripped down to bare on the diff and will need rebuilding.

The struts have dodgy coil springs with a severe size chuck missing from each of them. I have no idea how tall they are meant to be but mine are roughly 12" - 13" high (unsprung). Needless to say, as they are zippy tied onto the strut shaft, they are in need of replacement. They look great on the ute but are dodgy as anything. Is it okay to reuse the pins that connect the struts to the steering nuckles (4x) ?

If anyone knows a good place in the USA to buy bolt-on upgraded strut/brake setups please let me know

Original rims. 14" x 6.5" Performance Challengers. Bridgestone Eager tires with a slight bulge, that old school muscle car look.

 

[njoz1200ute]

In picture 493...View of left hand tire, there is a bit of a gap between the steering knuckle and the strut...is this normal?

 

 

Techno toy tuning in the USA do good bolt in kits

 

 

Oh yea, and the ute is now knicknamed "Vanilla Ice"

 

 

 

Comin on strong.... no there should be no gap between knuckle and strut base. Now maybe it needs some hammer time  
Now let the dj revolve it

I want some struts that are smooth as ice.... ice.... baby

Thanks supa, I would have love to have got a set from you but ran out of time. Yea mik, I will see what the deal is, more than likely I replace the whole front strut/brake anyways.

 

Also just noticed the tire says R13 so I suppose the rims are 13", not 14"

 

 

[njoz1200ute]

Once the front wheels were on, I had four wheels, starting to look like a ute. Moved onto the interior and started installing a few bits and pieces. Installed window mechanisms and 1/4 windows + frames. Going to need a set of 1/4 window rubber seals. The felt lined rubber for the windows seemed extraordinarily long and I had to cut it to size. Got a feeling, again, that it was coupe related? Came with tinted windows...pimpin

Got the dash assembled (no pic though) I'm missing a glove box and a decent glove box lid. Surprised how easy it is to take the dash out. I also installed the wiper arms and mechanisms. 

The ute came with 3 or 4 ziplock bags full of nuts and bolts and TONS of rubber grommets. I have no idea where the hell all these rubber grommets go but the wiper ones were easy to figure out so they are about the only grommets I installed so far. Also figured out the ones for the wiper motor bolts. The rest I am N.F.I. If anyone could point me in a direction where they all go that would be great because I literally have a large size ziplock bag full of them. I dunno if it takes that many rubbers to plug a Datsun 1200.

Also test fitted the seats. Autotechnica brand, comfy. Have yet to actually mount them. Guidance needed there as well. I am thinking 2 steel flat sections per seat with bolts to the seat and bolts to the original rails? 

Steering wheel on. Won it for 10 dollars on eBay. Autotechnica black leather, near new. Already had a brand new hub and horn button from previous owner.

 

[njoz1200ute]

Is there any replacement for the clip that holds on the inner wiper arms tight to the little tab off of the wiper motor? Mine seems to be missing.

 

 

lost mine so I now just use a circlip

 

 

 

Cool thanks

[njoz1200ute]

Pictures on day 10, as complete as I could get the ute before towing it away to the shipper. I hate the later style plastic grille. I am going to convert to the earlier metal grille later on.

After working on the ute 10 days straight, trying to take my time and do things right but also trying to finish it in time....I am happy to take a break while it floats in the Pacific. Just hope it doesn't sink on it's way here. Or get taken away by pirates.

[njoz1200ute]

Just before it went into the container

 

[njoz1200ute]

 

Agreed. Plastic grills suck. Platic girls even more

 

 

Getting anxious. Can't wait to see it again.

[njoz1200ute]

----------------------------------------------------end of Australian build .... begin USA build  --------------------------------------------------------------------------