mttam510 Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 I have been thinking for a long time about posting a build thread on what is my build of my dream 510, and thought that now was a good time to start. I am not super into being married to this thread. There will most likely be long lapses in my posts (I have a 9 month old and a 16 year old, and a wife) However, i will do my best to keep some frequency as I believe it will serve as motivation for me to get this thing done and enjoy it! So first some history.... I bought my first 510 when i was 15, i am 42 now. There was something about the 510 that really caught my attention, along with the Alfa GTV, and 914, however, it was the 510 that ultimately became my first car.....and so begins the saga. I ended up purchasing an automatic 4 door that had ST springs and bars and kontrolle dampers, alpina like wheels and shitty BFG's.....i thought it was pretty cool, except that it was an automatic! Anyhow the head gasket ended up taking a shit after driving it for a couple of months, so off to the garage it went and my first teenage buildup began. pulled the motor, bought a 200SX dogleg trans (even though i didn't know how to drive a stick...baptism by fire), rebuilt my first motor. working with a super knowledgeble builderwho taught me a lot, but I had to learn a valuable lesson on my own....blew up my first motor (missed a keeper not fully seated....that was not a pretty ending.....aluminum piston, valve and port schrapnel coming out of one of the holes of my brand new PH44's...that i had saved up so diligently for) anyway, i digress....built another motor, with much more success this time and had a pretty fast fun car my senior year of highschool. I will try to dig out pics, i know i have them and it would be sweet to keep the chrono order....but the photo bins are not super accessible at the moment and there is scanning to be done....so for now it will be more current shots of car before teardown and to the state that it sits currently. Back to the car, welded rear doors shut, put box flares on.....rolled car (94'), bought new shell, new car became old car as new car had fallen from DMV system. Lots of part swapping ensued, had car back together, much better this time around....Ground Control Suspension, custom 4 point roll bar, 2.2. /Stoffregen Motors/Rebello engina...etc etc.....all is good. Get job in Socal, keep datto up at a friends shop in Grass Valley for a year....where it is left out in the elements and got kinda hammered (of course i had no idea it was not inside a shop as previously agreed to). Retrieve car, drive down to SoCal......garage (glad it didn't get stolen....i lived in South OC, this is 1998). Drive car very little obtain some nice Carbon Kevlar Momo seats, install....car not enjoyed as much as it needs to be, nor did i have the shop access that i had when in NorCal, so the ol' girl definitely needed some lovin'. Move back up to the Bay Area in 2002....get married....work, play hockey, no extra money...so no 510 time for a while.....fast forward to this past year. Remove car from garage after pulling engine, trans and a general strip down, and bring up to current shop. Remove pretty much everything, cut out 4 point bar, although not bad, it was not going to be a part of the new cage. The plan....car currently sits on furniture dollies, no suspension remains. It is basically a shell, with doors and a front x-member. The car is a 1972 2-dr. Saloon. I am building this car correctly from the ground up. The cage will be a combination of old classic builds (i.e. BRE car) and more modern Touring cars, using smaller 1" tubing to add rigidity without too much added weight. This will be a fully TIG welded cage. Fuel cell, proper plumbing, fire system, basically a 510 racecar with carpet and a license plate....its what i always wanted. oh, and i'm staying with L-series power. I have shitload of work to do and know it will take a while. I had some rust issues to take care of, so i am in the process of building a new floor pan for the passenger side, as well as making a few patches as you will see in the forthcoming pictures. I have a 69' front x-member that was straight but the bottom cover had been dented badly from years of previous owners shitty jacks.... anyways, had to change that. So without further ado.....here we go. 9 Quote Link to comment
510farmer Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Rebuilding or restoring a car is not a race! I'm one to contest to that Trying to stay motivated is the key Good luck Farmer 4 Quote Link to comment
russaroll Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Try not to get overwhelmed. Baby steps man, baby steps. Have fun with it and good luck. 1 Quote Link to comment
dukerollo Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Cool. Keep us posted. 1 Quote Link to comment
FirstDime Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 where in the Bay Area are you, we have a good crew over here in Marin. You should come join on our fun run and BBQ after, good people and lots of Datsuns :thumbup: 3 Quote Link to comment
mttam510 Posted July 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 some more pre-teardown from 2014. 2 Quote Link to comment
mttam510 Posted July 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 engina is on a stand at home.... along with every other part that has come off the car... 1 Quote Link to comment
mttam510 Posted July 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 old cage about to be removed....along with the rest of interior so i can get down to the rust and fun stuff.... 1 Quote Link to comment
mttam510 Posted July 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 sheet metal trimming....making room for roll cage tubing to land on the shock towers.....aluminum bulkhead coming... 1 Quote Link to comment
mttam510 Posted July 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Roll cage pads....poor picture, but what i am trying to show here is the grinding/sanding marks have been polished out with a fine stone wheel in one direction....a proper cage starts with good prep. Thankfully, I have a good friend who happens to be one hell of a fabricator assisting me with the cage and metal fab.....and there will be a lot. Quote Link to comment
mttam510 Posted July 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 here is a picture of my front crossmember that i previously mentioned....the bottom plate was pretty rough looking. So i roto-broached the resistance welds and removed the plate....pounded it flat, made a template, Quote Link to comment
mttam510 Posted July 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Since i was in there, I thought.....why not? 1 Quote Link to comment
KoHeartsGPA Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Looks good bud! 1 Quote Link to comment
mttam510 Posted July 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Boxed! ....and flared. 2 Quote Link to comment
mttam510 Posted July 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 I will get more posted in the next day.....to bring to how we sit today... Quote Link to comment
mttam510 Posted July 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 tacked in place...rear seat mount roto-broached away.... Quote Link to comment
mttam510 Posted July 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 The carriage is way ahead of the horse at times....but it helps with motivation....test fitting rear damper. Still have plenty of chassis work to do but it's gonna be pretty sweet...Ohlins TTX36 FTW!! 2 Quote Link to comment
mttam510 Posted July 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 I had a change of heart.....decided to ditch the L-series plan and go with something a little more robust....gonna shoehorn in a Ford Cosworth DFV! 2 Quote Link to comment
sebpv Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Man that thing is sexy! Can I ask how you got your hands on that? It says they were specifically produced for F1s..? Quote Link to comment
trout104 Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 really had me interested until the FORD and then Sadface.....lol keep up the good work 1 Quote Link to comment
mttam510 Posted July 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 That was a joke.....was at a customers shop and snapped a few pics. At 18K for a freshen up, that is a little outside my wheelhouse. But seriously....the Ford Cossie DFV thru the various changes is probably one of THE BEST racing engines in history! The mention of that engine should never bring a sad face.....fortunately for me, I get to hear the fine exhaust notes of various DFV's on a regular basis. Quote Link to comment
mttam510 Posted July 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 really had me interested until the FORD and then Sadface.....lol keep up the good work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XI2wQLFx9U 1 Quote Link to comment
mttam510 Posted July 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 Laying out front strut.....Ohlins 36HMRC inverted struts w/remote canisters. Will be chopping the OE strut tube, milling out the tube that is fitted to the spindle and insert new strut case and weld in place. Using an Ohlins vintage 911 90 degree shaft end adjuster to acccess rebound adjustment, since I will not be able to access the shaft from the bottom of the strut (steering knuckle in the way)....sub projects.... 2 Quote Link to comment
mttam510 Posted July 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 will get more into detail on this as things get closer....of course, with pics. But for now.... Quote Link to comment
mttam510 Posted July 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 Since I have the car stripped to basically a shell, it seemked like a good tiime to do all of the shit that you would do when building a rcaecar. Amongst other tasks, I am in the process of stitch welding the seams, and moving the rear portion of the front fender towards the ass-end....this is what BRE did back in the day....no rubbing of inner fender with more grip (wider wheel)!! seam split, pound metal....cut folded and tacked back together.... This is where i am at today.....I need to sew up my incisions and clean it up so it looks like i didn't really fuck with anything...that was a lot of work, but I am glad I did it. Both sides are complete, to this point...hopefuly by the end of tomorrow I will be further along. 2 Quote Link to comment
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