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New to the Datsun world with a '71 521 and a KA swap


hellrbbt

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The worn part looks to be where the drum was riding.....so I'm guessing they drove with the lug nuts loose.....drum would have hammered the studs and the wheel would have killed the threads.  Sadly, it's not just Datsuns that get this kind of abuse. :(

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Ahh now I see what you guys are saying... Not sure what was going on before I got the truck, but it will be fixed now. I did get the truck without any drums - just the wheels loosely attached with only a couple nuts each. Some of those lug nuts I'm pretty sure were metric when they were driven on...

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Agreed on all counts! Losing anything can be pretty scary. I remember one time I was driving rather spiritedly in my GTI and felt my brakes get a little heat soaked and got some brake fade. Definitely made my heart skip a couple beats... Promptly ordered up and installed some better pads.

 

Finished getting the new studs in the rears last night. The front cover for the KA trans should be here today, so hopefully tonight I'll be putting that on and bolting the trans to the motor and start getting things ready to drop the motor and trans into the truck.

 

I put my 15x8 rally's on, currently spending lunch researching what size tire to wrap them with. Looks like the most common/cost effective size is 225/60-15, might be going with that.

 

kIqGunil.jpg

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I have 205/50/15s on my 15x8 Chevy wheels (not rally's though) and I really like them. Some people think they're a bit small but they make more room for lowering and I love the way they look.

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If I remember right they had a 4" back space so right around -12. 225s will "fit", I've seen a couple pics in the 521 valley wheel thread where they looked pretty decent.

 

They'll poke out a bit, but I'm not too worried about that. I like beefy looking tires and I don't plan on lowering this. At least not yet... Lol

 

Ive been looking at both 225/60 and 205/50 primarily. 205's would be nice since they would be closer to the OE wheel diameter to keep the speedo (assuming I replace the cable) somewhat correct, however I can't seem to find a pic of 205/50's on an 8" rally wheel. I just don't want the stretch look.

 

Rhino do you have a pic? Just curious how they look.

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I have them on my 720, but I believe these wheels have the same offset as rally's. And so it's on the post, they're 205/50/15. I can take more pictures if you want any from a specific angle...

 

IMG_20160408_092550_zpsdiyc8ima.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

It's been a bit... Brakes are done and bled, replacing the clutch master to get that bled, and working sporadically on getting the engine harness wired in.

 

Ordered up Mark's (Blackmarkit) mounts and his kick panels. I really didn't feel like messing with spacers to make the stock 240sx mounts work, and Mark's mounts look pretty much original too.

 

Engine and trans are in:

 

Qe9Sd3ml.jpg

 

iKl8kiil.jpg

 

4ivUNLCl.jpg

 

Using the kick panels to mount some spare relays and the KA/ECU relays and fuses:

 

czWM3Lvl.jpg

 

Lastly, it's near impossible to find someone willing to ship a 240sx downpipe, so I bought a $90 ebay header to play with:

 

kiJK5XLl.jpg

 

Header definitely needs some finesse, but it looks like I can massage it into place.

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I went with 205/50's. Tires should be here next week. Won't be lowering right away, we'll see what happens after I drive it.

 

Last major items I still need to get (besides a bunch of odds and ends) is a driveshaft (just need to measure) and fuel lines (just need to decide on what I want to run and pull the trigger).

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I'm having one hell of a time attempting to adjust the rear drums (following the sticky). Anyone know of anyone that swapped to a self adjusting rear drum setup? I've searched a bit and haven't found much...

 

I was thinking about dumping the rear drums all together and get Beebani's rear disc setup, however I already bought and installed all new rear drum parts and shoes along with a 620 master for front disc and rear drums... 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well I ended up buying a brake spoon off amazon and grinding it down a bit, and now I've been working on adjusting. A combination of new pads, new drums, and me not knowing what these should feel like are giving me some iffy-ness in adjusting them, but I think I have them close right now. Once I get the truck driving I'm sure I'll need to adjust those as well as the fluid pressure valve to get everything set.

 

I also got my fuel tank cleaned and sealed and I put in a Tanks Inc EFI retrofit pump.

 

As for updates, my tires came in so I got them mounted and installed and put the truck on the ground for the first time in months! I'll probably end up lowering it a bit later on. I also replaced the clutch master and hardline and got that bled as well.

 

8cmFxIIl.jpg

 

Next up I need to order fuel lines, finish tucking my wiring and splicing the ECU?Engine harness, find a mechanical speed sensor for the trans, and a bunch of other odds and ends. I also ordered up a driveshaft from Shaftmasters (Awesome to deal with btw) which should be here tomorrow.

 

For fuel lines I think I will end up doing 3/8" aluminum hardline under the truck with PTFE -6AN hose from the lines to the motor and the tank to the hardline/filter. I think this route will end up being the cheapest and most effective from pricing things out on Summit, and will give the truck a fair amount of flexibility in the future if more fuel is needed. The existing lines weren't worth saving so I just pulled them off.

 

Question to those of you with KA swaps that might be reading this... What did you do with your battery? I would like to keep it in the bay, however it looks like a group 51 battery might be a tad tall even though it fits perfect width wise to clear the intake manifold (I mocked up a cardboard box for the battery and need to put the hoot onto check clearances). If you relocated, where did you end up mounting it and would you do it another way?

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