78 120Y Thailand build

[maswov]

สวัสดีครับ

I recently picked up a Sunny which a PO had been building as to race.  Under the hood is an SR20DET red top with a 5 speed gearbox from a Silvia, the rear axle, suspension were donated from an early Skyline and the electric mirrors are from a Skyline as well.  I am not sure what the wheels are but they are 15 inch and from what I understand they have been widened as well, the fender flares and front air dam are custom made steel parts.   

Inside has Bride racing seats, bolt in roll cage, some monstrosity of a dash I think from a Toyota, electric locks and widows, and AC.  

The battery has been relocated to the trunk as well as the fuel tank. The AC condenser is where the original fuel tank was.  

Initial plans I have are:

1.  Small suspension lift, maybe 1 inch, I want to keep it low but I am having a hell of a time finding tires to fit.  There doesn't seem to be too much available for 15" rims and      since these had been modified, that limits my selection even further.  

2.  Remove seats and weld up a couple holes in the floor.  The back seat won't be reinstalled, instead I will make a carpeted spot for my dog.   I will remove the diagonal            tube from the the roll cage in the back seat area and reroute the down tubes along the roof line and down the quarter pillar, this will give my dog room to get in and out.

3.  Remove the dash, put it it a steel drum, cover it with diesel and watch it burn while I drink beer.  That thing has got to go, it's huge.  Once I get it out I want to weld in a          bar to mount some gauges for temporary use while I build a new one from aluminum which will house in dash gauges.  

4.  I don't want to paint it until later but I will probably strip it down fix whatever rust I can and get rid of all that body putty they skim the car with here before they paint.  After      all that putty is gone I will probably get 0.2 seconds faster in a 1/4 mile! I also want to weld the flares on and smooth out rather than screwed in as it is now.

5.  Not sure yet what I will do for engine mods other than get rid of the current exhaust and run the pipe out the front fender, probably where the side marker light is now.

 

So here are a some pics as I bought it, looks a little rough but it's a good start to work with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Coda]

Looks like a fun project! Lots of good parts there...execution is wonky in a few places, but overall, I dig it with a shovel.

Looking forward to watching this one,

[Lockleaf]

Sweet

[Draker]

interesting build.. Looks pretty fun.

[Ratwagon1600]

Holy shit!

 

That Roll cage!!!! :w00t:

[maswov]

Holy shit!

 

That Roll cage!!!! :w00t:

 

I'm glad it's bolt it.  Since the cage contours the dash, it will be easy to swap out the sections when I get the dash out.  I also want to swap the rear sections to give my do some room to get in.

[Hmph]

this car makes my head hurt.

I'm super curious if you'll share…how did you find this thing? why are you in Thailand? LOL!

 

thanks for sharing!

[maswov]

this car makes my head hurt.

I'm super curious if you'll share…how did you find this thing? why are you in Thailand? LOL!

 

thanks for sharing!

I hope it hurts in a good way 555

I retired from the US Navy a few years ago and decided to settle in Thailand.  

I bought the car from a friend who bought it as a replacement for the Toyota he wrecked circuit racing.  After 2 years of sitting at his condo with nothing being done to it, he decided to put the racing on hold for awhile, that's when I bought it.  I was looking through the registration book and it looks like it was imported to Thailand about 20 years ago, I imagine from Japan or possibly Australia.  The 1st owner in Thailand was a girl who ran the stock 1.4.  The guy who bought it from her had brought it to where it is now.  Not sure what mods had been done to the engine, but after I get a couple things done, I'll get it on the dyno and go from there. 

[maswov]

Had a bit of a mishap the other day on the way home from checking out some new rims and tires, one of the wheel bearings disintegrated on me

 

 

 

 

The spindle got pretty hot and is black but it is smooth so it will be ok.  The sleeve on the rotor is fucked that's in the shop now getting repaired and new bearings put in both rotors.

 

 

While it's sitting idle right now, I figured this would be a good time to get rid of the back seat.

 

 

 

Removed the back part of the roll cage for access, which is ok since I will make it a little different when its reinstalled.

 

 

 

 

 

And there is my helper, didn't do much but he tried.

 

 

That's enough for today, it's so hot my eyeballs are sweating.  The floorboard doesn't look too bad, once I get the soundproofing out and adhesives cleaned up I will be able to see what if any welding needs to be done.  Next step is to stare at it for hours and decide what I want to do to add some function and finish it off for a smooth look. 

[fisch]

Has a tough overall look. I dig it!

[datzenmike]

Loose roll bars, all of them, keep seat.

 

That wheel hub wouldn't have gone quietly. There would have been lots of metal to metal warning. Does it rain much there??? does the car get driven in deep water? Get center caps for those rims to keep water out of the bearing. Better check the other side and replace the grease? because the PO did piss poor work on it.

[maswov]

I have had a couple bearings go bad before, this time never heard a thing.  Could be that I lived on a aircraft carrier for 3 years and had jets taking off 2 decks above where I slept, my hearing just isn't what it used to be.  Got both rotors in the shop now replacing the bearings, I had actually planned to go over bearings and grease fittings this week anyway, that just got bumped up a few days.  I was told the suspension was from an early Skyline, was looking at some numbers stamped on the strut to try to figure out exactly what it is but can only get part of it, got some more research and digging to do. Saw something on the rotor looked like SS 67-73, probably marked from the junk yard, so yeah the part is old already and if I know how guys operate here it was put right on the car without changing the bearings or at least repacking them

Back seat has got to go, need a place for the dog to sit.  B)

[graveltrapp]

Very cool, but why not remove the cage and free up some weight to horsepower ratio.

[maswov]

Very cool, but why not remove the cage and free up some weight to horsepower ratio.

 

I understand the benefit of reduced weight to HP ratio, but the trade off for the benefit of chassis stiffening is well worth it IMO.  

The 120Y was intended to be an fuel efficient commuter vehicle in the midst of the gas crunch in the 70s ( most of us should remember the long lines and gas rationing during this time).  With the stock L14 pushing 80 HP and 82 ft/lb of torque, the chassis probably wasn't designed to handle 201 HP and 202 ft/lb of torque of a stock SR20DET.  Add to that some engine mods and 40 years of rust, that further diminishes chassis stability.

Why do we want a stiff chassis?  

The foundation of the car is the chassis.  This often overlooked part of the car is where all other systems  ie engine and suspension attach to and react. The result from the torque of the engine can be easily seen in drag cars when the chassis twists and the left front wheel lifts off the ground.  

Regarding suspension, a stiff suspension can do wonders for handling performance however under load or cornering the chassis will act like a spring minus the damping provided from the shocks.  This can result in unpredictable results mitigating the increased performance gained from the suspension upgrades.

[datzenmike]

A few things. It's a four door, they don't come stiffer than a four door. Second it's a 120Y not a Z car. They're small and will be stiffer. Third you won't notice extra stiffening unless on a race track and a real roll bar not a bolt together bolt in one. While a roll bar will add some chassis stiffness it's there more for driver safety. A roll bar makes a car useless as a street car.

[maswov]

Yes it is a 120Y, that's my point, not designed for for high power and torque.  

Yes it WILL be on the race track with some street use.  

Bolt in roll bars and cages are real and do provide benefits stated, however both bolt in AND welded cages need to be installed properly to gain this benefit.

Yes, roll cages were originally designed for safety but that does not diminish the benefits of chassis stiffening.  With that said, I would say that say that the cage is more for stiffening since that benefit is realized every time  the car runs down the track, the safety benefit is realized once.

[datzenmike]

 

 

You'd be safer without it. The joints are not welded just bolted together and then bolted to the floor. It'll fold up like a lawn chair in a accident.

[2wheel-lee]

 

You'd be safer without it. The joints are not welded just bolted together and then bolted to the floor. It'll fold up like a lawn chair in a accident.

 

No kidding about that!!