SSSEXXX

Morning! I still can’t believe I started this 7 years ago. Such a long time to go without driving your car.

Hi! You can follow the rest of the build on Instagram @theprojectmaker We are scheduled to unveil the car at SEMA 2018 as part of the Toyo Tires Treadpass.

Instagram @theprojectmaker for everything after my build thread. https://www.instagram.com/theprojectmaker

Well, that was certainly an interesting read. As I am the only guy in the US building a Hakobird, besides Forsberg, you are essentially talking about me. And I am not upset about it. I get it. It was a super super hard decision for me. But there is a bit of history that can be found on this very website. My build thread is actually amongst the others here on Ratsun. Where that ends, the rest is on Instagram. Im happy to hear thoughts and am totally open to criticism from all. So if anyone wants to know more, just ask away. Even if you want to tell me you hate me. That’s the beauty of a build like this in some ways. If you have access and want to see the car in person, we will debut the finished build at SEMA 2018 as part of the Toyo Tires Treadpass.

I am ordering custom wheels for my 510 which is en route to SEMA this year. I really need help with some measurements from anyone who has the Techno Toy Tuning BBK for the 510 with 280zx struts. T3 won’t be able to get me the measurements until tomorrow at the earliest and I have a bit of a time crunch. Can anyone out there help? I would sincerely appreciate it. From the diagram below, I need A, B, C & F as soon as possible:

@datsunfreak - The Woodward hub is silky smooth operation too. I haven't had a chance to actually mount a wheel to it, but that damn thing feels glorious...

@heywier427 - LOL! Whaaaaaaaaat? Picture was taken before modification.

@5523Motorsports - She is so damn clean, we could almost eat off of her..... @heywier427 - I think you and @5523Motorsports just became best friends.

@heywier427 - Yes, that is correct, we did purchase the JB subframe in place of the Datsport unit. Honestly, neither are bad and each serves a different purpose. Going with a manual rack & pinion just seemed like the right choice given the rust found in the firewall, the custom pedals and all of the other detail we were putting in. The JB sub frame was the best option on the market for what we were looking to do, but we also had some T3 pieces to mix in to the picture. 5523Motorsports was looking to make some tweaks which would improve what we are trying to do, but if you are looking for a good bolt on solution, the JB sub frame should work just fine. I realize I am being a bit cryptic, but Jeff has always been supportive of our build and has provided me a lot of feedback over the last few years. I wouldn't be where I am at if it were not for some of his influence. Baz has been a tremendous source of inspiration and technical knowledge. His products are so awesome and we are using a lot of Datsport parts still, especially their rubber. Does that make sense?

@5523Motorsports - You two are the best! I can't thank you enough for stepping in and taking on such a big project. Especially with such care and oversight. I could have never done what the two of you have no matter how many years I put in to it. @heywier427 - Just wait until you see some of the work they have done. This is really only the tip of the iceberg. The Wilwood pedals, the steering column, the engine work, the suspension work and the upcoming brakes. The attention to detail is ridiculous.

Thanks for the feedback on everything! I have decided not to go the flared route and keep the original body lines in place. After all, it was what I have been in love with since the beginning. I am going to get a carbon BRE front chin spoiler which I hope will round out the mostly NOS front end. As for the seats, I just accepted the inevitable... buckets are just not that comfortable and won't really be realistic for my weekend driving. I decided to get some vintage Recaro LX-C seats and then have them re-covered with a vintage JDM racing bucket theme. So perforated leather centers to match the Nardi wheel with regular leather bolsters. I will try and get the metal grommets for the same aesthetic as well. I think it should work well with a good 4 point race harness.

@thisismatt - It will be a street car, but I struggle with the same opinion. I would like to get more rubber on wider wheels. Yet, I love the factory body lines. Argh! @hobospyder - No sir, you are not an idiot. The idiot was the company that powder coated the inside of the plenum, underside of the original valve cover and the inside of the GReddy oil pan. Then they were confused about why I was pissed off. Nardi made a limited run of wheels with black perforated leather or suede on black centers with black stitching. Usually they have red, white, etc stitching. I just want to be able to run wider tires honestly. And flares would let me do that.

The engine is almost ready for final assembly, so I knew I needed to get moving on some detail work... So I picked up a 350MM Deep Corn Nardi in triple black..... Went with the perforated leather... sexy right? Then, those of you who follow the build know that I did the unthinkable. I tore apart my grill to restore it. Well, I didn't completely destroy it. Who would have thought? So, I have been tossing around the ideal of carbon fiber bolt on fender flares. I just haven't seen a well executed 4 door with them. But it would allow me to go much wider on the tires and perhaps a five lug conversion. I know this is a pretty intense topic, but i want opinions and thoughts. I do have immaculate sheet metal and it would be a bold move. I'm very conflicted.

Been doing a lot of traveling lately, but rest assured, the project continues. Project Miracle Whip is like a lot of projects here and things tend to change once the reality of installing them gets close. This post will require a little more input from you. I have so many questions and I do care about the community's thoughts. Pictures and comments to follow.... I was going to recover carbon fiber NRG seats and use 4-point harnesses; however, these bad boys arrived damaged and went back to the shipper. It was a blessing in disguise though. I'm 6'5" and about 220 pounds these days, so large seats don't fit right. Bolsters really shouldn't be larger than 24" for proper fitment. I really wanted carbon backed buckets, but that might not be a reality. Anyone have a line on vintage Recaro LS seats I can have recovered? One disappointment gave way to another sad moment. We found some rust on the firewall. But, we made lemonade. We decided to go with a Willwood pedal setup and a custom firewall heat shielding. We are going to cover the aluminum panels in gold heat shield. I don't have pictures of it, but we ditched the Datsport SR20DET kit and went with a JB crossmember and Techno Toy Tuning steering bits. I already had their coilovers, so it kind of made sense. Plus, we are going the MR2 manual rack and pinion conversion. That gave way to a custom steering column too. We went super high end on that piece. Good news is that the 1968 (and 1969) Canadian dash had the key on the dash and not the column. Then it was time to deal with the jacked up red color of powder coat on the valve cover and air plenum. That proved to be a massive pain to get off. It took a miracle, but Jen and Nick got it done. In my 6 years of working on this project, my style has grown to be much more understated. No more blue and red Greddy bits, went with a gunmetal. All the red? Gone. In its place, a nice dull black. Yay! Since parts were going to powder, we stripped all the shine nonsense and matched the colors to the rest of the parts. Black and gunmetal...