New Zealand Datsun Club

Very possible, I can't imagine it being too difficult to remove. No major on that one anyway.. more important things to resolve first

Not too much happened recently but for the sake of documentation I'll add it here. I picked up one of those C-Tek chargers which worked wonders on one of the old batteries I had in storage but no bueno on the Skyline one so I need to buy a new battery for that. No major, they're around I just haven't got to doing it. A couple of small rubber bits did arrive though the other week so got to installing them.


Nice new rubber seal around the bottom of that cowling. Can see a bit of rust on either end of it as well as perhaps some quick repair done. These are common places for rust on Hakos so I suspect when the time comes I'll have to pull all that down and repair it properly. Repair parts are available for these areas.



And these little rubber caps for the wipers were busted as you can see in the top picture. Replaced as per bottom picture.

Yep, thrilling stuff.. but it keeps the momentum going I guess.

So after about 5 months of not starting the car, it's time for it to wake up! I went about doing a few pre-start checks..

Oil? Black.
Brake Fluid? Half missing.
Clutch Fluid? Black.
Water in radiator? Yep.

OK good to go. With a new battery it cranked over really well, took a little while due to no gas in the float and mechanical pump but no worries. Little rough as you'd expect after not running for so long but once warmed up and the fuel was flowing it feels strong.

I didn't actually take it out as there is currently too much stuff around and I couldn't be bothered moving it.

Quick Instagram Vid - https://www.instagram.com/p/BJUYBs-B57z" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Still have a few parts to come in the next container shipment like springs, brake discs etc. I'm not in a major rush so container is all good. The current springs are very uncaptive cutties hahaha. Rides pretty well considering though,

Customer/friend came over today to collect something. Couldn't resist a quick photoshoot.

He also works at a compliance centre and reckons the rust spots I pointed out to him aren't really a major compared to some things he's seen.. makes me feel a bit better haha

Hako makes it's first official public outing. I was asked by one of the organisers of a car show if I could bring the Skyline out to have on a Nissan stand. So I agreed. It's crazy to see the size difference between old and new.. everything has just become so much bigger.

Wow , dream line up right there.

Oh apparently I haven't updated this for a while..

Finally had an afternoon free to do some work on the Skyline. I now have all the parts I was waiting on to work on the underbody and suspension parts. 

The reason it's taken so long as I wasn't super keen on taking bits apart then taking them apart again so my main hold up was getting OEM top hats so it's one less thing for it to fail on when it comes to inspection time. These finally arrived thanks to a Hako owner in Aus (Kevin, if you're in the scene you'll know him), total legend. 


When it came in the car was on cut springs, common in old Japanese cars so no surprise but it was no good here. Picked up some ZOOM brand low springs in our last container and today's task was install the fronts. 


After about an hour and two trips back home I managed to get one side done. Once I'd figured it out the other side took about 20 mins. 


Yay for OEM.. but that top nut is not correct as it was the one used with the camber adjust top hats.. I'm guessing I can just keep it there as it's doing the job, just doesn't look super great. 


Noticed this underneath too.. big dent on the sump which looks like it's cracked but it's not actually leaking. Perhaps someone repaired it in the past. 

However I have a feeling I'm missing some bits to complete the OEM top hat assembly as it still making clunking noises when I turn the wheel. The spring seats correctly but I'm not sure if just above that is meant to be something else before the top hat goes on above the upper spring seat. Also yeah the boots are goneburgers and maybe both the shocks are leaking.. yay!

Took it out for a hoon around the block to make sure it was working ok. Initially pulled hard to the left but once I went full lock to lock a few times it sorted out but still pulls a little to the left. I suspect I knocked something while I was under there. Not sure, probably worth going for alignment anyway

Short outside video - https://www.instagram.com/p/BQE6iE-AG8M/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Still, one thing less on my list. 

Today sort of went ok.. I have since decided changing the brake pads in this car is a giant pain in the ass though. Plan today was to put the new discs on and new pads, sort of worked out.


Check out these badboys, furious stopping power!


The main hurdle I had after working out how the hub and disc comes off is this.. the piston at the top could not be pushed in enough to allow for one of the new pads to go in while sliding over the disc. What I ended up doing was a bit naughty by using one new pad and one old pad (which still had a bunch of material on it anyway) so I could slide it over the disc. Perhaps I need to get the calipers rebuilt or look to upgrade to the MK63 which most people go to.


I've only got one side on there now as I ended up going out for a lunch longer than anticipated and got back late but it spins around and looks good. Once I get the other side on I'll take it out and see if they actually work.


Made the mistake of opening the door while it was on an the jack.. Just a little bit of chassis flex in there.

Plus side, rear springs are captive as do I'm not going to change them for the other springs. Oh, and I found that the hub nut was finger tight, so that was a pretty good find. Thanks cotter pin for keeping me alive!

Finished up the other side today and took it for a spin. I also took a couple extra pictures as a future reference potentially for anyone who needs this info as it took me a while to work this out.

So in order to remove the brake disc from the hub took a bit of trickery for the average Joe. I suppose if you had a press handy you'd use that but this way is just as easy.


First step of course is removing the bolts. Not too hard with an impact gun.


Then bolt the hub to your wheel like shown above. Get a piece of wood or something similar and use it to hammer down on the brake disc. Moving around the disc eventually it should slip off the hub. I found this was quite an easy way to do it. Still took some decent hits but worked out good. One assumes you're replacing the discs at this point so risking damage on them isn't really a major concern.


Then you end up with this, as you can see bearing and seal removal is not required but it's good to check them while you're there.


Springs have settled a bit and actually look really good, about the same height as it was before.

Still getting clunky noises and I'm fairly certain it is the springs as I can twist them by hand when the car is in the air but they are still captive. So perhaps just missing something more to push down on the top. The alignment is fully out of whack and almost certain it has positive camber now! It got quite wobbly on the motorway earlier at about 80-90kmh, so definitely need to take it to alignment shop. Although I'm not entirely sure how much adjustability will be available.

The ball joint looks like it is OK but when it's on a lift I could check it better.. or more likely someone who knows what to look for can check it better. Also, the new discs work very well. Might just be my optimism but feels like it pulls up a bit better.

It's been ages since I've really done anything towards this so I decided to start tearing down the L28 that I have. When I got this I knew the bottom end wasn't good but the head should be fine. Feels like there is some mild port work done and I'm told the cam is quite big.


I just wanted to put these on so I could make doort noises.

From memory there was a bearing problem but as it looks like it was sitting around for a while partially assembled before I got it I'll need to take it somewhere to be inventoried and see exactly which parts are there, which are not and what can be reused. Might be easier to just get another block and put the head on.

Also managed to find some OEM castor arms and some urethane bushes to replace the bent one on the car which will come in the next container. Things are happening.. slowly.