December 2011 UpdateI have been working on the project on and off when I can find time between other projects and other commitments. Here are a few updates:
Sound Deadening
We like the Dynamat Extreme sound deadening and Diamond Dave came down in November and spent a day installing it into the interior of the car. This really keeps the interior cool, and rattle free.
WiringThe chassis wiring is nearly finished, just a few more details to go and it will all be sorted out. As of right now, everything but the wiper motor works-- all the headlights, floor dimmer switch, turn signals, etc. are working. All the chassis harness was wrapped in gray 3M electrical tape just like the 1500 chassis harness is originally.
I had a bunch of new NOS switches (from various Datsun models) that came in our NOS parts stash, and I decided to update the headlight and heater switches to the later Datsun style, but I wanted them to look original from the outside of the car. In the case of the new, aftermarket heater, I needed a 3-position fan switch and I could not for the life of me get the original 1500 heater fan switch to work with the new heater.
Here is the original 1500 heater switch:
I had a NOS 521 heater switch that had a 3-position heater pull switch, but the 521 knob had a set screw, and the 1500 has a threaded shaft:
I used a 5mm .9 die and threaded the end of the 521 switch, and now the 1500 knob can screw on like the original!
and after:
and installed:
Now all I need is a new set of knobs (working on that right now) and the dash will be good to go:
EFI Wiring HarnessI had a NOS S13 SR20DE wiring harness that I picked up in Japan-- nothing better than starting off with a new harness!
Of course, that harness won't do as it has many things that we won't use (power steering, AC, etc.), and the lengths are all wrong, so off with the factory tape so I can start modifying:
Nissan upgraded the S14/S15 SR20DE engines Crank Angle Sensor (CAS) with an internal coil, and that setup is considerably nicer than the original S13 setup that would have originally come with this engine. I had a spare S14 CAS, so I upgraded the engine to that style, but that required that the wiring harness be upgraded to match. (Another plus for the S14 SR20DE CAS is that the distributor caps are available in the USA-- the S13 SR20DE caps have to be ordered from Japan!)
Original S13 CAS plug has four wires, and the S14 CAS plug has 6-wires:
I have a section of S14 SR20DE CAS wiring that I saved off a junk harness to show were all the proper connections go:
Fortunately, I have a Kent Moore Nissan master terminal kit, so I had a new 6-pin connector and the matching correct terminals:
Then it was just a matter of transferring the four original wires from the S13 connector to the new, 6-pin connector, and then terminating the additional wires from the original harness:
After that was all completed, I installed and tested the harness for spark with a spare CAS to make sure everything was working properly, and proceeded to give myself one hell of a shock (through a leaky spark plug boot), so it works correctly !
(I tested the injectors at the same time, and they all fired off like they should, so this car will run as soon as the rest of the details are done!)
Other EFI harness details-- I always convert the EFI harness' to use a B13 Sentra EFI harness grommet as this exits the firewall at 90 degrees and is much smaller than the original boot:
The pile of wire that I pulled from the original EFI harness:
And finally, the simplified harness before being installed in the car:
I also installed a dry-cell battery in the original 1500 battery location (located under the jump seat), as well as a Hella battery cut off switch:
Exhaust WorkThis car is going to have a stainless 2" mandrel bent exhaust system, with a catalytic converter installed on it. We recently spent a couple evenings working on it and here is the progress:
Exhaust flange-- For packaging purposes, I use the a factory FWD SR20DE exhaust manifold found on a Sentra SE-R, NX-2000, or Infiniti G-20. This fits around the steering shaft, and is short enough that it is easy to get a 90-degree bend so the exhaust can fit through the X-member. Unfortunately, the cast manifold has a very unique mounting flange that is a pain to duplicate. In past builds, we used to harvest the OEM flange and build from there, but a couple years ago, I finally had the flange laser cut so we could build higher quality exhaust systems:
The flange uses two steel o-rings to seal the pipes to the manifold, so the pipes need to sit about 1/4" above the surface:
The down pipe has to merge fairly quickly before it makes its 90-degree bend for the X-member:
Another view:
Normally, when we build exhaust systems, we put the catalytic converter in the x-member, but since this is a 1500, and the floor is much different in this car, we are going to put the CAT before the X-member, then add a flex, then the muffler (in the x-member) and out to the rear of the car.
Here is a shot of the CAT mocked up:
This will get a support bracket to the block to help support the weight of the CAT.
I am still waiting on the stainless V-band clamps to arrive, and then we can continue on the rest of the system...
Fuel TankLastly, the fuel tank is painted, and installed into the car. I just need to add the EFI fuel line, and some gas (and make a tank cover) and that system should be good to go!
Best holiday wishes to you and your families!
Michael
