Project Theseus

[Ont240]

Stupid hot today and I didn't feel like welding, so I tore down the front suspension/steering components and cleaned a lot of it up. Happily, the rack and inner tie rods have zero play or weirdness going on, so I don't feel the need to rebuild or replace anything. Paint, new outer tie rods and locking nuts, and it'll be good to go,





front LCAs pictured are the ones I got used with a bunch of goodies already on them - They're not rusty so I'll just be scuffing/painting them. Not sure exactly on colour yet for the suspension components, thinking possibly gunmetal or gold? The front x-member and steering rack will definitely remain black though.

46 years of dirt, grease, and rust had to go somewhere, and hoo boy did it ever.







Took half an hour to get myself even remotely clean again.

I couldn't for the life of me get the strut gland nuts off, even with a pipe wrench. Anyone know if I NEED the originals, or if the ones that came with my new strut inserts will work? If the latter I'll probably weld a bar on the old ones for leverage + heat, but if I need to save them I think I'll bring them to a local garage and pay them a few bucks to get it all apart for me.

Don't be afraid to use lost of heat. Hold the strut near the bottom so it will bind against the brake mount face and support it part way along having it horizontal. the gland nuts that come with the shock inserts work .There are 2 sizes. 240 are smaller 280 are larger tube diameters.There is enough difference you can compare and see.
Is your bench fastened to the floor? !!! good luck.

[zedfoot]

I ended up using a sharp chisel and a good sized hammer. I've had good results with other frozen nuts this way. I think the vibration combined with the high torque breaks the rust bond. The nut looks pretty awful once you get it off, though.

[Noll]

Don't be afraid to use lost of heat. Hold the strut near the bottom so it will bind against the brake mount face and support it part way along having it horizontal. the gland nuts that come with the shock inserts work .There are 2 sizes. 240 are smaller 280 are larger tube diameters.There is enough difference you can compare and see.
Is your bench fastened to the floor? !!! good luck.

Good point, and yep, lots of heat is the plan when I give it another go. All my stuff should be 240z unless I ordered wrong haha.

I ended up using a sharp chisel and a good sized hammer. I've had good results with other frozen nuts this way. I think the vibration combined with the high torque breaks the rust bond. The nut looks pretty awful once you get it off, though.

Good idea too!

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Got the front LCAs back together, just together for now so I don't lose anything. I'll be cleaning up the hardware etc before final assembly.




I also got my new dataplates back from engraving. Pretty happy with how they came out for under 30 bucks. Didn't want to paint everything and put the old grotty ones back on, and the doorjamb plate (not pictured) was painted-over and generally totally trashed.

[zedfoot]

They look terrific. Where did you source them?

[Noll]

They look terrific. Where did you source them?

Oh yeah, I am super happy with how they turned out. Some small differences from the OG ones, but you'd have to have them side-by-side to tell.

Got them from Zeddsaver, conveniently also a Canadian company. They have basically every plate you can imagine, as well as a bunch of other stuff in their various store sections: https://www.zeddsaver.com/collection...-car-id-plates

I got a local engraving place to put the numbers on, was super inexpensive.

[Noll]

Lot more done this weekend. Cut off the d/s frame rail:




Like the other side, This wonderful mess will need to be taken care of:





This was one of the first sections I did on the car, and looking back on it from a year + later of constant work on the car, it falls a bit short of the quality I'm ok with now (even though it's hidden and will be covered in bedliner). Some imperfections are whatever as long as it's strong, but the lower curve of the floor wasn't going to do as it was.




As such, I cut a bunch out, did some welding, cut more out, etc:






Shifted my focus to the new frame rail. Fixed the rear end (no pics), and welded up a new front section for the tow hook mount.







Next up will be to make and weld up new bits for the front floor flange, fix the section of frame rail still attached to the car, and then weld the 'new' segment on. After that, on to the rad support!

[Noll]

Got the parts-lot that was linked in the for-sale section home yesterday. Some issues, but I still think it was a good deal for what it is.

Ready for cleanup.




a lot of scrubbing later - not perfect, but good as it'll get without me taking all the ancillaries off.






This is where the bad started. Breaker bar on the crank wouldn't turn it, so I popped open the oil pan drain. The pan itself seems remarkably good, still has paint on it!



2.5 liters of terrible lay inside though. Intake and exhaust were not in an orientation where water could get in, so my guess is headgasket maybe? Engine seems to have been stored totally dry for 10+ years which is unfortunate.




Not the end of the world though, I got the lot for the 5spd, and anything else was a bonus. even if the block is a total boat anchor I can still sell stuff and with any luck end up with a free transmission for my trouble.

Speaking of, the trans took a bit of persuading, but came off without incident. Needs a good wire-wheeling and general cleanup, but shifts perfectly and seems in fine working condition as far as I can see.




The flywheel side, ehh, not so much.



Popped the valve cover off expecting the worst, and was pleasantly surprised. Surface rust on the cam from sitting, but otherwise pretty immaculate. Going to try to bathe the cam in white vinegar for a while to see if it can be revived maybe.






I'm assuming the crank and rods are total garbage, but I'll tear it all down anyway - maybe I got super lucky and it just needs bearings and a polish. In any case, I haven't' torn down a l-series yet, so it'll be a good opportunity to learn.

zedfoot
what accessories are you in need of? Bunch of the pulleys are in bad shape, but the actual accessories seem OK so far, need to take stuff off for a better look.

[zedfoot]

Clutch and flywheel. Starter. Distributor. Harmonic balancer and pulleys. The only thing on this engine is the fuel injection which I would upgrade anyway.

[Noll]

Clutch and flywheel. Starter. Distributor. Harmonic balancer and pulleys. The only thing on this engine is the fuel injection which I would upgrade anyway.

Ok, will peruse all of it and let you know what's in decent shape. May end up keeping the distributor and starter (much lighter gear driven starter vs my 260z one, plus can convert to electronic ignition with the distributor), but not sure yet.

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Got the firewall mostly welded back up. Ran out of welding gas, so finishing touches in a day or two, the on to the frame rail.

[Noll]

More welding today, as always.

Cleaned up the tension rod mount, and discovered a hole. Fixed this (no pic) and then welded on the new top layer I made:






And mocked up the other main frame rail section to go back on. Will need to make one more patch here as can be seen.





Just need to make that and a couple other small things and the new frame rail section can go on.

[Noll]

Took a gamble on some side mirrors, and it seems to have paid off. Wanted something simple and classic that fit the look of the car while not being stupid money or over-styled. Hard to say no to these for 33$ shipped, and the quality in-person is actually rather nice. Just need to glue the mirrors to the backing for security as they're just a press-fit with the rubber.

Plus, I get to say I have Lada parts on the car - these are the same as what are OEM to my Niva, just black instead of chrome. Realized one day that the styling was perfect so ordered this pair.

[grannyknot]

Hey those mirrors would work well on a 510, where did you get them, new or used?

[Noll]

Hey those mirrors would work well on a 510, where did you get them, new or used?

Yeah, they seem like they'd look decent on a bunch of stuff. Brand new, I got them here but there's obviously a ton of other options, just search for Lada mirrors.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Mirror-Mirrors-LADA-2101-2106-2103-Lada-Niva-2121-gasket-bolt-SET-2Pcs/324130736224?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Some imperfections, but for the price can't complain. Will pretty them up a tad and if the adjustment gets loose I can always use some E6600 or other flexible glue to keep them in place. Probably also going to go with a different attachment method than the screws included.

[Ont240]

Love the sign with cut out!

[Noll]

Love the sign with cut out!

Hah, thanks! Needed a skidplate for my daily driver and this was by far the cheapest way to buy decently thick metal. Need to weld a couple nuts to the subframe and then it can go on for good. Might end up doing similar for the Z, who knows.