My trusty wagon was sold at the end of 2001 and I began a new project, a 1969 510 two-door. It's a great base, what with new paint and a straight body. Project plans revolve around a KA24DE installation. Finally having the money, knowledge, and (eventually) time to do things the way I want them (versus what I could afford when I built the wagon in college) has and will produce a very fine 510, once I'm done. Are you ever done?
No. Two years after beginning this project, I have come to a point where I can finally drive this car of mine, but it is far from done. The wiring of the motor proved to be relatively easy to perform, and after tracking down various small bugs in the system (expected, since having never driven the car, I didn't even know if the brake lights worked) I'd then been taking trips around town to check out the mechanicals.
The car is a daily driver. It has proven nothing but reliable, easily putting up with my 90-mile daily commute to Malibu. This does not mean the car is done. I have two major projects sitting on my work bench at the moment.
Power and Weight
Click here to go to the Dyno Results page.
I finally weighed the car as well. 2240 pounds, all up, with 1220 pounds on the front axle and 1020 pounds on the rear axle, for a 54F/46R weight distribution. Given the power and weight figures, my 510 should be good for a mid-14 second 1/4 mile run.
| In the beginning, there was the project car, and it was good, but... | Later on, after glass and trim installation... | Wheels and tires have been purchased... |
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| ...it lacked glass, rubber, an interior, and a drivetrain. It was the proverbial rolling shell. | ...it's beginning to look like a real car! | ...but the final pictures are yet to be taken. 14" Watanabes are featured. |
A shot of the spun-aluminum side
mirror. Looks great, works much better with a convex lense!
I chose to install an S14 KA24DE into my car. I picked this engine for it's Nissanness, its power (155hp/160ft./lb. stock), and fitment into the 510. It sits much lower than the L-series, and even a tad further rearward. The engine is relatively bulletproof and parts are easily sourced from your local Nissan dealer.
"What'cha got under the hood, son?" "Why, it's the stock engine, officer."
| See Volume 4 Issue 3 of The Dime, Quarterly newsletter for... | See Volume 4 Issue 4 of The Dime, Quarterly for... | This installation also required fabrication of... |
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| ...my writeup on creating motor mounts from scratch. | ...my writeup on creating an oil pan from scratch. | ...a new oil pick-up tube. Note brace near the pick-up. |
Lots of room in the engine bay for the motor as installed; no exhaust manifold issues, and it's pretty low (about 1-1/2" lower than some swaps I've seen). The oil pan turned out awesome, with six quarts of capacity in the hammerhead sump. Other trick pan features include sump baffles and Swagelok fittings for the sump drain and dipstick tube.
New Developments: I can't leave well-enough alone. I've adapted individual throttle bodies to my KA. You can read all about that conversion in The Dime, Quarterly. I'm also in the process of building my own headers.
Version 1 is made of Schedule-40 tube and is equal-length all the way down to the V-Band flange:
| Swapping a non-stock motor into 510 removes some easy power-adding options... | Featuring 1.45" ID primaries, 1.66" ID secondaries, 1.70" ID collector to 2.5" pipe and... | The midpipe and rear section are 2.5" mandrel tubing, leading to a Magnaflow stainless muffler... |
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| ...such as a header. With an exhaust flange, some mandrel tubing, and a welder, just make your own. Schedule-40 thick-wall tubing here. | ...V-band clamps secure the midpipe from the end of the header to just before the rear crossmember; they're easy to tighten and leak-proof. | ...and "It Came From Ebay" 2.5" GM Monte Carlo exhaust tip.. |
Version 2 is made from 16ga 304 stainless mandrel bends. Modeled after the DansToy 4AGE headers I saw at the 2005 Long Beach Japanese Classic Car Show, this setup is equal-length to within 1/2".
| I got the header-building bug from the first header. | Featuring 1.50" ID primaries and 1.83" ID secondaries, merge collector Ys, and | Stainless doesn't need a coating to resist corrosion, but the heat difference betwee this header... |
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| Combine that with a screaming deal on stainless tube, and it was a project I couldn't resist. | ...a V-band clamp to mate up with the existing mid-pipe. | ...and Version 1 is pretty noticable. Picture before the stainless has started to bronze. |
| The stock interior. Your basic '69 interior. | Suede Momo wheel replaces worn aftermarket piece. | See Volume 5 Issue 1 of The Dime, Quarterly for... | Along the way I managed to fab some brackets to hold |
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| Well, your basic '69 interior with a KA24DE crankshaft in the driver's footwell, but you get the point. Dash was in okay condition, but the pad was thrashed. | I copied the Sparco bracket to add thumb buttons. Left button activates the wipers for one swipe, right button flashes the high beams. | ...my writeup on creating a custom instrument panel for the early dash models. Note aluminum gauge hoods, Alcantara dash pad. | my CD player and a set of Honda cupholders in the stock-dash radio location. |
| I've taken to upgrading the stock interior while I'm at it. | The headliner, dash, and most interior surfaces are covered in Alcantara. | You can also see the poor-man's dynamat solution from Home Depot. |
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| USDM MY02 Subaru WRX seats and an Autopower rollbar have been installed. | Alcantara is a faux-suede material, most often used in upscale German autos. | $9 a roll, and one roll did this much of the interior. In your roofing department. |
| One of my first aquisitions was the bolt-in Subaru LSD. | One of my most important choices lay in the wheel decision. | With the added power, I added brakes. Big brakes... | 200SX solid rotors in the back. |
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| I got the cover polished since I could and it didn't cost me anything (freebee). | Panasports are everywhere, but I love the look. The Japanese Watanabe wheel is period-correct for the 510, and looks awesome. | Z31 11" front rotors and hubs, Wilwood forged Dynalite calipers, custom brackets. | Custom brackets hold hybrid Z31/S15 calipers. |
| Front suspension changed over to... | Rear suspension changed over to... | Additional touches include a MadDat steering brace. |
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| Ground Control coilovers and 180 pound springs, using the existing Tokico Illumina 5-way adjustable inserts. 6-1/2" rocker-to-ground ride height in the front. | Penultimate crossmember and cut T-Bird springs (165 lb/in.), using the existing Illumina shocks. 7" rocker-to-ground ride height in the rear. | This'll reduce the flex of the steering box under load, increasing response and feel. |
| Cusco camber plates... | Wilwood forged Dynalite calipers, Z31 11" front rotors |
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| These are 240SX plates, but with the same strut bolt pattern as the 510, they work just fine. ~ -2.5° camber possible. | Watanabe rims, Yokohama rubber, Watanabe lug nuts. |
