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 Post subject: Hatchmans 1600 Build
PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 3:18 pm 
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Location: San Francisco, CA
Hi guys

After over a year of being on here I thought it would be time to start my build thread. I’m sticking my neck out now and saying that by this time next year the old girl will be done – no doubt I’ll be way off the mark! But anyway here she is:

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It’s a 1970 1600 that has an L18 with extractors which we think came from a Stanza (owing to its W53 head). It’s got a 2.5 inch exhaust with a resonator and it has been lowered but the rest of the running gear is all stock. The car belongs to my dad and we are doing it up together as a father and son project – the first of hopefully a few more in the years to come

So a bit of Datsun family history

My dad bought his first 1600 brand new in 1971 after his old HR gave up the ghost. At my folks place there is a photo of me as a baby being brought home from the hospital in it – that’s right, my first ever car ride was in a Datsun 1600. :thumbsup: He hung onto it for about 6 years and sold it. Fast forward about 12 years later and he bought another one. This was a stock L16 red one (it had those Sebring dealer plates on it – still have one of them somewhere) which he restored for me to have as a first car. After 3 years, and numerous prangs on behalf of my shitty driving :oops: she sat in the shed for a year or so. Then in 1999 he bought the one that is the topic of this thread. This one was also a stocker but it has an L18 engine and it was in a relatively poor state. Dad did this one up, borrowing parts from the old red one, did most of the panel repairs himself, fitted a console from a 240K, bluebird S1 seats and did a few other custom mods and got it painted it black courtesy of the kind automotive apprentices at Dandenong TAFE college. We christened her with the name Lucille in honour of BB Kings Gibson guitar – we tend to give names to our cars.

He’s driven the old girl almost daily since then but now she is in a very sad state. Rust is practically everywhere and the motor is pretty shot, lots of tapping noise coming from the rockers, blows a little smoke on start-up, but it still goes. The gear-shift throw from first to second is about the length of the Flemington Straight and the clutch has barely any take up too. Interior is aging a bit as well but those Bluebird seats are still very comfortable.

So the plan for the rebuild is to get the entire L18 rebuilt with twin webers, flat-top pistons, bigger valves, hotter cam, everything balanced etc.... and bolt it up to a 240K 5 speed. Front brakes will be upgraded to discs (I like the look of those Datsport reco’d 200B ones) and we’ll get most of the interior re-trimmed. The body is going back to bare metal to be professionally rust repaired. After that we’ll look at doing all the other things like relocating the battery, maybe add air conditioning, replace the stereo, rear disc conversion etc…. in due course.

Here is a few photos of the rust in all the usual places, this first one is the worst, a sizeable hole in the rear drivers quarter

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Wheel arch rust bubbles

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Sills seem okay but they probably arent’

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To help with the rebuild my dads mate Rob sold us a rear-cut of a 1600 . We wire-wheeled it on the weekend to check it and it is actually in good nick – hopefully this can reduce the costs of the rust repairs

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Bit of wire-wheeling

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And here is the 240K 5 speed I bought off an OzDat forum member about a year ago

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Datrally style manifold and Webers with K&N's

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I've accumulated a few drive-line parts as well to go on the car but for now I'll post more details maybe in a month or so

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1971 Datsun 1600
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2009 Holden SV6 Sedan


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 Post subject: Re: Hatchmans 1600 Build
PostPosted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 1:05 pm 
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So anyway when you're faced with a bodywork bill on the wrong side of $20K what do you do?

Look for a decent shell and hopefully, just maybe, you'll find one that has had a bit more work done to it that you were planning to do to the original as well

Well........

.......sometimes you get lucky :D

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Close up of the Turbo

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Our new "Baby Blue" 1600 features

L20B Turbo - suck through, looks like an SU carby, no EFI. If we keep the turbo I'll put a Weber 45 DCOE on it instead
4 wheel disc brakes - not sure what they were from though. Rims look like they are from a late 70's Skyline???
bolt in roll cage - that's going
Lowered suspension
Battery relocated to the boot
5 speed box
Pretty good body - little bit of rust here and there but not much

Not sure on the boost with the Turbo, the meter shows about 11psi which doesn't sound right unless there is some very strong internals in the L20 although it goes pretty well

The plan going forward

- Strip the car to get the rust spots repaired and resprayed. We're leaning towards keeping the colour, it's growing on us
- Get the engine torn down and inspected with the aim to find exactly what it's got in it and weigh that up as to whether we keep the turbo or go with dual side-draught Webers like we originally planned
- Fix up the interior
- Use the black one as a parts car for now, what the future holds for it I'm not sure
- Fix up the electricals
- Maybe add air-con
- Whatever else needs doing

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Current Garage:

1971 Datsun 1600
2019 Mazda 6 Touring Wagon
2009 Holden SV6 Sedan


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 Post subject: Re: Hatchmans 1600 Build
PostPosted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 6:53 pm 
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Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2012 7:50 pm
Posts: 44
The new one looks pretty good will be watching the build on this, you have a better start than me

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 Post subject: Re: Hatchmans 1600 Build
PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 11:23 am 
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Location: San Francisco, CA
Bit of a quick update

We’ve disconnected everything from the motor now with the exception of the gearbox.

I’m hunting around for an engine hoist at the moment to get the motor out before we unbolt the gearbox.

There's a few around on eBay and gumtree but price is a bit north of what I want to pay. Thought about hiring but at this stage I know I’ll need to use one about 3 or four times and I don’t want the hassle of renting and feeling rushed. Plus I can resell it later. Anyone in Victoria got one they want to part ways with? PM me with a price if you do :)

Last time she is going to look like this for a while

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Guards off, they were in really good condition and there’s hardly any rust here either which is great. Stowed under a blanket in the garage for now. If anyone can tell me what these wheels are from I'd love to know, they reminded me of Brocks Blue Meanie Commodore but I seem to remember seeing a pic of a mid 70's C210 with them - could be way off the mark there though!

[ img ]

Turbo removed

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Couple of pics of the turbo

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Door skins removed, virtually no rust under here

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Floor coverings removed, no rust under here either which is great news as well, at this stage we may just be limited to rust repairing the back wheel arches and quarters

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Seat harness attachments at the back

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Door handles removed

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Boot

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Current Garage:

1971 Datsun 1600
2019 Mazda 6 Touring Wagon
2009 Holden SV6 Sedan


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 Post subject: Re: Hatchmans 1600 Build
PostPosted: Mon Apr 29, 2013 12:28 pm 
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Posts: 1718
Location: Melbourne, VIC
new shell looks great! pretty sure those wheels are R31 Skyline GTS-X wheels.

edit: actually, they might not be, but they look similar.

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 Post subject: Re: Hatchmans 1600 Build
PostPosted: Mon May 20, 2013 2:04 pm 
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Could I get some opinions here if I can guys

The following picture is the Holley fuel regulator sitting in the engine bay. My fuel pump is actually at the back of the car along with the fuel filter and at a guess I would say it must be a pump with a decent amount of flow. The previous owner who built it would have put it on there to support the fuel pressure to the turbo. I'm buggered if I know what (or how) to tell how much psi it is set for though. As I'm going to convert the car to a dual Weber 45 DCOE setup I'm wondering whether or not I still need it? I guess it all depends on the flow pressure of the pump but would it hurt to keep it? Is this a handy device to use with Webers?

[ img ]

There is also this oil canister catch can. I've heard that they are needed for racing and can be useful under very hard cornering or running to contain any oil getting sprayed out but considering my L20 is not going to be used for it I'm wondering whether I should keep it. If it's not detrimental to performance (it shouldn't be I would think) then I'll probably keep it. Does anyone else use one of these?

[ img ]

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Current Garage:

1971 Datsun 1600
2019 Mazda 6 Touring Wagon
2009 Holden SV6 Sedan


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 Post subject: Re: Hatchmans 1600 Build
PostPosted: Mon May 20, 2013 8:24 pm 
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If you are going to keep the turbo. I would also keep the 50mm SU.
More suited to draw tho turb than a weber.

If you are going NA with twin webers you may well need more CR and a camshaft change.

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"R.I.P. Baz. 29 April 2022. Thank you for all your contributions to the Datsun community over the years. You will be missed." - OZDAT


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 Post subject: Re: Hatchmans 1600 Build
PostPosted: Tue May 21, 2013 10:27 am 
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Turbo is definitely going Baz. In some respects I would like to keep it as it ran like the clappers with it on, but I had the twin Weber setup in mind with this one right from the start

Engine will be coming out in a couple of weeks and then it's got a date booked with the engine builder to see what the L20 has got in it and what I need to do to make it run optimally for the Weber 45's.

CR and camshaft are definitely high on the list of things that will be getting changed :)

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Current Garage:

1971 Datsun 1600
2019 Mazda 6 Touring Wagon
2009 Holden SV6 Sedan


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 Post subject: Re: Hatchmans 1600 Build
PostPosted: Tue May 21, 2013 10:37 am 
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Location: Lonsdale, South Australia
The fuel pressure regulator is a must with webers.
They need low pressure to function correctly.
1.5 PSI.

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www.datsport.com

"R.I.P. Baz. 29 April 2022. Thank you for all your contributions to the Datsun community over the years. You will be missed." - OZDAT


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 Post subject: Re: Hatchmans 1600 Build
PostPosted: Tue May 21, 2013 10:47 am 
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Cheers mate I'll be keeping it then :thumbsup:

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 Post subject: Re: Hatchmans 1600 Build
PostPosted: Wed May 22, 2013 1:29 am 
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Location: Melbourne Eastern
An alternative is to use a stock mechanical pump with the Webers and sell the fuel pump and regulator with the rest of the turbo gear.

If you retain the electric fuel pump, check to see if it has a safety switch wired in (it probably won't). The idea is if you ever crash (hope you won't but you can't be sure somebody won't run into you) and are trapped in the car, you won't want the fuel pump merrily spraying fuel over the hot engine bits. You want the fuel pump to cut out when the engine stops. Really, really want that.

It's not difficult, all LPG cars have a safety switch that cuts power to the solenoids after 3 seconds of no oil pressure. That means these switches are cheap and easily available, but they are hardly ever used in aftermarket electric fuel pump installations. Since it'll be you or your Dad in the car I thought you might want to have one.

As for the oil catch can, your Weber manifold probably won't have provision for a PCV valve so you may as well run your rocker cover and block vent hoses to it.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!


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 Post subject: Re: Hatchmans 1600 Build
PostPosted: Wed May 22, 2013 10:05 am 
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Location: San Francisco, CA
^^^

Thanks man I had not thought of the implications with that fuel pump, I'll look into it.

Weber manifold doesn't have provision for a PCV so I'll take your suggestion with the rocker and block vent.

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Current Garage:

1971 Datsun 1600
2019 Mazda 6 Touring Wagon
2009 Holden SV6 Sedan


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 Post subject: Re: Hatchmans 1600 Build
PostPosted: Tue May 28, 2013 10:24 am 
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Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2003 10:09 am
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Location: Lonsdale, South Australia
When using the stock L series mechanical pump, a fuel pressure reg is still recommended.
Float weight,float valve & fuel pressure are basic foundations for tuning webers.

_________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
www.datsport.com

"R.I.P. Baz. 29 April 2022. Thank you for all your contributions to the Datsun community over the years. You will be missed." - OZDAT


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 Post subject: Re: Hatchmans 1600 Build
PostPosted: Fri May 31, 2013 5:07 pm 
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Small update. Engine has now been removed and is currently with the engine builder waiting to be rebuilt.

View of the head with the manifolds removed. Ports are rough and covered in crud so I'd say she's well overdue for a reco.

[ img ]

Tried looking around for an engine hoist and leveller but the best I could find second hand was going to set me back about $260. And then Supercheap was having a garage sale thing so we got one there at a discounted rate, I even got spin a prize wheel out in the carpark and won myself a $20 voucher :thumbsup:

I did think about hiring one but ruled it out as I know I'm going to need this thing at least 1 or 2 times more for this car, 1 time more for another and a couple more times for an EH Holden we're planning on rebuilding in a couple of years. After that I'll sell it and the difference will probably equal the cost of hiring but without the hassles associated with it.

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Trusty old scissor jack to support the gearbox, we also ran a bike chain under it and hooked it to the firewall too to make sure it was well held.

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Fixing the levellers chains to the engine, these things are so worth the $40 or so you can get them for. Makes it so easy to tilt the engine to get it out

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Unbolt the bell housing, pull the engine forward on the mounts, hoist it up and out it comes as easy as you like

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Shot of the bay with the transmission, we're going to leave it in there, if it was good enough for the turbo'd L20B it should be fine for it with dual Weber 45's. We're thinking about painting the bay in this black splatter/crackle style paint a la the blue 1600 that featured on Jay Leno https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwhwwrkYMpc. Probably get those wheels on that 1600 too they look unreal

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Set on an old tyre, wrapped in plastic, roped down and about to be driven to the engine rebuilders for a full reco and rebuild

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Couple of last things, does anyone recognise the front struts, rotors and calipers? I'm 90% sure they're volvo calipers but would like to be certain

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[ img ]

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Current Garage:

1971 Datsun 1600
2019 Mazda 6 Touring Wagon
2009 Holden SV6 Sedan


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 Post subject: Re: Hatchmans 1600 Build
PostPosted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 4:38 pm 
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Location: San Francisco, CA
Engine builder got back to me.

My L20B is actually a 2.2ltr engine. It's got the Z22 crank and both the block and head have been over-bored to lower the compression for the turbo. Pistons are dished as well which you'd expect.

So in short it's no good to me for the dual Weber setup and I need a stock L20B that they can work with to get it set up correctly.

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1971 Datsun 1600
2019 Mazda 6 Touring Wagon
2009 Holden SV6 Sedan


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