18/7/2008 - Copper Fettucini

After the engine and other bits started going back in I then turned to the electrical system. The old wiring loom certainly showed it's age: cracked insulation, corroded high-resistance wiring and an outdated setup. I contemplated simply copying the old setup with new wiring, but decided it was worth starting from scratch with an all new purpose-designed loom.

What a learning experience!  I had to figure out how the old system worked, then look at how it's done in modern cars before deciding what I actually wanted. I mapped out a few initial concepts before starting to build it. Three portions of this original design have changed since then, until what I have is now 95% complete. The only old wiring i've used was the rear lighting loom which wasn't too bad, and I wasn't changing it anyway. Like the rest of the car, i've either sourced parts from different model vehicles or just used new parts altogether. The indicator/headlight switches are from an R31 Skyline, and the two fuseboxes are generic items available from most automotive stores.

I've just started drawing the actual wiring setup using SmartDraw, a program I found on the 'net. It seems okay for the job, but not as good as a dedicated electrical wiring program.  I'm about half-way through mapping everything out.

I'm still not sure if certain aspects of the design, like some the connectors, but i'll just have to wait and see.

18/7/2008 - A more recent mugshot

This is how it looks currently. It's been moved into a garage and has most of the major mechanical work done.

The gearbox is a 5-speed 'dogleg' from a Stanza SSS and needed a modified mounting bracket to fit. It didn't have a gearstick so I had to trawl the local scrap yard for a replacement, which fitted but wasn't reachable by the driver! After heating it up with a oxy-acytelene torch I was able to 'bend' it to suit. The original tailshaft went straight in. The front suspension is the usual Datsun 240k upgrade and was modified and rebuilt by an ex-suspension expert (can't remember his name!) Along with the larger front brakes from the 240k struts, the rear brakes have been upgraded from the stock drums to R31 Skyline rear discs (also a common upgrade). These needed a small amount of work to fit. I have yet to see how the different handbrake cables will work. A 120Y brake booster was also fitted to a larger re-sleeved master cylinder. Springs are standard front and rear to retain ride height (ground clearance is a must in dirt rally cars!) The rear shocks are just Koni 'reds' that came with the car. 

The interior was stripped and the rear boot sealed off from the passenger compartment by sheet metal. A CAMS approved (at least at the time!!!) bolt-in roll cage was fitted a while ago as well. Petrol is pumped by a new Carter electric fuel pump mounted under the car, and is quite noisy. Luckily the engine and exhaust drown this, and every other sound out  

The engine was bought a few years ago. It used to be in a 1600 wagon and was rebuilt and modified by a local performance shop. It runs okay, but needs to be bedded in and then tuned.

The alternator was taken from my old Bluebird (910) which has new internals and now puts out 80amps instead of the original 35-45. It'll need this while competing - the 4 spot lights I have for it will draw 25 amps by themselves!

11/7/2008 - Tear down and body work

This occured a few years ago when I first bought the car. 95% of all parts were taken off and the body work was repaired and rust removed. The old paint was then sanded back, in some spots back to primer where it had started cracking, and then coated with new primer. This was then sanded back and 4-5 coats of acrylic colour (Monza Red) were applied. Some colour 'wet' sanding was done on the body itself along with cutting/polishing, before re-assembling started.

11/7/2008 - The Beginning

This blog keeps track of the rebuilding of my 1972 Datsun 1600 as a rally car for competing in local motorsport. I bought it about 5 years ago and started tearing it apart within a week.