Pm datsandy- see if after moving house he might be willing? Some of his home work been good.

OK guys, this project after sitting nowhere for 15 months, is finally now going somewhere.
It's at the shop and the exciting rebuild has begun.
We have decided to build it back exactly to stock.
Have removed the manifold from the spare motor and fitted to the existing motor in the car.
The A12A engine has been started and is in excellent condition. Fuel tank now reconditioned, radiator is at re conditioners now, fuel system currently being rebuilt.
Thermostat housing was RS, as was the entire brake system (except, ironically, the shoes - which are OK).
Have replaced all brake cylinders and master cylinder but having a bit of trouble getting the system bled out.
(it's the standard dual leading drums on the front)
Anyone out there got a few clues / short cuts for bleeding standard Datto brakes?

ZM

Pics Pics Pics

Yeh it's back home now, pics coming soon!! and a nice Youtube too, she sounding fantastic and runs soo well. The original motor is the best we've ever seen runs so quiet not a puff of smoke.

Word of comment on Chinese carbys: I've put on a new Chinese (Hitachi copy) carby on it, it works well but we had trouble getting the accelerator pump to work properly so we rejigged the pump from one of my older Hitachi carbys. It fits and now works perfectly. It was also necessary to increase the size of the main jet slightly as the carby was running a bit lean on the airmix ratio curve which is now perfect. Other than that the motor is stock with new water pump, thermostat & housing, all new hoses & rebuilt radiator, serviced fuel pump and new muffler. Ignition is original distributor with points running through a TAI (Transistor Assisted Ignition) unit which I built for the car back in the mid '90s which still works perfect. On the Dyno at the wheels it runs a nice 48hp, pretty much stock figures.

Brakes: All new cylinders, hoses, drums machined, were bleeding OK but for some reason the new brake master cylinder was too short, meaning that the pedal was nearly at the floor when the brakes came on. Fix for this was to jig an adjustable shaft so we could adjust the pedal height in relation to the cylinder. All works good now.. gotta get used to those non power assisted brakes again tho!

Next stage is the bodywork which should begin in about 1 month. In the meantime I'll be stripping the interior ready for trim.

I've decided (for the time being) to keep the car mechanically 100% Stock 1200. It runs so well in this config. It seems everyone else mods their 1200 for some reason. I've come across so many enthusiasts who really love this car and the fact that I've decided to keep it stock - seems just about everyone I meet has had a 1200 as their first car at some stage and they're eager to see this one stay that way because so many others are "non original". Perhaps we'll do the LPG thing in a few years' time.

What I need now is a left rear quarter panel. Does anyone know of anyone (overseas etc) making these aftermarket new? Otherwise looks like I'll be in the market for a 1200 Sedan shell with a good back and only front accident damage. We _can_ fix the one we've got but it's a hell of a lot of work and will probably never be as good as a new one or even one cut out of another car shell.

Looking forward to this one finished one day!

ZM

Photos!
1.) One thing that has not stayed stock.. we've replaced the old muffler with this little doggy to give a bit more breathing space. Nice sound, not too loud, 100% Datto.
2.) General view of engine bay. About the only thing not replaced was the Alternator (worked perfectly)and of course the motor itself.
3.) Close up of the new Chinese "Hitachi Copy" Carby.
4.) The TAI (Transistor Assisted Ignition) unit. This is an "Electronics Australia" kit design from the mid 1980s. The box was built up from whatever was in the junk box that day. The circuit retains the 100% stock dizzy and points but basically takes the load off the points meaning they basically last forever (i.e. the motor stays in tune even with mechanical points). It also provides dwell extension for a fatter spark, especially handy on those ice cold mornings.


Enjoy

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After another 8 months in development hell, its finally time for some more Datto. Photo shows front guard replaced and work done on front.


After many months trying to find a chop rear quarter, we finally gave up and had a go at repairing it from scratch. Here's the result. Still to do some shrinking. Also repaired some rust under the fuel filler and as usual on dattos, the runner.


Shot of the repair work from inside the boot.


Yeah.. I know. No Brakes. Unfortunately last week the "newly rebuilt" brakes failed. Seems to be a problem with the "new" master cylinder, haven't had too much chance yet to investigate.


Despite the temptation to get an aftermarket drivers' door, we've persevered with the repair of the existing one (after hearing quite a few horror stories on Datsun1200.com regarding aftermarket doors).
More photos soon..
ZM

Time for an update on this project. The body work has now been completed with a new coat of Empress Blue. Reassembly is now in progress.




After polishing up the old bumpers, I decided not to bother getting them re chromed. A new coat of black for the grille and touch up for the emblem has completed the look. The front wiring harness has also been replaced along with the battery wiring. It was decided to leave the Narva Driving lamps in place as these are in very good condition and ideal for rallying and forgotten country roads where this little beastie is likely to spend most of it's running life ahead.




The old indicator assemblies were rusty and have been replaced with a set of Thailand EBay copies. WARNING for anyone buying these. The lenses and back plate are fine but the lamp holders are CRAP! BOTH plates came with BOTH lamp holders BROKEN, the little washer intended to hold the pin had all but disintegrated.




The rear is also taking shape. Several coats of paint and bog means the boot now sits above it's natural position and is very tight on the aftermarket rubbers even with the lock set right up. A new set of smaller rubbers is on it's way to compensate. The rear bumper has come up very nice save a few small rust spots which will be touched up.




A close up of the "Chop shop" approach to fixing the cheapie EBay lights. This is a mod which I also carried out on the older one in the '90s and consists of 2x3w globes for the parker and a whopping 20w halogen burner for the indicator. No more of those dull boy datto blinkers.




Builders' plate still shows "SAUL" (code for Automatic transmission) but this datto was converted to Manual back in 1998.




The slightly wider bell for the Auto, now with the manual installed and a non original stick boot to cover the wider Auto opening.

The 4 speed gearbox in this datto has a long history with me. It is from my first 1200, purchased S/H in 1985. Then, it had approx 280k on the clock with the mile speedo having gone around three times since new. In the intervening time I had it in the first datto (1985-1997) it did another 160k before being swapped to this car when the original one met it's final fate. It then did another 20k before this 1200 was stored in 2000. So a total of approx 460k on this box now, much of it with heavy loads and (in the latter years) towing heavy trailers. The box has never been opened and still works perfectly. (Can't say the same for the numerous diff centres I went through in those years!)

Thanks to all who have helped with this restoration so far including the numerous members on this forum as well as Hi Comp Performance Engines (Minchinbury) and JBK smash repairs (Windsor) NSW.

The interior will now be temporarily restored enough to get the car NSW registered (fed up with moving it around on the trailer!) then the interior will be completely re trimmed.

The failed brakes: There's a story behind that.

When we changed the master cylinder, the new one was sufficiently different from the old such that we needed adjustment at the pedal to get the system to work properly. It seems this adjustment (despite being initially locked off) somehow came loose and steadily adjusted itself until the pedal met the floor.

The adjuster has now been reset and re designed to make slipping impossible.

ZM

Nice progress on this. Good you kept at it

Major milestone on this project tomorrow - Blue Slip Time!

ZM

Its blue enough isnt it