Another update.

Old water pipe was such a paaaaaaain to take off it was not even funny. I spent countless hours heating it with a torch, bashing it, turning it with every tool in my arsenal and finally got the damn thing out.

Next was the engine install.

First try - engine would not go in the engine bay with gearbox fitted to car. Check clutch alignment
Second try - repeat same problem
Third try - repeat same problem

Finally took the gearbox and driveshaft back out of the car. Slid the clutch disk on the splines by hand, works fine.
Thought it was the wrong throw-out bearing collar? Checked the tech wiki - nope
Checked the clutch disc cover from Exedy for clearance. Correct clearance.

Several weeks pass by.

Check the pilot bushing in the engine block. There was a metal burr in there preventing the engine from engaging the splines.

Go figure.

Engine finally in after several weeks of troubleshooting.

Over the past 9 months very little work has been done until recently since the warm weather has come back and now I am in self-quarantine at home from the virus.

Engine and transmission finally installed. Driveshaft and differential working. Rear brakes replaced.
Fuel tank installed. Float and wire for fuel gauge installed.
Fuel lines installed from tank to pump
Brake lines installed all around (for the 2nd time after I used wrong imperial fittings on everything)
Clutch cable installed
Accelerate cable installed
Speedometer cable installed
Engine bay wiring acquired from Australia and installed
Hood latch installed (such a PITA to get that in there when the factory radiator support was missing by previous owner)
N13 pulsar radiator mounts installed
N13 Radiator and aftermarket fan installed
Dash prepped
Parcel shelf repaired and prepped.

Updates coming soon!

For budgetary and time restrictions I have decided to put the turbo and accessories related to turbo on HOLD.
Therefore i decided to go back to a carburetored setup. Twin Dellorto DHLA 40. Purchased a manifold setup from Japan.
Before the pandemic I was able to get the following completed:

Radiator swap
Purchased modified and installed headers. The headers needed adjustment to clear the intake manifold and the left engine mount
Radiator hoses installed. I went with a metallic bendy hose setup and painted them copper to match my headers
Heater hoses installed.
Headers wrapped and painted with high temp coating
Radiator fan test fitted.
Decided to omit Engine Fan
Custom fuel filler started. The previous owner welded over the standard fuel door for that "shaved" look and I wanted to respect and maintain that. Rather than put the fuel filler on the inside of the tray or hide it somewhere else on the car, I decided to hide it in the door jamb. Yes it will make fumes. No I don't care. Make all the bad comments you want about it. This is the internet after-all.

Pictures:

Nice to see a great Quality build and thread still going strong.
dp

Thanks man, much appreciated!

Next order of business - seats.
Seats seats seats. I have been through 1,2,3,4? Sets of seats trying to get the right fit in my 1200 ute/sunny truck.

Nothing seems to work as well as stock seats and I cannot find stock seats in the USA unless people are junking them from their imported car which usually happens on the other side of the country and shipping is cost prohibitive. I could have brought seats back with me from Aus, but they wouldn't have fit in my carry-on LOL.

1st seats were stock USDM coupe seats which were way too thick
2nd seats were ebay cheapies which were too skinny
3rd seats were Sparco sprints. Didnt like the fit
4th seats were Porsche 914. Sit way too low and weren't that comfortable.

5th set of seats and what I am sticking with are a new product from Sickspeed. I really like them. They are obviously a copy of Bride seats but in a funny way I kind of like it because of that fact. The are Sickspeed Suzuka seats reclinable. They also come in a fixed back - which I was considering but in the good ole General Ree I had reclining seats and it was handy for storing stuff under and behind the seat such as jumper leads, etc...

So with the 5th set of seats come the 5th set of seat rails, custom made. I am getting good at it by the 5th time. Measure, cut, weld, prime, paint, assemble, curse when they dont fit. Resize, repeat.

Back in May 2020 I was able to get the dash installed. In this pandemic I was able to get lots of work done on the car being in self-isolation.

More pictures and updates to come.

Regarding the dash, I had years ago installed some LED lights and they are working great. I also highlighted the round gauge bezels with some gold.

I am not planning on using the radio for either a radio or CD player. I have some radio delete plates I custom 3D printed that I am going to install similar to what I did on my previous Project Avocado 1200 coupe.









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Very Fine Build! 👍

Thanks man!