Seahawk 356 project:

[kaisen]

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?search=true&item_ID=68479&PartNo=TQR600C&group_id=958&supersede=&store=snapon-store&tool=all

They're $820 LIST PRICE from Snap On

Most Snap On trucks will sell them, cash, for ~$600
I called my buddy who's owns a Snap On franchise (he'll sell me one for $475)

If you meddling kids wouldn't have foiled my plans, I'd have a *sweet* Nissan/Datsun King Cab for $475. Curse you!!

[maxnine11]

Sorry Kaisen !!

I was typing my post while you were making the offer.

I will keep my eyes open for a "sweet" King Cab for you. (a non rust belt example)

max

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by maxnine11

Sorry Kaisen !!
I will keep my eyes open for a "sweet" King Cab for you. (a non rust belt example)

I've seen that King Cab with my own eyes. Only in So Cal would you find one like Denis' truck. Even the bare metal parts are rust free. I think he said it was originally a high desert truck.

Sorry to sidetrack the thread

[porsche4life]

We carry a Torque wrench like that in one of our trucks. Its beat all to hell and still works like a charm. I've run bolts up too ~400 with it. It takes all of my little ass on the end of that baby to find that much torque....

[speeder]

Yeah, well it still is an expensive torque wrench. Just not quite as much as I had guessed. And I won't be trading my truck for a wrench any time soon, thank you very much.

My 1983 Nissan King Cab 4x4 is from the Bishop/Mammoth Lakes area which ironically gets more snow than any place in North America. Double the amount of the Colorado Rockies. If you go on one of the snow-plowing forums, people routinely post pictures of drifts 15-20 ft. high.

But that's where it's from and it's dry as a bone. Go figure.

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by speeder

Yeah, well it still is an expensive torque wrench. Just not quite as much as I had guessed. And I won't be trading my truck for a wrench any time soon, thank you very much.

My 1983 Nissan King Cab 4x4 is from the Bishop/Mammoth Lakes area which ironically gets more snow than any place in North America. Double the amount of the Colorado Rockies. If you go on one of the snow-plowing forums, people routinely post pictures of drifts 15-20 ft. high.

But that's where it's from and it's dry as a bone. Go figure.

LOL, and I thought that I was the only scoping out Dennis' King Cab
Nice truck BTW...

[speeder]

Well then, since the thread has derailed anyways, here are some shots of my coveted King Cab 4x4. Nissan porn. It's pretty clean, definitely not restored, (I like it as-is), mechanically it's pretty amazing. There is a very long and somewhat interesting story behind my acquiring it, I knew that it was a rare item when I found it. Most of them have been properly beat to death long ago and/or modified for 16 y.o. taste.

I've mechanically gotten it to like-new, I actually have a new w/s washer tank and pump waiting @ the dealer as we type. It had the best compression-test numbers of any engine I've ever tested in my life, (@ 150k miles), EXACTLY 170 in all 4 cylinders. Not even a 1 pound difference.

It has working, ice-cold A/C and an Alpine stereo w/ ipod hook-up.

[speeder]

Hmmm, better tighten-down that shock absorber lock nut...

[Superman]

Originally Posted by speeder

Hmmm, better tighten-down that shock absorber lock nut...

That's the proper "race" position for that nut. If you do a lot of street driving, then sure......tighten it for that.

[speeder]

Of the slow progress on this car:

Engine has been finished for a while, just sitting on a cart until the various transaxle/suspension/miscellaneous stuff is done:



Can't remember if I posted this before but the torsion tube that holds the rear T-bars had some surface rust in it that was serious enough to require attention before putting it all back together. This is not the kind of thing that you can just "get to later", it would involve some pretty extensive disassembly of the rear suspension. Not to mention trusting someone else to properly prep it and seal it. It took me a while, (and several scrapped ideas), to decide on the correct course of action. The inside of the tube is dark and fairly inaccessible + filthy with old grease and dirt. The rust was not nearly fatal but needed to be stopped NOW, IMO, since the T-bars only come out once every 48 years for all I know.

The car in general is extremely dry, a rare find in (mostly) original condition. This is a *before* shot of the torsion tube:

[speeder]

Here is what I came up with. I was spending way too much time at Home Depot and OSH trying to find the right drill extension, etc., when it occurred to me that I could just have a piece of 1/2" rod welded to a small wire brush. (D'oh)...

Looks like this:




Between that tool and a rag w/ some lacquer thinner on it, (pushed through w/ special tool), I wound up here:



Then I used part of the same rod with a sponge weenie roller attached to it to coat the inside of the tube w/ red oxide rust inhibitor primer. I'm sure that the factory would have done this if they understood metallurgy in those days.

This is the same stuff that I used on the T-bars a few pages back, they were just starting to get pitted.






You can actually see a little chunk missing from the lip of bushing race in that last photo so this was done none-too-soon. It is all still solid, though.

[RWebb]

that's exactly what I'd have done with 2 minor exceptions - flex shaft tool for the brush & Rust Reducer before the primer

I'd put a top coat over the primer & then hose it all down with Waxol or similar - 3M makes something

you should be good for the rest of your lifetime ...

[speeder]

Next comes installing the T-bars w/ new rubber bushings. The old bushings were really shot, original(?)

Old bushings:



The new bushings got a coating of high-grade silicone grease, (non-melting/freezing), and in it all goes:



Regular dino grease on the T-bar splines:

[speeder]

Originally Posted by RWebb

that's exactly what I'd have done with 2 minor exceptions - flex shaft tool for the brush & Rust Reducer before the primer

I'd put a top coat over the primer & then hose it all down with Waxol or similar - 3M makes something

you should be good for the rest of your lifetime ...

Well, maybe you should come over and pitch-in.

The factory bare-metal finish lasted 48 years w/ minor corrosion in SoCal, it could have gone forever here as-is. The problem is that it's going to the east coast which is humid as the rain forest. The wire brush was easily maneuvered inside the tube and a flexible rod would not have allowed me to put pressure on specific parts of it as needed. It took quite while on each side before I was satisfied with the finish. The lacquer thinner did a good job cleaning the old grease out and prepping the metal. I think it's a good repair.

[speeder]

There are a LOT more pictures, (and words), but I need to run and will get back to this when time allows.

[Tyson Schmidt]

Nice work Denis! Gratifying, isn't it?

[speeder]

Originally Posted by Tyson Schmidt

Nice work Denis! Gratifying, isn't it?

Hey T, yes it is. The little bugger has a way of throwing a little obstacle into every operation but I guess that's just part of 356 resto work. I get to it when I can and need to wrap it up this week so it can move out of its current home.

Sure wish you were here to help and hang out!

[Tyson Schmidt]

Originally Posted by speeder

Hey T, yes it is. The little bugger has a way of throwing a little obstacle into every operation but I guess that's just part of 356 resto work. I get to it when I can and need to wrap it up this week so it can move out of its current home.

Sure wish you were here to help and hang out!

I might be there sooner than you think. Looking for a job in L.A. area. I can't take 6 month long winters any longer!

[speeder]

Well, my offer to make that introduction is a standing offer. I was just there the other day.

[Schumi]

My father used to have one of those Nissan King Cabs (in can't-catch-me-copper)...

That dual plug motor ate one side of spark plugs like mad. They were such a ***** to change all 8, that I think my father would just change the easier 4..