Saturday, July 23, 2011

4-Point Roll Bar - Nissan Factory Style


Fairlady at SMT for the roll bar fabrication

I had the 4-Point roll bar custom fabricated at SMT in Makati. They used schedule 40, 3mm thick iron tubing with an outer diameter of 45mm. They used 1/4 inch steel plating for the backing plates with held down by 3 bolts for each plate.



Clean welds for the seatbelt mounting brackets

Nice clean fabrication, which clears the soft top mechanism and hood. They also installed a cross beam for the 4-point seat belt mounts, which also acts as a strut to strengthen the rear end of the chassis and roll bar mounting points.

1/4 inch steel plating reinforced by another steel plating underneath, held together by 3 main bolts

Roll bar clears the soft top, good fit underneath


Roll bar is bolted to the factory roll bar mounting points on the body, which directly connects with the chassis underneath.



Still leaves a good room for luggage at the back even with the roll bar installed.

Very clean and precise fabrication work from SMT. And the owners were pleasant to talk to and share ideas with.





Paint was done by CarPath Paint Shop - a primer coat, 4 coats of black, and a clear coat after fine sanding the base coat. Then a whole lot of buffing with rubbing compound to polish the clear coat evenly. Good clean job.


Looks great after the paint job by CarPath. The black roll bar matches with the red paint of the Fairlady.

Cross beam acts as chassis stiffener and seat belt mounts. I even noticed an improvement in the ride after driving around after the roll bar was installed. And this places additional weight in the rear and plants the rear tires for better traction.


Roll bar probably weighs in at 15-20 lbs.

Rear roll bar mount on the left hand side of the chassis mounted with the plating and a bolt to the chassis member

Rear roll bar mount on the right hand side of the chassis

Definitely adds that cafe racer feel to the Fairlady. Functional and stylish at the same time.



Finally, a sweet Nissan Competition Style roll bar for the Fairlady.

Thursday, July 07, 2011

Maintenance and Vintage Race Preparation Update:


Valve Clearance setting for Intake and Exhaust (Hot) was set at 0.016 inch. Valve clearance was too tight before. After the adjustment, I noticed the engine had better "pick-up" or torque at the lower rev range than before. And also, the exhaust note and induction sound of the twin carburetors became more pronounced and raspy. It might be that the valves weren't closing fully because of the tight clearance of the rocker arms with the valve stems.

1. Replaced differential oil with Conoco 80W-90 synthetic blend (old oil looked like crud) - The differential whine was gone after replacing the oil.
2. Overhauled Right Front Dunlop-Sumitomo Mk II disc brake - new caliper kit from TCL (badly corroded cylinder)
3. Adjusted intake and exhaust valve clearance - 0.016 In. (it was too tight before the adjustment, the engine now has better throttle response)
4. Refitted the valve cover gasket (was leaking near the radiator filler neck) with high-temperature silicon gasket.
5. Lubricated the twinside Solex Mikuni PHH40 Type T butterfly shafts and throttle linkages.

6. Fitted a rubberized battery terminal cover for added safety.

7. Greased all suspension and steering fittings - 17 zerks in all at Shell.
8. Tightened all nuts, bolts, and screws.

9. Realigned the front anti-sway bar and refurbished the rubber bushings with Silicon high temperature spray.

10. Fitted new screws for the fuel level float sensor cover in the boot.

Rocker arms seems to be lubricating well. I also had to clean the valve cover gasket and head to fix the small oil leak. The mechanic accidentally placed the gasket the other way around so the cork wasn't sealing properly. Hopefully, not it'll be airtight.

An interesting number on the head "5527D."