1973 Rebuild

[Yarb]

@SteveJ Have any input on this being a 260 owner?

[Matthew Abate]

The pump bracket is different here than what’s in my ‘73. This one has the side shield that guards everything from road debris coming off the right rear wheel. It also looks like it comes down a lot further (making space for a filter).

It’s possible mine has either the wrong pump bracket or the wrong gas tank, but I’d like to figure out a provision for a filter here if I can.

I’m a little surprised that the filter bracket in that photo is a press in clip rather than one that tightens with a screw.

Edited November 21, 2023 by Matthew Abate

[SteveJ]

My 73 was a retrofit. Unfortunately I can't remember if there was even a filter mount back by the fuel pump. I think the electric fuel pump is still mounted. I'll see if I can get a photo of the area while I'm off.

[Pat Carr]

My '73 has the dealer added electric fuel pump that has an internal filter. This is the only photo in my archives I could find. It shows the pump but not the bracket.

 

[Matthew Abate]

“We got to run on heavy, heavy fuel…”

The gas tank is in, the vapor tank is in, all the fuel lines are clamped down, the filler neck and cap are in, the pump and sending unit are wired up, and the system is closed from the hard lines back.

I got hung up because I forgot to refurbish the straps, so that knocked a day out while paint dried. I also never found the right filter bracket, so I picked up a shiny new one for a Suzuki outboard motor that holds the OEM Nissan filter perfectly.

The only things I’m a little unsure about are the straps being less tight than before because the stainless Z Car Garage hooks don’t tighten as far as the OEM ones, and not having rubber boots on the sending unit wires. The plastic connectors don’t cover the nail terminals as well as I expected so I may need to make them more weather proof.

No, I didn’t go with e85+ hoses. I struggled to find the right sizes in lengths shorter than 50 feet and got tired of holding up the project, so old school FTW. I did use modern stainless steel strap clamps, though, because I’ve read they provide a better seal than those OEM Nissan wire clamps.

All the braided hoses came from JBugs California Pacific and are metric. The 12mm hose was the only troublesome one because the metal tubes want something more like 13 to 15 mm, but the 5, 7, 9, and 17 were perfect. The vapor tank hose with the shepherd’s hook bend you can still buy is 12mm also, so I guess we just have to struggle with that.

So yeah, I can technically put gas in the car now. ⛽️

Edited November 26, 2023 by Matthew Abate

[Yarb]

Beautiful Work there friend!!

[dutchzcarguy]

Fantastic work indeed, I would only recommend to clean the lacquer under those screws because now you only have ground through the screw.. one day the screw gets rusty and problems will start. 

You clean the spot just under the contact lip and screw it on, then you put a little of lacquer over the screw. That's the best contact!

It looks very good but it's a bad connection this way..

Edited November 29, 2023 by dutchzcarguy

[HusseinHolland]

On 11/25/2023 at 8:56 PM, Matthew Abate said:

All the braided hoses came from JBugs California Pacific and are metric. The 12mm hose was the only troublesome one because the metal tubes want something more like 13 to 15 mm, but the 5, 7, 9, and 17 were perfect. The vapor tank hose with the shepherd’s hook bend you can still buy is 12mm also, so I guess we just have to struggle with that.

So yeah, I can technically put gas in the car now. ⛽️

Thanks for the clear detail pics here. I need to remove the gas tank in my 75 to fix the leak that occurs when the tank is full. I figure I may as well remove the vapor tank & do all the hoses, and/or delete it. I've read that Nissan used more than 2 sizes of hose for the lines to/from the tank & canister. Is that correct?

As an aside, I also find it odd that they came through the trunk floor with the hoses, instead of in the side well area. Not having dropped the tank, perhaps there is an obvious space limitation that required this routing? Just seems out of character with the overall design flow of the car's mechanical layout & construction. 

Did you pressure test or otherwise verify the cannister's integrity was solid? I've heard they can leak vapor. I do not have any fumes in the cabin that would suggest I have an issue in that regard.

Finally, what brand & thickness of sound matting did you use in the pics above? 

[Matthew Abate]

Working backwards, the insulation kit is from Collectors Auto Supply. I bought a box of Dynamat to augment the kit because I didn’t feel that it was quite enough, particularly the roof, which you have to completely cover so you don’t see lumps through the headliner.

No, I didn’t presssure test the vacuum tank. I did a thoughough visual inspection, which, granted, may not be adequate, but I’m trying to get the engine stated asap, so I’ll find out if it’s leaking long before the interior panels go in.

I decided to keep mine in the car after reading that the system allows vapors to expand and condense in a way that maintains a certain amount of pressure in the system so that two things happen: 1. The fuel stays in the front of the car when the car is nose up on an incline so there is no delay in it arriving at the carburetors when starting, and 2. You don’t get sprayed with gasoline when you open the gas cap, hence the valved cap.

The routing is pretty efficient. The only way they could have avoided it is not having a port on the left side of the car (skinny end of the tank). Also, the hoses have to route in a way that the vapor tank lines don’t have a low spot that causes fuel to pool in the hose. You’ll see what I mean when you do yours.

Yes, there are a lot of hose diameters. I don’t know if it’s true for the hoses, but I’ve read that the hard lines are designed to keep pressure consistent and correct for the size pumps and carburetors in the car, meaning the return is the smallest. The vapor tank is probably also optimized for flow, so big fat hoses.

The hose that is going to give you the most trouble is the hooked one that goes through the frame from the vapor tank to the top of the gas tank. It’s one or two millimeters too small.

If you get the same hoses I bought, you’ll need 5mm x 3ft, 7mm x 3ft, 9mm x 10ft, 12mm x 10ft, and 17mm x 10ft. I also bought 3 feet of the 3.5mm just in case I need it later. Yes it’s weird that they sell metric hose SAE lengths.

Edited November 29, 2023 by Matthew Abate

[Matthew Abate]

Well, I’m doing this now.

Once I had the stub axles in the diff felt really chunky and would occasionally lock up as I twisted them back and forth. I flushed it and couldn’t find any metal, but things never really improved.

Luckily (I guess) I have a duplicate Torsen carrier. It isn’t exhibiting the same issues so I’m swapping it in. Just waiting for some bits so I can finish this up.

[Patcon]

More details and pics, please

[Matthew Abate]

Culprit identified.

This must have happened when the axles went in. Clearly the “5-Pound Hammer” method promoted on the Subaru forums is ill advised. I’m going to have to split the carrier open to really make sure there are no more bits in there.

This is what I get for not using a press.

Edited December 2, 2023 by Matthew Abate