A word to my online friends - ALWAYS wear safety glasses for eye protection while using a wire wheel. I have seen some very sharp wires get thrown off those wheels. I can easily picture one headed right for my eye.

Glad this one didn't come out worse.

Edited July 7, 20204 yr by Pilgrim

I got all the stuff back from the sand blasters, now it feels like I'm making some progress.

 

Just some of the 510 parts I've finished off since my last post, I cut the spring perches off the front struts and will lower them with split collars to help lower the front of the car. Just like the 240z 510's dashes love to crack so made the repair as stylish as possible but we all know what it is hiding. Very happy to find that the whole range of weather strips have been reproduced and are available.

 

Edited August 9, 20204 yr by grannyknot

Beautiful work Chris!

The 510 made the big move today from the storage tent to the shop, hoping to have her road worthy for next spring.

 

 

 

OMG. Another canadian with a hobby tractor. Now the snow chains and the picture will be complete.  

Chris, The 500 is starting to come back to life in your caring hands. The parts are looking great.How is the body for rust? It looks good in the foto's, but we all know what happens when you start digging around. 

Tractors rule!

Hey Chas,  I don't think the rust is too bad, I'll know more once I get it up on the rotisserie, the worst of it is the panel repairs done by previous owners.  The shape of the rear quarter wheel lip looks like it was guessed at so will have to dig through the putty to find out what's under there first.   Fortunately there is a very good body panel manufacturer the next province over that seems to be the only one making 510 rear quarters for 2 door coupes and the price is reasonable.  http://www.alfaparts.net/dat510.html

They make panels for a lot of older cars, http://www.alfaparts.net/

 

Edited September 5, 20204 yr by grannyknot

Nice progress!

Looking at your previous pics... Do you have any idea if the 510 and Z's used the same basic front strut assemblies? They look pretty similar. The 510 doesn't have the tab for the flexible brake line, but other than that? Do you know if they shared the same springs?

There are a lot similarities but I'm not sure if any of it is interchangeable, perhaps the steering knuckles. The LCA's are the same but have a welded on stop/limiter for the steering.  The ZX front struts are a bolt-on swap and popular because of the larger brake calipers. @zKars is the real guy to ask, I'm just a newbie 510er.

I think the rear half shafts are the same as the Z, and working with the R160 is a treat compared to the R200, r160 is about 30lbs.  It's a nice car to work with, everything is light and easily accessible.  Once all the fasteners are off the front fender comes off with one hand.

I removed the front springs so I could raise and lower the car to try out the stance I want, the first pic is where I would like it to end up but that gives me 1.25" of shock travel with no bump stop!  So I think I will have to section the front strut, remove 2" pipe and find a smaller shock to replace the stock one.

The split collar works great as I can lower the spring perch to just above the tire for the most adjust-ability.

 

Thanks for the help.  I was just wondering about the front struts because I saw a pair for sale on craigslist not far from me.

I'm suppose to get my 2 rear quarters tomorrow, I'm pumped, we also have a bit of a snow storm coming in so who knows.

I have been splicing the 510 and 240sx wiring harnesses together for a while now, I'm going to try and get the entire wiring system working properly first before I tear it down for body work.  I made the top of the rad support removable which is a big help pulling and installing the engine/trans.  The drive shaft came back from the shop last week after being shortened so that's the entire drive line working now.

Also found a LSD R160 diff in the right ratio. The stick shift now sits a little farther back than stock which actually puts it in a more comfortable position for the driver.  Still have to work the trans tunnel cover some more but the basic shape is there, with the sound deadener, insulation a carpet over top of it, it should look pretty smooth.