NickJ

Had a pretty bit scare and save with the Datsun a few months back, went for an extended cruise up to Arthur's Pass and had some weird handling issues, incredibly unpredictable bump steer which felt like a gust of wind picking the car up. even getting out multiple times didn't show anything wrong. The following weekend with the car on stands it was obvious, the inner control arm nut had fallen off, the only thing holding the bush/arm in place was the steering knuckle (which obscured it from view on the roadside) all time holy fuck, bullet dodged kinda moment! Searching through my collection of odds and ends I found a new nyloc but the washer has a tab to prevent spinning, quick CAD and sent to the waterjet This has left me wondering if the mystery wobble i've been chasing is related, I can confirm the handling has been far better since. With the car on form, we loaded up the convoy and headed to Datsun Nats in Cromwell, not many pics cos driving, but a bloody good weekend! Tomorrow's rust, today! Did get a few laps around Highlands, quality teaser to wish I had the money to do it in anger.

The Niva's replacement has settled in and proven it's worth, so unfortunately the rego is very much on hold and not looking like revival any time soon. The financial roller coaster of 2020 has had my finger hanging over the sell button, so far i've managed to hold off and I really hope thats all over with stability actually on the horizon. Lockdown feels like so long ago, like everyone else, with time on my hands I got stuck in with general maintenance and cutting out some rot, quite glad I got in when I did! This location behind the front wheels is a standard trap, there is a panel to flush the gunk out but, yeah, rust Over the winter the Defender was needed for another mission so with the aid of WOF extensions, I threw a month rego on and took the Niva for a spin up to work Was bloody good fun to have it on a skifield access road again and quite a fitting last trip. Right now there is no reason that it shouldn't pass a WOF so i'm quite happy to be putting it to bed in this condition, sleep well wee Niva, you shall hoon again!

I forget which resin combo you were on but some of the adhesive tech resins will show an increase in toughness after an elevated post cure. Can you not make the flange as a seperate plate and bond it to the runner?

How did you cut them, looks really neat? We do plenty of that kind of stuff with the waterjet cos its a pain most other ways

Give Shuk a go if your local Para can't help

Rimu dust.... Gives me terrible throat/eye irritation in small doses, mask is compulsory, partially why completion of our kitchen is dragging on!

Three people with gear is a bit much for the rear suspension and the Defender is much, much quieter!

With the Defender, who tows who home is tbc....

Took the Datsun for a WOF, tows really good, just unsettling that you can't really see it except in the reverse camera!

Had a bunch of Lada stuff sent down and amongst was a Fiat starter motor, little use to me (except I might steal the solenoid) effectively mirror of the Niva unit, any interest to ya?

Possible to clarify piston or slide? Could be very pertinent to us as piston boots are NLA for a vehicle we're about to re-reg

Did it die with honour? Hoping you were out on an adventure and not in the driveway?

Cos the Datsun is quite loud and unsocial for long trips I planned to tow it down to Datsun nats this coming Labour weekend. Upon finding the cost to rent a transporter and having the welder set up to glue some beams for a mate's house build, I spontaneously decided to build an A-frame. Bit of a cock up, the horizontal was meant to be at the kink, but that would strike the number plate, was also meant to be collapsable but I couldn't decide on the design so we'll call this v.0.1 Hopefully build the courage to hook it all up and go for a drive next week.

I drew all the designs up, was the result of needing a stock that fits my lankyness but everything is from america where all firearm designers must be under 5' with t-rex arms. Never got around to thumbhole designs cos they'd be best tackled with a 4th axis which we didn't have.

I will add that there is a bespoke market out there happy to drop a few k on a stock, but the input required is more than a side project job.

I looked into it in detail, end result was the NZ market is small and the expectations are cheap, cost price of machine + labour to finish was ~$5-600. To compete against imported that retailed cheaper than that I didn't have the motivation to deal with people. Should be able to dig out a nested pair for you easy.

Can send you some rifle stock models if you want a challenge

All about free shit, but fire is not one I want to fuck with, had a pretty bad experience due to expired extinguishers not working, best use is training/tape to skateboard and smash the valve off with a hammer.

Not really, careful with wetting out and even pressure on the peel ply compression leaves a quick rub with the long block back to flat. There are a few ripples that visibly disrupt the weave but thats only cosmetic and if I was worried, nothing a coat of paint won't hide!

Any fancy tricks for finding air leaks in the fuel system? If I leave my 300tdi for a couple of days the filter fills with air extending cranking time. I'm guessing there is a leak either in the injector pump or a hose along the way? I have so far replaced the spill lines as they looked suspect and there are no external signs of diesel leaking. Side note, priming the air out still doesn't make it start first pop, possibly a seal in the pump itself?

Tedious yes, but totally understand how mesmerising it is in person when you get a computer to do something useful! We found the hood visually got in the way when working on 3d stuff, eventually replacing the brushes with clear vinyl, even then you'd be pulling the suction hose off and manually cleaning up to check on cut quality etc. Keep throwing up the updates, keen to see what you'll get it carving!

Fold down the front windscreen and you'll near be able to drive through.....

I'll be listening in

Oh man, i've thrown so much cash at the truck in the last month, seals/bushes/fluids its more than ready for an actual adventure, not towing the Datto down to Cromwell, but thats the bed i've made myself.

Oh yeah FOMO is real, you better not ruin all the tracks, we'll have reefton mk2