My name is Chris, and I am a Volvoholic....

Yes, I said Volvo.

So what am I doing in here? Well, I am a fan of many different cars as long as they aren't new. New cars lack character, personality and in many cases.... style. So we take an older car and make it what we want it to be. We make it our own.

I own Volvos. I have a 242 and a 745. The 242 is in the middle of a 302/T5 swap. The 745 is a stock 2.3 and is staying that way for a while since it is my daily driver. But I still haven't explained why I am here, have I?

I just got my new project car, a '76 Datsun B210. I plan on doing a driveline/suspension swap on it to improve power, performance, braking, handling and most importantly....fun. I have done a swap on one of these before, two in fact. First a 4.3 Chevy, which made it undriveable and later, a KA24DE which lacked engine wiring and a driveshaft to get it on the road, then someone offered me stupid money for the car and I sold it before I could drive it.
Now, I need suspension and brakes for the 'new' one, and I chose to look into Miata since the basic dimensions and engine layout are the same. Engine? Sorry to you Miata fans, but that will be Volvo.

So it is obvious that I am here for information and hopefully some parts, but don't think that because I don't own a Miata that I will not have anything to contribute. I have 23 years of experience working on cars. From tune ups and repairs to total frame off restorations, there is not much I haven't tried. Notice I didn't say 'done', if all of our plans worked every time, it wouldn't be fun anymore, would it?

Thanks-Chris

Scammer?

I know you from posts on TB. Almost bought your old smoothtop 245 from Brandon, and often wish I had.

Welcome. :chug:

Small world! Whatever happened to that old blue pos, I mean wagon? Detroiter on tb thinks he found it in a jy up north!

Not sure how you are going to get Miata suspension on a Datsun, or why you'd even want to. Maybe Finnish your 242 first. (yes, I know they are Swedish, but it was too easy.)

Lol. The 242 will be finished first, I am in the planning stages of the Datsun build now. I hope to have the 302 bolted in place in the Volvo in a week or so, as soon as I can the get the mounts all gusseted up and finished, so I am close.

As for your question of why use Miata suspension on a Datsun:

Datsun has soft springs that were built in the mid 70's, they have solid non-vented rotors and single piston no frills calipers, drum brakes in the rear and a steering gearbox with a drag link right in the middle of where the oil pan needs to go.

As for your question of how to get Miata suspension on the Datsun, you leave that part to me. I think outside the box. Parts are parts and with imagination and ingenuity, they fit together, and I don't mean with duct tape and zipties.

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Originally Posted by Rectilinear

New cars lack character, personality and in many cases.... style. So we take an older car and make it what we want it to be. We make it our own.

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Yeah, new cars have no style, heart or soul.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8468/8...aedc90eaf4.jpg
2012 Mazda Miata MX-5 by Michael Schaefer, on Flickr

To each their own man, that is a nice car, but it simply does nothing for me.

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Originally Posted by Rectilinear

To each their own man, that is a nice car, but it simply does nothing for me.

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Wishing you much success.

^^^Awesome, I just sold my copy to Half Price Books.

Look, I am not trying to step on any toes here. I love cars, and I understand that many different styles exist because people like differet things. Same with food, music, clothes, etc... If I say that I don't like the same thing you like, don't take offense, it is just our differing opinions.

If I post a pic of my Datsun here, most of you will say it was one of the ugliest cars ever built. It is...different...it has character. It's not for you, and that is okay with me.

Sorry, Chris -- William (black roadster) started what has become a long-running slap fight about "character" and "soul", so it's still a touchy subject 'round these parts. (See the "Alligator Hide" post/thread for the standard disclaimer on forum drama.)

You still got that photochop of the frywag (edit: the '80 245) somewhere? I feel like that belongs here but I can't find it.

Cool. So is the plan to use the whole subframe to transplant the miata rear end in place of the live axle, or are you just focusing on the front suspension?

Frywag? Ummm..... You mean my old beige 2 door?

Understood about the 'character' and 'soul' discussions. Again...different opinions and every one is right.

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Originally Posted by OZMDD

Cool. So is the plan to use the whole subframe to transplant the miata rear end in place of the live axle, or are you just focusing on the front suspension?

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Currently I am concentrating on the front crossmember (subframe) control arms, rack, struts, yatta-yatta.... Later, when this is accomplished, I will focus on the rear end as well.

Is there a section here for build threads? Can't seem to find much info....

probably best under "OTM tech"

There aren't a ton of builds, mostly people modding various miatas or doing FI work.

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Originally Posted by Rectilinear

^^^Awesome, I just sold my copy to Half Price Books.

Look, I am not trying to step on any toes here. I love cars, and I understand that many different styles exist because people like differet things. Same with food, music, clothes, etc... If I say that I don't like the same thing you like, don't take offense, it is just our differing opinions.

If I post a pic of my Datsun here, most of you will say it was one of the ugliest cars ever built. It is...different...it has character. It's not for you, and that is okay with me.

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I know you didn't mean anything by it, just pointing out that in your first post in a new forum ... you unintentionally took a shot a percentage of the members there. Imagine if I went on a Volvo forum and started off with ... "I'm really not a fan of Volvos, but hi anyways." LOL.

Anyways, welcome to the group. Looks like you've got a lot of wrenching knowledge and know-how. Hope to see you at one of the future wrenching events. I'll bring the beer. We can talk about the aesthetics and performance that define soul and perhaps find some common ground. ;)

Michael

Hey Micheal,

Well, I certainly did not mean to come off that way in my first post, to those who took it that way, I apologize.

I can't tell you what would happen if you went into our Volvo forum with that opening statement, as I would surely be banned here for saying it. Many people have left that forum due to some low flying attitudes and flaming, I am used to it, but do not intend to bring any of it here, so I do understand where you are coming from.

Thank you for the welcome and I hope to attend an event soon, some beer sounds good and so does some common ground!!

Welcome!

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Originally Posted by Rectilinear

If I post a pic of my Datsun here, most of you will say it was one of the ugliest cars ever built. It is...different...it has character. It's not for you, and that is okay with me.

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I actually entertained the idea of getting a '69-'71 datsun 510 but for the condition i prefer i could not get for the kind of money i was looking to spend and was also turned off by the lack off aftermarket support but still think they are really cool cars.;)

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Originally Posted by OZMDD

Cool. So is the plan to use the whole subframe to transplant the miata rear end in place of the live axle, or are you just focusing on the front suspension?

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i thought the 510 already has a IRS? or did datsun get comfortable with the success and change the recipe for success later...?

Well see that's just the thing, the 510 is a cool car and it did have irs. I am talking about a B210, which is ugly in many, many ways and had a live rear axle. I have a lot of work ahead of me on this thing, but no matter what I do to it, it will still likely be seen as the ugly duckling anyway...

Welcome aboard! Sounds like an interesting swap...

BTW, there's an old 242 running around near my neighborhood. It's not you, is it?

http://s2.postimage.org/xhxw8mk9l/Volvo_242.jpg

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Originally Posted by Rectilinear

Well see that's just the thing, the 510 is a cool car and it did have irs. I am talking about a B210, which is ugly in many, many ways and had a live rear axle. I have a lot of work ahead of me on this thing, but no matter what I do to it, it will still likely be seen as the ugly duckling anyway...

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Apparently i cannot read...my bad.

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Originally Posted by trickyrix

Welcome aboard! Sounds like an interesting swap...

BTW, there's an old 242 running around near my neighborhood. It's not you, is it?

http://s2.postimage.org/xhxw8mk9l/Volvo_242.jpg

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I think its pretty cool...i like different.

Put some ASTs on that sucker ... maybe a turbo ... and shazam, track car, lol.

That belongs to a good friend of mine, Decklan. We just boxed his trailing arms last weekend (well, he did) and put them in with poly bushings. He is waiting on his upper camber plates to come in and we already have the front boxed arms complete and ready to go in. That car is a becoming quite the beast! I still need to relocate his battery, too...

That's a great pic of it, he would like that! Notice the gas door that came off our old Lemons car...

Welcome!

Just ignore strathound - he's new to this forum, so he's still trying to prove himself worthy. ;)

My dad had a white B210 when I was growing up. Cool little car, built pretty good. I remember being in the backseat of it when a drunk driver rear ended us at a stoplight and pushed us all the way through the intersection. We all walked away with just bumps and bruises, but the pool ol' Datsun was towed away and totalled.

And I agree most new cars lack soul... but apparently so do S2000s and gingers, so I'm SOL anyway.

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Originally Posted by altiain

Just ignore strathound - he's new to this forum, so he's still trying to prove himself worthy. ;)

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Hey, my one year anniversary is coming up in a few days. I expect a nice gift. :)

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Originally Posted by altiain

Welcome!

Just ignore strathound - he's new to this forum, so he's still trying to prove himself worthy. ;)

My dad had a white B210 when I was growing up. Cool little car, built pretty good. I remember being in the backseat of it when a drunk driver rear ended us at a stoplight and pushed us all the way through the intersection. We all walked away with just bumps and bruises, but the pool ol' Datsun was towed away and totalled.

And I agree most new cars lack soul... but apparently so do S2000s and gingers, so I'm SOL anyway.

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strathound is posting in this thread? who knew!

We already decided your S2000 has soul... it set itself on fire.

And lest the new guy worry too much, I like Volvo's, and I got to drive my Miata for the first time in about a year today since my wife had the truck... I completely understand new cars not having soul. Step on all the toes you want. It's what keeps the ad dollars rolling in!

Signed,
Poor college student (on the 20 year plan)

My ex-wife drove an S40. Not a fan of Volvos, but that doesn't make them bad. They just remind me of her. And it drove like S compared to my Miata. ;)

Some of the later S40's are okay but their chassis mates C30 and V50 are much better to drive. I know what you mean though...my first wife had a red Cavalier and now every time I see one, I twitch a bit. My second wife, however had a 94 Chevy truck, and I took that in the divorce and left her with the cruddy Grand Am.... I would rather have kept the house but you know how that goes.

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Originally Posted by Rectilinear

Some of the later S40's are okay but their chassis mates C30 and V50 are much better to drive. I know what you mean though...my first wife had a red Cavalier and now every time I see one, I twitch a bit. My second wife, however had a 94 Chevy truck, and I took that in the divorce and left her with the cruddy Grand Am.... I would rather have kept the house but you know how that goes.

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Yeah, actually, now that I think about that car some more ... it wasn't really a bad driving car. But for the price, it was very so-so.

In our case, the car was a lease. That car had been through hell. It had so many chicken nuggets and french fries stuffed down in the back seats by the kids that I stopped digging them out. The result, as you can imagine, was a really odd odor, lol. Then it got worse. She backed over her daughter's cat, cutting it in half. In a panic, she tried to pick up the dying animal to take it to the vet. So she put this poor thing in the front seat. There was blood everywhere (and I mean everywhere). The heart of that poor cat was going 90 miles an hour, and the interior and exterior of the car showed it. Then, in the final coup-de-gras, she clipped a tree out at the lake and damaged one of the rear panels.

She turned in the vehicle, took my car and asked for a divorce. I got my car back in the settlement. I heard later that she got a nice bill from Volvo finance for the damages. It's the little things that brighten my day. :)

MS

What color is the B210? I had a turquoise one back in the day. I finally sold it only because I was tired of it after 128,000 miles. I saw it around for years.

This one is orange. There is a cool story with this one. The original owner let his wife drive it and she failed to have any maintenace done on it, this led to the engine starting to smoke a bit, then in the ice storm New Years 1981, she spun it around on a bridge wrecking it on all 4 corners. It was fixed, but the front end was not done the way the guy wanted it done, but he continued to swap the engine out anyway in a rented storage building. Not long after, he lost the contents of the storage building in a divorce, including the car and two engines. It was stored in the same building for 33 years until two weeks ago when the storage owner finally decided to sell it. Though the car has had a bit of bodywork done on it, it is completely rust free. The interior is a time capsule with only one crack on the dash and very little wear on the carpet. It has 48, 217 miles on it
I have made contact with the original owner and he is looking for the original title and keys for me. He is happy to see that it is still around but does not want it for himself.

Here it is:
http://www.dfwmiata.com/attachment.p...6&d=1359129131

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Originally Posted by strathound

In our case, the car was a lease. That car had been through hell. It had so many chicken nuggets and french fries stuffed down in the back seats by the kids that I stopped digging them out. The result, as you can imagine, was a really odd odor, lol. Then it got worse. She backed over her daughter's cat, cutting it in half. In a panic, she tried to pick up the dying animal to take it to the vet. So she put this poor thing in the front seat. There was blood everywhere (and I mean everywhere). The heart of that poor cat was going 90 miles an hour, and the interior and exterior of the car showed it.

MS

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Man, that's just nasty!

This is the 78 that I had before. I bought it in '95 and did considerable work on it. It was not finished yet but in this picture it had imported 120Y bumpers, Mas Tiede 15x7 wheels, a Chevy 4.3 v6/700r4, custom grille and an airdam I would love to get my hands on it again.... I miss this car!!

http://www.dfwmiata.com/attachment.p...7&d=1359129133

they do kinda have a face that only a mother could love but....i kinda like it so im kinda confused where that leaves me genetically:punchout: they sorta look like the 70's celicas.

The worst part is the tail light panel, that's why I changed them on the white car.

It's so ugly that I love it. This is what qualifies as character to me. I never said that character always had to be a good thing!!

actually the taillights is one of the first things i noticed and liked...mostly its the way the hatch is shaped...they could have put a little more effort into that and would have made a HUGE difference...IMO.