Have been off work for some time suffering a bad virus.
During my lucid moments I have endevoured not to waste my time feeling sorry for my self.
So I have been following up on a few ideas.
The company that makes our custom balljoints are happy to make other parts for us.
After a few calls to our engineer & the factory we are costing the following.

Steering arms (knuckles) that are shaped (Ie dropped) correctly to reduce bump steer,
ackerman angle, roll steer etc, and allow calipers to be mounted to the rear. 1600,180B.
Fully drop forged & tested.

Adjustable radius rods with custom ball pivot ( similar to a rack end joint)
But designed for the job & fully road compliant.
forged ends, fully adjustable via LH & RH threads, boot to cover ball end.

Fully adjustable LH & RH thread lower control arms,
Both ends fully forged, road & track versions.

we also have another 1600, 180B steering part being made now but will
wait till they are being shipped before I tell you.

So comments & discussion would be appreciated.
Also any suggestions for other parts. Our manufactures forged alloy as well.
They have full ISO certification and everything is fully tested.

Its been along time since we have had a good debate.

_________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
www.datsport.com

"R.I.P. Baz. 29 April 2022. Thank you for all your contributions to the Datsun community over the years. You will be missed." - OZDAT

New radius rods please!

That said, why not put your thinking cap on and design a simple rack and peanut bolt in? Surely it can't be that difficult?

Baz:

Adjustable radius rods please (spherical bearing, lots of adjustment etc).

Modified steering arms also sound great (I'll order my bump steer spacers from you soon).

Good quality adjustable control arms are another good idea. I've been using the same style (see my build thread) for approximately 15+ years. I build my own, however, I have no doubt if you produce a well built/engineered item like the rest of your products, people will buy them.

Some of the commercial items available currently, well, yuk!

p.s. Can I have another big Datsport sticker for my racecar please (to be finished by christmas 09 I hope), the other one went on my Wagon.

Cheers

Jason

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What would you attempt to do if you knew you couldnt fail?

13B N/A powered 1600 racecar build (Built, not bought) http://www.ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=12316

Munch Munch, L series pistons for lunch

A custom quick rack'n'pinion steering would be interesting. Similar to Escort quick racks, if possible. But as most things, comes down to cost at the end of the day.
Also interested in the Adjustable castor rods. But I've always been concerned about adjustable castor rods due to the bending stresses created by shortening it. Only real option around this is to go the full race option which means custom lower arms (though you could correct the ball joint angle at the same time) and probably makes it less desirable for the streeters.

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Happiness is watching the race.... in your rearview mirror

wish you made a rack in pinon steering rack for 1200's has im about to pay a shop 2g for it

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-----------------------------------------
datsun 1200 SR
Silvia s13 SR
XR8 tow car
stocko 1200 ute

I'd buy the steering arms for sure Baz

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1928 Model A CC Pickup

I know you already have your plans for the steering Baz, but I'd really like to see some replica nismo 2.5 turn L to L steering box internals flood the market. Not just for me of course , but the rally market should be sizable.

Other suggestions:

Short nose coversion (i am now officially a broken record)
Tubular A-arms to use with coilovers and allow wider tread (I'm sure Camo would love to work on this - I almost convinced him last time I saw him)
Custom adaptor flanges with BRE style cooling fins to adapt to a more generic & cheaper CV kit than what's currently on the market
Carbon (or hemp) fibre bonnet, boot and bumpers
Off-the-shelf tailshaft for generic CA/SR conversions
Alloy steering knuckles??
Alloy 4 or 5 stud hubs
Stronger stub axle

I could go on but I probably shouldn't.

Steering arms yes please also a quicker steering box would be like heaven on earth.

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Jason
1600 Historic Touring Car

Any better front end stuff that bolts up to a 200B.

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STEERING ARMS
ADJ-RADIUS RODS
ROAD - ADJ-LOWER ARMS
YES , YES and YES

STEERING BOX UPGRADE ??? less turns lock to lock

Prices please

I also agree with the above ^^^^

Adj LCAs and rods for sure!
Also as some mentioned above, short nose conversions or possibly re designed rear x member and A-arms.

if only we were able to adapt something simillar as to what is foudn on the rear os Zeds that would be half the battle.....

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"You stay classy OzDat"

Hi Baz and others,

Don't post much but have a great interest in the 1600's, so here is my 2 cents worth. Would like to see properly engineered and certified parts that:
a) overcome the weaknesses of the stock 1600 steering/suspension geometry
b) provide adjustability for street/competition setups.

Your suggestions for the front end are good, but a quick rack would be 1st prize if the installation can be simplified. Otherwise, gear set for the standard steering box (James B comments) makes more sense and installation is a swap out that doesn't require any fabrication.

Adjustable LCA's are great but I question their durability if rod ends or spherical bearings are involved. I backyard manufactured adjustable radius rods based on rack and pinion ball joints in the 80's - they worked a treat and were durable.

My main area of interest would be improvements to the rear end.
Reducing or controlling the #@%$ camber/toe dynamics would be great. Did you ever get to peek under the rear of the Nissan Bluebird Group C cars ? [can't find the link to pics of the rear end - anyone help ?]

Maybe strip the standard A Arm back to the boss that holds the stub axle bearings and whatever else should remain and then fabricate a plate that could be welded onto the boss. The plate could incorporate connection points for coilovers, rear brake calipers, A Arm to the outer pickup point on the standard crossmember and radius rods connections to a fabricated replacement diff housing like the Bluebirds had.

Apart from the fabricated plate welded to the stub axle boss the rest of the kit is a group of bolt on parts. Ajustability can be incorporated into the design without any drama.

Someone smarter than I would be able to model up the rear geometry on CAD and figure out the best setup.

Was that more than 2 cents worth ?

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Regards

Max.

Thanks for the replies guys.
Will answer in detail etc, shortly.

_________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
www.datsport.com

"R.I.P. Baz. 29 April 2022. Thank you for all your contributions to the Datsun community over the years. You will be missed." - OZDAT

Thanks once again for the feedback guys.
Lots of input there, but a bit much to cover at the moment, but we will discuss them.
Managed to get to work for a few hours today to meet with our engineer.
We discussed various versions of radius rods & lower controls arms. Plus a few others.
Good news is that LH&RH threaded LCAs can be done street legal.
He will certify & approve them.

to start the discussion off please restrict the discussion to the Radius rods first, if you dont mind.
Then the LCAs next.

Three versions we can do. As mentioned in my first post All versions will have joints like
steering rack ends & be RH & LH thread adjusters.

V1 Pro:
lowest cost of the three.
Requires no mods to fit.
Better pivot point than common "U" bracket & rose joint set up.
V1 con:
Pivot point slightly further back than std set up.
Effective length of rod shorter than std.
tho better than rose joint method.

V2 Pro:
Pivot point further foward than V1.
Effective length of rod longer than std.
V2 Con:
Slightly dearer than V1.
May require opening up of the hole in radius rod bracket.
Will require drilling of 4 x 8mm dia holes in radius rod bracket
for retaining ring.

V3 Pro:
Pivot point further in towards center of vehicle.
Much longer rod than std.
V3 con:
most expensive. possibly up to twice that of V1
Requires removal of existing radius rod bracket & replacing with
new complete bolt in radius rod bracket.

Ok can we pick these to pieces please.
let the debate begin.

_________________
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
www.datsport.com

"R.I.P. Baz. 29 April 2022. Thank you for all your contributions to the Datsun community over the years. You will be missed." - OZDAT

Well, for the sake of the argument, I'll assume the 1600 radius rod is the same geometry as a 180B one (pretty sure they are, without actually checking the two)

With my 180B SSS (using a 200B front end), the radius rod was well out of line with where I thought it should be (ie in line with the pivot point of the LCA). Luckily the 180B radius rod bracket bolts on anyway, so I have fabricated my own that lines the radius rod pivot point up with the LCA pivot point, and brings the radius rod mount as far forward as possible so that the radius rod is as long as possible (to reduce caster change through suspension travel). While I think of it - are these designed to go with your 200B front end, or with the standard front end ? If using stock 1600 front end, I suppose the misalignment you get with the 200B front end isn't as much of an issue.

So, I guess my preference would be for V3 as that's what I've come up with.

Another factor would be that there is already someone else in the adjustable radius rod market (T3), who do something that sounds similar to your V1. Perhaps moving upmarket may mean you won't be competing as directly with them ? Would depend on what yours will sell for compared to theirs, I guess.

Whicj brings up another factor, your anticipated prices overall - you say V3 may be double V1, if V1 is $150 and V3 $300, then V3 would be the go. If V1 is $500, maybe people wouldn't be as ready to fork over $1000 for V3 ??

Also most of your products are pretty much top shelf stuff - would V3 be a better fit in your product lineup ?

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1970 ex Group A Rally P510
1971 P510
1972 180B SSS
1965 SP310 Fairlady
1966 SP311 Fairlady