Slowly Making Improvements to my '69 Patrol

[alber garage]

After a lot of trial and error trying to find an intake leak, I finally solved it by using a Remflex gasket. I doubt they make a P40 gasket but they do make custom gaskets if you provide a template. Awesome, thick, graphite gaskets.

It finally idles and runs well and the throttle response is pretty solid.

Details on the setup:
Chevy 292
Holley 4160 390 CFM Carb with electric choke
Offenhauser Intake

[RiverPatrol]

Great! now take it out and play with it!

[alber garage]

Got the patrol back from some bodywork and paint. It looks really good from 20 feet away. A lot of small dents and imperfections but this is going to be a driver so I am beyond happy with the results.

I had a huge scare when I had a brake cylinder blow out while I was driving and it even caused a small fender bender. I went crazy and ordered all new brake cylinders and shoes from Australia so I can have a little bit of peace of mind. I replaced the bad cylinder and I'll be doing the rest of the brakes this weekend.

All in all the patrol is coming along nicely and I'm really happy with the progress so far.

[Esteban]

The Patrol looks awesome. Congratulations.

Glad that nothing major happened with the brakes.

Good luck on your brake job. Take some pictures.

[moore_rb]

Love the color...

" It looks really good from 20 feet away. " Hahahah - mind if I borrow that line for my Ebay ad someday when I go to sell my green one? It is also a "Good from far, but far from good" bodywork candidate

[RiverPatrol]

Hey, for a daily driver , it looks great to me. It's got a shine, which is more than most can say.

Yeah, scary situation with the brakes. Hope the fender bender didn't create issues. That right there is why I never drive a Patrol until I have checked all or replaced all of the wheel cylinders. Glad it wasn't any worse for you.

[Coyote Patrol]

The Patrol look awesome!

[alber garage]

After my little scare of a brake failure I decided to be extra safe and do all new wheel cylinders and shoes.











I'm so glad I got these bolts to help remove the drums - so much easier.




With the new brakes I had the confidence to drive the patrol down to Datsun Driving Canby Fun 2014. My wife Jessica drove the 510 with my new son and I drove the patrol.


Here is Jessica and Ben standing next to the patrol at Canby.


There are plenty of improvements left to do to the patrol but I guess it was still good enough to take 2nd place in the "Other Datsun" class.



While at Canby I met an upholsterer so I'm having him redo the jumpseat first and if it turns out nice I will do the front seats and door panels. On the drive back I realized that the clutch is pretty toast so I will be doing that along with repairing bent drag link.

[RiverPatrol]

Congratulations on the award at Canby! That's awesome!

Your Patrol really does look great in the pictures.

You and your wife are obviously die hard Datsun fanatics. Ben appears to be an infant? And the wife had no problem bringing him along, and driving her own vehicle. She probably didn't want Ben in the Patrols with it's history of diverting from the paved path.

What was done to the drum to make it easier to remove? Drill and tap a couple of holes to run bolts through to push the drum out? Being in the same level as the axle stud holes, I would be afraid of messing with the integrity of the drum.

The brakes look great, too!

[miksum56]

Leslie in owning many 60's Datsuns I noticed most had 2 opposed threaded holes for easy removal. When replacing one with a new drum I seem to recall they were not tapped.