Series IV into the light after 20 years

[javahog]

Hello everyone, I have been lurking for a few weeks in anticipation of bringing this IV home to start its resurection. I wasn't sure which forum to post to but since this alpine doesn't have an original engine I chose modified alpine. The engine is out of a 510 datsun and was running when it was parked in 1988, I'm thinking I'll just try to get it running and deal with the other mechanical and trim problems first. Apparently it has no brakes or they are so bad it wouldn't stop so thats where i'll start. Also I think it is a positive ground although I don't know for sure, what are the ways to tell? Would the datsun engine run with positive ground? Should I change it to negative ground? This is a daunting task I am undertaking and i'm sure this forum will be an invaluable source of info, just don't laugh too loudly at all my stupid questionsWe named our project "Clifford" because although its not that BIG its definately a RED DOG! I tried to upload a pic with this but its not working for some reason, i'll try again next time.

 

[Bill Blue]

The Datsun will run with a positive ground. To tell which you have, look at the battery. Which post, (+ or -) has a wire to the chassis? That determines the polarity of the system.

Bill

 

[mikephillips]

It's no surprise that the brakes are gone after sitting for a considerable time. You should redo the master, calipers and rear cylinders. I'd also suggest replacing the flex hoses as well. And do the same stuff for the clutch if it retains the master/slave setup.

I assume the 510 engine is not computer driven, so it should be able to run either positive or negative ground. However, if it has an electronic ignition that may be polarity sensitive, you'll have to check it to see. I would expect though that if it does it's probably meant to be negative ground.

Good luck with this and keep us all up to date as you work through it.

 

[javahog]

The battery was out of the car however the short cable to ground is red and the long one going elsewhere is black, that would make me assume a positive ground but what if someone changed the cable with any color they had? The brakes were bad and thats why they parked it.
trying to post the picture i keep getting an "internal error" please try again later message so i guess i will

 

[Bill Blue]

Does the engine have an alternator? If so, that about seals it as a negative ground. Don't pay any attention to the color of cables in a 40 year old car.

Bill

 

[javahog]

It looks like an alternator to me, I knew i shouldn't trust the color of the cable on a 40 year old car. I guess i'll just tear into it and see what i can find.

 

[sunbby]

Does the engine have an alternator? If so, that about seals it as a negative ground. Don't pay any attention to the color of cables in a 40 year old car.

Bill

It looks like an alternator to me, I knew i shouldn't trust the color of the cable on a 40 year old car. I guess i'll just tear into it and see what i can find.

Yes, be careful. My car is negative ground (Series V) and came with a short red ground cable to the chassis and a long black cable from the battery box to the starter solenoid. The red cable is connected to my battery - terminal and the black to the battery +.

Another clue would be your tachometer; it may say positive ground on the gauge face if it is the original tach. However, you then need to check if someone has converted that as well.

But as Bill said, an alternator pretty much guarantees negative ground.

 

[bbonner]

you have to shrink the picture with free software on the web. I had the same problem. just do a search for photo shrink and you download it .

 

[lgurley]

neg or pos

For some reason my SV was positive ground when I bought it. The red cable ran to the chassis etc. I converted it to negative ground but I left the cables alone because they were in good condition. So sometimes red means negative.

 

[javahog]

Thanks for the suggestions so far, I got the photo shrink so I'll try it now.