New Project: 1982 Datsun 210

[JasonGW]

Update June 24th, 2011: Most recent month's worth of work posted below!

So tomorrow morning, Christmas Eve, I'll be launching my first and hopefully last complete restoration project. The car was my very first--a 1982 Datsun 210 2 door coupe (though the registration claims Sedan, I'm calling shens :P) with a 5 speed. I may need some advice and/or direction on finding some parts :). I'll post starting pictures tomorrow.

 

The story is this: 11 years ago, I was still driving this car even though it was beat up and primer gray. Then a clogged filter in the air cleaner canister caused a hose to burst, spraying hot exhaust against the firewall, melting the wiring harness. No bueno. In any case, it's been sitting ever since. At the time it passed away, it had 349,000 miles on it, still with the original timing chain. No, it did not run well--but it ran.

 

A couple of years ago I found a brand new rebuilt engine for it on ebay--for $75. So I bought it and socked it away. Then last year I bought an old 4 door that had been sitting in an old lady's garage for 17 years untouched, since her husband died, and I bought that too, thinking I'd use it as a donor car in some future time. Now is that time. the donor car has been running for a year, lent to a friend who bought a piece of shit Kia that died after 65,000 miles (timing belt broke, engine destroyed itself). The donor car has been OK after about $1,000 worth of work, much of which entailed rebuilding a "New old stock" carburetor I bought for $50 (still sealed in the original box, but of course all the rubber had rotted out).

 

My plan right now is this:

 

1. Gut the interior and exterior so the body work and paint can be done easily.

2. rip out the wiring harness and replace it with an aftermarket unit from www.ezwiring.com

3. Paint the new engine with high temperature paint, white (in hopes I'll be able to easily identify oil leaks some years down the road). Fully assemble the engine using new parts (already have almost everything).

4. Have the body tidy'd up a bit (has some dings here and there, as well as a little rust damage)

5. New paint, metal flake red, assuming I can find a place that does the color, of course. May have to settle for just plain metallic red :)

6. New wheels and tires. Probably gonna stick to 13" wheels, but probably wider than stock. I'm not sure what'll fit, though.

7. Get the windows tinted while they're out of the car so they do a good job.

8. Interior shop for a complete rebuild of the interior. I'm thinking somewhat simple, but nicer than stock. Nice sound system with bluetooth and a decent sub.

9. Some sound proofing material installed. No idea where to start on this one though. Quieter ride than stock is a must, though.

10. New shocks and struts (got a complete set of Monroe Sensatrac's off eBay for $80 shipped!) but leaving the springs standard. Except rears, where I added some heavier load carrying springs and had the shock towers reinforced years ago.

11. New style headlights. Already bought the housings and HID bulbs, drop-in replacements for the old H6054's for $36 shipped off ebay!

12. Custom built tail lights. All marker and tail lights will be converted to LED.

13. I'm thinking about getting some of the engine parts powder coated, particularly the valve cover, air cleaner canister, maybe some brackets. Maybe the bumpers, I dunno.

14. Last but not least, swap over all the stuff I want to add to the 2 door from the donor car, which mostly amounts to trunk lid and valances (before the body and paint, obviously :), and of course the Air Conditioning system, which the 2 door never had.

 

I do have some questions I'd like to ask, in the hopes you fine folks might have some prior experience with such a project.

 

Questions:

1. Sound Proofing: what's an effective way to quiet the cabin? I've seen sprays and foams, but what works and is cost effective, without adding a ton of weight? I don't mind adding 50 pounds or so, but obviously "less is more."

2. Where can I get a windshield? Mine is cracked all the way across on the 2 door, and full of bubbles on the donor car.

3. Anybody know what powder coating costs, generally? :)

4. Any recommendations would be welcome, thank you!

 

I look forward to posting pictures all along the journey from primer gray old bucket, down to husk, then back up to sexy new car :)

 

Jason

3.

[Dave7]

Welcome to Ratsun!

 

That is a lot of miles on a 210! How is the body on it? If its rusty might be worth seeking out another example to enjoy. Sounds like your car needs everything which is ok as long you accept the costs and work involved.

 

Windshields can be a real pain on older cars - might want to source that before getting in deeper.

 

Looking forward to pictures.

 

Wheels can be sourced from rwd Corolla, Celicas, MGBs, etc

[JasonGW]

Thanks. I've got a stack of pics, just need to get them cropped and uploaded.

 

Question about wheels: I know the bolt pattern is 4x4.5" (114.3mm,) so should any wheel do that fits those dimensions? I've found a nice set at America's Tire for fairly inexpensive, thinking I'd go with 15" wheels and low profile tires. Think that'll be a problem? Here's the wheels I have my eye on: http://www.americastire.com/dtcs/findWheelDetail.do?bp=4-114.3*4-4.5*4/5-114&tc=MBMDRI&c=1&rcz=92867&pc=73209&wd=15&rw=&rc=CAOINT

 

As for rust, there really isn't much. A bit of rusted out in the trunk spare tire well and at the bottoms of the doors, but that's about it except for the driver's side fender, which I plan to replace anyway. I've got a passenger side brand new headlight ring, but haven't had much luck finding the driver side yet.

 

Any links to places I might source a windshield? :)

 

Thanks!

 

Jason

 

 

 

[ggzilla]

Congrats.

 

The 210 came in two 2-dr styles:

* 2-dr Coupe (fastback with hatch)

* 2-dr Sedan (notchback with trunk)

 

There are still some of these in junkyards, especially up here in Seattle.

[JasonGW]

OK, here we go: Pre-disassembly:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JasonGW]

And later that day...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JasonGW]

So as you can see, there's a little rust here and there (most notably on the driver side fender, which is going to be replaced) but not *too* terrible. We got the innards out pretty easily (and documented the shit out of it with pics) and I think I've made a decision: I don't think I'm gonna put a back seat back in. I've not completely decided, but I'm considering just building in a nice, covered shelf for toting groceries or whatever where the back seat used to be. Although I had my fair share of girlies in that back seat as a kid, so it's kinda sad, but then, maybe it's time to move it along forward :)

[datsunfreak]

a 1982 Datsun 210 2 door coupe (though the registration claims Sedan, I'm calling shens

 

FYI, that is a sedan. :P

 

A "Coupe" looks like this:

 

[JasonGW]

FYI, that is a sedan. :P

 

A "Coupe" looks like this:

 

 

Technically, I realize this. However, I tend to think of 2 Door=Coupe :).

[JasonGW]

Making some decent progress!

 

First: Engine Out (several weeks ago)

 

 

 

This, folks, is an engine with 349,000 original miles on it. It's still wearing the original timing chain!

 

 

Next: Engine Compartment cleaned, cleared, prepped and primered:

 

 

And then: Engine Compartment painted up all purdy:

 

 

 

From Another Angle:

 

 

And this is the new engine going in. Never even had oil in her (remanufactured by Nissan, painted by a buddy):

 

 

 

Another Angle:

 

 

And another. Yes, I'm proud of how this is coming together, though there's a long way to go :)

 

 

Little by little it's all coming together. After the body was finally gutted (and I mean it is EMPTY) I spent a good 2 hours power blasting it with a ridiculously high pressure sprayer (cut the shit out of my finger, too. With freaking WATER!) so the body is pretty clean inside and out, top to bottom at this point. Lots of prep now!

[Master-O-Turbonics]

Love the project!

[ggzilla]

Congrats, that 2-dr sedan looks like it has a lot of potential.

 

And a reman engine, nice

[flatcat19]

Very nice.

 

I'd give my left 2 lug nuts for a 210 2dr. sedan.

[Siqx20]

So much win!

[2doorTurd]

Nice! Get it on the road asap! More OICs!

[JasonGW]

Nice! Get it on the road asap! More OICs!

 

I'll have more pics in a few days. Just bought new struts (apparently, the new ones are cartridge type compared to the stock ones I'm told have oil in them, so it should be an interesting exchange :P) and ordered new rotors and calipers, so she's coming along. Never as fast as I wish, but whatcha gonna do? A body only has so much time and money, LOL.

[ggzilla]

The new struts are exactly the same as the originals. But if you mean the shock absorber, those were built into the original struts and since 1980 or so Nissan have been providing "insert cartridges" for service.

 

Strut

 

Strut shock inserts (Nissan calls it "Front Shock Absorber Cartridge")

 

 

The white-painted block looks nice. Wonder how it will hold up to dirt and grease. I imagine if you spot-spray it with ether after every drive it will stay nice.

[JasonGW]

The new struts are exactly the same as the originals. But if you mean the shock absorber, those were built into the original struts and since 1980 or so Nissan have been providing "insert cartridges" for service.

 

Strut

 

Strut shock inserts (Nissan calls it "Front Shock Absorber Cartridge")

 

 

The white-painted block looks nice. Wonder how it will hold up to dirt and grease. I imagine if you spot-spray it with ether after every drive it will stay nice.

 

 

I may do that. The rationale behind the white is actually that I hope to be able to more easily spot any leaks and fix them before they get bad :)

 

Oh and thanks for the info on the struts! So once my new spring compressor arrives, I should be able to simply pop out the existing cartridges and drop the new ones in, reassemble and call it good?

[ggzilla]

Yep, or more likely pop out the piston, gland and oil, and put the cartridges in. Lots of 210s still have the original strut-guts.

 

If yours still have them, take some photos of the old parts for us!

[2doorTurd]

Not to hijack, but if you want some extra cash, you could sell me some parts off your donor car, or this one if you wish....

 

Looking good so far, keep it up!

[Izzy]

Hi, what engine is this? it looks beautiful.

 

Israel.

[JasonGW]

Well, better late than never on the reply, right? Car still isn't finished, but it's a lot further along now. I got sidetracked because I got admitted to the UCLA school of film, and man oh man has that devoured my life :P. But that said, as I'm entering my final year at school, I finally have some time to work on it a little. I'll get really into it starting in August, but for the time being, it's a day here and there when I have the time.

 

The body is totally finished and ready for paint, and I found a place to get a windshield, installed, for $177! I'm waiting on that until after paint, though. I've removed 100% of the interior at this point, just need to get more time to put her together (and more money for paint :P)

[JasonGW]

Started putting the new suspension on today. So far so good. Talked to a guy about paint today, too. I'm thinking metallic candy apple red, but I'm torn. Thoughts?

[JasonGW]

Hi, what engine is this? it looks beautiful.

 

Israel.

It's an A-14!