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Say hello to Phuglee my "new" 710 Wagon! (Lots 'o Pics)


O.D.D.

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My Datsun family has a new addition, and given its nature I figured it was time to become a Ratsun contributor… as my 510 has been a daily driver and weekend racer for almost 6 years now, the time has come to retire it, and risk something 1/10th the value to traffic accidents and other drivers…

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Enter “Phuglee” a 1977 710 “Estate”wagon. This curb warmer popped up on my local CL, I had been searching for a motorcycle or car that could take the abuse of starting @ 3:30 am 5 days a week anyhow… how could I pass up a “running” (more on that later) Datsun in need of a home?

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YES - THOSE ARE FISH...lol

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Got it home, changed all the fluids (including rear diff that may have been original…came out like BBQ sauce) Now I have a nicely running, albeit totally gutless, little embarrassment of a driver to park where I please and disturb my fellow drivers with… and that is where this story SHOULD end… but sadly I had to start poking the thing and watching the ample rust fall away in chunks… and I decided I HAD to paint the roof which was almost completely bare…

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After the Quick afternoon rattlecan job… I decided the trim needed to come off. Ya know, clean up the busy bodylines a little, get rid of cheap tarnished bits I have no intention of polising… this is when things probably started getting a little out of hand… I knew there was rust, I knew it was bad, but this car has ass cancer like a senior who refuses to see the proctologist…

Anyone that has actually seen a 710 wagon up close can relate to the pathetic attempt at wood paneling on the rear that consists of a piece of sheet metal wrapped in vinyl wood covering. Heres a great idea, (its the late 70s think disco and FUNK)... we like overly swoopy bodywork, NOW lets add some straight trim on a curvy car and muff up the already odd bodylines, then lets take 2 pieces of "pre- rust prevention" metal, and sandwich them together where debris and moisture are sure to collect and see what happens....

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All that sh*t out of one little hole... (inadvertent toilet humor)

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Well now, doesnt that just make ya wanna puke? (kinda like after a long night of disco fever..or rockin' in the KISS army...either way)

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The man with the evil little grin is actually my really awesome friend Derek, who owns a SR-20 det converted 240z making 300crank hp with the help of a little h2ometh. Yes, he did it himself. I have his L24 and a spare tranny if anyone is interested. Motor was running nicely when he took it out, intake and carbs already gone, Complete Peanut head never touched and intact....let your z drivin' buddies know - i sell cheap.

Anyhow, I am about to get my first lesson in welding, despite this being my 5th car over 35 years old. (the orange paint on the 510 is ORIGINAL)

Let The Hole Filling Begin! (Uh Huhhuh..uh huhhuh... .. hole) [(toilet humor again)]
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I did these ones, not gonna let anyone see what they looked like before grinding tho...lol

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Here is the car as it sat yesterday AM. As you can imagine I am getting a load of heckling from friends and disgusted looks from attractive women (great GF already so fuk em) Across the street i have a complex of senior housing, so you can imagine their displeasure at not only the sight of it, but the constant grinding and sanding they get to listen to. Really, they should be grateful, I was starting the 510 at 4am and warming it up before leaving. That car can be heard from the freeway, this one just LOOKS loud.

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She runs great, starts first turn of the key. Dead Spot in the pedal when she's cold and of course it takes lots of gas and a slow clutch to get all supposed 107hp to pull the car up a slope from a stop. Motor has between 80 and 120 psi compression and less than a 7.5% leak down so rings are old but holding acceptably for a LOW compression motor. My 510 is running a hopped up L20b so I am glad to have an un molested backup block waiting in the wings. I already have a complete L16 that can be dropped if i find the desire to have the L20b out. (not to mention the 2 - L18's waiting to be projects)

I am a L motor guy at heart, but this is a SMOGged out '77 - and I have a cracked flange on the exhaust manifold already (anyone want to donate one???) I need to come across another Air injection smog manifold by may 2014, and may have to pull the entire intake and exhaust and use SU's and a pickup header I have if the leak gets any worse.

I'm sure the swappers out there are already itching to tell me to Give it a KA or something. I would never consider swapping my 510. HOWEVER - this is a worthless wagon stuck in the smog years, and Its L motor has been enslaved by smog pumps and EGR. I would LOVE to give a stock KA or larger motor a go, but money is tight, and I bought this to spend the big bucks on the 510, got it??? In a dream world I could see beefing this wagon up enough to be a tow vehicle for a trailered track car.... which means it has to have something stout. (plus brakes, shocks, springs, leafs, and a different rear axle...)

Driving her is comical, Especially in light of the level of performance my (or any) 510 is capable of without even sweating. i expected the car to be slow, but once she's rollin' on the freeway 70mph is the sweet spot, I suspect that the dif is a 3.70 from an automatic because the Speedo is slow, the Gearing seems overly wide, and it cruises higher speeds at lower RPM than I expected. When i changed the gear oil there were Parts yard marks on the rear axle so I wouldnt be surprised... rear hatch isnt original either.

I hope to have the budget bodywork completed in a week or 2 and would like to get it painted soon after. Assuming this post and its pics make it up successfully, I will post more as work gets completed.

I would LOVE to hear ideas on colors and schemes etc, so far I have gotten ...

Ghostbusters (white and red with vinyl logo)
San Jose Sharks (grey and dark teal with teeth)
ManWagon (olive with black trim and diamond plate bumpers)
speedRacer (cuz its frikkn slower than my 68 vw bus was)

Paint budget is an issue so single colors for body are helpful,,,( all w/ black trim and grill)

White
Powder Blue
Short Bus Yellow

Thanks for the interest, lemme know your thoughts... Cheers!

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Thanks Adam! Turns out I am getting a 710 coupe in similar/worse condition to use as a parts car - or perhaps a 2nd disaster project. Who knows? (itsa 75 so no smog, but equipped with an Auto trns..gag)

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All L20B 710s, auto or standard, after '74 used the same 3.70 rear end. I suppose a much later HL510 rear diff could have been swapped in. Without a tach it's really hard to say.

 

My goon clock stopped at 4:20 also!!! This is the second '77 goon thread I've posted in today.

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Siqx- Thanx - long way to go and no map. lol

 

Chopper - Krinkle top. lol. a friend mentioned "radio flyer" aka make it a little red wagon with white work...still a long way from paint so keep em comin...

 

Chopper / Bonvo - I agree the Coupe would be cool for certain, but its a LOT more work... you have to see the thing, there is a reason i am getting it as a FREEBIE (score!) I need some practice @ this sh*t. The worthless wagon makes a good sacrificial lamb to the gods of low budget bodywork.

The wagon is running, the Coupe is not. I need a practical poo-poo car to throw parts in - wagon is, coupe is not.

...Coupe has a more evil future planned... (lipo, aluminum, plexiglass, flares, scoop...stay tuned.)

 

Mike - ALL 3.70's? bummer. (And good Eye! - funny how those clocks tend to die @ that time)

 

Ok, thats done, now here are more Pics...

 

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Its gone Faaaaarr beyond bondo baby...

 

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Almost ready to glom it on....

 

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Nice and Thick...wont sanding this be fun?

 

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Filled a hole the size of 2 quarters side by side nicely...

 

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Bodylines are a bit obscured at this point....

 

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Antenna Deleted...

 

Enough for a night, tomorrow I will sand this down and begin the other side, the rear hatch is a project unto itself.

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710 drag coupe???

 

Chopper - not Exactly but close. I figure i can go 2 ways. spend ton of time attempting to make a rough car clean, or embrace the evil and build a franken car. 510 is already clean, wagon is stock and has to smog.... so perhaps The coupe would be fun to strip down to min weight, swap side glass for plexi, and maybe add Some ZG bolt on flares? Give it my hi comp L2ob after i build something Revvier for the 510 and make the Coupe my freeway fighter. With minimal $ going into suspension, it would only be fast in a straight line anyhow..so yea it could be a drag coupe...lol. Leaving the car in its current visual condition has some appeal when spanking college kids in pricier cars, a little rust really drives the point home. (older than you and still faster too...)

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]Lurka - Good to know SOMEONE likes these wagons, never seen one actually well cared for in person. :hairy: They style is growing on me - do you have a favorite color to see them in? I am still totally undecided what to paint the thing...

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Fiber glass is good option for temporary repair. But in order to stop rust and keep the staus quo,before fiber glass you should use POR-15 or other anti rust paint over the rusted metal.

 

Failue to do so will guarantee rusrt bubling and popping through fiberglass creating an unsighty mess.

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I've heard a lot of people on this site say they wanted a P-40 Warhawk-style 510, like the car at the top of the page - but this car might make sense with the riveted-in patch panels since it has so many bizarre rust holes. Congrats on keeping this one on the road!!

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I've heard a lot of people on this site say they wanted a P-40 Warhawk-style 510, like the car at the top of the page - but this car might make sense with the riveted-in patch panels since it has so many bizarre rust holes. Congrats on keeping this one on the road!!

 

this but on the coupe

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Fiber glass is good option for temporary repair. But in order to stop rust and keep the staus quo,before fiber glass you should use POR-15 or other anti rust paint over the rusted metal.

 

Failue to do so will guarantee rusrt bubling and popping through fiberglass creating an unsighty mess.

 

Bob- Any rust I could not cut out or grind off has been liberally coated in "ospho" rust converter. Guy @ DeAngelos Auto Paint said bare metal was preferable to covering primer?? I'm sure a large part of what I am doing will be undone by rust again in time, just hoping to squeeze another few years out of a wagon already on its 9th life. Is Rust-o-leum primer preferable to rust conversion spray? (this is a first time sort of project for me - if you couldnt already tell...)

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I've heard a lot of people on this site say they wanted a P-40 Warhawk-style 510, like the car at the top of the page - but this car might make sense with the riveted-in patch panels since it has so many bizarre rust holes. Congrats on keeping this one on the road!!

 

Will - Thanks, This one is hangin' on by the skin of its teeth, it came as close to being lost to the scrapper as being impounded last year, but previous owner forked out to get it back (most probably wouldnt have).

 

The idea of painting the whole car a olive or metallic flake green (Lurka) Appeals to me in that I already want to paint all remaining trim and bumpers black. That would make a pretty mean looking color combo. I have been told that lighter colors are better for imperfect bodywork though... so who knows. Powder Blue and Black also appeal to me for whatever reason. I can get enough single stage color and clear to do the whole car for $250 right now on special... so I am trying my best to figure something out that will work well and have the car ready soon.

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this but on the coupe

 

Coupe is definitely a good candidate for Warhawk styling :thumbup: Whatever I do with that car, its probably going to be rough. I REALLY like the idea of making it Wiiiide, kinda plays on the wannabe japanese musclecar lines. I could decide to take forever and use its parts to slide-swap the wagon (cuz its running) to complete that car as a driver while simultaneously custom cutting the pulled wagon parts to go back on the Coupe in wilder fashion. Other than body and Tranny I'm pretty sure all of it is interchangable.

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Bob- Any rust I could not cut out or grind off has been liberally coated in "ospho" rust converter. Guy @ DeAngelos Auto Paint said bare metal was preferable to covering primer?? I'm sure a large part of what I am doing will be undone by rust again in time, just hoping to squeeze another few years out of a wagon already on its 9th life. Is Rust-o-leum primer preferable to rust conversion spray? (this is a first time sort of project for me - if you couldnt already tell...)

 

I use rust-over (converter) THEN Rustoleum Heavy Rust Primer

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I use rust-over (converter) THEN Rustoleum Heavy Rust Primer

 

Other than using ospho insted of rust over, sounds about the as what I am attempting. I started pulling trim left right and sideways to get everything exposed (and to clean up the lines), sanded all the bubbles through 3 coats of paint and bondo, Exposed rust all the way to clean metal, sprayed with Ospho and primed with Rustoleum. anything I am filling I took the paint back off at the advice of the D'Angelos Paint and body supply guy, who said Kitty hair was the way to go for sealing rust and holes, etc... when metal shaping and panel replacement was not a realistic option.

 

After I have filled I will re-spray and remaining tarnished metal with Ospho and Rustoleum before priming entire car... I have a couple of friends on my ass already for not doing more metalwork, but If I were going to go all out It would be on my 510 anyhow. I did have someone look at the rear hatch and quarters who runs their own little metal fabbin shop. A SMOKIN' deal on having the rear hatch and corners re-done properly is a minimum $700-1000 (for that money I would rather have a set of mikunis). Sooooo i will be applying liberal amnts of Good 'ol Kitty hair and faking my way through this one. I am, however, going to have some frame rust cut out and re-welded - doing the work where it counts and cutting whatever corners I can get away with aesthetically.

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I really like those scoops in general... it was a little hard to find when I wanted it. Hope to someday put it on a fiberglass hood for the 510 (or the coupe maybe?), i try to avoid cutting stock metal when its not necessary. (though on this goon I dont know why I'd give a damn...lol) The original idea was to get it centered over the dual side drafts i use and give 'em some flow.

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