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'69 Datsun 510 // some four door love..


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  • 2 months later...

Interesting few last days for me. Wish I knew more about the 510 then I do.. what I thought would be simple and easy turned into a few days of scrambling/learning as I go. Had a day off so I thought I'd put some work into the 510 and enjoy the rest of the day. 

 

Thought I'd do a water pump and thermostat on the 510 since it seemed to be weeping and possibly noisy. Seemed fairly basic enough. Time for a coolant change anyways.

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Went the slightly longer route since the fan was close to the radiator. Made a mess... noticed the fuel lines are pretty badly disintegrating.. 

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Couple people made a comment about the fan blade on this car being different. I didn't think it was a big deal... 

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Continued about my way.. 

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First problem. hrmmm looks different then the replacement pump I got. 

 

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But wasn't sure, because I couldn't get it apart for awhile.. I kept staring at it for a minute and then realized that the four bolt hole spacing is slightly larger then the replacement pump. Great, not going to work and I wasn't sure what was going on and/or what was correct.. By myself at work and don't know much about Datsuns.. Spoke to a couple people.. Thanks to Draker, he helped me clarify that I had a 68/69 clutch style water pump that is no longer available with a unique fan blade, but the replacement style pump will fit with the four blade fan. 

 

Great. What am I gonna do.... I ended up deciding to put on the later pump to get me around town and sending out the original pump for a rebuild. 

 

Continue on I guess.. to the thermostat. Seems simple enough.. nope.

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Great.. First time the car left me stranded! Hahaha. 

 

 

 

Day 2

Another problem. The later pump also meant different pulley... Thanks to Busta Nut, he loaned me a fan blade and pulley to use (thanks!). 

 

Happy to see the timing chain cover looking great, cleaned up some grease that's been collecting around the front cover. I did notice that this hole is NOT a blind hole (goes all the way through into the water ports). I hope it doesn't give me problems.. Is anyone else's like this?!? I put a copper washer behind that bolt. 

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Assembled the later water pump setup.. Decided to replace the belt. 

 

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But silly me... I tried to put on a belt I had for the car and it was too small. I realized that the later pump also had a larger diameter pulley... so the belt I had was too short... Great, SMH. 

 

 

Continue on I guess.. to the thermostat. Removed the housing and left the broken bolt. Actually used a propane torch to heat it up and used pliers to get it out and it came right off. Finally caught a break.. Found some bolts that would fit. Borrowed some taps and re-tapped the threads (thanks Busta Nut!). Used a flat granite piece and sanded the thermostat housing flat a little. Acid etched the housing to brighten it up a little. 

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So now everything is back together minus the fan belt. Fill the system and hope I don't have any leaks... Cross my fingers. 

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For the rebuilt if anyone is interested in weird things like this. I'm going to try out Flying Dutchman in Oregon (thanks Draker). I've also heard of the company (in the British world) and spoke to the gentleman that answered the phone. He sounded like he knew what he was doing, familiar with the pump, and done a couple Datsun and Jaguar pumps before. Told me to dump the clutch since he's had mixed results with them. So I'm going to give him a try.. He said it's about ~$130 and maybe a week turn around time. 

 

Acid etched the housing to clean it up a bit, glass bead the flange, and out it goes to Oregon.. 

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Sorry for all the photos and/or if this is boring. Thanks... 

 

 

What a struggle.. lol.. I don't know if I'm built to work on a Datsun anymore.  :blush:

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For the rebuilt if anyone is interested in weird things like this. I'm going to try out Flying Dutchman in Oregon (thanks Draker). I've also heard of the company (in the British world) and spoke to the gentleman that answered the phone. He sounded like he knew what he was doing, familiar with the pump, and done a couple Datsun and Jaguar pumps before. Told me to dump the clutch since he's had mixed results with them. So I'm going to give him a try.. He said it's about ~$130 and maybe a week turn around time. 

 

Acid etched the housing to clean it up a bit, glass bead the flange, and out it goes to Oregon.. 

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Sorry for all the photos and/or if this is boring. Thanks... 

 

 

What a struggle.. lol.. I don't know if I'm built to work on a Datsun anymore.  :blush:

Definitely not boring. Great documentation. We love this stuff because it helps others that have the same problem. Thanks for the effort to post this.

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I heard all about this. The infamous thermostat housing bolts claimed another victim. Lol. Don't get discouraged.

Lol. it sure did! i was pretty bummed and feeling pretty defeated.. that's probably only the second time I've snapped a bolt  :blush: working on cars suck! 

 

 

 

 

yep..snug is good enough unless it leaks then tighten just a bit.  The main thing is put good amount of gasket sealant.

 

And anti-seize on the threads 

 

Thanks! Yeah, definitely needed to re-tap threads after seeing what came out. Used anti-seize and gasket sealer and waited 24hrs before filling the car. 

 

Car is up and running now!  :thumbup: left me pretty good sized bruises on my arm though. Not looking forward to swapping it back out.. Original owner came by and noticed the car, should've seen his face. It was like he was a flashback moments hahaha! 

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  • 2 months later...

So been pretty I tinker with the 510 in waves and when I have time. Been pretty busy with life and work and bills..  

 

I did get the water pump back, spins freely and everything looks okay. Although, the Flying Dutchman didn't seem to listen to instructions very well. Specifically asked the water pump NOT to be painted, just wanted to change the seals and I'll do the clean up. Also, took it upon himself to "touch up/repair" sealing area on the water pump. Think I would've done it a little differently. Haven't put it in yet, so not sure how well or how long this will last. 

 

Flying Dutchman was a nice guy, did it in about 8-10 days I think for about $140 plus freight. 

 

 

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Also saved this thing the other day. Drove by it a few times a week over a couple months and noticed it sitting in a lot. Someone spotted it on Craigslist and I picked it up a couple weeks ago. No engine and transmission. Has a few hiccups, but body overall is very solid. Great project car. Glad I could find it a home (probably not with me :blush: ) 

 

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