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Greengo - 1972 Datsun 510 4dr


carterb

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I remember way back when on the Bluebirds list - there were some guys who didn't think Datsun 510 wagons were *real* 510's.  Pfft!  Some of them were such elitists that they didn't even consider 4drs *real* 510's either.  Whatever...  I think they're awesome! 

Also, it turns out I like to collect stuff.  And 510's were made for collecting!  What other car comes in 2dr, 4dr, wagon, and coupe?!  I figured, hey - wouldn't it be cool to have one of each?!

This was back in 2006 and I started looking for cars for sale and found this one nearby in Renton, WA.  Best part is that it was cheap (one of my favorite words) even back then!

 

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Edited by carterb
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So I went and looked at it...

 

Can you find it?

 

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There it is!

 

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Check out that rear bumper!

 

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"IN THE WEEDS YO!"  :thumbup:

 

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My loving wife in the background

 

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I think I still have that jack somewhere

 

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Thumbs up!!! 

 

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It was pretty much all there but not a runner.  Not bad for $750 I thought.  So I bought it!

Edited by carterb
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^^ Great question!

You know, looking back at how complete the car was, I'm not sure why I never bothered to at least make an attempt to start it up and see what the condition was.  I guess because running an L-motor was not the plan?

 

Anyway, here are some more photos from when I got it home (and after removing the plastic bumper - which was held on by wood screws)

 

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I see Otto - one of my old green 510 wagons in the background.

 

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The car came with a full set of the aluminum 5 spoke rims but not all had tires - I later sold the set.

 

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Edited by carterb
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On 8/17/2014 at 12:34 PM, hobospyder said:

Dude that's nice. I especially love the grass carpet?

 

You think that's grass carpet?

This is grass carpet!

 

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This was in Legowagon - a 510 wagon hiding in the woods by my grandpa's house.  It had given up its motor to keep a 620 on the road at some point in its life and was left rusting beneath a pine tree.  The guy let me take it home no charge.  :w00t:

Edited by carterb
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On 8/17/2014 at 9:12 PM, Trophy24 said:

So if the L motor was not the plan, what was your vision for this project when you picked it up?  It looks pretty solid!

 

Funny you should ask...  One of the problems with taking years to even start working on a project is that the vision changes more times than your underwear! (that may not be much for some of you guys)

 

I really love the look of a KA24DE in a 510!  I thought that this would make an awesome car for Brenda at some point.  She wants a motor she can "romp on!" and a KA24DE would certainly fit the bill.  So the L16, tranny, weber, wheels, and many other parts of the car I would not be using found their way into hands of other enthusiasts (and paying for the car!) so say goodby to the L16

 

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and say hello to KA24DE!!!

 

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Edited by carterb
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It's a long story but I ended up buying out a datsun 510 collector up in Oak Harbor.  I ended up with two wagons and a 2dr (Caliwagon, Blanco, and The Brick) along with a couple truckloads of parts.  The KA24DE and 5spd came with the collection.  Here were a bunch of photos I took while I considered proper fitment:

 

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This was all with the oil pan off as I had not flipped the crossmember yet.   I had started to take measurements to have a custom pan made like the Experimental Engineering VG30 pans but then the plans changed again and I sold the whole drivetrain to a local 510 guy who put it in his car and got it running.  Something I have yet to do with a modern powertrain.  :crying:

Edited by carterb
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At some point in time I decided that the collection of cars I mentioned - one of each - would be even cooler if they all had the same motor!  Well, I was in the middle of the VG33 swap in Rice Wagon and I already had a couple other VG30's and installation kits so it only made sense that we'd go VG30 here as well!

 

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Edited by carterb
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I can't tell if it's actually carpet coloured like grass or just straight up grass. Bravo?

You think that's grass carpet?

This is grass carpet!

 

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This was in Legowagon - a 510 wagon hiding in the woods by my grandpa's house. It had given up its motor to keep a 620 on the road at some point in its life and was left rusting beneath a pine tree. The guy let me take it home no charge. :w00t:

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On 8/19/2014 at 12:29 PM, hobospyder said:

I can't tell if it's actually carpet coloured like grass or just straight up grass. Bravo?

 

It was carpet, but the whole car was pretty green.  Had it's own little Eco-system going on! Complete with 'shrooms!

 

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Edited by carterb
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Now at some point my son Corey decided that mom shouldn't get Greengo, he should!  Hmm...  We'll have to think about that.  (he was probably 5 or 6 or something)

In the mean time, I wanted to clean up the garage a bit so I put all my best 4dr doors on the car to replace the wavy green ones.

 

Then, slowly over time, Greengo became a storage unit!

 

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Edited by carterb
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On 8/19/2014 at 9:46 PM, hobospyder said:

That is, well that's hilarious. But hey, it was free and in decent enough shape for a parts car at the least I'm sure?

 

Unfortunately, the unibody was in pretty bad shape:

 

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but all the panels I pulled off were amazingly rust free.  Go figure.

Many of the parts went on to help other dimers get their cars on the road.

 

The complete album is here:

 

http://datsun510.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=3202

Edited by carterb
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Corey (now 11) was expressing more interest in the car so he and I pulled it out of the corner of the garage and gave it a good look over.

 

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anyone recognize this car from it's school days?

 

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^^ good to know!

 

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I would really like a better drivers door but otherwise it will be a good starting point for a project for us.

Edited by carterb
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I needed to use snowflakes for Rice Wagon and I had a friend who needed a pair of stock struts and brakes so Corey helped me swap some parts around. 

 

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I bought a set of stock steelies from a local 510 guy so we could still roll around in the garage.

 

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I had some 280zx struts we were going to swap in but after digging around, I realized I didn't have inserts so back into the corner Greengo went to wait for more attention another day...

 

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Sit tight...

Edited by carterb
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  • 3 years later...

Okay, time for some serious updates...

 

I had planned to build an LZ22 for Corey to have fun with in his car but the builder kept running into issues with life and other stuff and I ended up bringing back all the engines and parts I had at his shop.  (He was going to do a couple for me)

 

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Then it looked like he was back in a good situation so I brought him back the LZ22 and a spare L20 lower end just in case.

 

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Meanwhile I started collecting other parts that we would need.

 

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Also scored some new BRIDE seat knock-offs locally

 

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Found an R160 LSD as well.

 

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Fast forward another couple of years and the LZ22 is still not built and I was thinking, you know, my kid is probably not going take the same satisfaction with remembering to turn off the choke every morning as I do so after a few short discussions about which direction would be the best to go in terms of power, we decided on an NA SR20DE, which we purchased  at the same time as the one for Swamp Thing.

 

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Then had to get a MAF sensor for it.

 

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Jeff says not to put the LSD in.  Maybe we'll let him get used to the power and weight first, then move to an LSD later.  We'll see...

Edited by carterb
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Okay.  I told Corey we would start on his car this summer and I was serious.

 

So June 21st, 2018... Time to start the project!

 

I pulled Rice Wagon out of the garage so we could  swap places with Greengo and get this show on the road.

 

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That VG is just sitting there.  We'll need to take it out.

 

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First thing to do was install some front struts so we could roll it around again.

 

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Here it is outside.  Hasn't been outside in YEARS!

 

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Pay no attention to the silly looking whitewalls...

 

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Swap done and back in the garage front and center!

Edited by carterb
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