Dirtyowlnumber4 Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 I used to pass this car a lot riding my bike on the highway. I stopped and asked the guy if he would consider selling it. He was pretty quick to give it up for 50 bucks, which was a little worrying. Seems like the family bought it new in '76 and put 338k miles on it before they parked it in the bushes in 2002, where it stayed until I got it in 2017. I had never done any real work on cars before and I thought rebuilding a simple old car would be a good way to learn how. The phone I had when I first got the car died, so the only early picture of it I have is one my mate took of it on the trailer. I might get those pictures back sometime. Engine and interior were trashy. The ignition was rigged up at first and the starter wasn't working, so I decided to replace the whole ignition system. Then I took off the head to make sure there wasn't any water or anything in the engine so I didn't break stuff as soon as I tried to crank it. Everything looked good, replaced the head gasket and with some kajiggering it fired up and ran like a charm. I drove it around for a little while then in the end of summer it started leaking oil out of the exhaust, so took the engine out and disassembled it entirely. Took the block, flywheel and the head to a machine shop and cleaned all the other parts myself. New timing set, piston rings, clutch, radiator, fan, and carb as well. Maybe a little bit of a hillbilly build but I'm proud over it. 6 Quote Link to comment
Dirtyowlnumber4 Posted January 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 Mechanically all it needs is new suspension and brakes. And a 5 speed tranny. That will be the easy part As far as the interior goes, I am going to get bucket seats and leave it cleaned out for the most part. Maybe put a nicer dash on if I can find a parts car. And get side windows. Most of the work remaining on it will probably lie on the bodywork. Every panel is riddled with dents and a few are rusted out entirely Once I get that sorted out I can repaint it and put some fly decals Heres a little video of it running http://youtu.be/9MaDc_zOQ-4 I put some fog lights on it too I think they're pretty fly 5 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 You are well on your journey grasshopper..... 4 Quote Link to comment
racerx Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 Damn...hell yeh, for $50..what a deal and you will learn a lot. 2 Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 This is how everyones first car story should go lol. Welcome :) 3 Quote Link to comment
KELMO Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 That radiator looks massive in there. :thumbup: 1 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 My first Datsun, a 8 year old '68 510, was $50. (sigh) 4 Quote Link to comment
Dirtyowlnumber4 Posted January 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 Next phase was to get an electronic distributor in but it's got something stuck in its throat so I'm gonna wait till that clears out before I do anything major to the engine. Until then I've got some brakestuff to goof around with already got the front pads on. 2 Quote Link to comment
Charlie69 Posted January 30, 2018 Report Share Posted January 30, 2018 Welcome she is a beauty! Love the color. 1 Quote Link to comment
Dirtyowlnumber4 Posted April 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2018 Haven't really done anything to the car in a while I have been trying to get it working again. It needed an electronic ignition, points stopped working for it. Also got a neat racing wheel on it. It has enough power now, next step is going to be work on the exterior. Windows, patch the rust holes and paint it. Then the interior, which will mean finding bucket seats that fit it, building a new dash and maybe putting some dyna mat or something where the back seats used to be. 1 Quote Link to comment
Antihero983 Posted April 23, 2018 Report Share Posted April 23, 2018 Dude hell yeah!! Excellent purchase! Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted April 23, 2018 Report Share Posted April 23, 2018 Dyna mat the entire insides. Quote Link to comment
Dirtyowlnumber4 Posted April 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2018 Dyna mat the entire insides. Can do my friend. By the way if anyone has or knows where any side windows for one of these are let me know. Nissan wants 800 bucks for them.. Quote Link to comment
Dirtyowlnumber4 Posted October 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2018 Cut out a melted harness today. 1 down many more to go. Also replacing the hot and ground cables on the battery and sanding the contacts on the alternator mount hopefully that'll get it charging again. Quote Link to comment
KELMO Posted October 21, 2018 Report Share Posted October 21, 2018 If it hasn't been said in here before, you can get connectors that are just about factory from Vintage Connections (or is it connectors) dot com. They have just about every electrical connector you could need for your car. I bought one of their kits a few months back and they are a great thing to have. If you do buy one of their kits, make sure you also buy the crimping tool. Using the crimping tool makes the wire and brass (?) connector go together like factory. 1 Quote Link to comment
Dirtyowlnumber4 Posted October 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2018 Thanks man ill check that out. Ive got everything wire nutted together for now. Not good Quote Link to comment
Dirtyowlnumber4 Posted November 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2018 Been looking for a garage to paint in for a while but couldn't find one so I've built a tarp tent for it It is going to be red. Not too pleased about it but that was the cheapest paint on amazon. Depending on how long it survives I'd like to strip it down to bare metal and paint it blue again with real auto paint and not rustoleum. Quote Link to comment
bing_kee66 Posted November 4, 2018 Report Share Posted November 4, 2018 why paint it if you preferred it blue Quote Link to comment
Dirtyowlnumber4 Posted November 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2018 Might be hard to see in the pictures but there were quarter size rust spots every few inches on the hood, roof and boot lid. and one of the doors is basically all rust. I spent a while grinding it all off and trying too make it all smooth but I'm not sure where i put the pics. Where it wasn't rusted the paint buffed up well too. darn shame. Heres a pic of the door I haven't finished yet. Quote Link to comment
Dirtyowlnumber4 Posted November 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2018 Its getting redder. Looks like an orange up close but with a few more coats and some sanding and polishing it should start looking better. The sprayer was using too much paint and wouldn't work in the cold (its always cold) so i started rolling it on. Quote Link to comment
Dirtyowlnumber4 Posted November 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2018 More painting. Panels look like hot garbage but the body is starting to take on a good shine. 3 coats on, probably 2 or 3 more to go. I also got a rotary light for the top Quote Link to comment
Cheetahking Posted November 28, 2018 Report Share Posted November 28, 2018 This is awesome. Like Mike said - My first Datsun was a $100 car. It ran well (60K on the clock), but had been hit in the rear quarter. It prompted my grandfather to write me a poem - "you can't go far in a $100 car". He then gave me all of his metric tools - which were worth well more than the car. Keep at it - I like where its headed. Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted November 28, 2018 Report Share Posted November 28, 2018 think it looked better orginal blue and left alone. Quote Link to comment
Dirtyowlnumber4 Posted November 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2018 Yeah like I said when I have an indoor space and some money I'd like to be able to strip everything off and paint it nice, but right now all I've got are some paintbrushes and sandpaper. Just needed something to stop the rust. Probably adds a few hp too. Quote Link to comment
Dirtyowlnumber4 Posted December 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2018 Ill tack a few go faster stripes on, but this ones mainly to hide the body rust. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.