Hey I'm 22 so this might help you out a little. I know a lot of Datsun enthusiasts in Colorado A few of them have a stockpile of parts and one of them is an auto mechanic One day we found 5 510's and bought the bundle of them. Since then, I have had to basically redo my entire car from the ground up. Most of my parts were cheap or free as long as I looked for them from the people I have known for years. When I started out I knew nothing about cars and the whole point of getting a 510 was to learn about how cars work.
I got one that had been sitting for 10 years and all the floors were rusted out. If I didn't have the mechanic with a pile of parts willing to help me out I don't think I would have had the money and/or knowledge to fix my car. Not that they are expensive, it's more the I am young and work part time while going to school so pay is crap.
Knowing the Ratsun community and since you are in LA I am sure some people here would be willing to help you out in fixing tips or maybe even fixing the car if you really needed it and are serious about it. You have to be willing to put in work though.
I agree with this, you need space resources, and someone who knows what the hell happened if it starts running or driving weird. If you are serious about getting a Datsun I suggest a 510 mostly because mine hasn't had many issues after I put in the initial time to fix everything. If you go through with the idea and get a Datsun when you fix something do it right don't be that hack job kid he is talking about. Hack jobs and cutting corners only cause more problems in the end.