LilGypsy78

datzenmike, you speak true words of wisdom. I have considered this and I think that this is what I would like to do sometime soon. For now, I'm partial to just getting the car looking complete and, for whatever reason, I really like those honey comb covers. It's probably due to several critical opinions of non-Datsun lovers I came across (before finding ratsun.net) when I did my first preliminary research upon purchasing the car. I saw several remarks about what a funny looking car, poking fun at the hubcap style and the louvers on the back... etc. I'm embracing those things at this point to truly celebrate the glory of this vehicle in its original beauty. ;) I'll just keep it like that for a bit, then switch over to what you suggested for the long haul. The tires need to be replaced soon anyway. That is great! I will be in contact with you, for sure! Thanks :D Speaking of, due to the awesome community here, I have located my extra hubcab (thanks Tommy!) and I have a dome light on the way, and possibly a replacement gas door and ashtray as well. So I'm pretty close to having all the parts I need! datsunfreak, I will get with you about that if the other ashtray falls through for any reason... I do need the mount, but I'd rather collect the parts as I can, if I don't end up needing them, then I can pass on to someone else that does. I've been putting in a little work the last couple of days, but it's raining today so I had to stop. I want to share the progress in the meantime; I thought it would be a great idea to pull off the bumpers to paint, but I could not do the job, so I spent a day sanding down the first primer job and then reapplied a few more coats to get it more even. Glad I did. Then yesterday I painted the side view mirrors which were originally black - and look so much better now - but it got me to thinking that chrome mirrors would probably look pretty sweet. Then I took off the grill to paint it up... woo weee! Look at that lovely leaking radiator, gunked upness and stray q-tips that got lost during our engine bay clean last week. So the next best method for bumper: lots of tape and empty corn bag. Worked just fine... Will need to get some more acetone to clean up the little bit of overspray. So here is the latest as she's sitting now. Small steps, but I'm so happy with how much better she's looking. Just do me a favor and look back at the very first photo and compare. Sah-WEEET! As soon as it stops raining, I'm going to get to the back bumper which I'm kind of dreading because it's not going to be as easy to do as the front without taking it off...

Yeah, I saw where that picture came from on a junkyard cars page. I haven't seen that sticker anywhere else so far, but I went and inspected my trunk to see. I have leaks, but it seems to be all right for the most part. I posted the pictures you were asking about, too.

Excellent work.. this car is looking great. I'm jealous I didn't have a car like this when I was a teenager. She's a lucky girl!

All right, so I got some more pictures today. The day started off on an interesting note as I was majorly hungover from Christmas Eve festivities and I'm pretty sure I was still intoxicated. I, randomly, found myself in a very nostalgic mood and began thinking about all the sweet Janet Jackson tapes I had and danced to in 3rd grade... then it dawned on me... I HAVE A TAPE DECK in the Datsun! I will play Janet Jackson ALL THE TIME when I drive it!! (Not really, I have recovered a bit since.) So I went out with a tape. Oddly, it ended up being a Tool tape as that was all I could find, and extremely opposite music of Janet Jackson. Much to my dismay, the tape deck does not work. Radio is great, but no cassette love to be had. Also, I pushed in the cigarette lighter and it's now stuck, luckily it doesn't work either. I all ready knew that, but pushed it in anyway because nothing made sense about my morning so no reason not to. Onward to photos: The engine bay... I was taking these pictures when the bf asked what I was doing. When I told him I needed to post stuff for my Ratsun friends, he decided these photos weren't proper and we needed to clean. Two paper towel rolls and a 1,000 Q-Tips later... That's not really that fun of a job with a hangover, but I'm glad we did it. The metal epoxy "fix" for the radiator leak the last owner did. It's leaking elsewhere now and is a rusty ugly mess, so we just ordered a new radiator and it should be here next week. And here's the back area.. I'm guessing there used to be a cover for this spot? Do people still have these or is it just better to make a new one? Remember earlier I mentioned that we scraped the extremely thick gunked up caulking off the hatch window? I was certain it was there to fix leaks, but surely there was a better way to address it than that eye sore... well, I need to tend to that sooner rather than later. It rained yesterday and I found this:

Was just wondering if you might be wanting to part with one... Or the set?

Nice photos! I love my Canon Rebel... good camera. Do you still have those honey comb hubcaps?

My bad.. No, it's definitely a '78 and was purchased on that date I mentioned in 1978, not 1979. Don't know why I typed that. The '76 Chevy LUV is my boyfriend's. He got it back when he was in highschool about 10 years ago and it's been his on again off again project since. He let it sit at his mom's for the last several years, we just brought it up within the last year and he's getting it closer to road ready finally.

Thanks Datsunocaster, sent you an email!

Hi there, I'm so excited to have found this website as I just got my first Datsun last week and it's in need of some work and parts, but I love her so much all ready! It certainly helps to find a place where enthusiasts have numerous discussions on topics that are so helpful as we start figuring out where to begin and what to expect. I wanted to start off by posting some photos for any feedback or suggestions. Any info would be helpful and appreciated! I will say, this will not be a super-expensive overhaul project.. just want to get her looking nice and functioning well, then keep her maintained. So, I know this was purchased new (original paint number 905) on March 25, 1979 in Forest Park, GA, by an 18-year-old girl and her mother (records show that a '69 Mustang was traded in for it!). I have the those original purchase records and a tag renewal slip from 1981... at that point, the next two service records from '98 and '99 show a different owner in Knoxville, TN, then a third owner name in '09 on the last record, also in Knoxville. We bought it from what I presume is the fourth owner in Greeneville,TN (close to two hours from here) making us what I think is the fifth owner. She's gotten around and had a rough go at it somewhere along the line, hence the name I have given her "Lil Gypsy". When we bought her, we were told 64,XXX original miles, but now after digging through these records in the glove box, it is clear that is not the case and it's actually 164,XXX. She also actually has a leaking radiator, non-functioning e-brake, a possible deferential problem (?) and missing a few pieces that would make her a little nicer. I thought it was great she made the two-hour trip after purchase, but now I see the underlying problems... This is how she looked at purchase. Fifty shades of ugly. Yet, this was the side they decided to keep two hubcaps on. Just got home with her... and took a photo of her nicer side to share on social media with my friends. Minus one hubcap. Over the last weekend, we sanded her down and applied rust-colored primer just to go ahead and give her a nicer look - with ONE color. Moved a hubcap over to complete the nicer side. Need to affix the emblem a little better since most posts are broken off. Here she is next to our '76 Ford Econoline, lovely contrast, yes? This is her not so pretty side, but looking much better with the one color primer job. A few dents, big dent in the back, missing side emblem and now the side with a missing hubcab. A better look at the damaged back end. There's not too much we're going to be able to do to fix that anytime soon aside from getting in one color. The bar above the bumper looks super rusty now that I sanded it, getting it ready for a coat of paint. The back window was coated in clear caulking in a hack-job attempt to stop leaks, I guess. It was gummed up inside and all over the seal. We scraped that off. Also removed caulking seal around the driver's side back window. Both were sealed, now at least one is able to pop out. The other side needs a seal replacement before taking of the caulking. (You can also see the other project in the back, '76 Chevy LUV.) An interior view. It was so filthy, but we managed to clean it up a lot with just vacuming and wiping everything down. Back seat upholstery is in great condition. Passenger seat had some rips and driver seat had most damage, so there are seat covers for now until I can figure out if there's a way to salvage them. Dashboard not in good shape. Also have to figure out best way to go about fixing that up on the cheap. Missing the ashtray as well. So there you have it, so far. Our next step is to locate the missing pieces (i.e. hubcap, ashtray, side emblem, and dome light) and apply one more good coat of primer since it's a little uneven in a few places, apply black rubber coating spray paint to faded bumpers and paint the sanded rusty bars above the front and rear bumpers. Oh yes, and to fix the radiator and other mechanical problems.... that's right. Ugh.

Do you still have parts available? Looking for a few things for a newly aquired '78 B210GX. Thanks!