On My Dime

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WxMan
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On My Dime

Post by WxMan »

I've been a fan of Datsun 510's for about 25 years now and until recently just haven't been in a position to properly care for one. Things changed though and over the past few years I have been keeping my eye out for the right car to bring into the family. Last fall such a car came available and I took the plunge. The timing wasn't ideal however as my wife and I had our first child a month later. That put the Datsun on the bottom of my priority list and so it has sat, tucked away in my garage for the past seven months. Just now am I able to find a few hours here and there to give the Datsun some attention. But enough of this, what you're here for is the car, not my life story.

It is a 1972 510 two door sedan. It has an L20B with weber 40 side draft carbs and a 4spd transmission. The car was restored and repainted by the previous owner roughly 25 years ago. Since then it only saw light duty and apparently was only driven in the summer for the past nine years. So far as I can tell there is no rust. That said, the paint looks great from ten feet away but is far from perfect. Overall the car seems to be in good condition but badly needs the full gamut of maintenance before I can really assess where it's at.

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When I brought it home both carbs looked like the one in the back. I spent a few minutes cleaning the front one just to see if there was still some shine to be found under all the grime.

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The interior is in excellent condition, all things considered, however the driver's seat is badly torn. Does anyone know where I can find a replacement seat cover? I'd love to keep the seats stock if possible.

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The odometer reads 67,900 but I have no idea if that has rolled over in the past or not. I suspect not though.

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I have no definite plan for the car. I'll just see where it takes me. I'm also in no hurry as it will never be my daily driver. It's a good thing too because my seven month old baby sure doesn't leave me much time for non essential things, otherwise known as "fun stuff."

So far issues I know exist that I will address before I put the on the road are:
-small oil leak from the rear of the oil pan
-small coolant leak from the coolant hose at the firewall (closest to the passenger side)
-needs a new battery and proper tie down. (That dried up bungee cord thing is pretty scary.)
-need to change all fluids as I have no idea how long they've been in there.
-... I'm sure I'll find more when I actually get in there.

Thanks to everyone on this site for their excellent insight, knowledge, and advice. I've already learned a great deal from the Realm and hope I can give back someday. Feel free to ask any questions and toss any suggestions my way. All comments are welcome.

Russ.
The company motto seems to be "We're not happy 'till you're not happy."
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okayfine
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Re: On My Dime

Post by okayfine »

Russ, nice find. Love the color. I had a two-door painted similar. Looks like a good car as-is, and it'll only improve under your care. More than myself is jealous, that's for sure.

As to seats, no one is making new seat covers. They used to be available from a 510 vendor, but he dried up and vanished. Best you can do is find some good-condition used ones. That's not impossible. You might also look at something like the BMW E30 Recaros that I have in Whitebird. They look stock if you didn't know better, are 15-20 years newer, and more supportive in the bargain.

To judge the odo reading, have a look at the clutch and brake pedal covers. If they show wear, it's at least 167K. If they look pretty original, it might well be 67K.
Because when you spend a silly amount of money on a silly, trivial thing that will help you not one jot, you are demonstrating that you have a soul and a heart and that you are the sort of person who has no time for Which? magazine. – Jeremy Clarkson
WxMan
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Re: On My Dime

Post by WxMan »

You say you're jealous but you've got three things far more valuable than I do, experience, knowledge, and skills. In time I hope to acquire some of those but it will be a long road. Let's hope it's a fun one.

Thanks for the info on the seat covers. I kind of figured as much. I'll probably end up trying to find a decent used cover before I look for alternative replacements.

Here's the state of the pedals. There is some wear on the bottom right corner of the brake pedal but not much elsewhere. I don't really care how many miles are actually on the car. It's more of matter of curiosity than anything.

Image

Ha, while looking at the pedals I found something to add to my list! That heater core is a hideous mess! I never looked too closely at it before. :) I'm sure it won't be my only surprise.
The company motto seems to be "We're not happy 'till you're not happy."
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Bike papa
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Re: On My Dime

Post by Bike papa »

This is how to buy your first dime,
If I was starting from scratch I would've looked for something similar

I like the parcel tray under the glove box. I've never seen one before.

Enjoy
BP
1971 Datsun 510 2 door
08 VW R32
69 BSA 650 Firebird Scrambler
Too Many Bicycles
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okayfine
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Re: On My Dime

Post by okayfine »

WxMan wrote:In time I hope to acquire some of those but it will be a long road. Let's hope it's a fun one.
It's the best. I've learned more and done more with 510s than I ever hoped possible.
Bike papa wrote:I like the parcel tray under the glove box. I've never seen one before.
Saw that and immediately knew Russ lived in Canada (even though it says it in his avatar). Not a USDM option, but pretty much available everywhere else.
Because when you spend a silly amount of money on a silly, trivial thing that will help you not one jot, you are demonstrating that you have a soul and a heart and that you are the sort of person who has no time for Which? magazine. – Jeremy Clarkson
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Byron510
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Re: On My Dime

Post by Byron510 »

The under dash tray's are pretty rare up here as well, not many were delivered with them.

Russ, I have a pair of seat cover "cores" from my Greg Terry build. If you were inclined, I could inquire if the guy who stitched up my replacement seat covers could do you a set from these cores. Installed I'd say you were looking at $600 for the pair. But it you were going to do the installation, and you just need the seat covers made. I'm sure it could be done.

Here's a link to his work on my seats;

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=15693&start=330

I can say that I’m more than happy with the quality. And speaking of quality, the fabric he used was no less than 3X thicker, Even in daily use I’d bet these seat covers would last 20 years – that good.

Nice car for sure. Was it local to you in Victoria, or did it come from the mainland?

Byron
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because the opposite never works.
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bertvorgon
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Re: On My Dime

Post by bertvorgon »

A couple of things...

I would look at re-positioning the throttle spring, it is dragging across the valve cover and will only chew it up over time. Either look at the linkage near the fire wall, see how that might work, or, build a bracket that would come off one of the intake/exhaust manifold bolts. Either way, go to Lordco and get one of the DUAL spring setups, that way if one spring breaks, there is a safety backup.

Maybe think about that fuel pressure gauge position, and the fuel line in general. The pictures may not say it all but, it looks too close to the radiator, and the gauge position looks sketchy. I never trust where gauges mount like that, it it is kinda above any radiant heat from #1 exhaust.

Just some thoughts.
"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty" - Peter Egan

Keith Law
1973 2 Door Slalom/hill climb/road race / canyon carver /Giant Killer 510
1971 Vintage 13' BOLER trailer
WxMan
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Re: On My Dime

Post by WxMan »

That's interesting about the parcel tray. I had no idea they were rare. It's always fun to find out you've got something a little unusual.

Byron, I am very interested in getting some replacement seat covers. Thanks for the link to yours. They look great. I don't make it over to the mainland very often so I'd probably prefer to try have them shipped and install the covers myself. That said, I don't have experience in this area so I'd have to do a little investigation and see how difficult that might be.

I got the car from Maple Ridge. Getting it home was a bit of an adventure. As I was nearing the ferry something broke in the throttle linkage and the car then wanted to idle above 3000 RPM. I managed to fashion a coat hanger fix on the ferry to get myself the rest of the way home. After things were under control I patted the dashboard and thought to myself, this is just the beginning of lots of fun to come, isn't it?

Keith, great advice. I already went and found one of those dual spring setups after seeing yours recently. After my adventure getting the car home I knew I'd have to address the throttle linkage. It wasn't the spring that broke but I knew the current setup wasn't ideal. I'm also not happy with the fuel line set up. As well as the positioning the line is too tight. I will certainly be addressing this. For some reason the previous owner installed an electric fuel pump. Does anyone know why he might have done that? I thought I read there wasn't really any benefit to this. Either way I have to do something about the current pump as it is very loud and makes the same sound as "the most annoying sound in the world" from Dumb and Dumber.

Russ.
The company motto seems to be "We're not happy 'till you're not happy."
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bertvorgon
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Re: On My Dime

Post by bertvorgon »

It's possible that the factory pump could not pump the VOLUME of fuel required for the dual carb setup.

Electric pumps can be mounted with isolators to help eliminate sound transmission, depending on where and on what it is mounted. It really should be mounted close to the tank, as pumps work best when they push fuel, not suck it.

What you also may need is a fuel pressure regulator, as those carbs are pressure sensitive for float level.

Glad you have recognized the fuel line issue, your on the "program"!
"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty" - Peter Egan

Keith Law
1973 2 Door Slalom/hill climb/road race / canyon carver /Giant Killer 510
1971 Vintage 13' BOLER trailer
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okayfine
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Re: On My Dime

Post by okayfine »

Seat cover installation is pretty basic. Look up "hog rings" and "hog ring pliers" and that should give you the basic idea. Not much has changed in seat cover attachment over the years. Clip the old rings, pull off the cover, make sure the padding is in good shape, fit the new cover, secure with the rings.

I HATE electric fuel pump noise, so I'm with you. I'd look at the later L20B mechanical fuel pumps. They were larger than the original L16 pumps and pumped more volume. I ran one of those with my L20BT and it pumped all the fuel I needed. Look for a screw-top version, not a stamped-can version. I bought one a couple years ago from RockAuto for $15, NIB Japanese part.
Because when you spend a silly amount of money on a silly, trivial thing that will help you not one jot, you are demonstrating that you have a soul and a heart and that you are the sort of person who has no time for Which? magazine. – Jeremy Clarkson
WxMan
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Re: On My Dime

Post by WxMan »

I think there's going to be many more than twelve steps to this "program"!

I'll definitely look into my options for the fuel pump and figure out what would be best for my needs. For reference, here is the current setup:

Image

With regard to seat cover installations, I'm hoping it is straight forward and it very well could be but I will need to inspect the cushion/padding and springs before I get too confident. If either of those are in rough shape it might make more sense to have a professional do the work.
The company motto seems to be "We're not happy 'till you're not happy."
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bertvorgon
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Re: On My Dime

Post by bertvorgon »

That is a bad mount, solid to the body, if you can isolate that with some rubber mounts, you should be fine.

My electric pump ( 280ZX ) is mounted in the same area, and you almost cannot hear it.
"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty" - Peter Egan

Keith Law
1973 2 Door Slalom/hill climb/road race / canyon carver /Giant Killer 510
1971 Vintage 13' BOLER trailer
WxMan
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Re: On My Dime

Post by WxMan »

Thanks. I'll start with some good rubber mounts and see where I need to go from there.
The company motto seems to be "We're not happy 'till you're not happy."
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Dave Patten
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Re: On My Dime

Post by Dave Patten »

Keith,
This looks like a Carter fuel pump and if used with its original mounting hardware the pump is already rubber mounted.

Carter pumps/brackets use rubber grommets in the horizontal leg of the mounting bracket. There are 3 studs extending upward from the pump that have a shoulder on them. The shoulder on the studs passes up thru the grommets. An oversized washer is captivated against the stud's shoulder by a nut so the pump more or less hangs by the studs thru the grommeted holes in the bracket.

The system is actually a pretty efficient isolator as long as the studs/nut on top are not in contact with the trunk floor above it.

Image
Dave Patten
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Dave Patten
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Re: On My Dime

Post by Dave Patten »

Another note is the Carter pump is a rotary pump which are generally quieter just by their design.
Dave Patten
http://www.FutoFab.com
Dunbarton, NH
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