Go ahead and use this thread to share your own Datsun import experience, especially if it contains something helpful for the next guy/gal.

Michael Spreadbury and Julian Serles put together a nice article on the510realm about buying a Bluebird Coupe, but much of the information is applicable to all Bluebirds.  It  is linked here:

http://www.the510realm.com/viewtopic.php?t=26180

Thanks and enjoy.

--carter

P.S.  Don't give me a hard time about the years in the listings.  They generally go by production year which is often a year before our registration year.  Also, you will see many mix and match grills/dashes/tail lights/etc on these cars so it is hard to tell sometimes what the car really is. In general, I'm just reporting what is in the ad.

Would any of you running an Lseries with dual sidedrafts have pics of how you've run the fuel pressure regulator and return line? Thanks @datzenmike for your feedback.

I am trying to eliminate vapor lock and my current setup the fuel line dead ends at the carb. Was thinking of getting a T banjo fitting and connect a line to a regulator and then line to the fuel return but wanted some confirmation from others that have done this and how they routed it.

Also have any of you used this filter? I was thinking of replacing my stock filter location with this in between the feed and the pump and then run a line from this to the return 

Thank you

'

Will post pics in a few.

Today I tore down a su dual choke cable and rebuilt it with all new cables and housings, installed it in my dime and it works great! :D

Now come on, I know somebody else did something to their 510, so lets here it.:lol:

I've been eyeballing this thing in the back of a truck repair yard next to an offramp in The Dalles every time I use that ramp. It's been sitting there for years, no wheels, sitting on the ground on the brake drums/disks. Yesterday I had some spare time and decided to go take a look. I asked the yard owner what was up with it, he said he was planning on sending it to the crusher. 

The glass is intact, and the interior is surprisingly un nasty despite it's storage conditions. In fact, the seats are danged near perfect. When I went in I was considering asking if I could simply buy the transmixer. However, if he's going to scrap it I'm thinking I may just offer him a price related to it's scrap value, less some for him not having to deal with it and simply having it vanish. Then I could mine it for parts at my leisure. 

Heck, my l20b is kinda tired anyway...maybe a swap? I do know about the differing tilt of the block and those issues....but an entire 84 for a scrap price is kind of enticing, and I do have room for it. 

Thoughts? 

I've included the first part of the VIN, I'll have to do some decoding work to determine the year which I am uncertain of. 

Here's mine: nothing major done to it yet...i'm getting around to suspension soon.

When I first got it:

Current state:

(not much changed yet...just gold mesh enkei apache IV)

So lets see those goons!

-goki

Mainly directed to fellow wagon owners. I've been trying to source a replacement fuel tank and looking at companies that can make a plastic or polypropylene replacement tanks for wagons and one company said they may be able to produce it if enough people are interested and willing to buy them to warrant them making the mold and putting them into production.  I am trying to get info as to how much they will charge for a unit but initial talks stated they would need around 150 people/units to consider putting them into production. If any fellow wagon owners are interested please let me know as this could be a huge help for keeping our cars on the road.  I am also waiting to hear from a couple other companies and searching for others.

Update: Received an email from Liland Global who makes a replacement metal tank for sedans and coupes and they say if a sample can be provided tooling would be around 30K to produce a metal unit. 

Thank you

I dont need one, but just a price range as I have one that I want to sell.  But I do not know what something like that goes for. Any help in the right direction would be great.  thanks

Am I correct in thinking this means it has a limited-slip differential? Was that even an option on the 510? I've of course seen people talk about the Subaru R160 differentials as an upgrade, but I'm wondering what's up here as this was just a totally normal stock car being used as a daily driver in the 70s-80s. Maybe I'm just thinking wrong. Looking to see what the deal is.

The Nissan News Flash envelope:

Exterior photos:

Interior shot. I'm digging that carpet style.  Also, it looks like the plastic dash closeout under the temp/fuel gauge has come loose. Oops...   

Datsun Model Series 510 (sold outside North America as the "Bluebird 510" or 1300/1400/1600/1800 depending on the engine size). PL510 was sold in Europe and North America and designates LHD with P engine (1600 engine). H510 is the H engine version (1800)

* All trim models use the same style grille, with the emblem differing on base, Deluxe, GL or SSS cars

* SSS sometimes had the grille painted differently (black or with white stripe)

* 2-door Coupe grille differed from 2-dr sedan grill

1967-1968 stainless steel grille with center horizontal badge. This one has the 'D' emblem used on Deluxe models

1969 Sedan/Van/Wagon has a doubled center bar and vertical center badge

1969-1971 Coupe 1600. This one has an SSS badge and "white-stripe" center rib

1970-1971 SSS grill (also used 1970-1973 North America)

1970-1971 JDM Deluxe grille

1972 JDM grill metal with plastic headlight buckets. The "supersonic" emblem bolted on used on Deluxe cars

510 OPTION PARTS Fog Lamp grille

Also to add I would really like to keep using a mechanical fuel pump but if it comes down to it I im open to go electrical.

This 1972 510 popped up 45 minutes away from me here in the midwest for what I considered waaaay too much money. I went and looked at it, and was pleasantly surprised with how mostly solid the car was for Iowa. The rear quarters and rockers aren't great, but the inner rockers, 95% of the floor, and pretty much all of the crucial structure of the car is rock solid, it has beautiful, original Hakone/Leaf/whatever green paint (code 546), the interior is ALL there and mostly in amazing original shape, and I believe I'm basically the third owner of the car. It seems to have been off the road since the mid-80s, although I do see some evidence it may have been being used into the '90s, and the kid I bought it from claimed the previous owner said they had it running in 2005. I offered him basically half of his asking price, which seemed more than fair to me given how much of a project the car realistically is, and now it's mine.

The "bad" news was the engine is locked up solid. I almost always end up pulling engines out of any old car I get and refreshing them as needed anyway, so no big loss. I have three 510s in my backyard for parts (two 1969s and a 1971 which collectively I have $66 into) and one of the '69s I had running pretty well, so there was my engine to put together, already at my house. Just pulled it out of the car this past weekend and tore it down to the block to inspect it and determine the gameplan.

My goal for the car was to have original paint and decent interior that hadn't been destroyed by rodents, rust I could actually deal with, clean paperwork, and be a sedan (I prefer wagons, but I wanted to experience a "pure" 510 with IRS), so mission accomplished. I want the car to feel like an honest survivor, I want to experience a true, unmolested 510. The engine is going to be an L16. If I get bored, period mods may occur as I go, but as I'm a person who almost exclusively drives and absolutely loves old Japanese cars with under 100hp, I'm sure I'll enjoy it. It seems every 510 I see is modified somewhat significantly. If that's your thing, cool, but I've NEVER seen a bone-stock original 510 in person, so I'm excited to have one for myself. If I require speed and sheer excitement, I'll just go ride my motorcycles instead anyway. 

I think the 510 is the best-looking sedan ever made, and it's been pretty much the top slot in my attainable dream car list for years now, so having one with the potential to be roadworthy sooner than later is extremely exciting.

So anyway, I'll most likely be checking in here and there as I go. I've put power to the car and basically everything works minus the turn signal switch and the horn. The Appliance chrome slots that were on it had bad tires so I threw on some 14" 280ZX steelies I had with good rubber and a set of early '80s Cressida hubcaps that look pretty period correct. So much better of a starting point than my rusted out parts cars with etched glass that have been open to the elements for decades. These forums have already been a good source of info as I've been researching so I'll keep updating with the project as I go. Thanks!

If anyone has suggested steps to best remove the old switch (the knob is already off) , I would appreciate the input. 

Thanks!  

thanks for your help  

Photos begin again on Page 20 --- 

or check my thread on the realm - http://www.the510realm.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=30510

IMG_2198 by Devon Mitchell, on Flickr

Been a lurker for quite some time now-but finally found myself a 510.

Stumbled upon Brad's (Mr. Bohica) 71 4dr on craiglist and after a couple weeks of talking things over I made the trek down to Maryland and picked it up. Super stoked to finally have a 510- already have it registered and driving around.

Still needs a bit of love though- First things to take care of
-Find out why the battery isn't charging (got a good 10 starts or so out of it no problem; and then nothing this evening at work, got a jump, 45 minute drive later, and nothing when I got home)
-Get all the gauges hooked up- some of them sometimes work?? Temp gauge worked for half the drive to work today- tack bounces around sometimes- need a speedo cable as well, and need to connect the fuel gauge
-Need to get some air cleaners on the stacks- got some from Brad but they are definitely not deep enough so need to decide what I want to run from their
-come up with a way to connect either a belt or harness for the passenger seat
-decide what I want to do about mirrors- need some more time with the wink mirror to decide if i like it or not
-transmission has a pretty good whine in 4th and 5th; but that could be just the shear lack of deadening material
- would like to relocate the ebrake as well sometime-

Probably going to leave the paint and body as it is for right now- same for the interior- although i may toss a head unit and some speakers in there- this beast is loud and something to drown the sound out might help

There will definitely be plenty of questions... and any suggestions are welcome.. Ill do my best to keep this updated.

Thanks again Brad! Stoked to have a 510!

Here are some oics of the journey- 7:30am to 9:30pm- Tacoma hauled it like a champ-

Uhaul didnt want to rent me the full trailer... Said the Tacoma wasnt big enough- Called the place in Stamford and they didnt care at all


Riding a little bit low; fully loaded;


What a view to have for the 6 hour ride back


Night shot- little bit of editing made for a cool shot- love the yellow lights and the grill badge



And here is a link to Brad's thread for more history on it-

http://community.rat...ge__hl__memoirs

1. Can someone take a photo of the back of their stock 510 fuse box?  I am not getting power to terminals 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, & 7. I want to make sure they are in the right place (picture attached).

Backstory: (Bare with me)

I bought a dime roller a couple of years ago and have slowly been working on it. The previous owner stripped it, painted it, and never put it back together after painting it.

Since then, I swapped a KA24DE and trans, and now I am getting around to the wiring. I have a Wiring Specialties S13 harness for the motor. I ordered it so long ago, and at the time, I did not get the KA24DE Datsun harness that they sell. Since the order was so long ago, they wouldn't take the return or trade for the Datsun harness. Through some research on the forums, I found that I could use the JBC CAN/AM fuse box and the original 510 wiring harness in combination with the s13 harness. 

So I now have the JBC CAN/AM fuse box that I have been trying to connect to, but still not able to get power to the box. I have been having issues for the past couple of months. 

After searching the forums and talking to some of the members and Jeff, I got a lot of advice but was still not able to get power. I replaced fusible links (just in case), checked fuses, and bought a multimeter and a test light. 

Following IceHouse's diagram for the KA swap, I have been chasing this B/W wire issue for a few months. I was not getting power to the B/W wire in the engine bay harenss connected to the 510 fuse box when the key is on. I purchased a new ignition assembly, tried again, but still no power. 

Now having time to sit down and dive in. I checked under the dash where the engine harness connects with the dash harness. With the test light and the battery connected, when the key is in the ON position, there is power to the B/W wire coming from the IGN. But there is still no power to the B/W in the engine compartment or the B/W connected to the original 510 fuse box.

Diving deeper, I see that the engine harness wire (female plug) that it connects is B/Y. Following that B/Y wire, it runs into the bay, across the front to where the wiper motor should be (per diagram). That B/Y wire has power when the key is turned to the ON position and no power when the key is OFF.  So now I see that the B/W (from the IGN) doesn't match up with the B/W going to the original 510 fuse box. I am not sure if a previous owner tried to repin the harness or not. 

I compare the harness in the car to a spare harness that came with the car (which looks like it has seen better days). That harness is different as well, but the B/W would connect in the correct place. The spare harness B/W would lead to the B/W on the original 510 fuse box.

So, my second question is, has anyone had issues with wires on the factory harness not being in the factory spot (per diagram and possibly an unmolested harness)? If you have had this issue with the wires not being correct, did you rewire and repin through the connectors or did you just cut the wire, put new terminals on the ends and connect them individually (outside of the plug)?

The engine runs great and sounds amazing, however after a little while I was starting to get smoke out of the exhaust. Rather than risk it, I eventually pulled the engine back out of the car and took the head off to see what was up. Cylinder 4's exhaust port was black with oil, and while the valve seats look great, it definitely looks like oil was possibly getting into one of the valves (I'm assuming intake) and the whole combustion chamber is black with oil. However, looking and feeling the bore, there's a smoothed out ridge at the top that has some oil sitting at the edge of. It's smooth, but you can feel it. Can't nick it with a fingernail or anything, but can feel a smooth protrusion. I can't tell for sure if the oil was getting into the cylinder via the valves or coming up with the piston...I've taken plenty of heads apart so not scared to do the work to check everything or replace the seals if needed, just not sure if that's the whole issue.

I'd like to get some eyes on the cylinder itself here and see if anybody has some opinions about this bore. Does it look OK, or should I start over and bore this thing over? Like I said, the engine ran great, ran hard, and sounded good, so I'm assuming overall it was assembled correctly and everything torqued right, etc. But I'm wondering if I should be looking at anything beyond possibly a bad valve seal or worn valve guide in this scenario. Could the oil issue be something bottom end related, can the oil control rings be installed incorrectly on these? I've taken tons of engines apart to re-seal and re-gasket them to great success, but have limited experience properly rebuilding bottom ends, so I don't always know what looks good, or potentially bad when it comes to cylinder bores.

Let me know what you think!

bumperautomobile.com https://bumperautomobile.com/datsun-510-sedan-datsun-1600-bumper-1967-1973/