carterb

Next up: Interior.

Let's just say it was a little spartan:

Now I've driven a single seater race car before and it was awesome! But this is a wagon. It needs more than one chair. So I bought a pair from my friend Rich late last Friday night and spent Saturday stripping out the interior to make room for them.

Man it was good to get that red seat out of there. The mounting was extra-scary! Along with the rest of the car, the floors are nice and solid though! I had a roll of carpet in the garage that I thought I might put in the cargo area. But while I had the floors stripped, a little light bulb went off, and so I carpeted the front instead. With BERBER!!! Oh Yeah!

Next I grabbed a set of seat risers from the garage and mounted the new front seats.

Along with the nasty old rear seat that was collecting water and mold in the back of the blue parts wagon (still needs a deep cleaning)

And wala! We are now up to date.

With any luck, tomorrow I will be trading a SSS SU air box for a set of seatbelts and will swap out the nasty blue door panels for a set of cream ones. But you know how often things go according to plan. We'll see!

Have a great weekend Ratsun friends.

Now that the wagon seemed to be running somewhat reliable. It was time to improve its stance.

Custom blocks in the rear and coil-overs in front and I had genuine snow plow on my hands!

A little better dont' you think?

The next couple of weekends I addressed the driveability problems (SU's out of tune, no damper oil, shotty wiring, etc). Added a white hood and right front fender I had in my stash. Then I swapped back to as many white doors as I could find in the back of the blue parts wagon. Looking better?

I found out that the drivers door and rear hatch were sold to a guy named Mark up in Arlington. He put them on his cactus green wagon.

Unfortunately, he sold the wagon to some guy for $335 a few months ago and kept no contact info. Craigslist adds and a "who bought this goon" thread elsewhere on ratsun have turned up nothing but another guy who claims to have purchased the wheels before Mark sold the wagon. Really? No one out there knows where this wagon is?

My friend and co-worker started off with good intentions. He started stripping the interior to make it a bit nicer and even did a rear disk brake conversion. Unfortunately, he burried himself and ran out of steam and there the car sat for a couple of years. Eventually another co-worker "bought" it from him along with another abandond project wagon of his but Blanco's situation didn't improve. Rather than getting either car back on the road, he started swapping sheet metal panels adn parting out bits and pieces whenever he needed some cash. : (

Now here we were, November 2011 and I was still daily driving my 1969 SSS bluebird coupe. I was getting nervious about the change in the weather that was coming and didn't want to drive my coupe on the roads once they started to ice over. Partly because I didn't want to pick up the salt-brine mixture they now spray on the roads around here and partly becasue I didn't to slip into a ditch after hittting a patch of black ice or something.

So I began looking for a 4dr or wagon that I could drive for the winter. I talked to the guy I sold the wagon to and it turns out he was still the owner. We struck a deal on it and the other project wagon and shortly after I picked up the wagon from the other co-worker and *barely* drove it home.

It was ugly as sin and needed a lot of work!

But it wasn't as bad as the project wagon that came with it:

The car was a bit of a mess mechanically. The motor had been torn down left in pieces.

It had wierd lowering blocks in the rear which I had to remove in the middle of the night in the guys lawn with a sissor jack so I could tow the car home on the dolly without the rear end dragging on the ground, and it was missing some other pieces back there.

But the more I looked in to it, the more solid the car appeared. So eventually, I swapped in an L20 and dogleg 5spd. And got it running.

Then I got new exhaust installed and before enjoying it myself. Sold it to a co-worker.

So I was just sitting at work one day back in 2007, minding my own business, when my phone rings.

"Hello?"

"Hello, this is Carter"

"Do you buy Datsuns?"

Um, well, indeed, I have been known to purchase a Datsun from time to time but no one has every called me and asked.

"Sure?"

Well he proceeds to tell me he has three Datsun 510's and a load of parts up in Oak Harbor and wants to know if I wanted to come check them out. He has decided to get out fo the 510 game and work on his other projects. After getting some descriptions of the cars and some general pricing, we load the family up in the suburban and drive the 1 1/2 hours north to Oak Harbor to check it out. After viewing all the goodies and agreeing on a price and delivery, we head on home. Well the next morning after he was supposed to show up I get a call saying something came up and he couldn't deliver any more. So I spent the next 24 hours making trip after trip to Oak Harbor hauling home the three cars and truck-loads of parts. It was quite an ordeal but I was happy. I was three 510's richer after all. : )

The first was a bone stock 1971 red 2dr. "The Brick"

Except for the damage on the drivers door and the right front fender, it was a peach! Not a spot of rust anywhere. Fantastic car. In the end, I never did get to build it though as I sold it to a guy in Australia who shipped it over along with one of my other cars where they ended up in a movie!

The second was a 1970 yellow wagon. "Caliwagon"

I had high hopes for this car. L20, 5spd, cool rims, etc. But when I started to dig into it, the rust was abomidable! Even the wiring was corroded so bad the connectors would fall apart when touched. In the end, I parted it out and cut it up because honestly, it was too dangersous to put on the road.

The last one was a 1971 white wagon. "Blanco"

This was probably the least interresting of the three but is the only one I still have and will be the subject of this build thread...

No spare bumpers, sorry.

--carter

I have the right and left rear quarters for a datsun 510 Wagon.

The Right side has some damage in the lower portion just behind the rear wheel. $50?

The Left side is just about perfect! $75?

I also have the doglegs $25 each. They should work on a 4dr as well.

As well as the trim piece above the bumper $25.

I also have some roof sections, upper firewall, B pillars, and strut towers for free if anyone needs them.

Thanks for looking!

I'm in Lynnwood, WA

--carter

425-275-7746

I have a full set of Centerline rims and tires for sale.

The rims are 13 x 6 or so. I didn't measure exact width, backspacing, etc.

Tires are P205/60R13 and all in pretty good shape.

These may work on your Datsun 510, 610, 200sx, S12, early nissan z31 300zx, 240z, 260z, 280z, 280zx, roadster 1600, 2000 and more.

They come with a full set of slightly mis-matched lug nuts.

Here is a photo of the wheels mounted on my old wagon Flipper

Thanks for looking!

I'm in Lynnwood, WA

--carter

425-275-7746

Correct.

I am trying to point out that they are similar to, but NOT THE SAME AS the Appliance rims.

They are also NOT US Wheel, those centercaps were purchased separately from the rims.

Full set of four 15x7 DOTZ wheels with the 4 x 4.5" (4 x 114.3mm) hole pattern to fit Datsuns and many others.

Rims are near perfect with no curb rash. A couple very small imperfections is all you will find. They come with all four centercaps and they have steel lug seats. One centercap logo is slightly discolored compared to the rest.

Rims have 15x7 stamped on them but actual rim measures 8"wide. Backspacing is ~ 4 7/8" so they are +7/8" (+22mm) offset.

These may work on your Datsun 510, 610, 200sx, S12, early nissan z31 300zx, 240z, 260z, 280z, 280zx, roadster 1600, 2000 and more.

Thanks for looking!

I am in Lynnwood, WA

--carter

425-275-7746

I can ship the the lower 48 for about $20-25/rim.

I have 5 aluminum wheels from a Nissan 85-86 200sx Turbo. The set of 4 is nice but one has curb rash so the 5th wheel with the tire completes the nice set.

4 x 4.5" (4 x 114.3mm) hole pattern to fit Datsuns and many others. Back spacing is listed as 4.76" and offset is listed as +32mm. The catalog lists these as 15x6 but actual width measures 7". I bought them for my 510 but am using 280zxt snowflakes instead.

These may work on your Datsun 510, 610, 200sx, S12, early nissan z31 300zx, 240z, 260z, 280z, 280zx, roadster 1600, 2000 and more.

Thanks for looking!

I am in Lynnwood, WA

--carter

425-275-7746

I have a full set of 4 14x6.75 aluminum wheels and 205/60R14 Toyo tires.

Backspacing is 4". Offset is about +6mm.

Not sure of wheel manufacturer but they are very similar to Appliance Mesh wheels

Wheels are all flawless. They have very few miles on them. Centercaps and lug nuts are included. Tires are okay. 1 has the inside tread worn down.

These were on the last Datsun 510 I purchased and were mounted by the previous owner so I know the history.

These may work on your Datsun 510, 610, 200sx, S12, early nissan z31 300zx, 240z, 260z, 280z, 280zx, roadster 1600, 2000 and more.

Thanks for looking!

I am in Lynnwood, WA

--carter

425-275-7746

Here is the wagon I'm looking for. You can see why. I need the door and hatch. They used to be on my wagon. Previous owner parted them out for some reason. Know who has this wagon? It was sold in Western Washington late 2011. Any leads would be appreciated, thanks!