jboulukos

I actually found a passenger headlight assembly complete with harness in my boxes of parts and now have all brake lights working! Thanks crew

You’ve steered me right so many times Mike. No need to mention that. I’m thankful to belong to such a solid forum. The forum actually is a huge part of the enjoyment of owning my Datsun. The thrill of fixing the things that arise with knowledge and hands...

Now...to find someone who has one for sale...

Opened clamshell, looked at turn signal mechanism, cleaned out grime with cotton swab. I looked at all solder joints that I could see and it all looked intact. I went back to the brake bulb socket and noticed one of the two contact humps was recessed past the base. I believe a new socket will fix the issue. I dug around the plastic base to free up the bump however it’s not really moving and may be even more recessed now. See oic.

Yes hitachi carb original style. I thought the secondary opened with the gas pedal? It’s a 1978. If I press the pedal down to much too soon I hear a big vroom. I guess vacuum then.

Just did 14 miles around town, gunning it, scooting around corners, pedal to the floor setting off the feature on the carb that opens the second valve electronically....all without hesitation. Maybe the new fuel filter did help? Maybe the carb jet become unclogged?

I remember putting 89 octane in last time. I’ve been thinking that was not necessary and maybe even bad for this car. What’s your take on that?

I added 4.4 gallons of 87 octane and that seems to help everything. I will add another reply if the hesitation shows up again. As for now I place on topping of the gas every 20 miles to get fresh gas in. The previous gas was 89 octane with stabilizer and was 14 months old. Not sure if this has an effect on the hesitation or not.

The fuel filter was definitely worth the Initial try. I do have an window on the front of the carb. However I have an automatic trans, so will the test still work if I check the window as you’ve described? Great advice, I hope I don’t have to open up the carb. I’ve cleaned and rebuilt it before. As I recall, 2 jets are accessible from the outside of the carb. Are those the primary jets?

I changed the fuel filter. $5 at Napa with a 2 day wait. Worked well for a mile and then started the same issue with the power and the missing. Sometimes pressing the pedal and getting a delayed stuttering response.

So I cleaned out the brake light socket contacts by scratching the metal with a screw driver and then spraying with electronic contact cleaner. Still no brake light. Replaced same side reverse light, success with working reverse lights. Swapped brake light bulbs with opposite side, same result, no passenger brake light. Noticed same side rear side marker light out, replaced and works. So one of the wires leading from the turn signal to the brake light might be the culprit?

Probably. It was the fastest the engine had to work from a stopped position going into acceleration. All the other movements of the car were a little more easing into it.

Hitting the gas after being stopped at a light. It’s a busier street so I was just trying to keep a normal acceleration, which is quite hard versus modern cars and the Chicago way of driving. So I was hitting the gas to trying to get it moving. No hill.

Someone told me “hey, nice car, do you know your right brake light is out?” So I had a bulb in the glove box but a new bulb didn’t fix the issue. I noticed the turn signal light from the same side works then noticed, looking in the reflection of a store window, that my reverse white light is out too. I examined the bulb housing and discovered that it it cracked slightly. The bulb still spun in there fine though. Let me know where to start. I imagine I need to pull out my multimeter and check continuity of each wire. Let me know how to go about this.

Update. Let it idle and warm up for 15 minutes today. Idle seemed fine, so was reving the engine in park. Started to drive it. Seemed great. Normal power. And after about 2 miles, exact same location as yesterday, the engine started to sputter and loss of power. The engine stopped when I pressed the gas pedal. Started it up and it started running weak for 30 seconds but then became normal again. i have a clear plastic fuel filter and I’m going to take a look at it to see if it caught some sediment as suggested. I will just swap it out soon after I take care of some other errands.

This worked. I poured about 3-5 ounces into the carb. Drive about 2 miles fine and strong, then started having hesitation and significant loss of power. Drove back home at 15 mph with the hesitation having to push the gas pedal many times to keep power. I’m going to syphon the gas, change the fuel pump to an NOS Kyosan Denki, add new gas, look at the acceleration cable/throttle connection to the carb. Let me know if I’m missing something. The gas in the car is over a year old however I did put stabilizer in at that time. Maybe water build up in the fuel lines? Or poor quality old gas. It’s 89 octane too, but I am thinking that was unnecessary as I have always used 87. My Datsun is pissed at me.

I took off the 3 inch hose that leads to the carb and it was dry. But shouldn’t it be? The fuel pump is mechanical and is situated lower than the carb so it pumps the fuel upward toward the carb. Wouldn’t fuel just lower back down to the fuel pump when it’s sitting? Should I add some furl directly to the carb in order to start the car and this get the fuel pump to pump the gas? Thanks for the input!

My B210 has been sitting (death) for a while, approximately 9 months with 1 start up about 6 months ago for about 10 minutes running. The car usually starts up after sitting. I was going to put a NOS kyosan denki fuel pump in it today since it’s an original part to the car. I had been using a cheap fuel pump for about 2 years. So everything is good with the battery, starter is making normal noise when turning the key. I looked at the carb float and it looks down. There is gas in the fuel filter. Not sure if there is gas inside the carb. I wanted to get it out of the corner of the garage so I could pull it onto the ramps in order to change the fuel pump. Can anyone provide some direction on this? Spark and fuel and air. It has newer spark plugs, wires, rotor. However I didn’t change the coil since it was working. Maybe the aftermarket fuel pump? Attached is a photo of the carb float window.

I have a few badges of different aesthetic qualities. I originally restored mine by taping over the chrome Datsun then using an exacto knife to to cut away the tape in order to spray the black behind the chrome Datsun lettering. Then I did the reverse for spraying the red on the 210 numbers. Worked much better than expected and took a lot of patience but worth it.

Welcome and enjoy! Let me know if you need parts. I have quite an assortment of stuff.

Nice man! Mine had the original Tacoma Datsun/Volvo dealer plate surrounds on it too. Glad to hear you scored a solid B-210!

So I live in Florida and keep my B210 in Chicago. I was recently there and took it out for a spin after insuring it for super cheap with Hagerty I believe. These cars are definitely becoming extremely rare because I literally could not go anywhere without multiple people striking up conversations at the gas station or honking me down on the freeway. I don’t know if it’s the size of the car (obviously narrow and shorter in length), or the rarity of these in the Midwest, or the unique blue color that attracts attention, but people were ultra stoked about it, totally bonkers. I’ve had the car since 2009 and I am used to the occasional honk and smile, but this was different. I went as far as parking it in the city, grabbing a coffee, leaning up against a nearby light pole and discreetly filming each passer by circling it and discussing it with their friend. “That’s a Dodge Dart”...or “those bumpers indicate it’s from the seventies...” it was epic. I could care less if anyone honks or talks about it. It’s an amazing car and I’m happy to have it while it lasts. I reached 75 mph on the Dan Ryan freeway which is like 130 mph in 70s Japanese go-kart speed. It feels almost dangerous but also feels completely capable and exhilarating. I never thought that I would bring smiles to peoples faces when I first purchased the car as my daily driver back in Kent, WA in 2009. If people only knew the joy it has brought to me. It’s an absolute pleasure to drive it since my hands have played a large role in preserving it. Recent upgrades this trip include a new clear fuel filter and rear driver side black bumper corner upgrade. The car is not perfect by a long shot but needs nothing at the moment. Though taking care of it is always in the back of my mind and that is the essence of ownership of one of these in a nutshell. Keep Rock alive. Datsuns are forever.

I have a 1978 B210 2 door sedan and the gas tank is basically behind the rear seat in the trunk. So I definitely have a nice old school gasoline smell if it’s been a while between drives. I don’t mind it though and I’m not certain it’s evidence of anything going wrong.

Ha. 1 penny did the trick. Had to buy 1 new brake light bulb.