Will

Over here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nissan-Bluebird-1800-SSS-E-van-Tomica-Dandy-17-Japan-/360515166742 I wasn't calling dibs - just weird enough to share, so bid away.

The SUs were running well, but the engine overheated (before I got it... It was already out of the car when I picked it up.) and I needed to have the head milled - I didn't really mess with the carbs when I put the engine back together. I watched the video, and that helped to actually hear what all of the write-ups were describing. I'll give tuning another try in the morning... before the snow gets here!

Thanks for the tips everyone. I've almost finished reading that giant page about SU tuning. ...next up the youtube SU video. I did bring the Uni-Syn and the timing light with me, but the Gunson Colortune was left in Brooklyn. I didn't want to get shocked again.

I didn't have a timing light when I first got it running - I just aimed the distributor towards plug #1, got it running and then adjusted it a bit more until it sounded like it was running best. I hooked up a timing light and the marker on the timing cover was pointing about a quarter of the way around the crank pulley from 12° advanced (clockwise... in a spot where there were no marks on the pulley.) It must have been something like 35° or 40° advanced - the engine is pretty much stock - it there a reason why it would be running better with the timing advanced that much from the stock spec? Or did Datsun make some crank pulleys with the notches in wacky places?

I drove up to Syracuse for Thanksgiving, and it wasn't running too well at all - it was okay on the highway, but not too keen in town. Hopefully someone out there can help with some tuning suggestions. A few weeks ago I used a timing light and set the timing to the correct setting, and it hasn't been running too well ever since - -harder starting. -sluggish off idle. I tried to set the fuel mixture on the SUs to see if that was the problem with the new timing setting, but that only made things worse. -really slow and stumbling off idle, with some rattling from the carbs during acceleration. -temperature varied more as I was driving - a bit colder than usual but it usually kept at the center of the temp gauge. Does anyone have some suggestions about how I can get this car running right again? I don't have much experience tuning the Hitachi SUs, and using a colortune only succeeded in giving me an electrical shock. I need to drive back to Brooklyn in a few days!

Also, try trademe.co.nz There aren't too many 710 Violets in Australia since they weren't imported, but New Zealand did get them.

More fun stuff from ebay - who wants to try out this color scheme?

Hey... an East-Coast 1200 that is running, doesn't have a crazy engine swap, and is reasonably priced!! http://newyork.craigslist.org/brx/cto/3413016850.html DATSUN 1971 - $2500 (BRONX) I'M SELLING A 1971 DATSUN...MANUAL TRANS...RUNS EXCELLENT...I'M AKING FOR $2,500 OBO...CALL OR TEXT 910-922-4858 OR 910-978-2981....THANKS FOR SEE MY POSTING...PLEASE NO EMAIL

I think it's a Volvo 240 - I have an identical rack from an old 240, and I was able to bend the ends enough to fit into the rain gutters on my 710... and carry 4x8 sheets of plywood with the thing.

Card shark. Wait, no. Shark cards.

Dropped body? Where did you drop the body? I can't see it in the picture.

I notice it has a white interior... any chance that the grab handles above the doors are in okay condition? I only need the white plastic covers that go over the ends of the handles.

I'd be interested! ... though I agree that a later FSM might be more useful to more people - not too many L18s out there.

Looks like they ran out of flat black paint halfway through the two-toning! Are you going to have fun with the paint?

Datsun Off-Roadster: http://providence.craigslist.org/cto/3245165161.html

Saw this while leafing through one of my Datsun books... such a good, simple idea - why aren't they all like this?

Hey! Those don't go there!

Thanks, Mike! I set it to the center mark of the five, so it should be pretty close. IT definitely is running better and no longer pinging - I'll fine tune it on the road and try to get it dialed in a bit more precisely. It's always fun to play with a 12V strobe light anyway.

Success! Finally had a free afternoon and some good weather, so I took care of valve adjustments, timing, and plug gaps to try and get the 710 running smoothly. I drove from Syracuse to Ottawa and back to Brooklyn a few weeks ago, and the whole way it was idling very rough, but cruising just fine on the highway. I ended up getting 27mpg the first time I checked, and then 30mpg (with a carfull of stuff and a couch and shelf on the roof!) The valve adjustment and plug gaps were pretty close to what they should be, but the timing was way off - it was retarded really really far - maybe 25°or 30°! The illustrations that I could find of the timing marks on the crank pulley all showed what the six notches meant (+5°, 0°, -5°, -10°, -15°, -20°) but my pulley only has 5 notches, so I set it to the notch that was my best guess at -10°. The engine is from an L16 1972 510 SSS Coupe - does anyone know the proper timing setting, or what the five notches on the crank pulley stand for? I couldn't find this information in any of my manuals or online. At least it no longer feels like the engine is trying to shake itself apart! I'm going to try and go on a road trip to Baltimore next weekend. I'm curious if it is as it appears in John Waters movies.

Any ratsuners in Alaska? Free '74 Subaru coupe: http://fairbanks.craigslist.org/cto/3306711303.html

If you're thinking about rear suspension modifications, these photos from a racing 710 I saw on ebay might help:

That style only fits between the later 140J taillights - the ones that look like this:

Problems with the neighbors? Fixed.