What was I thinking?

[datsunaholic]

This is one ugly little car.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The interior is trashed...

 

 

 

Notice anything here?

 

 

I wonder if that "Something" works. Doubt it.

 

 

OK, the explanation:

 

My neighbor 2 doors down is a tow truck driver, has his own little towing business. He buys junk cars, makes a cheap attempt to fix them, and either flips them for a couple hundred over his cost or takes them to a local wrecker who gives him $300 a car.

 

He flagged me down last night, said come look at it tomorrow (today).

 

This car doesn't have a speck of rust on the body. I've never seen a 310 this unrusty. It only has 96,000 TRUE miles. The interior is utterly trashed, both from sun going through that greenhouse of a rear hatch, or from carrying dogs, or both. It's a California car- California emissions sticker is still on the quarter window.

 

The bad is that it's pumping combustion gases into the radiator, making it overflow and overheat. Probably a blown head gasket. HOPEFULLY that's all it is, because finding a E15S head is next to impossible. It runs great otherwise, and there's no water in the oil.

 

But I really don't need this thing. But I hated seeing a rust-free, one dent 310 head to the wrecker.

[INDY510]

.

What do you call it??? .. . a hatchback coupe??? ...... . :lol: . . . I have never seen that roof-line ... it looks cool . . . remove the hatch for a summer-time truck???

 

 

How many more to complete the set???? ... ... . :lol:

[datsunaholic]

To complete a full set I think I'd probably have to narrow it to a particular year. I think I was shooting for 1978, but I only ever had a truck, 2 body styles of 510s, and a B210 of that year. I've never owned quite a few models. This is the first 310 I've owned, though I had a friends '82 in my yard for 3 months while we tried to get it to pass smog. First 1982 anything I've had. I've had at least one Datsun of every model year from '74-83, though there are gaps now (no '75, '77, or 80 now)

[izzo]

Throw a GA16 in there :D

[ggzilla]

that sticker on the back makes it all worthwile :blink:

[datsunaholic]

Yeah, that's going to require some goof-off or something. This was obviously a granny-car. Notice it's an Automatic? When's the last time you saw an Automatic 310?

[Skib]

lol my grandma had one :lol:

[datsunaholic]

Well, the leak is worse than I thought. I tried retorquing the head to see if that made a difference. Of the 10 head bolts, I was able to get an extra 1/4 turn to correct torque on 7 of them. 2 of them (both on the exhaust side) won't budge- feels like I'll break off the bolts if I try. And one was already broken off. Also on the exhaust side, center. From what remains of the bolt it looks like it broke off clean at the block deck or maybe lower. That is not good news.

 

It seems to run perfectly, but it's pushing water out the overflow. Even cold. Take the cap off and it's like a green volcano, with lots of combustion smoke and the coolant smells flammable.

 

That's too bad, because the car drives really good and everything except the A/C works. The rear wiper kind of works, probably sticky grease (it goes one way and has to be helped back). Oh, and the hatch struts have failed, not uncommon.

[LenRobertson]

It sounds like you just need to yank the head off, like it or not. Get some PB soaking on the broken head bolt. See if the head is warped. Do you need to keep the smog junk intact, or can you leave some off? If you don't need it for inspection, makes the reassembly easier. Depending on what the removed head reveals, it may be worth fixing for the price of a gasket set. If there is something seriously wrong, turn it into a greenhouse. Grow some nice tomatoes under that rear glass.

 

What is the deal with the E15S head being rare? I'm not familiar with non-L engines. I suspect I've seen these heads in the Spokane P&S and didn't know it. They probably get crushed, cause no one else knows either.

 

I'm glad the tow truck guy is your neighbor, not mine. It sounds dangerous that he knows where you live, when he finds a dead Datsun!

 

Len

[datsunaholic]

The E15S is rare only because it was a 2-year engine. 310s only used it in '82 (last year of production) and Sentras only used it in 82-83, and then only part of '83. The NX Pulsar and most Sentras used the E16, which probably used the same head. There was also a very rare E15T Turbo used in Pulsars too, but that was EFI.

 

I'm hoping it's just the gasket, but knowing Aluminum heads, once it blew the fire ring there's probably a nice trace through the head. The flip side is it isn't hydrolocking yet, so the coolant isn't getting back IN. SO it might be very recent damage.

[ggzilla]

A good one is rare. The E-series are notorious for warping heads.

[Guest DatsuNoob]

[datsunaholic]

???

 

I'm either too old, too out of touch, or too both to even remotely understand how a screencap of Dennis Hopper from "Blue Velvet" pertains here. Unless it's a reference to "Notorious for warping heads". And no, I haven't seen the movie.

[ggzilla]

So why did you buy it? Going to repair it and sell to some teenager for basic transportation?

[datsunaholic]

Well, I don't know. Repair it, drive it for a while. If the gas mileage is better than my 620 (that's not easy to do considering how I have my 620 set up) then I'll keep it until something better pops up or I fix my '78 510 Coupe. Otherwise, see if my brother wants it. The last car I bought that was spewing coolant my brother is STILL driving, 10 years later. Well, and 2 heads/head repairs too. He's more of a cheapskate than I am.

[amarine1]

Was that a duece and a half military truck I saw in one of the first pics in this thread?

[datsunaholic]

Yes. I drove them in the Navy (not often, I was normally driving the 5-ton since it pulled the boat).

[amarine1]

Yes. I drove them in the Navy (not often, I was normally driving the 5-ton since it pulled the boat).

 

Thought so. I drove a 5 ton for 6 years....... even more fun was putting one on an ship (to do amphibious assaults onto beaches).

 

Do you still have the 2 1/2 ton...... and if so, does it run (iis it street legal)?

 

At some point when I am older, I will be adding one to my driveway for military parades n such.

[datsunaholic]

Yes, I still have it, yes, it runs, and yes, it's street legal. I would have gotten a 5-ton but they sell for 5X the price and require a CDL to drive the way I use it.

[tdaaj]

cool little car doug, been needing to get out your way and visit some time.

[Wide14u]

i don't think i have seen one before its kinda cool

[datsunaholic]

I finally pulled this thing around the front to work on it. Dammit, I can't get the head off... I need to get the EGR tube free and it's totally stuck. A 10-foot cheater wouldn't budge the EGR tube nut, but I almost destroyed the intake manifold trying. I forgot how much it sucks trying to work on wrong-wheel drive cars.

[Stupid_fast]

Could drop a honduh motor into it... Maybe? Its already wrong wheel drive and all.

[ggzilla]

Yes, you could drop a Hondah rwd motor in your 510 too, seeing as it's only 2wd. But why would you want to?

[Stupid_fast]

Yes, you could drop a Hondah rwd motor in your 510 too, seeing as it's only 2wd. But why would you want to?

 

Because F22C's are awesome?