what to look for when buying a 510

[lanesteele240]

I am close to buying a 510 from a guy near me. i looked it over and saw some rust in the usual places. the floor pans were gone in a few places and the spare tire area felt thin. one of the front finder taps was gone and some on one of the doors. What are the other trouble areas that I should be concerned with.

 

 

these cars are rare in North Carolina. i have only seen a few posted for sale on the east cost. i dont want to rush in and buy a rust bucket that is too far gone.

 

 

Please help.

[510kevin]

does it run?

does it have a title?

how much is it?

 

the rarity of 510's or datsuns in general on the east coast would make you want to swoop on any one thats a good deal. do you have metalworking, bodywork, skills, basic automotive knowledge and or a fat wallet?

 

sometimes the biggest factor in owning a 510(or any old vehicle) is the owner/builder more than the car.

 

if the car is a good enough deal and you are confident that you can make the needed repairs, id say go for it.

 

 

hope this helps, good luck and enjoy!!

[Logical1]

does it run?

does it have a title?

how much is it?

 

the rarity of 510's or datsuns in general on the east coast would make you want to swoop on any one thats a good deal. do you have metalworking, bodywork, skills, basic automotive knowledge and or a fat wallet?

 

sometimes the biggest factor in owning a 510(or any old vehicle) is the owner/builder more than the car.

 

if the car is a good enough deal and you are confident that you can make the needed repairs, id say go for it.

 

 

hope this helps, good luck and enjoy!!

 

X2!

[sddriver]

Aside from the aforementioned bodywork, look at the wiring. Since these cars are ~40+ years old, it may give you a clue as to whether or not the car will be a headache down the road in terms of the electrical system. Does the wiring look/feel ok? i.e. not brittle or have a bunch of splices/mismatched wires. If you see a bunch of hacked wiring, I would take a very close look at the car as it may indicate an owner who does "just enough" to keep the car running and who knows what other questionable repairs they may have done. It's never fun to trace down gremlins at the side of a 2 lane highway at night when one of those "wonder" repairs fail. <_<

[lanesteele240]

what is a good price for a 70 2 door that is in bad to close to bad shape? with out a title

[datzenmike]

Very little and he knows it. No title? Maybe a good reason. Stolen, scrapped for parts, written off in accident, who knows. You would have to do a title search to be sure you can own it. Right now it's suitable for parts. If you had it and didn't have the title and you knew nothing about it except you got it in a trade from a friend of a friend, how much cost or bother would it be to you to get the title sorted out? With the risk of finding it's been stolen 8 years ago and are responsible for receiving stolen goods?

 

Get the number of the cowl directly behind the back of the valve cover and ask the police or DMV?

[fisch]

hard to give a good answer w/o pics. The title thing depends on your state. Is it a title free state? If so you should be able to register it with an expired registration.

 

Stock engine? Runner? Good brakes (upgraded)?

 

Do you have more time or money? (Actually you need both for a rust bucket.)

 

I would try to be patient if it is that bad. I know it is hard. They are tough to find on the east coast. You should try new England! It is a Datsun wasteland!

 

 

You are far enough south I'd look in Florida. They pop up there. Go to searchtempest.com and expand your craigslist search parameters!

[Master-O-Turbonics]

RUST

[datzenmike]

http://www.the510realm.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10023