My first car, '72 510 Wagon

[Son_of_a_Datsun_Guy]

This is my first post here on Ratsun. It's of my FIRST car, a 1972 Datsun 510 Wagon (but you all already knew that). I got the car last December from a guy that my dad knows (my dad has a 71 2 door sedan that's spotless and show car grade, except it's in the middle of an engine swap) and I finally managed to get it running this last summer, the day before school started (I'm a junior in high school). We bought the car pretty much complete, no trim missing, and in absolutely stunning condition considering it's been sitting parked halfway under a car port for 15 years in the Santa Cruz mountains. It had a lock stock L16 in it and a 4 speed manual transmission when we bought it that had been rebuilt something like 15ish years ago. I've been working on it (with coaching from my dad) ever since. We affectionately refer to it simply as "The Wagon".

 

The day we brought the wagon home: I'm really sorry I don't have any pics of the engine as it was when we bought it, somehow I managed to lose them.

 

http://photobucket.com/72-datsun-510-wagon-project

 

 

 

 

After months of cleaning the car up and beginning to do small adjustments here and there to interior and such, we finally began to prep the wagon for it's first start. Which failed.... but it was a good try. We ended up having to get the gas tank recoated and blow the fuel line, and then the wagon started... Just in time for the brakes to fail, which we then fixed, just in time for radiator to fail (I'm sure many of you are familiar with this cycle). On the first test drive the wagon looked like something out of Mad Max (Road Warrior for all you Australians).

 

 

Then we painted the back hatch to cover up a really crappy 30 year old paint job.

 

 

Fun story, somehow I managed to blow up the starter on the car, seriously there is a crater in the side of it, if any of you have any idea how this might have happened or have had it happen to you, I'd love to have some insight on it:

 

 

After quite a few new additions the car is now running beautifully in my opinion and much better looking than it was, but there is still plenty left to do, I'm sitting on some shortened struts and composite leaf springs to lower the car and stiffen up the handling, there are also plans for short term engine additions like SUs and such (I've put in a "stock" three row radiator and replaced some pumps and most fuel, water, and soft gas lines). This car will probably never be done, but that's just how I like it. I've also included some of the flaws with the car, crud gaskets (I've already done all the doors), dings and dents, interior... don't worry the glovebox is in the back seat =P, and I have a spook and new antenna sitting in the garage along with the cluster with a tach and all that good stuff. I'm more excited than the time I was 7 and my parents told me we were going to Disneyland, that's pretty frickin' excited.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Draynor]

Thats a nice looking Wagon man!

[crackerjack69]

Good choice, Datsun as a first car! Welcome to the forum.

 

 

[Rustina 510]

Way to go bro. Now get back to work :)

[DREWSDIME]

Sweet my first car also was a 72 510 wagon!