Project Datto from the tropics!

[Komi]

hey all, greetings from sunny Sri Lanka. Komi here, and i've got hold of a 510 2 door sedan, which on which i plan a restomod over the next year or so. these cars are super rare here, and i beleive only 6 are still in running condition. there's another fellow sri lankan ratsun member "ceylondatsun" restoring another. 

 

well here she is the day i bought her. for a shade under $6000. in excellent shape overall. just needs a little fine tuning and TLC:

 

 

 

its funny how temperamental these cars can be, its almost as if they sense a change in the owner. she spluttered and coughed on the way home, and the alternator gave way. oddly, within a week, she was up and running again as if nothing happened. 

 

i got the interior layered in 3m nylon wool carpet for a better finish:

 

and a local muffler dude to replace the fart cannon on it with a quieter number. just a temporary fix.

 

 

here she is after a wax and polish:

 

i did a lot of sould searching and thinking over whether to rip out the internals and go crazy with an SR20DET or CA conversion on this. was offered complete conversion on both motors, but since i'm already bulding an integra type R sedan, i thought i'd keep this old school, with a carb gurgle and petrol-smelling interior to boot!

 

so here's my plan for the build:

 

ENGINE AND DRIVETRAIN

 

L16 engine swap. its running an L13, which was standard issue for south asia. a few enthusiasts did import the L16 and SSS variants too. 

will be taking apart and sprucing up the tranny as well. it feels a little worn out.

 

comp cams - for a little more grunt. 

 

K&N intake with stock carb. aint' going for webers. 

 

switching over to electronic ignition with the petronix kit

 

 

BRAKES AND SUSPENSION

 

she's on four drums with no servo. will be plugging in a servo, and at least a front disc conversion from a sunny. rear discs would be nice, but an option til i can afford it

 

rear's been lowered on lowering springs, not coilovers. the camber is way negative. its a nice look but then again... i'd rather get the camber adjustment kit and set it right

 

 

EXTERIOR

 

after much contention, settled on lamborghini telesto gray. with either red or gold bridgestone BBS rims. 

 

 

or

 

 

the two tone looks awesome as well, if only i could figure out what that second colour is:

 

 

sourced all the emblems except one bluebird emblem. still on the hunt for that. plan to have them in black rather than silver. for more understatement. also found the OEM bluebird emblem in the glovebox! it was in a sorry state but i repainted it and stuck it on the grille

 

 

 

and final result:

 

also planning to plastidip the grille and headlight surrounds in satin black. the bumpers and overriders will remain chrome. 

 

got a BRE datsun front lip shipped in from malaysia. on its way. 

 

 

 LIGHTING

 

of all places to find a set of ellpisoid projectors, i found mine on yahoo japan auctions, off an M3 for 5000 yen! a steal if you ask me. will be fitting those in with yellow fogs for the headlights. 

 

replacing the rear light lenses as well, and coating the chrome guards in black. 

 

and bluebird turn signals

 

 

INTERIOR

 

previous owner had installed a bluebird dash he had shipped in from aussie. its in excellent condition with all the bits and bobs in working order

 

i recently hunted down this tach from aussie again. a friend will carry it over in june. can't wait!

 

also, will get a set of center console gauges for fuel, water temp and voltage. there's a shrot in the electricals which keeps turning off the gauges overy once in a while. tis a bit annoying. 

 

the rear seats and panelling are in really good shape, but the front door panels and seats need redoing. i'll be replacing the seats with the ones off my integra. uphosltered in black with embroidered datsun logos of course. 

 

got hold of a bluebird wooden gear knob and will be polishing up the nardi steering as well. 

 

also on the hunt for the elusive 510 fiber optic light and wiper switches... 

 

well that's an overview of what i have in mind. will be updating as the work progresses. just a slight matter of getting my teg out of the mechanics' beforehand... a month or so more to go. 

 

cheers!

[darrel]

Excellent post with pics, nice car.

[Komi]

a few more things:

 

the dash lights were non existent, so i had them replaced with white LED's for a much cleaner look

 

the clock/tach side contacts were worn out so i need to brush that up once the tach comes in. 

 

also, the previous gear knob was a complete no-no

 

got this down from kuwait, off ebay. it looked excellent, but broke in two weeks. cheap things no good and vice versa i guess

 

at the moment i'm using my brushed aluminium shifter from the teg, but i ordered this recently. the wooden OEM SSS number:

 

i sort of like the retro worn out look. and it matches the wooden steering. 

 

plus it came with a severe tint on the rear windows. i never was a fan of tinting. so off it came. 

 

 

plus a little cheekiness from my end ;)

 

 

the AC unit, which is an aftermarket plugin has been giving constant trouble. mind you april's been boiling hot with temperatures in colombo reaching 42 degrees celcius. that's 115F!! so i really need this bi*ch to work! the condensor isn't cooling adequately, which led to the compressor packing up. i tried fabricating a fan shroud...

 

but it didn't really help  :crying:

 

will be completely overhauling the AC unit when i do the engine build

[Komi]

Excellent post with pics, nice car.

 

thanks mate. ratsun has been very helpful with a lot of the mechanical stuff. plus found a number of parts here. 

[carterb]

Did all South Asia Bluebirds come with the chrome window trim on doors and 1/4 windows? 

[Komi]

so far i've only found mine with the chrome trim. the three other i know of don't have it. apparently its a rare fixture? i had a few forum members wanting me to ship it stateside. despite the freight cost. won't be parting with it tho. 

[Dirttrack510]

Awesome buy! Have fun with it and welcome to Ratsun. :)

[Ratwagon1600]

Welcome from downunder!

 

Nice find, RHD two door. Rare as Unicorn shit here.

[Komi]

Thanks guys. We've done some digging and unearthed 6 2 dr sedans here. 4 are dimes. One is still with the first owner who bought it off his first salary. Thankfully the other 3 are in good hands. None of us are swapping sr's or ca's due to vintage value.

 

I'll be upgrading mine to twin carb l16 soon. Will update then. :)

[Dirttrack510]

Personally I would call Ron at ISKY Racing Cams for a cam, instead of buying a comp cam. He really knows his stuff and can sell you everything for the install and make it pretty much a bolt in kit for you.

 

He will custom make it for your exact application and it'll probably be cheaper too.

[MikeRL411]

You sir have excellent taste!  For the historical record. Sri Lanka formerly known as Ceylon was in the distant past [as in Sinbad the Sailor] known as Serindep, the root of the modern "serendipity", of which this car is a prime example,

[Komi]

Wow Ron you know your history! Yup, we were known as Ceylon until the Brits handed our land back to us in '48. We were taprobane and serendib many years ago.

 

If any of you enjoy a good cuppa tea, most likely we grew it.

 

Will get in touch with Ron. My requirements are very specific. I just need decent grunt and a good idle. Bought the datto for my wife so she should be able to handle it and not find herself atop a tree at a blip of the throttle

[Komi]

Personally I would call Ron at ISKY Racing Cams for a cam, instead of buying a comp cam. He really knows his stuff and can sell you everything for the install and make it pretty much a bolt in kit for you.

 

He will custom make it for your exact application and it'll probably be cheaper too.

Shall I just drop isky a mail addressed to Ron? Or would you happen to have his email addy?

[Dirttrack510]

Call him 323-770-0930

He's in Gardena California

I know I said ron, but I meant to say Ed.... Anyways... He'll hook ya up. :)

I think ron does the cams too though, if you can't reach ed.

[dakotahchore]

Love the ride, love to see some foreign influence around here. Keep up the good work!

[jalen]

How's the dash a bluebird one? It looks the same as a usdm one?

Still a cool car!

[Komi]

How's the dash a bluebird one? It looks the same as a usdm one?

Still a cool car!

RHD bluebird dash was shipped in from Australia. Complete with working cigarette lighter and glove box light. Instrument cluster came with the clock tho. Bummer. Managed to snatch a tach off eBay Australia recently. A friend of mine will bring it in June.

 

Would have been nice to have the red needle gauges off a SSS, but then again...

[Komi]

a friend of mine runs a local car blog, Octane heads. did a shoot this morning, and here are a couple of pics from it. he'll be doing a full write up on it soon. i'll upload the photos then, or post a link. these are the "before" pics. once i'm done with my work, say in six months or so, he'll do another shoot. 

 

 

 

[Komi]

looks like its finally time to give the good old datto the makeover she's been waiting for. with project R, my (integra type r coversion) wrapping up, i can finally start work on this. let me say this at the outset, tho. this is more demure, saner restomod. there's no high performance this and that here. more of a process of bringing an old lady back from the nether. 

 

sadly, i have a few more commitments at the moment, which means to say updates will be less frequent. it does not mean, however, that she will get any less love or attention to detail that the honda got. but it is fun to get involved in some old school motor mechanics, rather than the hi fi electronic hoo ha's of the teg. 

 

so let me start by laying out the blueprints of my grand plan. i present to you, Project Datto! (updated from the first plan with more specifics)

 

and do keep in mind this was an update i prepped for my local thread, which is not datsun specific. so pls ignore the tech updates.

[Komi]

1. ENGINE AND DRIVETRAIN

 

for obvious reasons, i removed the L13 powerplant. it was running smoothly, but started to compalin when the AC was turned on, when two or more people got in the car, when the incline was over 30 degrees etc etc. of all these, i just need to to stop coughing with an AC. plus of course the SSS spec came with an L16!  and that's what's going in. i'm trying to source an L20b camshaft, which was the same as the L16SSS. very very rare, and hoping to get lucky. 

 

also, upgraded the coil with an accel super coil, and planning to get an MSD blaster kit for this as well, with some good plugs, for a cleaner burn. will be redoing the exhaust manifold. 

 

will be installing an external oil cooler. for form and function. it does look hella cool, and the tended to heat up exponentially when the previous AC was turned on. the gauge just kept climbing and climbing. usually the datto ran very cool. so i guess this will help, as long as i don't go knock it somewhere... 

 

as for the intake, i've already sourced a single side draught. but looking for that elusive SSS twin side draught carbs! found the carbs themselves, but not the inlet manifold. more on that as i hunt. 

 

will be doing a shave and tuck job as well to hde all the wires and clutter. no ECU means no harness, so its a lot less wiring to worry about. 

 

planning to dress her up, with a black or chrome valve cover and a spatter paint engine bay. end result will look more or less like this, without the ITB's of course:

 

during my fiddling with the lady, i found out that the gearbox she's running is off a sunny B310, with closer ratios and weaker clutch/pressure plate. so i sourced a spec datsun 610 box, built to handle an L18, plus i think its 5 forward. so that leaves room to play around a little. 

 

the rear diff, is a direct bolt on for the subaru R160 diff, and axles. both were made by fuji heavy industries, and to the same measurements! trying to source one with an LSD. that would indeed be sweet. 

 

2. BRAKES

 

datto has none. well four drums in my book equals a prayer! 

 

got the front discs off a silvia S13. huge numbers, those. only fits a 15" rim. the rears can be nicked from a cedric/cefiro. will be going to panshi and hunting for parts with one of indika's men, in disguise. will upload when i get them. also putting in a servo, with lines inside to the hydraulic handbrake i got from imran.

[Komi]

3. SUSPENSION

 

will be reverting to stock ride height and replacing the worn out dampers. its too low at the moment for me. 

 

4. TINKERING AND PAINT

 

there's a lot of cataloy hiding a lot of dings and dents. so have to scrape it down to bare metal and tinker first. in the process have to close the leaks in the drainboard as well. once done, will be going for a flat gloss white finish. after a lot of thinking, settled on white again. somehow the color, to me, is timeless and brings out all the lines and curves of the body. it just never gets old. now i understand my dad's fascination with white cars! 

 

so it should look a little like this:

 

 

will be spraying the rims a gloss or pearl sky blue. for a bit of contrast. 

 

engine bay paint:

as mentioned earlier, will be stripping it down, and laying a few coats of GM's spatter paint. to get that thick, sandpapery finish. i'd like it to be the canvas for the artwork, so to say! 

[Komi]

5. DETAILING - EXTERIOR

 

front and rear bumpers, eyelids will be beaten back to shape, and re-plated. i like a little bit of chrome. gives that vintage look. 

 

the bluebird badge, a super-rare find off Y! japan, will also be chromed and stuck on the bootlid, and not the side fender. because i could only find one, and i already have the delux decal on the quarterpanel. don't want to badge-bomb here. less is more. 

 

the rear might get a datsun logo, since it doesn't say that anywhere. still iffy on that. 

 

front grille will be plastidipped black (thanks to tiv) and will carry the OEM bluebird badge, and the white SSS on either corner. 

 

the alloys will get their lips buffed before paint. 

 

have to fix the rear light lenses and rear garnish. this centerpiece is another rare JDM option most of the gaijins slobber after. lucky to have it. it only came on the delux model. 

 

will be chrome plating the rear C pillar garnish as well. that to oi haven't decided on

1. whether to stick the SSS badge on it

2. whether to go with black, and have a chrome line, as in the photo below. its difficult to hit that perfect mark of how much chrome/black. open to suggestions. 

 

 

as int he photo i'll be plastidipping it black with two chrome lines which run parallell with the lines on the light. have to tinker and re-plate the chrome on the lights, and remove that godawful tint. and maybe Davy can have a look at the lenses. i think the tint probably helped preserve them!

 

i sourced a set of E30 BMW ellipsoid projectors for the headlights. will be going with those, and 6000K dims, with 3200K heads. might mount a set of fogs with halogen bulbs also. for that foggy hill climb to horton plains with a couple of petrolheads. 

 

sourced the bluebird SSS replica turn signals from thailand. 

 

oh and none of that 6- nonsense for this car. will get a proper 6 sri 4411 number plate done the good old fashioned way. the front i will offset. have the plate on one side and the oil cooler on the other. can't wait to see what that looks like!

[Komi]

6. DETAILING - INTERIOR

 

now, this should be an interesting bit. i want it in concourse condition. and am gonna sell my liver to get it there. at first i wanted to skimp on it, but then i figured out that that's what most restomods are subjected to. so here goes:

 

dash: sourced the RPM meter, as described previously, will be moving the radio lower, more out of sight, and replacing that space with three retro gauges. for water temp, fuel level and voltage. mounted on a gunmetal grey aluminium fascia, which fits in a singleDIN space. will be moving the AC a little off center to accomodate the stereo. 

 

sourced the original headlight and wiper switches. sadly couldn't find the fiber optic ones that lit up when you turned them on. those are unicorn balls, as usual. if another goes up on sale, i will definitely grab it. also if i'm going with fogs, i will use the OEM foglight switch. as that's broken need to source that too. surprisingly, the cigarette lighter still works! the little victories, i tell you! 

 

gearknob is sorted. as earlier, an original rosewood SSS knob. if the new box is a 5-fwd, i'll get another, or get the top print redone. i love this knob!! 

 

seats: aah the seats. what mental anguish they have given me! at first, quite blasphemously, i was gonna redo the teg seats and stick em in. but then i decided against it. instead, i plan on doing this:

 

basically reuphoslter and reshape the existing seats to have more side support and look sportier. in black, with matching blue herringbone stitch. as its rexin its gonna cost me a packet, but i have a feeling, as with the teg, this will set the car off at another level. also, the seats have the original folding mechanism, and that's irreplaceable. lal uphoslters said this can be done, so i'm guessing deens should be able to do one better.  

 

the rear seats are fine, and i'm laving them untouched. 

 

door trim will also be redone, hopefully with the same emboss. and blue highlights instead of the existing tan. 

 

i have half a mind to wrap the nardi wheel in leather. for a chunkier grip. but if i polish the wood and buff the alumium, it might also work. in two minds over that as well. 

 

sourced the original gear boot. the existing one is a tall lanky ugly fellow from a B11 i think. eww. 

 

getting down an original dome light, and new rear window latches. one is broken and the window keeps flapping when i take turns. those are a bit costly tho. 

[Komi]

7. ELECTRONICS/ELECTRICALS

 

alreaedy sourced the original fuse box. and headlights will be as described above. 

 

for in car entertainment, i'm not doing much, as the datto will give an ample soundtrack with its carbs. thought of JBL 6" fronts and 6x9" rears, powered by an amp, with no sub. tweeters too. 

 

i might need a bigger battery and an alternator service. since at the mo, the horn doens't work when lights are switched on. i'm guessing for the load. 

 

the wiper washer bottle right now is hideously mounted and capped with a castrol oil can lid. will be getting a new wiper washer system, with motor, reservoir and water lines. the original washer sprays are there, thankfully! 

 

well, that's it for now. had a chat with indika (my mechanic) about it, and he's very excited and eager to start work on it. i think we'll begin as early as next week. so await more updates. 

[Komi]

so anyways, its funny how fortunes favour the build! honeslty, at first i had given up the hope of making this a SSS conversion because parts are so damned hard to find. and the JDM SSS is internationally a very very rare rendition of the car. but i just realised i've found most of the parts, which gave me added heart to somehow acquire the rest as well! basically, i need:

 

1. L 16 engine

    found, bought, and idling at indika's garage. 

 

2. L 16 SSS camshaft

    was hunting for 6 months. finally found on ratsun.net and ordered yesterday. stock cam with the highest lift made by datsun. pushes the HP from 91 to 110. not       bad for a 45 year old aunty. and it doens't need new springs etc. there are a lot of aftermarket cams which can be easily bought online, but they are all much higher lift than stock, leading to a severe idle lope, and difficulty starting the car. my wife needs to use this, after all. can't have her bellyaching about it! besides, its always a novelty

 

3. twin side draught carbs

    thinking of getting a new pair because its very difficult to tune two used carbs to run in perfect unison. 

 

4. front disc brakes

     overkill in this dept. huge front discs from a sivlia. rear discs will be sourced soon, and a hydraulic handbrake, running on a servo

 

5. RPM meter on a gauge cluster with red needles or SSS gauge cluster

    the former will be it. when removed for paint, i will gingerly take the cluster apart and paint the needles red. can't afford the JDM cluster, another rarity, retailing       at 900$ +

 

6. SSS sequential tail lights.

     these i will find somehow. put a few lures out lets see who bites...