Dat Wagon! '79 810 Goon

[T.Redgrave]

 

You can view the rest of the photos in my public 810 'Goon Photobucket Album. I don't wanna make this thread too photo heavy.

 

As you can see, it is a good solid car but certainly needs some love and cleaning.

 

 

 

Planning 

Body 

-replace/repair all necessary body panels to take care of the mild cancer it has

-acquire/replace busted grill

-acquire/install factory luggage rack

-strip the car down for a complete repaint and refresh

-possibly will do fender mirrors/ will likely leave the factory one as-is

-maybe look into trying "smoothie" style bumpers/ for certain removing the rear bumper

 

Interior

-custom build and refresh interior/ dash, seats, door panels, headliner, etc for a 'sportier' look and feel

-install decent sound system/ don't need any huge subs or anything, just good speakers and a solid head unit

 

Suspension

-fit it with a nice set of wheels and tires

-research an effective suspension system that will support "spirited" driving and a decent drop without sacrificing daily driving comfort

-swapping in the 280zx front crossmember to suit the motor

 

Drivetrain

-swapping in a semi-built L28ET

 

Steering

-swapping in the 280zx rack and pinion

 

 

Items Already Acquired

-four replacement doors and both front fenders

-very clean steering wheel from a 210

-factory luggage rack

-replacement grille and headlight surrounds

-280zx turbo parts car for the engine, rack and pinion, and crossmember

 

 

Objective

The point here I think is to take this old, yellow people carrier and breathe a different kind of life into it. I don't want people to look at it and go 'eh, an old station wagon' I want people to see it and think, 'damn! look at that wagon!' For lack of a better term, I want it to become something of a 'sport wagon' - something comfortable for daily driving but with apparent motorsport influence. Aggressive stance, meaty tires, clean exterior/interior, and of course a solid turbo motor. My vision for this car is a quick, good looking station wagon that will snap necks and walk cars half it's size.

[djlotus]

Gaming rig takes away car money, and nobody wants that. 

[ArchetypeDatsun]

Glad you joined the 810 club and glad to see it back for the third time and decided to pick it up and it didn't disappear off the map. Far as what you got planned its gonna be fun getting it a new paint job you will find 810 parts pretty tough to find but if your patient you will find parts for it. Xlr8r has a grill he can sell you, engine wise rather you go either decided turboing the L24E or swap in the stroker you will have to deal with the steering box which will get in the way of the turbo. Lowering the 810 isn't hard cut a couple coils off the springs in the front and put lowering blocks on the back that's how mines lowered and drives great. If you do plan on shaving the door handles let me know ill buy them. We never got the nice smooth looking bumpers in the states, jdm & euro ones look great but very hard to source any. You can do datsun 620 bumpers they fit the design of the body or even Chevy nova bumpers.

[T.Redgrave]

djlotus - but it's so tempting! lol

 

Thanks Arch, I'm sure I'm getting myself into a super long project but I'm definitely in for it. Most of what I have is actually in very good shape, except for the front fenders and one or two of the doors that need patching, which Z-Train has already offered me - so I'm actually in pretty good shape!

 

I'm sure the engine will be the most "difficult" part because of the box, but I'll figure something out. I really hope I can get my hands on that stroker though, it would be sick to have a stroker-goon lol

 

I'll remember that you have dibs on the handles. I certainly would have kept them, regardless. I didn't think I was gonna have a problem lowering it though, for sure.

 

I didn't think about 620 bumpers, those are awesome!

[Z-train]

A turbo with the steering box & lines becomes really problematic.

[T.Redgrave]

A turbo with the steering box & lines becomes really problematic.

 

well by "figure something out" I pretty much meant I'd look into a rack & pinion swap lol.

 

anyone got any advice/thread links off the top of their head? I looked a little, but I'm at work.

[ArchetypeDatsun]

Here's a good build thread.

 

http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/65899-1979-datsun-810-2-dr-l24e/

[T.Redgrave]

oh, so it's that simple. ZX internal shaft in the factory 810 column tube and modify the crossmember for the rack.

 

Dunno why I was so worried lol, thanks Arch.

[ArchetypeDatsun]

No problem, I was trying to remember where I read it and of course it was on HybridZ. I'm sure there's another way around it but this is the more practical way I guess. 280zx are easy to come by even on the east coast usually junkyards will always have one.

[T.Redgrave]

haha makes total sense - and I'm all for practical. If someone's got a tried-and-true method, I don't see a reason to re-invent the wheel.

 

I got a guy who has a junk yard full of nothing but Zs of every year they were made so...no shortage of Z parts.

[tablebeast]

Awesome, glad to see my old girl will be made into something very cool. She deserved so much more than the rat treatment I had in store. With the money I sold her for I've already replaced her with a 1980 720 and a 1977 Toyota Chinook RV. Anyway, I will keep an eye on this thread so that I can watch her grow up.

[T.Redgrave]

Indeed! Thanks for turning her over to me, glad you were able to get both of the trucks you wanted.

[T.Redgrave]

Already started gathering parts lol.

 

Found a fresh wagon taillight for cheap on ebay, a nice looking '80 510 steering wheel, and some sweet dome lights (I was thinking I'd buy a pair and wire them in front and back like a limo lol) 

[Z-train]

I haven't forgotten ya,Thinks around here are crazy right now.Starting with 112 degrees.

[nismosilvia]

Nice Im going to post up a how to for us on polishing lights. Get your old one looking as good as the new one in no time

[T.Redgrave]

I haven't forgotten ya,Thinks around here are crazy right now.Starting with 112 degrees.

I saw that on the news man, that's crazy. Didja get my email about crating/palletizing all of it together for one go?

 

 

Nice Im going to post up a how to for us on polishing lights. Get your old one looking as good as the new one in no time

That's awesome! I'll look forward to it. I'll need something to do while I'm waiting for it to come back from paint/body work (when I get it in there lol)

[ArchetypeDatsun]

Sweet!

[Z-train]

I saw that on the news man, that's crazy. Didja get my email about crating/palletizing all of it together for one go?

But it's a dry heat.......LIKE AN OVEN!!!!

 

Yeah,i got it.I'm headed out tonight.Be back Sunday and i'll see about the crate/pallet thing.Right now,i'll almost guarrantee the shipping wil exceed parts cost by a bunch.

[T.Redgrave]

But it's a dry heat.......LIKE AN OVEN!!!!

 

Yeah,i got it.I'm headed out tonight.Be back Sunday and i'll see about the crate/pallet thing.Right now,i'll almost guarrantee the shipping wil exceed parts cost by a bunch.

 

Probably easier to manage than the humid/sticky heat we have here. When it's 100 degrees in VB, it's literally like you're melting. It's fucking awful.

 

I appreciate it man. I figured it'd be that way, but I'm prepared for it. Been putting money away from selling parts and such, just to buy all your stuff lol.

[T.Redgrave]

Not entirely build related, but made some progress on the suspended storage shelf in my unit for all the junk I have, and the datsun junk I will likely accumulate lol.

 

Once this is done I'll have enough floor space to park the wagon in the unit next to my s12.

 

[T.Redgrave]

This may be blasphemy...but I was talking through motor ideas with my dad, and we sort of landed on an odd idea.

 

We were just going through the logistics of the L24, which we don't want to keep, or trying to get an L28 in there, or the L32 (which I don't think will suit what I want)

 

 

Turns out...I may want to put an RB20 in it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...don't stone me.

[ArchetypeDatsun]

Yeah those are my future plans RB mine, I think RB20 is a good idea there not too spendy and if your gonna want a lot more power then get the RB25.

[T.Redgrave]

Yeah those are my future plans RB mine, I think RB20 is a good idea there not too spendy and if your gonna want a lot more power then get the RB25.

well, good to know it's not a carnal sin haha.

 

I like the RB20, I think it makes decent power with a few tweaks. I'm not trying for a whole lot, mid to upper 200 range would be just fine for me. Enough to put a little pep in the wagon's step.

 

 

anybody done this at all? I'm sure there've been RB swaps into datsuns, so I doubt it's uncharted territory.

[ArchetypeDatsun]

I have never seen a RB swap in a 810 and trust me I've searched so this will have to be off on your own, not many 810's out there and the ones that are pretty much stock or L28 swapped. Can't really go off on the datsun maximas that have RB swaps because there different. If your only looking for 200ish hp I'd probably stick to a L28ET since a better turbo and more boost will make that hp or more and they don't use intercooler like the RB20's plus there's no room.

[T.Redgrave]

Then I spose I'm going for 300 or more haha. It's gonna be funny if its more powerful than my s12