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Another new b310/210 owner!


moomin

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About 2 weeks ago I sold my subaru legacy wagon, so I was on the hunt for a new DD. Was about to go look at an old volvo wagon w/ 330k miles  :sick:  when I saw this 81 Datsun B310/210 listed on my local craigslist (Spokane), saying it was located in Missoula (about a 3 and a half hour drive).

 

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I'd always been a fan of datsun styling, but never really seriously considered buying one. Until I saw this one. It had low miles for the age (80k), minimal rust (only one bad patch on the rear wheel arch), an automatic transmission (3-speed), and it was available for a good price. So i texted my brother, asked him if he'd be down to take an adventure over to Missoula. He said yes, and we were on our way the next day (Halloween).

 

We got to Missoula, I looked the car over, took it for a test drive (it was my first time driving a car without power steering, so it was a bit hard to get used to), and bought it in less than an hour. Then me and my brother took it around downtown Missoula exploring/trying to find somewhere to eat. We stumbled upon an Argentinian Empanada joint downtown (never would've expected something like that in Montana!), feasted, filled up on gas, and then headed out back towards Spokane.

 

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i took this pic at a rest stop somewhere in the mountains between Montana and Idaho. that's my brothers forester on the left. driving the datsun on the freeway was a bit interesting. As you would expect from a car with a 1.5L engine and a 3-speed auto, I had to basically floor it to keep up at 70-75. But I fell in love with it on the drive home. It has so much more character than any other car I've owned.

 

Here's a couple pictures I took yesterday:

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I got my first "nod of approval" from an old man when at a stop light yesterday :thumbup:  It's taking some getting used to, im a younger 22yo dude that's never owned a car without power steering/fuel injection/power windows before, but I seriously love it.

 

I don't have anything major planned as far as modifications go, since it'll be my DD for the time being. But I do definitely want to clean up the exterior as my first project. And I could use some input/advice from people on:

 

- Rust treatment. Does it look like this wheel well is beyond simple solutions and will need to be welded? And if so, how much would I expect to pay to have a shop weld in some new metal for me? (I have no welding experience so I feel passing the job on to a shop would be more intelligent) Obviously it differs from shop to shop and city to city, but I honestly have no idea what to expect pricing wise, so any kind of ballpark figure would be greatly appreciated.

 

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- Bumpers. The guy that owned the car before me took the park bench bumpers off (in good taste, it looks way better without them). But it looks a bit naked, particularly in the front. What are my options as far as getting lower profile bumpers goes? I did some searching and saw some people talking about getting JDM bumpers in an old thread, but the links they linked to on where to get them didn't work for me.

 

- Preventative maintenance. I want to keep this car on the road. The previous owners have taken good care of it mechanically, and I want to continue that. And obviously it's getting up there in years, so I'm sure it will take more work/care than other cars of similar mileage. What projects/maintenance items should I plan on doing in the near future to keep it running strong? The previous owner did the following before I bought it: new brakes, spark plugs, plug wires, and distributor cap and rotor.

 

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That's a sweet 210 you have there. I always say that automatics are survivors. They are hard to abuse. Roof line reminds me of the A10s.

 

Maybe some kind of air dam on the front?

 

Well, the rims are wrong for the car.... they should have more positive offset to get them in behind the fenders. With them in, you could lower the ride height a couple of inches making the car handle better. Arguably it would look better also.  I suppose you could cut the fender rust away and flairs would cover this.. and you could then lower the car.

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Welcome to the club. Mine is the same yr/color as yours. Sounds like the PO has taken care of the regular mattinence for you so it should be good to go for awhile. S10 chin spoiler would help the looks in the front. And tinting the windows will give it a different look as well. If you didn't have any problems driving it 3+ hrs at freeway speeds I'd say no worries. Have fun with it!

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Thanks guys!

 

It's cool to see so many fellow Pac NW residents on this forum.

 

 

Welcome to the club. Mine is the same yr/color as yours. Sounds like the PO has taken care of the regular mattinence for you so it should be good to go for awhile. S10 chin spoiler would help the looks in the front. And tinting the windows will give it a different look as well. If you didn't have any problems driving it 3+ hrs at freeway speeds I'd say no worries. Have fun with it!

 

Thanks! I'll look into the S10 spoiler idea. I just looked at the thread you have for your 210 and I'm really impressed. It looks fantastic. Do you have any videos of it anywhere? I'd be interested to see/hear how it runs with the KA24E swap you did.

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Guest Rick-rat

Why is it that someone will take something that runs fine in its present condition and the first thing they are contemplating is a KA swap and screw it up? Or is it that they want to be like a lot of other people that are always working on their stuff, or something is always broken on it. Leave it as is and enjoy it until you really need to do what some think is an upgrade   B)

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I am currently putting together an A series that I expect to get 115-120whp. I think a lot of people will agree that is all the power you need on the ground with the way the rest of the car is put together.

 

Surprisingly not that much money or skill. A lot less work than a full on conversion.

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Why is it that someone will take something that runs fine in its present condition and the first thing they are contemplating is a KA swap and screw it up? Or is it that they want to be like a lot of other people that are always working on their stuff, or something is always broken on it. Leave it as is and enjoy it until you really need to do what some think is an upgrade   B)

Don't really know what to think about this. In no way did the OP say anything about a swap or modification. A lot of the members here are always working on their stuff whether it's a stock or modified car. I did my swap because I WANTED to. My car will never be "finished" because I like to drive it and have fun with it and keep on modifying it. So Moomin, thanks for the compliment. No video, just never really had a good opportunity to get some while driving. And it's not that interesting at an idle. Maybe one of these days I'll borrow my buddy's go pro and take some.

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Guest Rick-rat

Thanks guys!

 

It's cool to see so many fellow Pac NW residents on this forum.

 

 

 

I'd be interested to see/hear how it runs with the KA24E swap you did.

He must be thinking about it, maybe just a little, and I did say contemplating. He can do whatever he wants to since it is his car.

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Ya, I hope moomin didn't take my post wrong. Being new to Ratsun I just expressed that there were options for the stock engine also.

 

I for one always regard what I say just as my opinion, it holds no weight. I firmly believe each person can do what ever they want to to make themselves happy. For gods sake please do not try to please us, we don't look at your car everyday or most importantly drive it.

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Why is it that someone will take something that runs fine in its present condition and the first thing they are contemplating is a KA swap and screw it up? Or is it that they want to be like a lot of other people that are always working on their stuff, or something is always broken on it. Leave it as is and enjoy it until you really need to do what some think is an upgrade   B)

As i said in my original post, i'm not planning anything serious (mechanically) project wise. All i want to do is clean up the exterior and interior. I'm one of those "if it ain't broke, don't try to fx it" kinda people, like you. I was merely asking CWhip about his KA swap because I'm interested in his project and respect what he's done with his car.

 

That said, I do definitely have aspirations for more power for my car, at least in the back of my mind/for the the future. A 0-60 time of 15+ seconds leaves a little to be desired when entering the freeway + trying to merge with fast moving traffic, which I'm sure you can understand.

 

 

Being new to Ratsun I just expressed that there were options for the stock engine also.

 

I'm definitely intrigued by that, do you have a project thread so I can follow along?

 

 

Edit: Just thought of another question for you guys: What kind of roof rack options do I have for my 210, and has anyone seen any examples of 210's/510's where roof racks were pulled off and the car still looked decent? Racks look great on cars like subarus, but I can't really picture if it'd "work" on my 210.

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I think a rack of any kind would look good on a sedan 210 or a wagon. Not on a coupe though. 

 

Any of the older original racks will require you to bolt it to your roof; Creates leaks. 

There are add on options that will hold to the drip rail. Yakima/Thule being obvious. 

But there are older, era-correct options. Plenty of threads about racks here. 

 

 

 

 

Man. Love me a sedan 210. 

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Yes! Do post more pics! Ain't nothing wrong with an automatic transmission. I learned to drive on a manual and when it came time for my first car, my 210 which I still have, I insisted on an automatic. Wasn't trying to do that clutch shift crap in LA traffic. Don't need to worry about having power to get on the freeway here. We merge at a speedy 5mph. LOL! Saw a roof rack on a wagon once while at the boneyard a while back. It does look good so I imagine the right one on a sedan would look just as good. Here's a pic of the wagon.

 

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Welcome to the club. Looks like you scored a nice original Datsun. Now please post some inteior and under the hood pics. I too own a b310. I get a ton of crap because it's a automatic but I don't care. I mean really it's not a z/roadster/510 so who cares.

 

I'll definitely take some interior/under the hood pics tomorrow when it's light out again! Watch this space.

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Here's some pics of the interior that i promised.

 

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taking these pics reminded me of 2 things I have questions about. Does anyone know what the grill (which is broken on my car) under the glovebox is for? Just aesthetics?

 

also, as you can see the reading/bar on the temp gauge is a bit lower than the minimum on the gauge. This is after driving around for about 10 minutes. When I drove home from Montana (3+ hours at highway speeds) it didn't go up more than about 1/4th-1/3rd on the temp gauge. Is that normal? It was parked outside, so I guess it's possible the engine was still very cold.

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The undertrim (under your glovebox) would cover the a/c and all the hoses if you had one. I don't have a/c but I've seen the cars with them and it covers all that up. I actually had mine off for years. No reason just never got around to putting it back on.

 

All the gauges when the car isn't on rest way over to the left. When the car is on and warmed up your temp gauge will move up and over to just past that second line. At least mine does and it's fine. Just know that while you're driving the gas gauge does move one way or the other a little. Kind of annoying but it does it. These are cold blooded cars and must be warmed up before driving. When you start it up let it run for a bit and then tap the gas. If it doesn't idle down it's not warmed up yet. You'll get used to the sound of the engine and know when it's ready.

 

If you want, I made PDFs of my owner manual and service manual you can download here: http://community.ratsun.net/topic/49640-1981-datsun-210-manual-pdfs/. The owner manual will help you out. Will probably answer some of your questions.

 

Oh, and I completely forgot, my uncle has made moulds (DUH) so he's looking into a proper resin and I need to get the emblems over to him to look at but I'm on track to make up some new 1/4 panel emblems.

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Almost forgot, if you want to replace that shift knob you can order one from Nissan. They only come in black but you can always paint it if you want. You'll order the shift knob for the 720. I can get you a part number if you want to get yourself another one.

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Almost forgot, if you want to replace that shift knob you can order one from Nissan. They only come in black but you can always paint it if you want. You'll order the shift knob for the 720. I can get you a part number if you want to get yourself another one.

 

If you have the part number handy, that would be greatly appreciated!

 

And thanks for your other reply. The car didn't come with an owners manual so I downloaded your scanned copy. And i'm excited for the 1/4 panel emblems, when they're good and ready :thumbup:

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Sure! I'll post the part number here when I get home.

 

May have found a resin for the mould. Trying to find one that works with undercuts. Adding the pins later isn't an option. I don't want them falling off with age or popping off if someone needs to remove them to paint or something.

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Auto shift knob in black part #34920P4928. You can call up different Nissans in your area and they'll all probably give you a different price. That was always interesting to me since they always have to order and it comes from the same place. There's also everythingnissan.com. That's where I ended up getting mine from. It was cheaper. Check around though.

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Guess who's got a lead on some Euro/JDM style bumpers! Does anyone happen to know if bumpers off of a VB310 (Wagon style) will fit on my sedan?

 

 

Also, i forgot to say thanks for the part number, and all the rest of your help colourbox! You da best.

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