"Zeke"- '72 510 2Dr

[Tedman]

A couple weekends ago I took Zeke on the SoCal TT rally. I have been driving in this event most years since 2007. Zeke racked another 950 miles over the three days touring the back roads of the Central Coast of California. Autoweek.com posted an article with some nice photos from the start of the event.

https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/classic-cars/g37137193/socal-tt-rally/

 

For such a small, low key rally, we got slightly more than the normal ZERO media coverage. Besides the Autoweek article, there was a segment on The Car Show on KPFK, a public radio station here in L.A.. The TT talk starts around the 20 minute mark.

https://archive.kpfk.org/index.php?shokey=carshow

 

Other than colliding with a deer on Day 2, Zeke performed flawlessly. Yup, we hit a small deer, and we hit it pretty hard. I blame it on bad juju from electing to wear the event t-shirt that day, against my better judgement. It featured an Alfa GTV on the front. 

 

Bambi has surely ascended into deer heaven by now. It's a good thing no humans were hurt, but Zeke sustained a bent bumper, dented fender, and broken headlight. Fortunately, there  was no grille or front end trim damage, which is pretty miraculous. Somehow Bambi's noggin scored a perfect bullseye on the headlight and only broke the glass. You know what they say about deer and headlights. Seriously, though, the outcome could have been way worse and for that we are thankful . At any rate, here's a few pics of the damage:

 

 

Yup, that's Bambi's furry DNA caught under the sidemarker.

 

This is the same fender that got flailed by a delaminated tire tread the day I purchased Zeke. I'm pretty sure the fender can be easily repaired yet again. The bumper will definitely need straightening and re-chroming, and I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being more costly to fix than the fender.

 

 This afternoon I performed some very amateur paintless dent removal. I removed the bent bumper and installed one borrowed from my SR car. I also installed a new headlamp, and now Zeke actually looks somewhat presentable. 

 

 

There's still a kink at the top of the wheel arch, as well as a fairly long crack in the paint, and the area around and below the side marker are still a bit wavey. I'll eventually have the fender properly repaired and repainted, but at least it looks decent for now.

 

 

[Tedman]

Swapped the brake and clutch pedal covers from my SR 510 to Zeke to complete the set.

[Tedman]

Got my bent bumper back from Verne's Chrome Plating and they did a fine job of straightening and re-chroming:

 

[datsunwizard]

Ted,

 What did they charge for the bumper work?

[Tedman]

50 minutes ago, datsunwizard said:

Ted,

 What did they charge for the bumper work?

$450 cash only, 1/2 up front as a deposit.

[datsunfreak]

Any particular reason not to just get a new one from FutoFab? 

[Tedman]

54 minutes ago, datsunfreak said:

Any particular reason not to just get a new one from FutoFab? 

Futofab bumpers are "On back order- ETA Unknown" according to their website, plus I personally prefer the original bumpers. I thought this one worth saving for not much more than a repro plus shipping. 

[datsunfreak]

1 hour ago, Tedman said:

I personally prefer the original bumpers. I thought this one worth saving

 

That's cool.  👍

 

I have always had them redone, but recently installed some FutoFab bumpers on a friend's car and I think I really prefer those to the OG ones. I like that there's no seam or overrider holes on them. 

[DARIN 510]

What size tire you running on the libres?

[Tedman]

17 hours ago, DARIN 510 said:

What size tire you running on the libres?

195/60-14

[Z23T]

On 7/26/2017 at 10:25 PM, Tedman said:

 

Now that you have had these seats for a few years how do you like them? Do the side bolsters hold you in place when you are driving aggressively? Are they comfortable on long trips?

 

I currently have Recaro Speeds and they hold me in place well, but the lower seat cushion bolsters are so narrow that after an hour or so of driving my thighs start to get sore and I only have a 32" waist. I also think they are to modern looking for a 70's car. Thanks, Cam.

 

On 7/26/2017 at 10:25 PM, Tedman said:

 

 

 

 

...and I now have front seats!

http://i.imgur.com/ypWKAEw.jpg

 

[Tedman]

Yes, yes and yes. I have the narrower driver's seat (30" waist) and regular width passenger seat. After more than 10k miles, I'm quite satisfied with the comfort and the bolstering really holds you in when pushing it in the canyons and on back roads. My passengers have voiced no complaints, either.  They fit in the car perfectly. My only issues are that I wish the seat sliders went back about 1" more (I'm 5'9" with long legs and have the same complaint with the stock 510 seats), and the fabric on the driver's seat bottom has separated or come unglued from the padding. I probably should have taken the seat back to SCAT when it first started to lift (they are local to me) as it would have been under warranty.  I may still take it over there and see if they can re-glue it, but I may have to pay a little to have it fixed at this point. The fabric, vinyl and stitching have otherwise proven durable and they draw many compliments.  

[Z23T]

Cool, thanks for the review. I like the idea of the wider seat for the passenger.