Unnatural step sister romance with an 81 510

[deseratsun]

Hi all,

 

I'm a gear head from way back and I recently picked up an 81 Datsun 510 wagon in a trade, and the little weirdo is starting to grow on me. The Z20 runs good and I see a possible "rally wagon" one day.

 

At first glance finding parts and aftermarket support looks like a challenge. Does anyone have any suggestions of where to look for any interior and mechanical parts?  Any interesting later (78-81) 510 builds anyone has done?

[datzenmike]

1 hour ago, deseratsun said:

 Any interesting later (78-81) 510 builds anyone has done?

 

We call the later 510 by it's production name... the A10. Anyone who knows Datsuns will know that when you say 'A10' you don't mean the original '68-'73 510. Most high wear items, like brake shoes, clutches, shocks, spark plugs etc can be found at most auto supply stores, even if they have to order it in. Interior and exterior body parts are long past being produced so wrecking yards or maybe e-Bay but stores won't have them. With luck you might find an old A10 that's been sitting and get it cheap.Call it a 'parts car' and help yourself to stuff as needed or strip it and save the parts.

 

Other A10?...

 

[deseratsun]

Much appreciated.  I look forward to searching more through that A10 thread and others. Good knowledge gained from skimming through it initially. 

 

She's mostly all there interior wise, but is missing driver and passenger front door panels and the dash looks like it lost a fight with exacto knife wielding sadist, but with a little scouring and epoxy I can make some progress there.  I"m spoiled. All of my yota projects and past honda's, chevy's etc had good parts access, but the flip side is it'll be interesting keeping a keen eye on craigs list, ebay etc.....

 

It may evolve, but I feel a "rally" build because of where I live, but either way, look forward to enjoying the little weirdo and changing it from unwanted to "cool".

[yenpit]

The 79-83 280ZX front strut assemblies will eventually bolt in with your typical coilover upgrade.  If you are looking for additional ground clearance, cranking the coilovers UP to raise it should work out just fine, I suppose!  The 68-73 510 upper adjustable camber plates will bolt up, using whatever strut you use.  FYI the Subaru & Honda RT4WD guys build spacers to fit on TOP of the strut assemblies to raise up.  I think the A10 Wagon will have conventional leaf springs in the rear with the axle on the TOP of the spring, so consider flipping the axle to the BOTTOM of the spring to raise up..............you will need to fab the spring mounting plates!  Cool idea to potentially raise it!

 

Once raised up, you should be able to find a cool OEM Datsun/Nissan or aftermarket wheel combo.........the bolt pattern is a relatively common 4x114.3 mm, same as 4x4.5 inches.

 

TJ

Denver CO