A 610 lives again....

[Russ]

Pics first, then the story.

 

 

G’day I’m Russ from Victoria, Australia.

I’ve been into Datsuns for years, and stalking the pages of Ratsun for probably the last 8. My previous projects have always been 510’s, this one I still have along with several others in various states of disrepair and a mountain of parts.

 

 

A friend from work knew I was into Dattos, and mentioned that her father had 2 610’s in the shed that he’d been intending to restore for the last 20 years but was now resigned to the fact that he was never going to get to them.

Stock 610’s had never really raised my heart rate, so a search of the internets was in order to see what could be done. This is the photo that had me hooked:

 

 

Met up with her Dad the following weekend, and the deal was done. $600 AUD and the white ‘73 model was mine, an extra $300 got me this blue ‘73 as well.

 

 

A few spares and a SSS grill thrown in for good measure.

 

The plan is to tidy up the body, get a fresh coat of Fuji white on it and keep the vinyl roof. Low lows, neg front camber and some deep dish goodness to complete the look. A 5 speed swap is also on the cards.

Hope you guys don’t mind if I ask for some advice along the way, no stupid questions I promise.

I know you’re all pic whores, so I’ll take plenty.

Cheers, Russ

[datzenmike]

Stupidity is a question not asked. Looks like enough to make one good 610. I had a 710 and getting rid of that bumper strip along the sides really cleaned it up. The 610 4 speed is unique to this car. It's the only F4W63 that is 31.5" long, exactly the same length as the later 280z and zx, (non turbo) 810 and 620 5 speeds.  So you needed have to shorten the driveshaft. These are far superior in strength, more plentiful and come in a wide range of internal gearing and over drives than the 63A 'dogleg'.

 

We didn't get the 610 SSS package. Was that only on the L18s

 

Welcome to Ratsun Russ.

[]2eDeYe]

Welcome, excellent introduction post. 

 

Love some 610 action. 

[banzai510(hainz)]

I would roll the blue one with the patina.just clean it up done

[Russ]

Thanks for making me feel welcome guys, much appreciated.

Great advice on the driveshaft Mike, I had started hunting around for someone to shorten one for the 6 cyl box that’s going into it so that’ll save me some dollars.

I had the 63A box in my last 510 and hated it. A quick change from 1st to 2nd was near impossible.

I’ll definitely remove the bump strip and black out the ‘J’ line for a cleaner look.

 

I’d love to rock the blue one as is, but sadly the rot has taken hold. There’s a multitude of sins under that paint, impossible to get through a Roadworthy inspection.

 

Made a start on the interior, which has been home to a family of mice for some time. Door trims came up a treat with a toothbrush and some washing powder.

 

Cleaning up all the plastics now in the same manner.

[Eric]

pretty tight squeeze on that tiny trailer, if it fits it sits i guess 🙂

 

Great projects, keep the updates coming!

[Bleach]

Yup! Nice rare 610s. Clean up the blue one, dual Webers, call it good

[Russ]

Thanks guys.

Tight squeeze for sure, only an inch clearance either side and maximum allowable overhang at the back. Tows really nice though, and great for pulling cars out of tight spots.

Dual 45’s FTW, can’t beat that sweet induction sound on an L series!

[david lo pan]

Nice score!

[vicdat]

Nice score on the 4-door....my old '73 610 coupe also had a vinyl top.

A tree branch fell on top of the car many moons ago, and I pounded out the damage. Over time it developed a buttload of rust underneath effectively rotting out the whole front roof and pillars hahahah. Watch out for that

 

Vicdat

[Russ]

Thanks guys.

Yeah, I can feel the rust has started under the vinyl for a 4 inch section along the drip rail above the front passenger door. 

The rest of the roof is so clean it’d be a shame to remove it all, but not sure how successful a patch repair of the vinyl would be.

If anyone has experience or ideas on this I’d love to hear them.

[4perrev]

Nice find.  Takes two to make one...not always great, but sometimes needed.  Welcome to the house!!

[ArchetypeDatsun]

On 2/1/2020 at 2:43 AM, Russ said:

Pics first, then the story.

 

 

G’day I’m Russ from Victoria, Australia.

I’ve been into Datsuns for years, and stalking the pages of Ratsun for probably the last 8. My previous projects have always been 510’s, this one I still have along with several others in various states of disrepair and a mountain of parts.

 

 

A friend from work knew I was into Dattos, and mentioned that her father had 2 610’s in the shed that he’d been intending to restore for the last 20 years but was now resigned to the fact that he was never going to get to them.

Stock 610’s had never really raised my heart rate, so a search of the internets was in order to see what could be done. This is the photo that had me hooked:

 

 

Met up with her Dad the following weekend, and the deal was done. $600 AUD and the white ‘73 model was mine, an extra $300 got me this blue ‘73 as well.

 

 

A few spares and a SSS grill thrown in for good measure.

 

The plan is to tidy up the body, get a fresh coat of Fuji white on it and keep the vinyl roof. Low lows, neg front camber and some deep dish goodness to complete the look. A 5 speed swap is also on the cards.

Hope you guys don’t mind if I ask for some advice along the way, no stupid questions I promise.

I know you’re all pic whores, so I’ll take plenty.

Cheers, Russ

 

Great to see the one of inspirations that got you into the 610s was the one car I fell in love with and later to know I'd be owning it years later.  I own what used to be the white 610 sedan now getting ready for body work and paint tomorrow.

 

 

[Russ]

Hey that’s awesome! Such a small world.

I think what I love about your car is that it’s simple, low and clean. Nothing too flashy to take away from the classic curves and lines, and just the right wheels to set it off. Wouldn’t change a thing.

Very keen to see it with a fresh paint job.

[Rat-a-tat-Dat]

Welcome Russ, Congrats on the 610's and now your newest journey begins!

Question? In one of your pics, primarily the one with the Yellow 510, there's this contraption mounted to the left rear rim. Care to explain what it is and function? 

See, no stupid questions here, lol.

[Russ]

Thanks for the warm welcome. Good question! It’s a hub dyno.

Belongs to a local guy who offers a mobile dyno and tuning service. That photo was taken in his shed a few years back when he ran a Datsun Dyno Day and anyone with a datto could hop on for $5.

Was a great day, even if my horsepower figures were underwhelming.

[slowlearner]

Love ya work. I'm in Sydney.

[banzai510(hainz)]

3 hours ago, Russ said:

Was a great day, even if my horsepower figures were underwhelming.

Most are underwhelming especially after they spent a lot of money to think their L motor is 200hp to find out its 95hp at the wheels

[datzenmike]

On a good day.....

[Russ]

My expectations weren’t high, it’s a tired l18 with a mild cam and 32/36 weber knockoff. Made 70 hp at the wheels, probably lucky to see that.

The car is still a lot of fun to drive, and I’d be more inclined to drop money on an lsd and some suspension goodies before spending a single dollar on engine upgrades.

The only mods the 610 engine is likely to see is a pair of sidedrafts and an electronic dizzy.

The engines are bulletproof and rev-happy, I say leave ‘em alone.

[datzenmike]

With only 70 hp you won't be needing an LSD. Find an L20B and 'build' it. Stock they are just under 95 hp so there's a big jump right there. Put your cam and side drafts into it. Along with suspension, improve the brakes, maybe 280zx struts?

[Russ]

L20b is an option, I have a low km bottom end and various heads which all need a reco. I do like the rev ability of the L18 however.

A third option is a Z24 with a U67 head, which I have all the parts for. I’m aware of the mods required.

I’m running 810 struts and brakes at the moment, which seem to be up to the task and can handle some spirited driving.

[datzenmike]

The red line on a 78mm stroke L18 is 7,900RPM. An L20B is 7,000. But who drives at this on a stock engine? The L20B makes more power than an L18 (about 10HP) and has more torque at lower speeds where it's needed driving around. You would have to mod an L18 just to equal the performance of an L20B that does this all day stock. A Z24 with an L head would be better than an L20B for exactly the same reason. You can't beat a displacement increase. Theoretically a 20% displacement increase above a 93HP L20B should give a 111HP output. An L head  would also increase the compression ratio to 9.47 so there's a small increase there in efficiency. Again the increased stroke (96mm) will lower the red line to about 6,500 but with it comes a huge increase in low speed torque. If you install power adders like side drafts and a cam you're going to get more from a larger displacement engine than a smaller one. I would guess around 130 HP and up depending on the cam. The Z24 with an L head will be 4cm taller than the L18.

 

Australian 810s were 6 cylinder? or an L18SSS type engine? Guy I know in Sweden said they got the shorter car and L18 that had dual Hitachi SUs option.

[Russ]

Australian 810’s got the L20B, here’s a pic of my old one:

 

This was an early import with IRS, nothing special engine wise.

Thanks for the info, definitely some food for thought. 

Hood clearance may be an issue with the Z24, but other than that seems to be the way to go from a bang for buck perspective.

[datzenmike]

If it came with an L20B then only 2cm extra for the Z24. It'll fit.

 

We got the L24 similar to the 240Z engine but with EFI. It was longer between the front wheel and wind screen.