Paul's 69 510 4 Door Project

[paul97]

I bought A 1969 Datsun 510 4 door at the beginning of January and I have been accumulating parts to start the project. I am trying to make it look something like Adam Carolla's car as far as the paint job goes. I am going to put a dogleg 5 speed in that I have already bought. I also bought a L18 short block that I am thinking of using with the L16 head.I have already bought 280ZX front struts that came with rotors and calipers. I bought reman calipers and new rotors, I ordered lowering springs and rear shocks and I have already got the front struts,I ordered pads and shoes from Porterfield brakes, I bought braided brake lines,I have a suede Momo steering wheel that came from my Toyota Tacoma and I ordered a hub to fit the 510,Recaro seats from my wife's Celica,New Konig Rewind wheels and Falken tires,Weber 32/36 carb conversion kit,all new weatherstrip and brake master cylinder. I got the car running 2 weeks ago on a sub tank I suspended from the hood and checked the transmission to make sure it shifted through the gears on a jack because It has no brakes yet. I attached 2 pictures of the car and I will add more. Here are some pictures: http://s868.photobucket.com/albums/ab24 ... sun%20510/

[paul97]

Here are a couple more pictures.

[Byron510]

Sounds like a great start of a project car.
I have to congratulate you for not coming one with:
"I'm going to build this wicked MOFO SR20DET raging machine, puttin down 400 HP daily with XXX wicked wheels and YYY addons...... I don't have a shop but someone said it would just drop right in for less than $500..." Then reality sets in and we never hear from that person again...
It's good to see a project that actually has a chance of seeing the road. Looks like a solid base, and you have a very viable and solid plan.
Welcome to the 510Realm. Where are you located? It’s good to add that info to your avatar info, then people can respond that are closer to your home with information that may be more relevant to you. This site has frequent users from all corners of the globe; it just makes it easier for everyone.

Keep us posted on your new project.

Byron

[paul97]

Thanks. I will add my info. I live in Ma. I hope to have it done by summer.I put 2 wheels on yesterday to see what they looked like and I am attaching pictures.

[paul97]

I received my front fenders the other day and put one on to see what it looked like. I removed the stock springs and noticed that I had one outer u-joint that was not smooth so I am going to replace all 4 and I am going to do the rear wheel bearings while I am there. I will post pictures as I do the rear end of the car.

[paul97]

I received my rear flares the other day. I taped them on to see how they will look. I will be showing step by step how I am going to install these flares that I bought from Classic Datsun Motorsports. http://www.classicdatsun.com/ . They are the non BRE new type rear flares.

[S15DET]

Welcome. Looks like you have a nice car to work with, good find. Keep the pictures coming and good luck.

[hang_510]

nice!
it seems that blue 510's seem to weather the east coast the best

I am going to replace all 4 and I am going to do the rear wheel bearings while I am there.

good plan & have fun with that.

[paul97]

Thanks guys. I can't wait to drive it this summer hopefully. I will post more pictures soon.

[Three B's Racing]

Paul

The 510 is looking good dude. So everyone knows, I'm the one who sold Paul this 510. It was originally a Florida car I flew out to pick up and drove back. It only saw spring and summer months. Paul you all set for the replacement of those rear axle bearings? They can be a bear to do but if you need advice I'd be glad to help out. I did the rear bearings in the For Sale Green 4-door. It took me a whole six-pack to do them. Air tools are nice for removing those nuts but a breaker bar will work also with some muscle and heat.

[okayfine]

I am going to replace all 4 and I am going to do the rear wheel bearings while I am there.

good plan & have fun with that.

If you've determined there's no issues with the rear bearings, I'd say keep 'em. Unless you have the rear suspension out and the arms off, doing half-shaft work doesn't really duplicate the work needed to R&R the bearings. R&Ring the rear bearings, as often as not, ends up in a FUBAR mess with crossed threads and broken breaker bars.

[Three B's Racing]

I am going to replace all 4 and I am going to do the rear wheel bearings while I am there.

good plan & have fun with that.

If you've determined there's no issues with the rear bearings, I'd say keep 'em. Unless you have the rear suspension out and the arms off, doing half-shaft work doesn't really duplicate the work needed to R&R the bearings. R&Ring the rear bearings, as often as not, ends up in a FUBAR mess with crossed threads and broken breaker bars.

Personally I've never had a problem with them nor broke any tools but that's me. One BIG trick is to grind off the peened tabs on the axle nuts. This opens the door for much easier nut removal. Typically people get a tool under those tabs and lift them even or somewhat above the axle threads. Then when they impact wrench them off they find the tabs were not above the threads and they get tore up. Jules is correct and spot on on that point. Just don't reuse the old nuts use new ones. What I do with the old nuts is get a hack saw blade through the nut and cut a couple slots 180 degs apart then thread them back on the axle once it's out. This acts like a metric tap to reintroduce thread lead in and cleans up the thread somewhat. I agree with Jules that if there isn't a problem with the bearings leave them. But check them first just to be sure. To do so remove the halfshaft from the stub axle and remove the tire. Then rotate the axle by hand, listen and feel if any lumping noise detected. If it is then ya replace them. Paul those bearings are originals but the car only has what 130k miles?

[paul97]

I did remove the half shafts because I am replacing the u-joints because they are crunchy and I spun the bearings and they are a little noisey on one side so I am going to replace both sides. I already bought new nuts from my local Nissan dealer and I have replaced nuts of that type before. I bought a set of rear coil overs from Troy Ermush racing with 200lb springs and a front coil over kit for the front with the same rate springs. I put the rears on and rolled the car outside to take a couple pics. It still has the stock 510 front struts and springs so it is a little high in the front. The front fender is just stuck on and is not lined up or bolted on yet and the rear flare is just taped on to see what it looks like. I will post a new topic on how I make the rear fenders work step by step.

[paul97]

Here are a couple more pics.

[paul97]

I have started working on it steadily now that spring is here and I can't wait to drive it. I removed both rear half shafts and I disassembled,cleaned,inspected,greased,replaced both u-joints and painted one and I am half way through the other one. I also installed the Weber 32/36 DGV carb that I bought. I installed the Supertrapp muffler to here what it sounds like. I fired up the car in my driveway to make sure the carb ran fine and it sounds good. The muffler sounds like I had hoped it would. My wife even said it sounds good. I hope to get both half shafts reinstalled this weekend and rebuild the rear brakes also so I can get started on the front suspension and brakes.