The 510 Realm

Hello everyone. I’m Steve and obviously new here. I wanted a Datsun my whole life. I don’t even remember where the obsession started but I wanted one in high school and even found a 71 for sale for $600. Sadly I couldn’t even scrape $600 at the time and they just kept going up in price. So finally I bought a 1970 four door 510. It’s in pretty decent condition but has not ran in 9 years. When I bought it the owner got it to fire up but said the carburator was leaking fuel and he never attempted to fix it after that.

The goal is to at least get it running so I can drive it a little and move it around while I start working on the body. My plan is to get it running, get the bodywork done, get it pained and start restoring it the way I want it.

Questions is this a good plan should I paint it first or do people do that last? I’ve never restored a car but I’m pretty handy at everything else in my life

Welcome to the site Steve.

So much depends on what YOU think your restoration will be....FULL on restoration, car stripped, or, just tiddly up the engine bay and do a basic but nice external paint job!?

I would at least get all systems working first, especially the braking system. Alternator charging ok? 9 years is a long time to just sit. I would cycle all the lights, horn, wipers, heater, etc..

So much will depend on time and of course money...much rust repair?

Post some pics, we all like pics!

Keith

Hello and thank you for the welcome. I would love to do a full on restoration. I'm in a place where money is not really the issue but I would like to be able to do everything myself, aside from the paint. The immediate goal is to see if I can get this engine going and drive it around for a month before stripping it back down for paint. Ideally I want to strip everything completely and paint everything inside and out. here are some photos. I also don't have any information from the owner so if anyone can tell me about what you see I would appreciate it. The title of the car said 1970 but everything appears to be a 1969 unless I'm wrong. vin# matches. already transferred to my name.

Any advice on how bad you guys think this rust really is would be much appreciate it.

You have a project there for sure, lots of parts to be tracked down, the dash is obviously an issue, as is the interior generally.

While it looks good on the surface in the one picture, maybe pictures from the trunk, check the rockers and back panels for any bondo. Remove the carpet on the passenger side, see how th floor board(s) are doing, even in the back.

All that surface rust you see, at least in the engine bay, will require some major media blasting
before any paint.

That is not the factory radiator, make sure it is not plugged. Check the hoses.

That is a Weber carb on there, parts are easy to get... http://redlineweber.com/

I see a wire missing from a safety component, I will circle it and you can check if the wire is still around that area somewhere.

There are a few disconnected smog things there you can likely pitch.

That battery does NOT look tied or fastened down, make sure you do that first and foremost, and electrical short in these old 510s wiring is almost a death knell.

Get a manual!

You should from a safety standpoint, make sure the brake calipers are working up front and that the rear shoes are working. THEN...soak the bleed nipples in a rust penetrant and then see if you can bleed the whole brake system, get that old fluid out of there, same with the clutch.

Hard to tell how much penetration the rust has done around the rear tail lights.

You are missing the fuse box cover.....

So, send some more pics from inside the trunk, floor pans, etc.

Keith

Not running for almost a decade expect the brakes to be non functioning or will soon pack it in once you start driving. Likewise the clutch hydraulics and fuel system. As you don't know when or if any maintenance was kept up, and from the sitting, change all the fluids, cooling system, oil and filter, transmission, differential brake and clutch fluid. Many other things such as heater hoses, fan belts will fail randomly.

Here is a picture of the "shuttle" valve.

Maybe you can see if there is a loose wire near the firewall...or....it will push onto the nipple in the top of the valve.

The shuttle valve lets you know if there is a pressure failure ( leak) in either the front or rear hydraulic system and will trigger the brake warning light on the dash.

That ID tag on the carb may tell you what version that is, see if there are any stamping's on it. There also should be a stamping and the base of the carb, on the side.

Mike is right, you have a LOT ahead of you, paint would be the least of my worries at this point.