Completed Datsun 510 Clutch replacement and engine check/freshen

Well, I finished installing the clutch a while back, and I pulled out the engine just to do some "tidying up". 

Overall, it was in pretty good shape so I decided to leave the bottom end alone. I adjusted the valves a bit, inspected and confirmed that the springs, etc were all in pretty good shape.

I pulled off all items I could, repainted things like the fan shroud, oil pan, belly pan, etc. Decided to leave the block as-is. Did a bunch of grinding and sanding and painting of other bits and bobs. 

I bought a new low-profile intake manifold so I don't need an adapter for the Weber carb, and I could then install the nice old air cleaner element I bought to bring her back to a stock look. Had the Exhaust manifold blasted and re-coated.

After doing all that, I put back the oil pan and valve cover with fresh gaskets. Then I tried to re-install everything on my own. It isn't easy without a full lift. I re-installed the engine then I tried several times to get that transmission back attached to the engine while under the car but I had very little room between the Quickjacks while laying on my back with no help. I even tried attaching the transmission and installing the whole thing, but that didn't work well. Not on my own.

So I gave up and I was going to haul it to my local expert Datsun shop but.... then decided to give it "one more try". This time, with 4 jack stands so I wasn't crowded by the Quickjack. After 20 minutes or so of bench-pressing that transmission and using my knee to shove the unit forward to engage with the engine, I was exhausted. I pulled the transmission jack over with my foot and rolled it under the transmission and let it sit. I walked away for about 15 minutes. Sometimes ya just need a break. Rotated the engine a bit with the front pulley to re-align the internals and jumped back under.  And presto! I slid that transmission right back onto the engine and tightened 'er down!

After that. it was time to start adding pieces back on. Thanks to lots of help from my friend Alex, we got it done in a few hours. We reinstalled the driveshaft, flywheel cover (had to slightly detach the transmission again), new head-manifold studs and gasket, exhaust manifold, intake manifold and carb, new head gasket, radiator hoses, spark plug wires, distributor cap, vacuum tubes (one still unused off the distributor I need to find a destination for ;-) ). Fan shroud, belly pan, weber carb adapter, air filter element, and the hood.

It was touch and go whether the hood would have clearance. I wanted to re-install the light blue OEM air filter element housing on the weber and bought a new intake manifold to allow the clearance. As we lowered the hood, I felt a resistance, but it didn't seem to be the air filter. So we re-aligned the panel gaps on the hood because they were a bit misaligned. and then the hood slid right down into place with no resistance. Very satisfying. 

A highly rewarding rainy afternoon, always better with a friend and a couple cold beers.

A few days later, I filled the engine oil, new coolant, transmission oil, and differential oil. I checked everything twice. Then, it was time for the moment of truth. I checked the electrical, tried a few cranks, checked for leaks, and then fired it up! 

And I couldn't be happier. It runs so smoothly now and the clutch doesn't chatter and the gears shift smoothly!  I can't describe the mix of joy and relief you get when something like this starts right back up!

But I wasn't done yet! Now I pulled off the wheels again and replaced the leaky rear brake cylinders, installed new rear brake shoes, flushed new brake fluid through the system, and then re-painted the wheels for a close-to-color match look. I love it!

Removing the Datsun 510 Transmission, Clutch replacement coming soon!

As a follow-up to my post about the purchase of my 1969 original-owner Datsun 510, and the one about my first steps in the restoration, several months of driving had lead me to the decision to replace the clutch.

Of course that, as always, is leading to more of the "While I'm in there..." disease. 

To replace the clutch. I pulled the transmission, and to do so I needed to remove the motor mounts to tilt the engine, and I had to remove hoses, etc for the tilt. So now the engine is completely disconnected so I'm compelled to just go ahead and take it out to more easily do the clutch and rebuild at least the top end while cleaning the whole thing up. 

After 53 years of some neglect, I have a feeling this is going to take me down a long path. But hey, that's why I bought the car, to bring it at least partially back to its original glory. The engine bay is the least nice part of the car, so I'll have to decide just how far I want to go in re-wiring, refinishing and painting it. Since I have no plans to repaint the whole car, I expect I'll be a bit hesitant to over-do the engine bay, but we shall see.

Removing the transmission without a second pair of hands was sometimes frustrating. I should have asked for some help but I kinda wanted to do it myself. At least now it's out and getting cleaned up. More updates to follow!

First Steps Restoring the Datsun 510

Now that I've committed to a sympathetic restoration, the first steps are to figure out what exactly I'm working with. So I started by doing a deep wash. I used a pressure washer to get underneath and start seeing what is under 52 years of accumulated road grime. It turns out that the car has lots of good original paint under here and I think a proper cleaning of the suspension and undercarriage will require some steam cleaning. Then I'll know more about the actually condition of the parts. Hopefully, the dirt isn't the glue holding it all together!

She cleans up pretty well, but more to come on that later. 

Next step is to move it inside, get it up on stands, and find out what the brakes and suspension are going to need. Also time to start tearing out the interior.

Again, I'm pleased with how clean things are once I get under it all. I'm going to fully recondition the floors. The black paint under the driver footwell is just surface stuff, seemingly painted to avoid corrosion because there is nothing bad underneath it. I'll plan on sanding it down and returning it to original color (Datsun orange 918 according to the factory paint tag). Now to order carpet jute for lining and a new carpet kit in OEM loop/pile black.

After a long weekend away, I came back to start tearing down the dashboard. the original dash pad is cracked, but the vinyl and plastic parts surrounding gauges and glove back are really nice. After a bit of washing and conditioning, they are looking new! I used PlastX on the plastic gauge covers and used compressed air and dug inside the gauges to remove all the dust and dirt making them look old. 

Now I need to find a way to recondition or replace the dash pad while also looking for an upholstery option to return the seats to their OEM vinyl elegance!

After a little reconditioning...

OK, that's all for now.  Plenty of vendors to contact and find parts.

I picked up this Original Owner 1971 Datsun 510

If it hasn't been obvious from my prior posts, the Datsun brand and particularly the Datsun 510 has been a seminal influence and a key part of my formative years as a car guy. My first car was a Datsun 510, and it is a reminder of my roots in the world of cars and of car racing. It reminds me of that amazing freedom I first discovered at age 16 when I got my driver's license and the world suddenly seemed to open up for me. I've been racing my other BRE-liveried Datsun 510 with a couple different historic racing organizations, so it shouldn't be a surprise that I keep an eye out for interesting Datsuns that come up for sale.  In this case, it was a 1971 Datsun 510 2-door 4-speed car that came up on BringaTrailer.com. I was immediately struck by its defining factor: it was a single owner car since new! I looked at the ad photos and the write up and since the car was local, just about an hour away, I decided to go take a look.

Well, never look at puppies for sale if you don't expect to bring one home. Same thing for me and 510s. I met the original owner, Joe, who gave me plenty of backdrop and stories about the car. He had purchased in in December of 1970 from the Datsun Dealership in Sunnyvale, CA while he was still a student. He had owned it continuously for over 52 years, and in my many years, that is the first time I had come across a Datsun 510 with a single owner history.  So I was intrigued. He bought he car with a loan from Bank of America for a total of 2,125.44, paid in 36 installments of $59.04. Interesting that they din't have to disclose the interest rate on that! Also, car loans were rarely over 3 years in those days because cars didn't last long. Well, here it is 52 years later!

He told me that he had taken his now-wife on their first date in the car, and he now had over 225,000 miles on it. I met he and his mechanic and we talked about what they had done through the years. Although it had been repainted (I kind of wish it was still original paint), Joe had kept the black and white side stripe that was on the car when he bought it. He told me that was a signature of the Sunnyvale Datsun dealership where he bought it... they always painted a stripe on their 510s back in the early 1970s, presumably to add a little sportiness to the boxy little sedan. Keep in mind, in 1971 this might be sitting across the street from a fully pinstriped Camaro Z28 or double-hood-striped Mustang fastback.

The car was a bit dirty, and showed a little rust on one rocker panel that had been painted over (maybe 2-inches square), so I proceeded to look closely at all the floor pans, rocker panels, trunk pan, fender wells, etc. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the one area of corrosion was really the only spot of concern. Under the aftermarket rubber mats and then the musty and faded original old carpets, I found he had the original rubber Datsun mats, which are rarely seen still with these cars. And these original rubber mats were perfect! The dash, gauges, steering wheel and seats were original, also rare to see, as was the headliner. The driver's seat was thrashed from all those years and miles and covered in duct tape and a sheepskin seat cover (so 70s!), but I was happy it was still there. Seats can be recovered and re-stuffed, but finding an original seat in the first place is difficult. Most of these cars have had aftermarket seats or other-manufacturers modern seats installed at some point through multiple owners.

After driving the car, listening to the engine, and talking about its history for quite a while, I decided I would place a bid in the auction which had a few days remaining. To my surprise, nobody upped my bid. Partly because I had placed a strong bid but also because I think most people bidding from a distance couldn't tell that this car was actually in far better shape than its photos may have portrayed.

Here is the auction site and outcome: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1971-datsun-510-55/

I was pretty excited at the end of the auction and ready to get this car in my garage. My wife was, as always, understanding of my "car problem" and realized this would be a great project for me.  More on my plans in just a bit. But first, it was time to bring a trailer down to pick the car up. No way I was going to trust a 225,000 mile car on the drive home through Bay Area highway craziness. So I met Joe a couple days later and we swapped more stories and congratulated each other. Joe seemed genuinely happy that I was the winning bidder, because he knew that my intent was to honor its tradition and keep it relatively stock. I had told him so when I looked at it. I knew the car would be a great candidate for a "sympathetic restoration". One where I clean everything up, replace any non-stock parts I could, and bring it back close to how it looked when he drove it off the lot in December 1970. Joe handed me the keys and we promised to keep in touch. as I've said before, I like cars because of how they can connect people, and I expect to carry Joe's story along with this car for as long as I am it's steward.

So now it is at home, ready for some love and attention. My plans include a basic light restoration:

• remove all interior and replace worn carpets, new stock seat upholstery, new dash pad
• new stock style steering wheel
• stock air cleaner element
• stock wheels and skinny white-wall tires
• new shocks and springs to correct ride height and make it a comfy period-correct ride
• clean up all underneath corrosion and 52 years of gunk
• rust removal and repaint of left rocker panel
• clean up engine bay
• remove non-stock parts (CB radio, extra horns, 3rd brake light, etc)
• find an EOM side mirror? (unobtanium these days)
• remove and clean-up engine, new head gasket and likely valve job and evaluate lower-end
• new brakes and brake lines, all OEM
• new rubber bits and bushings for suspension

I got her home and recreated the photo from my Mom's lawn in 1979 when I had my first 510. I just didn't park on the lawn this time.

Then I parked her in a place of honor in my garage and started making my plans. I'll update with a new blog post in the next week to show my first tear down and clean-up progress.