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510 info needed


Guest JAMIE T

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Guest JAMIE T

Hey guys, I'm looking into buying a 510 in the near future and don't know where to start looking for info/restoration parts for them. I found one near me that has flares and some performance parts on it, but I don't know who sells rust repair panels(It probably needs at least a couple), weatherstripping, etc... I once went to a 510 forum, but I can't sem locate it now. Thanks. BTW, I want to do the old stand-by SR20DET swap into it.

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Jamie, you can start here.

 

http://dimequarterly.tierranet.com

 

I had a very good condition 71 2 door years ago. Great little cars.

I put it in the back yard on jack stands to do some work, the biggest tree in our back yard fell in a strom and landed dead center the roof.

Needless to say it turned into a 71 Datsun 510-U.

Nice choice on engines, the 510`s have a lot of potential.

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After a decade+ in 510s, I just made the switch to Zs. You can check out my 2 510s in my Gallery at:

http://datsun510.com/photopost/showgallery.php?ppuser=49&cat=500&thumb=1

 

The blue car sold for $10k and the white one (Casper) for $20k. Anyway, the best source for 510 info is at: http://www.dimequarterly.com

 

I got spoiled with this group, as just about everything has been done on these cars, everything is pretty well documented and all the info is out there for you. The Z guys don't go to such extremes, but there are a lot fewer 510ers out there, so we had to make due.

 

As for restoration parts, they are getting pretty rare, expensive and a lot of it is NLA. You used to be able to buy just about every part for a 510 from Nissan up until 2-3 years ago. Almost all the parts have dried up and there aren't many parts suppliers for them. Any sheetmetal parts have to come from cars that are being cut up or guys who have them. The only parts you can still get are rocker panels & one guy made floorboards. That's about it. These facts has caused prices for nice 510s to skyrocket. In perspective, it's nice that you can get almost everything for a Z, although it'll cost you, but you can still get them. Many parts are like "gold" in the 510 world, things that we thought weren't worth much only 5 years ago. Times change and unlike Z, there aren't enough 510s to warrant reproducing many of these parts. That's why just about everything gets upgraded to later model stuff, as my car was pretty much a 510 in shell only! 8) Hope that helps.

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Guest JAMIE T

I'm not switching, I just want a sporty 4 seater that is exempt from emissions testing and has some heritage in racing. I like cars that "car" people can identify with, even if they are not "Datsun" guys or Nissan guys. Most car people I know always mention a 510 when I say I have a 240Z. Like I said in my first post, I'm going to upgrade the powertrain to modern power, and I have NO problems swapping parts from other auto makers to get my desired results. Although It has probably been done about a Dozen times, I think I want to more or less make a BRE clone looking car with a SR20DET (unless I can find a turbo buick for dirt cheap.)that is pretty much stock. I don't need it to have much power, just enough to scoot it around and my wife and daughter can ride in it, unlike my 240Z. It seems like most everyone likes Zcars and 510's no matter what their automotive background is. Even young guys appreciate the classics.

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Oh, you have no clue how many times I've heard "I used to have one of those in high school" or "my buddy had one" or "my relative had one" or......

 

Heck of a good car to get back in the day, they were just under $2k new! The L series & IRS made it a great "bang for the buck" vehicle. Like you said, they also have some great racing history, with BRE kickin' the crap out of the BMWs and running with the high dollar Alfas.

 

As for having both, you can go both ways!

 

:wink:

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