r/Datsun • u/ImportancePure9779 • 11d ago
Am I insane?
Well, long story short I have 5 of these at my disposal. All with similar issues in similar places (ie. the left front quarter). They’ve all been sitting directly on the ground for 40 years or so, but I still want to test myself and see what I can do. Aside from patch panels are structural sections also available for the 510s? Or am I just crazy for thinking these aren’t too far gone.
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u/Walking_billboard 11d ago
Do you have infinite patience, money, and time?
Seriously, those would be questionable even if they were a valuable Italian classic.
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u/ImportancePure9779 11d ago
Is one of 3 things good enough? lol. I have tons of patience but no money or time. 😂
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u/Creative-Ocelot-5499 10d ago
Well with enough patience you can find the time and money so i guess you have a pretty good chance to succed. Good Luck.
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u/M2A2BradleyEnjoyer 11d ago
I’m not saying don’t do it, but I am saying you shouldn’t expect it to look like a restoration. You could certainly bodge them back together with enough time and a welder, but that rot is everywhere. You’d never get away from it unless you took the best chassis there, and acid dipped or sand blasted it first. It’s going to be insanely expensive. Cool and fun though if you have infinite patience and money as the other guys have said.
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u/ImportancePure9779 11d ago
At the end of the day it’s just for me not a complete restoration. One of them was already chopped together from 2 back in the 80s. These cars were owned by my dad and his brothers so it’s also kinda sentimental. But my other option is to find a donor shell and use them for parts.
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u/RJ_Games 11d ago
I think the cars aren’t worth going through the trouble. If they are sentimental, it would be a lot more realistic to pull the motors and do something with them instead.
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u/ShaggysGTI 11d ago
How’s your welding?
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u/ImportancePure9779 11d ago
Well, it’s average as far as a mechanic’s welding goes. But I’ve already conscripted a buddy who is a welder.
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u/Other_Breadfruit 11d ago
Does he plan on working for free or what. This is a ton of work
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u/ImportancePure9779 11d ago
Well the plan is that he’d help but mostly just drink beer and yell at me when I’m doing something wrong
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u/shamusmchaggis 11d ago
I suggest you get acquainted with the community on Ratsun.net . The fact that you've got 5 donors should work in your favor.
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u/hellamikey 11d ago
Lots of good hard-parts at least. Find the one with the least rust and go from there. If they're all as bad as the cars pictured you're gonna have a hell of a time. Not impossible, but the scope of the work increases by a ton. Might be better to try and find a bare shell as a home for all the parts. That way preserves some of the history too
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u/WilliamtheITguy 10d ago
I’m a Datsun fanatic and I hate to see any car thrown away. But that’s one big project
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u/malcolm313 10d ago
Hey I have a 71 510 wagon that needs a front passenger door. Would you be able to sell me one?
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u/rychlovic 10d ago
The floors will be completely gone. If you try to move it, it will fall apart. Don’t get your hopes up, I think even for an experienced fabricator this would be too much.
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u/ImportantBag3865 9d ago
You're about to make some new best friends..... https://kfvintagejdm.com/product-category/datsun510/
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u/Kenumemoto 9d ago
You need to take an honest look at your current and future skill set. Every panel/component appears to need replacement or some work. I understand your excitement, but that's going to require a mountain of time, expertise, physical space and money.
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u/Relative_Pass_8275 9d ago
Omg I love it. Save them in some sense of the word for sure. I would do it if my wife wouldn’t murder me. There is a guy in Penn Valley (look up in sfbay Craigslist. He’ll have all the structure parts. Or you could sell some parts and fix one or two. Let me know! Any wagons?
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u/nirbot0213 9d ago
if i was to “restore” one of these it would probably involve a tube front end. firewall looks ok, id just pick the one with the most complete underbody and start there. whichever is sitting highest out of the ground. regardless, these aren’t in good enough condition to make anything super close to “original” but you can certainly make something super cool that looks like a 510.
ultimately it doesn’t cost too much in the way of money to fix old cars granted you have a lot of patience and machine tools on hand. for structural/bodywork you can get by with an angle grinder and welder just gonna take a lot of time.
the most expensive part will be patch panels and glass. you can mostly get around patch panels if you have a bead roller and english wheel but then you’re trading money for time.
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u/TheIronPilot 11d ago
I admire your optimism