"The Goon" Build (KA Datsun)

[WagDatto]

Originally Posted by chibo

What about this yellow 510?
http://www.bryanf.com/510/

I've had a boner for 510's ever since I saw that site in late 2001. I lack the place for a project car now but I've always wondered (but never looked in to) how much aftermarket support there is for the little bastards.

Haha, you're the 3rd person to link me to Bryan's site. Yes I've seen it, and it's cool I guess. There's no reason for the rear setup he used. Definitely not my thing, but it was done VERY well and props to him for spending years and years to complete a car that he then turned and sold right away and now says he won't go back to 510's.

As for aftermarket, it depends on what you want. If you want NEW parts, you're going either NOS from 30+ years ago, fiberglass, or carbon fiber. Either way you choose, you're going to spend HUNDREDS UPON HUNDREDS of dollars on stuff. James wasn't willing to part with his NOS dash pad for anything less than 300 bucks. He had a NOS hood and a few fenders too, but the hood would cost you about 800 bucks, and the fenders around 400 each.

Parts for these cars aren't cheap. I priced out some window seals and hatch/hood seals because my weather stripping is either not there, or is in such bad shape that air comes in through the door jams. It's going to run me around 500 dollars for all new (aftermarket, not NOS) weather stripping and seals. It will cost me about 200 bucks for a carpet kit (again, aftermarket), and probably another 100 for a headliner. Any of the chrome trim is pricey, too.

If you're looking to do a full restoration, good luck... I'm willing to cut some corners in the name of saving money!

[chibo]

Originally Posted by WagDatto

Haha, you're the 3rd person to link me to Bryan's site. Yes I've seen it, and it's cool I guess. There's no reason for the rear setup he used. Definitely not my thing, but it was done VERY well and props to him for spending years and years to complete a car that he then turned and sold right away and now says he won't go back to 510's.

I also think the rear is a little insane, but hey it's his car and I won't be one to knock it. I never knew he sold the thing, where did you hear about it?

Originally Posted by WagDatto

As for aftermarket, it depends on what you want. If you want NEW parts, you're going either NOS from 30+ years ago, fiberglass, or carbon fiber. Either way you choose, you're going to spend HUNDREDS UPON HUNDREDS of dollars on stuff. James wasn't willing to part with his NOS dash pad for anything less than 300 bucks. He had a NOS hood and a few fenders too, but the hood would cost you about 800 bucks, and the fenders around 400 each.

So basically, done half way right this is not a cheap car to have around, am I close?

Originally Posted by WagDatto

Parts for these cars aren't cheap. I priced out some window seals and hatch/hood seals because my weather stripping is either not there, or is in such bad shape that air comes in through the door jams. It's going to run me around 500 dollars for all new (aftermarket, not NOS) weather stripping and seals. It will cost me about 200 bucks for a carpet kit (again, aftermarket), and probably another 100 for a headliner. Any of the chrome trim is pricey, too.

Weather stripping is expensive on every car, it boggles my mind why. It's fairly simple shit.

Originally Posted by WagDatto

If you're looking to do a full restoration, good luck... I'm willing to cut some corners in the name of saving money!

I'm with you there.

[WagDatto]

I'm a forum whore not only on Zilvia, but also on the510realm. He used to post quite a bit on there, since he's owned a dozen 510's in the past. When his "Uber awesome yellow turbo rotary tubbed and caged 510" was up on Ebay, the510realm was first to respond with the why's what's and when's. I think it ended up going for somewhere around 25k.

And yeah. With my 'Goon, I've been doing things right, but I've been doing a lot of them myself. Adjustable TC Rods? My brother and I cut them, and modified them with heim joints with parts that we had at FBI. Powdercoating? One of our coworkers was working at a place that was doing hundreds of powder coating pieces every day, and we got it done for free. We had a sandblaster at work, and so far, I've only really outsourced for a few key parts, like fuel cell, radiator and a few other things. I think, so far, I've put maybe 2000 into it, but if I were to have bought all the parts that I've made, I'd be in it around 6000 so far. I was thinking about prices when my car is all finished, and (including car and motor) I'll be at around $3000 when it's driving, $4000 when it's KA-T, and probably end at about $5500 when paint and body work is all done and I have all my seals/interior how I want them for now.

There's a build on the510realm where the guy went SR20DET, had everything rechromed and polished and powdercoated and the paint was pretty, but he ended up spending just under $30k and wants to sell it for 25k. I don't have that kind of money, and if I did, I'd probably have a very nice, very completed car already, haha.

[kingkilburn]

Man Bryan's 510 is crazy. It is very well done while also having no soul.

If it looks like a duck, sounds like an angry wasps' nest, and feels like go kart, is it still a duck?

[thejapino]

Originally Posted by WagDatto

Parts for these cars aren't cheap. I priced out some window seals and hatch/hood seals because my weather stripping is either not there, or is in such bad shape that air comes in through the door jams. It's going to run me around 500 dollars for all new (aftermarket, not NOS) weather stripping and seals...

Haha, driving around in my old 510 was so noisy. If you wanna save some $ on weatherstripping, my buddy got door and trunk weather stripping and outside window seal rubber (the molding that seals/wipes the outside of windows when you roll them down) for pretty cheap at the San Jose flea market. The deal is, they use universal stuff but they have so many different sizes. You bring in a sample of what you want, they'll match them up and cut you what you need! After he resealed his doors, they felt alot better! You actually had to kinda slam the door to shut it completely b/c the weatherstripping was so new. I was planning to do the same with my old 2-door dime until I sold it. G/L with the build

btw: rear ZG flares FTW

[WagDatto]

They say its the little things in like that count, right? Well, good, because this is a little update.

So between classes today, i sped to my brother's house in hopes that his wife was there to open the garage for me. Alas, nobody was home but the dogs... So I broke in through the sliding glass door (SORRY, PHIL!!). No harm was done, I opened the garage, and made a hasty retreat, making sure that I did a better job of locking that door than was originally done, and locking the front door before I sneaked outside to get some work done.

The other day, I took home a Datsun radio filler plate that wasn't really intended for the 510, but was SUPER close to fitting. I had to sand down the sides of it to squeeze it in properly, and I first made sure that it fit. I ended up having to sand down some tabs on the back before it fit in how I liked it. I cleaned it as best I could, sanded where I wanted the silver paint to REALLY stick, and started primering. A few coats later, I sanded it down again and got out the "chrome paint." I laid down three coats and decided it was just enough. Later, I'll go back in with either some brushes, or go crazy with masking and paint everything but the Datsun and borders black.

BEFORE: (Note the way it didn't sit right, or all the way back)


AFTER:




Again, not quite done, they still need some black, and MAYBE some red and blue to match the "True" Datsun look.

I also decided to slap the hood 'lifter, spring thingy' back on, but not before that damned Pea Green color was stripped and replaced with black and clear:


I ran out of time before my next class, so I locked up and called it a day. Sorry again for breaking and entering, Phil! I promise I gave Henry some lovin' before I left, but completely ignored Zuzu (his dogs, sorry for not being specific).

I'll leave you with some photos I took the past few days:








Thanks guys, I'll update more as it comes through!

[ericcastro]

LMAO, wow.

Its been a long time since I looked at a 510 cluster! I remember it though

Cars coming along great !! and your staying motivated on it too. I knew so many 510 guys that would do a little and then leave it for months.
Lovin those rims too. I would like them for my s13. I run 15x8 in the negative offset now. how much were they??

And remember, that 510 carpet kit for 150ish is almost all you need. plus a head liner and replacement seats. all and all, pretty cheap to have brand new interior that you will never have to redoo.

And yeah, its replacing all the rubber that kills ya. And skip the crome, save money.

I remember buying a new hood that was mint for 75 bucks in 2002! oh how times change. And that red RHD bluebird I posted thats getting the S15 SR. That car has cost over 85,000.00 so far, lol. no joke.

[fbiphil]

Nice work, Sean.
Now, can you please be a little more specific as to how you broke into my house? Maybe you could give everyone my address, too, and save them the time of looking around by just listing an inventory of my valuable belongings?

Thanks in advance, jerk!
-Phil

PS- Vicki says it's time to just give you your own key...

[WagDatto]

Originally Posted by ericcastro

LMAO, wow.

Its been a long time since I looked at a 510 cluster! I remember it though

Cars coming along great !! and your staying motivated on it too. I knew so many 510 guys that would do a little and then leave it for months.
Lovin those rims too. I would like them for my s13. I run 15x8 in the negative offset now. how much were they??

And remember, that 510 carpet kit for 150ish is almost all you need. plus a head liner and replacement seats. all and all, pretty cheap to have brand new interior that you will never have to redoo.

And yeah, its replacing all the rubber that kills ya. And skip the crome, save money.

I remember buying a new hood that was mint for 75 bucks in 2002! oh how times change. And that red RHD bluebird I posted thats getting the S15 SR. That car has cost over 85,000.00 so far, lol. no joke.

Yeah, my main focus is on getting it running and driving so that it isn't "mysteriously" left in the street one of these days! As for a price on the Hayashi's, it all depends on how much Phil ends up paying for them, if at all. A buddy of ours used to work at the local Pick-N-Pull, and they came in on an old Datsun Z, and he nabbed them for next to nothing. Problem is, he doesn't have anything to put them on right now, so Phil nabbed them from him and is thinking about just giving him some cash and calling it a deal. We'll see, though. They're only mine for a little bit!

Originally Posted by fbiphil

Nice work, Sean.
Now, can you please be a little more specific as to how you broke into my house? Maybe you could give everyone my address, too, and save them the time of looking around by just listing an inventory of my valuable belongings?

Thanks in advance, jerk!
-Phil

PS- Vicki says it's time to just give you your own key...

Sheesh, way to overreact! It's the internet, Phil! Everybody on the internet is completely trustworthy and honest! By the way, PM me for Phil's SSN, credit card info, and driver's license number! Haha, I love you, big brother. My car would have a tired L18 and 4 speed in it, and would still be Pea Green and have stock struts if it weren't for you... and you know it. I thank you for all the help you've given me over these past few months. I'd be a total 510 newb if it weren't for you, too!

[WagDatto]

Another Daily Update!!

Wow, I've been busy with the little things this week (I know that's gonna come full circle with a gay joke)! Between classes, I decided to finish off my radio panel filler plate. Last I had posted, I sanded it down to get it to fit, prepped and painted it silver:



The goal was to keep the border and "Datsun" silver, and paint the rest black, then clear the whole thing to protect it from grubby little fingers.

I started off by sneaking over to NAPA, and getting some new cans of paint, and some decent masking tape, and then set to work taping it all off. The downside is that I got green tape ALL OVER my black shorts. Can you say 'fashion statement?' Pics:





I started off light, I ended up putting eight SUPER light coats of gloss black spray paint on it. The silver/chrome paint was thick, and even started to block out the textured parts of the plastic plate, so I took my time and did it nice and slow:



Finally, I was done letting it dry enough to peel off the masking tape, and what do you know! It turned out okay... I didn't do a perfect job of masking, so I didn't get perfect results, but I'm pretty happy with it. It turned out like I wanted it to, at least. Nothing on my car is OMGOVERTHETOP, so why should a filler plate be, you know? The other downside to peeling the masking tape back off is, I got even more tape (this time green with black paint all over it) on my shorts. Pics:







Anywho, I ran out of time to do anything too exciting before I had to go back to class... But while I waited for the plate to dry, I did finish sanding down my hood hinges. I took the Pea Green paint off, and finished them up with some 220 grit paper, and hit them with a few thick coats of semi-flat black. I'll probably hit them with some clear, just because, but I'm not too worried about them turning out perfect, they're hinges for gawdsake.

Also, since my old hood won't fit cuz of the stupid hole and ZX hood scoop, I got some red and white paint... When I get bored at Phil's this week, I'll paint something fantastic for you guys! Teaser:

[alindeman1989]

The hood looks sweet.

[WagDatto]

Originally Posted by alindeman1989

The hood looks sweet.

Well we'll see how mine comes out, but that's the jist of what I want to do... Like I said, it's pretty much a scrapper hood, so if I eff it, eh.. Eff it!

[kcndizzle]

Originally Posted by WagDatto

Well we'll see how mine comes out, but that's the jist of what I want to do... Like I said, it's pretty much a scrapper hood, so if I eff it, eh.. Eff it!

Really? I remember talking about the pricing on body parts for these and I distinctly remember a complaint about finding parts for reasonable prices.
Or is that just for good body panels?

[WagDatto]

Whoa now, Mr. Hostile Words! The hood that I currently have is equipped with a hood scoop that will not clear my valve cover, and without the scoop it has a big, gaping hole in the middle! Chris in Rio Linda is going to be hookin' a brother up for "somewhere between 100 and 150" for a hood in decent shape, but we'll just have to see what he has in his barn. Not cheap for a 30something year old piece of metal.

By "scapper" I mean that it won't be going on this particular 510, and perhaps at a later date, it can be used for something, but rather than the black/green squiggly-camo thing it has going right now, a rising sun pattern would cheer it all up a touch!

[kcndizzle]

Lolz, no hostile intentions, just didn't understand the usage of the word "scapper". Nor had I ever heard the term "scapper". Huh...Scapper... Could I get a definition and the country of origin please?

[WagDatto]

A Scrapper... you know, the El Camino's rolling around on 63" rims with 14 subwoofers and blacxican people driving them? A Scrapper!

[kcndizzle]

Wait... You've seen me driving my El-camino with the dubz? That's how I be mini-truckin...

[fbiphil]

You'd be less likely to have gay jokes coming your way if you'd stop showing people your sexy legs... fwiw.

[kcndizzle]

Just got back from actually seeing the "Goon" in person, and I must say, the car is teh hotness. Definitely going to be cool having it roll around Sac. soon. And with the confidence that Mr. Wagdatto has about having it up and running. Soon may just be an understatement .

[WagDatto]

Alright, people! Time for another one of those update things! Yes, Kcndizzle came by and checked out the progress. He came, he saw, he liked what he saw. In any case, I haven't done TOO much in the past few days... Just, you know, painting. I've been painting the old, holey hood red, in anticipation of the rising sun pattern that'll be going on, as well as getting a new, uncracked 280zx scoop. I also modified the new scoop so that it MIGHT clear the valve cover.

At the very least, I'll have a spare hood that'll be red and white, so I can play dress up if I'm going out on a friday night, or something...

But the hood will no longer be needed (as a perma-hood, at least)!! I drove to Rio Linda earlier today, to meet up with Chris. We spoke last time about getting a look at a few hoods he had laying around, and today was the day. We only pulled out two, but that's all I needed to see. The first one was good, better than what James (in Grass Valley, see earlier post) had, but had some dents and a bend... The second hood, though... Wow. Besides being a dusty, faded orange color, it was practically flawless! No bends, no dents, no rust, no MAJOR scratches or scars, it was pretty. At $125, I couldn't say no! I also got a new glove box (mine is broken) and a few switches for the dash to make it look more complete, and then shot the shit with Chris for a few and headed back home. Today was the second time he told me that he wouldn't sell his '79 Skyline...

I grabbed some more paint at Napa, and decided to get a can of paint stripper for the orange/yellow paint (was originally yellow, repainted red and then orange at some point in it's life). I didn't have very high hopes, but $5 is cheap enough I'd give it a shot! I used almost the whole can spraying the hood, but in 5-10 minutes, it was bubbling, and I scraped the whole thing pretty close to bare! I was surprised and happy that it worked as well as it did!

A few pics after I rinsed the crap off and sanded the SHIT out of it:




That's right, this is the first part in a while that I've taken the time to do right the first time, kind of. 220 grit to finish smoothing it all out, and 320 grit to really get it fine. Our younger brother's and my hands and arms are sore, but it turned out really really fancy!

I layed down a can and a half of flat black primer, before bolting it on. The fiberglass fenders are a bit thicker than the stock metal ones, so there are some clearance issues to worry about before it's "done," and I'll probably sand the whole hood down pretty good before I'm happy with it (for the time being, that is), but so far it's looking really good!






Anyways, other than the hoods, nothing's really new. I've been staying at my brother's house the past few days, and I'm starting to either lose brain cells from the tagging, or the dogs are driving me insane, but this lil' guy makes me laugh so hard sometimes that my stomach hurts and I'm crying! I'll leave you with a picture of the Henry monster:

[ericcastro]

lookin good. What are you doing for the grill?? what kind/year/emblem/color ??

And are you going stock bumper of the front??

[WagDatto]

Originally Posted by ericcastro

lookin good. What are you doing for the grill?? what kind/year/emblem/color ??

And are you going stock bumper of the front??

The grille and headlight finishers are going to be soda blasted, or have the paint stripped from them in some fashion. Grille, headlight finishers, eyebrow trim, upper-valance trim and hood trim will all just be plain old stainless steel, rather than the chipped black paint that's on them now. It's not a fancy grille, not a 68 or 73 or anything, and no emblems. Somebody already started shaving all the emblems off, so I won't even bother drilling holes for new ones (I'll save my $200 for something else!)

[WagDatto]

Holy damn, another update!

Just "finished" my old hood today. All in all, it took me four days to finish painting to where I'm at now. I sanded the whole thing down, primered it and sanded that down, then started in on the red. A can and a half later, I let it sit for a full day before starting to mask.

I layed out a block of green tape where I wanted the sun to be, and traced a revolving fan cover to get the shape and size I liked. From there, I started measuring and laying down guide-lines for the rays, as well as making sure that the reds and whites didn't overlap at all:



From there, I took the lines out to the edges:



And masked in where I wanted the reds to stay:




From there, I hit it with some sandpaper to smooth it out, and wiped it clean. I cracked open my can o' white, and set to work:
1 coat

3 coats


A total of 9 coats of white, and I peeled away the tape and called it done for the day. It's not perfect, as the paint peeled back where I originally cut out the sun, so in a day or two, it'll need to be masked and touched up before I take some clear to it, but I'm super happy with how it turned out! I also used some gloss black on the new scoop, and layed it in there really quick for you guys to see how it'll look, and MAYBE give a teaser of the hood that MIGHT be on Phil's POSSIBLE 2 door!


Peeled paint:

With scoop:


We'll see what happens in the 2 door department here, in the next week or two. You guys might have to live with another one of our project threads!

[fbiphil]

I might be getting a 2 door, IF Sean can keep from destroying the car I'm selling to get it within the next 5 days! Looks good, bro- thanks for holding down the fort while I was gone!

BTW- I made it from Anaheim to Sacramento in just over 6 hours today! FLYIN' in the MINIVAN!!

[WagDatto]

Originally Posted by fbiphil

I might be getting a 2 door, IF Sean can keep from destroying the car I'm selling to get it within the next 5 days! Looks good, bro- thanks for holding down the fort while I was gone!

BTW- I made it from Anaheim to Sacramento in just over 6 hours today! FLYIN' in the MINIVAN!!

The Fast and the Furious: Minivan Drag

In theaters this Fall!

[kcndizzle]

Hood is Awesome-sauce!

[Leetheslacker]

hood turned out much better then my previous attempt.




i dig it.

[WagDatto]

Originally Posted by Leetheslacker

hood turned out much better then my previous attempt.




i dig it.

The key was to measure even "slices of the pie" from the center of the sun outward. Yours seemed like they started out super thin and got super big and uneven as they went. A good try, at least yours started out red, where mine was a black/green squiggle-fest! The painting only took a little while to spend a can of white on the hood, but measuring and taking my time to mask took me at least an hour and a half or two hours to do it right.

[Leetheslacker]

yeah. it was more of a hanging out in the garage with a few buddies, a few leftover cans of spray paint, a spare hood and some time to kill, more than a planned out thing.

[WagDatto]

Can anybody say "Progress?"

Okay, not REAL progress, but good news, nonetheless! I ran over to FBI today to get a part made for my dad, and decided to check out the piece of metal that came in on Friday. But not just ANY piece of metal... it's the piece of metal that's been laser cut for my fuel cell!



Nifty, eh? The next order of business (tonight or tomorrow) is Marty bending the sides inward and starting to weld! It has the exact bolt pattern laser cut out for the sending unit to line up with, so we've got to get some nuts and bolts and weld them inside to screw it all down to. Then it's a matter of capping the bottom off, and finding the correct tube for the filler neck, welding in some baffles, and SHA-POW!! Fuel cell done!

Marty at the metal break, in his primal state of Rednecked Fury: