the DAILY DATSUN

May 20, 2013May 20, 2013

Old Parked Cars – the blog

Just found another great blog on old cars called, Old Parked Cars.

Two brother, Ben and Tony Piff, snap photos of… you guessed it, old parked cars. It’s great.

Seemingly within this rural town in Oregon, they spot old cars everywhere they go, and going on 4 years of it! From Alfa to SAAB, Buick to Dodge, they’ve managed to see rust buckets to gems – and none without at least just a little bit of character. And yes, they’ve snapped Datsuns. Below is a link just with the Datsun tag, but check out their entire site too – some wicked fun stuff on there.

http://www.oldparkedcars.com/search/label/Datsun

In addition to Bring-A-Trailer and Craiglist, Old Parked Cars will certainly become part of my morning read. Here’s some from Datsuns from the site:

’71 Datsun 1200 Fastback

’64 Datsun L320

’76 Datsun F10 Hatchback

May 19, 2013May 18, 2013

Turning 350z Heads

Hahaha quick post – just the other night I pulled up at stop light to make a left, and the 350z to my right (going straight) was checking out the car (hand over chin)… light turns green, and he’s still there eyeballin’. Not till another car zooms by does he realize that he’s been distracted by an old school Datsun Z.

May 18, 2013

The Datsun Z…used as a kit car

Say what? There’s a Datsun Z kit car?! Well, not exactly, it’s more like there have been many Datsun Z’s used as the basis for building another car…

First thing that comes to mind: who in the world would do such a thing?! I mean the S30 Datsun Z body is incredibly beautiful and has a timeless design and aesthetic with plenty of critcal press to back it up. Ok ok, so what if “beauty” is truly in the eye of it’s beholder… and abominations like a S13 Nissan Silvia rock-crawler wasn’t to be called…an abomination? (actually..that particular one is kinda neat…)

Case in question: A Datsun Z turned Ferrari 250 GTO.

I guess there have been a number of these conversions, and like all project cars are in varying degrees of completion and success. This particular Datsun Z / Ferrari replica conversion comes from Craigslist. At first I thought it was a Ferrari post with “Datsun” in it’s laundry list of keywords, but what gave it away at first glance?

The triple gauge humps on the dash. Ah ha! it’s a Z.

Hmm is it worth it? Should people do these types of things to already beautiful cars? I suppose in the end, the build is still in the eye of the builder. And though it’s too bad another Z gets taken off the road, I suppose what remains is a driver’s happiness. But in reality, you know how these project cars go… it’ll probably never get on the road and get re-posted on CL 3-5 years later, unfinished.

May 13, 2013

Handle the Door Handle

Sigh – the door handle…

A few weeks ago, I noticed the door handle of the 280z just kinda hanging loose… Still able to open the door, but a loose handle could mean eventual non-working doors, and cross our fingers, maybe prone to brake-ins. If anything else, the tolerances of the Datsun 280z are surprisingly tight in some places, and a loose door handle can actually mean chipped paint! ouch! (you can spot the chip in the lower right).

I took an hour this morning to fix it all up and correct a few things along the way – let’s go!

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Oh, here’s what you’ll need to tighten up a 280z door handle:
– 8mm wrench
– philips screw driver
– flat head screw driver
– paperclip or allen wrench (to get the window crank cotter pin out)

Per the S30 service manual, take off the arm rest, window crank, door escutcheon plate, and don’t forget the door lock post (just twist to take that off). Using something flat, gently pry off the door panel.

Once you have that door panel off, window all the way up, you’ll be able to see the two nuts holding the door handle in. Use that 8mm wrench.

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In the meantime, I also able to finally glue the vinyl covering and lube up the door lock mechanisms.

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When put back together – that door couldn’t close sweeter, and the door handle is perfect.

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Eh.. now for the reason why I noticed this in the first place was the paint chip caused by the loose door handle…eventually have to get to all these stupid paint chips.

May 2, 2013April 30, 2013

Zpotted: Red 1600, summer is here

Yes, summer is here because all the tops are down.

My cousin, Mike, zpotted a Datsun 1600 enjoying the sun in SF.

April 30, 2013

Zpotted: Skinny Puppy 510

Rolling around Office Depot to do a return, and a gunmetal gray 1969 Datsun 510 pulls up just as I do the same!

A nice fellow (didn’t get his name) just recently got his 510 back from having work done by Troy Ermish (very popular 510 mechanic in Tracy, CA). I guess the work took several years to complete (ugh)! “Skinny Puppy” (as noted by the sole sticker on the rear windshield) sported lowered suspension, blacked out bumpers, rear bubble flares, and circular rear side markers. And if it’s from Troy, it probably has his 2.5″ exhaust down pipe. Well, here it is.

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April 23, 2013April 22, 2013

Yes, I’m in Z office

Want to excite that drab office? Got a couple of car seats laying around?!

You can only change that computer desktop wallpaper so much and so often – so take it to the next level and make some car seat office chairs! Back in March of last year, I got new seat covers in for the 280z and just had to throw them over the office chair for fun. Well it looks the guy at DIY-Create actually brought it to fruition on Instructables using the actual seat! Seats came from a junked 240z, and I’d say, they’re now getting much more use than left in a yard. Also, you can bring that car you love so much into the home. Enjoy!

And many thanks to DIY-Create for using the seat restore article and mentioning Daily Datsun as a resource!

Instructables – How to Turn Junker Car Seats into Beautiful Office Chairs by DIY-Create
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Turn-Junker-Car-Seats-into-Beautiful-Office/?ALLSTEPS

Getting work done…fast.

April 22, 2013April 21, 2013

Datsloco poster

I created a poster for the 8th Annual Datsloco event on May 4th up in Manteca. A good friend said to me that there’s nothing like a flyer / poster to help make the event for real and get people excited!

Hope all the Datsun owners can come out and enjoy this great event!

April 21, 2013

Historic Japanese Car Gathering – 4/21/13

Daily-Datsun-HJCG-Shokuji-J-Tin-130420 (1) After a fresh wash, we cruised it up to San Leandro for Historic Japanese Car Gathering‘s Shokuji J-Tin event! This year they had folks from Japanese Nostalgic Car and called back an honored guest, “Mary” from the the Ken & Mary Skyline commercials!

It looked like a great time with food / ice cream trucks as well as people and their cars from all over the place.

Though it seemed to be dominated by Datsuns, there were plenty of Toyotas making a scene.

As we rolled up a 350z owner asked if i could park next to him so he could snap some old / new photos – haha hopefully i can get a shot of that from him.

Unfortunately, we arrived ~3pm and got really at the tail end of the event, but we were able to spot a few cars and snap some pics on that beautiful bay area day. Enjoy!

White on gold is always a pleaser.

Rally!

Some RHDs – yes, just check out that Skyline on Watanabe’s… that’s delux.

Rising sun corners on these two Datsun trucks.

Bunch of 510’s getting ready for a ride.

A spectacular looking Toyota Corolla Levin – man that thing was a compact piece of muscle.

This guy just threw his well done 510 right over the speed bump without a care. Sorry, that type of showmanship isn’t for me.

Really nice to see this brown Levin bare-boned and empty. You just get the ideas of restoring running through your head.

A bit more modern classic. Very well kept.

Ah, there he is – just taking in the sun.

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April 20, 2013April 21, 2013

Motor Trend: 370z vs 240z

Yesterday morning rolls around – i get a email from my Dad :]
Motor Trend’s show, Downshift, pits an enthusiast’s engine swapped 240z against the crowd sourced Nissan 370z. The 370z has every sweet piece of technology possible at the pinnacle of automotive technology. The 240z has typical upgrades, Watanabe wheels, no-power steering…oh, and a RB26DETT engine.

Let the fun begin!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VRnBKfPOvw