Browsing through the Datsun Owners Club website, I cam across the advert which was placed by Spotted Laurel 8-)along the lines “ I have been contacted by the owner of a Datsun 180b SSS, 610 series, red in colour, which is for sale. If you are interested, please contact me”. I knew there were only about 5 of these in the UK and suddenly I was intrigued and wanted to find out more. (As you do!) I sent of an email to Nigel and got the contact detail of the seller.
I found out that the car belonged to an elderly gent, who had bought it new in 1972 and had it all his life. He was too old to drive now and it had been parked in the garage for many years. He happened to mention about the Datsun to a friend (Paul), who then suggested that he would help him sell it and as a result got in touch with the club. The car had not been moved for many years and thus there was no way of establishing its current condition. Paul had not seen it either.
I was not traveling to Maccelsfield from London to view a rot box, so it was arranged that Paul would go to the garage, I would call him and direct him on what to look for. The call was made and I asked him to inspect the sills, arches, inner wings, doors, roof gutters and to my surprise he said that he could not find any rust. Yeah right! My immediate reaction was that Paul, not being a car enthusiast was not looking carefully as the car was covered in layers dust. I asked him to take a few snaps whilst he was there.
Two days later, the pictures of a 1972 car stuck in a very tight garage popped through my door. As soon as I saw them, I knew that it was a good shell and I had to go and see it. I then got a call from Paul saying that somebody else was interested, was not asking 1,000 questions unlike me, had a trailer handy and was happy to buy the car unseen for a lot of money. jolly pain in the backside! After a few phone calls with Paul and the owner, I convinced them I should be the first person viewing the car given that we had been laising for 2 weeks etc etc.
Needless to say, when I saw it, I was stumped. It had not moved for many years, the tax disc displayed 1982 if I remember correctly and was covered in thick dust. The owner had parked it and started it every few months thereafter to keep it well oiled. Anyway, he had not done so for many years and after doing the basic checks, I failed to get the car started. The engine would not turn and I suspected that it had ceased. The owner did not want to sell it without starting it and suggested that he would get it going eeven if that meant overhauling the engine. Bless him. I convinced him otherwise, agreed on a price and arranged for it to be trailered home. It was tucked away in a lock up for many months whist I attempted to answer the big question, ” what am I going to do now? “.
Over the next few months, it was established that the L18 engine was indeed ceased and that was replaced with one from a 810 bleubird. The brakes were overhauled and a new slave cylinder fitted. I gave it a good clean inside out, after all it had 20 years of dust on it and there were traces of mould on the seats and interior trim. After a bit of fettling, the carbs were running ok and off I went for a MOT. It passed and I was amazed as to how great the underside is. Not a single patch of welding. ;D
Then, it was time to get it looking right. I had seen some tasty 610 coupes on Japanese websites and they were a great inspiration. I wanted it low and we decided to go with coilovers. A good friend of mine Tim sorted out the front struts by welding the adjustable collars and he had a spare set of adjustable spax rear coilovers . With 2 weeks to go before C.A.R.S. we installed the coilovers and had big smiles after doing the job. I was over the moon. The ride was far too stiff, but who cares?
I found out that the car belonged to an elderly gent, who had bought it new in 1972 and had it all his life. He was too old to drive now and it had been parked in the garage for many years. He happened to mention about the Datsun to a friend (Paul), who then suggested that he would help him sell it and as a result got in touch with the club. The car had not been moved for many years and thus there was no way of establishing its current condition. Paul had not seen it either.
I was not traveling to Maccelsfield from London to view a rot box, so it was arranged that Paul would go to the garage, I would call him and direct him on what to look for. The call was made and I asked him to inspect the sills, arches, inner wings, doors, roof gutters and to my surprise he said that he could not find any rust. Yeah right! My immediate reaction was that Paul, not being a car enthusiast was not looking carefully as the car was covered in layers dust. I asked him to take a few snaps whilst he was there.
Two days later, the pictures of a 1972 car stuck in a very tight garage popped through my door. As soon as I saw them, I knew that it was a good shell and I had to go and see it. I then got a call from Paul saying that somebody else was interested, was not asking 1,000 questions unlike me, had a trailer handy and was happy to buy the car unseen for a lot of money. jolly pain in the backside! After a few phone calls with Paul and the owner, I convinced them I should be the first person viewing the car given that we had been laising for 2 weeks etc etc.
Needless to say, when I saw it, I was stumped. It had not moved for many years, the tax disc displayed 1982 if I remember correctly and was covered in thick dust. The owner had parked it and started it every few months thereafter to keep it well oiled. Anyway, he had not done so for many years and after doing the basic checks, I failed to get the car started. The engine would not turn and I suspected that it had ceased. The owner did not want to sell it without starting it and suggested that he would get it going eeven if that meant overhauling the engine. Bless him. I convinced him otherwise, agreed on a price and arranged for it to be trailered home. It was tucked away in a lock up for many months whist I attempted to answer the big question, ” what am I going to do now? “.
Over the next few months, it was established that the L18 engine was indeed ceased and that was replaced with one from a 810 bleubird. The brakes were overhauled and a new slave cylinder fitted. I gave it a good clean inside out, after all it had 20 years of dust on it and there were traces of mould on the seats and interior trim. After a bit of fettling, the carbs were running ok and off I went for a MOT. It passed and I was amazed as to how great the underside is. Not a single patch of welding. ;D
Then, it was time to get it looking right. I had seen some tasty 610 coupes on Japanese websites and they were a great inspiration. I wanted it low and we decided to go with coilovers. A good friend of mine Tim sorted out the front struts by welding the adjustable collars and he had a spare set of adjustable spax rear coilovers . With 2 weeks to go before C.A.R.S. we installed the coilovers and had big smiles after doing the job. I was over the moon. The ride was far too stiff, but who cares?
. Then as a last attempt, I went to a local tyre specialist (who I should have gone to in the first place!). With the help of the bead blaster, the tyres were on and the next day as we headed of to C.A.R.S , it made its first motorway journey after being off the road for over 20 years without any drama’s ! ;D
