Matt A bought his first Datsun 510 at the age of 14 and he’s been hooked ever since. Having owned around ten 510s in various stages since he was a teenager it’s safe to say Matt is a die-hard Datsun enthusiast. We’ve known him from the days of the famous All-Datsun Meet at Mt. Shasta (over a decade ago) and now he’s got this beautiful 510 that we are really impressed with.

 

Matt visited Z Car Garage earlier this week to dyno his KA24-powered Dime. Before we show you the results let’s take a brief look at the car’s interesting history. In 2010 Matt purchased the 510 from Marty Smith (of 510garage.com fame) and it was a nice shade of teal. Matt loved the car but couldn’t get the Rebello 2150cc and Mikuni’s to run at their best.

 

Wanting all the benefits of a modern driveline Matt decided to swap in a KA24DE and go through the entire car from paint/body to chassis/interior. The car was completely re-wired with a new fuse block and the KA was rebuilt before installation. Matt finished the interior himself and he is now going through the suspension and brakes to freshen things up. Car has a few goodies like coil-overs on all four corners, full cage,  4:11 LSD with CV axles, and Wilwood brakes.

 
Here is the Dime on our dyno followed by a short video:

 

 

The stock KA with intake/exhaust/header made great power! 156hp/162tq to the wheels with over 140tq from 2500 to 6000rpm:

 

We wonder how much power could be gained from a tune as the KA runs a bone stock ECU. Matt is on the fence about leaving it NA or going turbo. Either way but we look forward to seeing his 510 again soon. Enjoy The Ride Matt and thanks for making our day!

 

I love driving my Datsun Roadster every weekend but last Saturday I had the opportunity to drive Rob Fuller’s 1971 Datsun 510 for my birthday.  This is Rob’s first 510 from his youthful days in Georgia (see vanity plate). Without giving too many details, he restored the car and performed an S13 SR20DET drivetrain swap in 2002.  We will give this Dime a proper feature on the blog soon, but for now, let’s drive!

 

I called up a few of my roadster friends to do a quick blast up Skyline to Alice’s restaurant. Both Mike (silver) and Raul’s (white) roadsters are 1967.5 year cars with SPL and SRL drivetrains, respectively. With HWY 9 construction finished the twisty roads we once enjoyed were now even smoother.

 

We headed South on 84,  looped back up to Skyline via Old La Honda Rd and eventually took a break at the vista point off 9 towards Big Basin.  Driving the Go Green 510 was buckets of fun. Seating/steering wheel position, suspension and visibility all make for a totally different experience coming from a roadster owner. I was impressed how well the car has held up over a decade after it was reborn.

 

After our fun run my brother and I did some lead-follow videos with my roadster and the 510. Two SR-powered vintage Datsuns Enjoying The Ride! Turn those speakers up:

 

Cruising around town and experiencing the rush of 400hp being transferred through 205mm-width rear tires was absolutely addicting.  Thank you Rob for making my birthday especially enjoyable!

 

We love the Datsun 510. We also want to see these cars driven and road-worthy instead of sitting. Earlier this year Rob got in touch with a friend from Georgia to help keep this yellow 4-door Dime from a rusty, idle future. Almost two decades ago Rob and Steve met for the first time under true, Datsun-geek circumstances…Steve was driving the 510 in traffic when Rob spotted him while moving in the opposite direction. Rob stepped out of his car and ran all they way back to catch Steve and introduce himself as a fellow Datsun fan,  thus beginning their friendship.

 

When Steve purchased this car in the early 90’s it had already been setup for autocross duty with Carrera coil-overs and a roll-cage. Steve even muscled a rear seat in between the roll bar so his kids could enjoy the ride with him.  At one point in time Steve scored a set of Mikuni carbs from Rob which are still on the car to this day! This Datsun has got character.

 

Steve enjoyed the 510 for many years and it was a big part of his life.  Unfortunately it had been sitting for awhile and he decided to pass the car on his brother-in-law Jonathan who then sold it to Rob as its next steward.  I joined Rob the day the 510 arrived to ZCG from Georgia via transport. The little Dime fired right up though it was smoking heavily. The head was pulled:

The stock bottom end was left alone but it was time to send the head to Rebello to work their magic!
Before/after:

Port/polish with fresh valvetrain:

 

With the Rebello head, dual Mikunis and 91 octane the L20b made an impressive 147hp/130tq to the wheels.  Over 100tq from 3k to 7krpm. Great, NA L-series power:

I drove the 510 with it’s freshened motor and I was amazed at the power delivery. It rips, listen to this video clip:

A little stoplight action against Turbo Box Flare

The car is an absolute blast to drive. It can be chucked into corners and there is plenty of power to leave a grin on your face. The suspension is really the highlight of the car but now has an engine to match it!

 

Since the foundation and history of the car is so great we didn’t do anything radical. Rob’s plans are to make the car comfortable enough for daily driving yet capable and fun at open track events. The extensive roll cage wrapped in hot pink nerf padding had to go as it was intrusive. Nissan 350z seats on factory rails are a welcome addition to the interior with the cage removed:

 

Crystal-clear outward visibility courtesy of a new windshield. She is now sporting 14 x 6 Panasports (+15mm) from the ZCG Datsun 2000. We like the look compared to the Italian 15s:

 

What’s next? A factory tach install, minor cosmetic restoration and some wiring cleanup. The car is sweet. Yellow 510 just got a new exhaust system and Porterfield R4S pads to do a track day at Laguna Seca. Thank you Steve for keeping the 510 in the family!

 

Today is 5/10 or to owners and fans of Datsun’s greatest little economy car, it’s 510 Day! Here are a few updates on several 510s at ZCG. All three will be driven to the ALMS race tomorrow at Laguna Seca!

Rob drove his Go Green 510 to the shop in honor of 510 day. The SR20DET is currently being tuned with a NISTune ecu:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjCbDgeuUNw

The Yellow 510 4-door  had an intrusive roll cage and this was removed. She is now sporting 14 x 6 Panasports (+15mm) from the ZCG Datsun 2000, we like the look compared to the 15s:

The head was sent to Rebello and made fantastic L-series NA power. Stay tuned for full report with dyno. For now here is short clip of her in action:

The Turbo Box Flare 510 has been driven hard and the downpipe separated from the turbo, no doubt due to its weight.

The exhaust was welded back and reinforced. I enjoyed driving it to ZCG with no downpipe aside from the fumes 🙂 The semi-truck hiss from the turbo was music to my ears:

http://youtu.be/mQMng6P-1yU

http://youtu.be/FwcAc3fYNjM

Happy Friday! Here are 2 vintage photos of 510s from Georgia. The photo above was taken at Road Atlanta in the 80’s. You might recognize blue the Dime on the left, it is none other than Turbo 6. Thanks to Jonathan S for sending these nostalgic pictures!

Above right shows Turbo6 just before it was delivered to ZCG in 2011. We look forward to giving you an update on its restoration as re-painting is nearly complete. Catch more progress pics HERE. So, with Turbo 6 and the Box Flare turbo 510 here are more Georgia 510s making their way to California? You bet! This yellow 4-door 510 also came from Georgia last month and we can’t wait to get it back on the road running in prime condition. Here are a few teaser pics stay tuned for a full report next week!