So, if any of you were paying attention to my last thread I said I was looking at certain Datsun.... found her on Craig's List yesterday:



'78 Datsun 810! I looked into this peculiar car and did some research on it and LOVED the fact that it came with an L24E (pretty much the same engine in a 240Z but I'm sure you guys know that). I was in the market for an old-school Japanese car and have always loved the 510's but most in my price range were junk or didn't have engines... plus I just don't like the fact of little 4-banger (I'm coming out of a Z32 so I need some "oomph"!). i looked into Cressida's but honestly my loyalty has always been with Nissan/Datsun and it just seemed taboo to jump into a Toyo. So I was browsing for Datsun's... and well, the rest is history!

I only took a few pix with the camera phone so don't mind the quality! The car is super clean in and out:

Before the sale-




After the sale and gassing up-



I promise better pix tomorrow!

Just a few things I have to work on... the e-brake does not work so I have to fix that. Dent on the tip of the hood with chipped paint and the trim on the hood is missing. Rubber piece on bumper is missing on passenger side. Antenna doesn't work.

It has some American Racing wheels which look pretty decent for now. I would like to get some old gold Enkei mesh wheels (or something similar). I would eventually like to lower the car a bit. I'm interested to see some JDM counterparts and maybe follow example as far as looks... so if you have any please feel free to post!

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http://www.youtube.com/user/myz32rocks?feature=mhum

The L24E is more or less a de-stroked L28E. It shares little with the 240Z's L24.

But it's cool.

Congratulations!

That's nice man. Congrats on the purchase. If it was mine I wouldn't dull it down by putting any mesh rims on it, those on there are not all bad and certainly look a sight better than a set of generic mesh rims.

I would suggest a little lower perhaps wider wheels (of a non mesh description) perhaps some bolt-on flares. Stroke an L28 and biff that sucker in there on triple carbs or EFi turbo

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Congrats on the purchase. I'm sorry you didn't go with the Cressida but that's a bad ass wagon!

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Thanks, Guys! Ben, I have to stick with my Nissan roots! Not quite sure yet.... but I still think some gold faced mesh wheels would look cool. Although I'm starting to like the wheels on her right now... obviously I would want a wider stance eventually! I have to figure a way how to lower the car. I think an L28ET/5 speed swap would be awesome in the future... but that won't be for awhile.

Got up early this morning for an oil change and snapped some more pix!

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http://www.youtube.com/user/myz32rocks?feature=mhum

Woo hoo, thanks for rockin' the JNC decal! The car looks even better in the clear pics.

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Awesome! I like it a lot.

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- '71 Datsun 240z.....L28ET here we come

Nice car, I think the lights and grille look great.
I can't recall ever seeing an 810 wagon around here although we may have got them.
I think the wheels you have look quite good too, wide offset wheels and excessive lowering don't really go hand in hand if you want to steer the front wheels.
I'd lower it and keep the wheels you have.

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You can sleep in a car, but you can't race a house.

What's your car's build date? According to everything I've ever read, an 810 with rectangular lights and a hood ornament can only be a 79 or early 80. And I've done a lot of research. Sometimes cars with a late enough build date in 78 to be a 79 get inadvertantly titled as a 78. Once that's done and the records are logged, it's virtually impossible to change it. But your car is a 79. Don't get too hung up on the '240Z engine' thing. The 810 L24E has a front sump oil pan and no other engine will fit the car without chaniging to that type of oil pan and modification to the block for the oil pickup. Did I mention that I've done a lot of research on these cars? If your VIN is WHLD810-839001 or higher and your build date is 7/78 or later, it's a 79 not a 78, no matter what the registration says.

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1979 Datsun 2dr.-Sold 6/24/2009
1964 Datsun L320-Sold 6/3/2009
1978 Datsun 280Z-Sold 5/28/2009

If you want to read about mods to 810s, this link will lead you to the info and the person who has done that type of research. It mentions what I said about the location of the oil pan sump and what is needed to be done if you really want to put an L28E or ET in an 810. It's not a simple bolt in, as I said.

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1979 Datsun 2dr.-Sold 6/24/2009
1964 Datsun L320-Sold 6/3/2009
1978 Datsun 280Z-Sold 5/28/2009

810-again:

Actually I noticed on the title that it in fact states the car is '79. Thought that was a little weird.

I'm glad you came along! I'm sure I can pick at your brain every now and then when it comes to this car. Whatever this car is or isn't... I like it! I think it's probably one of the better deals I have gotten involved in and content that I own her. This car is my daily driver for the time being: An L28ET swap is something that will happen in the distant future.

As far as the swap not being a direct bolt-in... I have worked at machine shop since I was 12 so I have connections here and there! Thanks for the link! I'm actually a member at Hybrid Z! I'm sure that info will come in handy! Thanks again! One question I do have is: what Gas Octane rating are you using? I'm also looking for engine specs if you have them.

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http://www.youtube.com/user/myz32rocks?feature=mhum

It is if you get one from a Leopard or a Laurel. Which.. you chaps possibly didn't get, or didn't get in large numbers.

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Unfortunately, we did not get them at all.

Australia did get 810 wagons although they didnt really sell in big numbers - they were getting slaughtered by KE series Corolla wagons and Gemini wagons in the sales race.

Ours were also the short-nose 4cyl fronts.

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[F3ARED] 76 Isuzu Gemini Coupe - forged G180z, EFI, 525hp Turbo, 6years and still building...

Daily 78 Isuzu Gemini Sedan, stock G161z, Rodeo EFI, 500hp roller, 157rwkw. Fun

They didn't sell in big numbers here either. Mine is always the only one wherever it goes. Some people that know Datsuns aren't quite sure what it is. That's part of the reason that I like it. As far as gasoline, I've always put 87 octane in mine and it runs fine and has for the 5 years I've been using it as a daily driver. An L24E has the same basic specs as a L24. 83 mm bore, 73.7 mm stroke, 2393cc, but it has the same EFI system as the 280Z. N47 head, dished pistons, 8.29 compression. 118 hp @ 5200 rpm for the 79-80 models, 154 hp @ 5600 rpm for the 77-78. They're the same engine, the way of rating hp changed in 79.

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1979 Datsun 2dr.-Sold 6/24/2009
1964 Datsun L320-Sold 6/3/2009
1978 Datsun 280Z-Sold 5/28/2009

Interesting car, I like it! I had a '78 short-nose saloon with the L18 in it some years ago - oddly I never really clicked with that car, but I imagine with the L24E in it (as I had the pleasure of experiencing in my old C210) it would give it a quite different feel.

A friend has a couple:





Oddly both in yellow! For the first couple of years we got skinny chrome bumpers with no endcaps (second pic) and then they put the biggers bumpers on when the interior was also updated (first car). Bumpers still not as big as yours in the US though!

I did drive a UK estate some years ago, my memory was of it being rather low-geared and a bit bouncy with the leaf-sprung back end.

Is yours manual or auto?

Strange that you didn't get the false wood panel on the tailgate, or was that on a different trim level or model year? I think we got it on all our wagons.

I think the wheels are just fine. I would be tempted to ditch the side rubbing strips and pinstripe though. Get that bonnet edge strip on and it'll tidy the front end up nicely - I had to do the same on my one as that was missing, improved it no end.

Thanks for sharing some pix! I really want to get fender mirrors but I would like to see a Japanese example so I can emulate it as closely as possible. I imagine they probably used the same mirrors as the Fairlady/280zx and Skylines of that time...

Mine is a 4-Speed MT. The rubbing strips may go and the pinstripes will definitely go soon. The suspension is a bit soft and bouncy for me but I hope to remedy that... The wheels are growing on me. But I found some RS Watanabe's that I am tempted to buy... not sure they will look good on the wagon though...

810-again: Thanks for the insight (yet again!), I appreciate it. Pretty low compression for an NA. Hmmm......

810-again: Do you have any pix of Japanese versions so I can reference? having a hard time locating some. All I know is they came with the smaller L20E. But I wanted some pictures ox exterior shots. Thanks in adavnce!

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http://www.youtube.com/user/myz32rocks?feature=mhum

Hmmm. Did they do JDM 810 wagons with the long nose? I think it was only saloons and coupes in Japan, although they’ll still give you useful inspiration.

You have to wonder why they bothered with 6-cyl 810s there, as they must have overlapped considerably with contemporary Laurels and Skylines. Presumably that was why they dropped the long nose versions of the 910 for Japan, and it was only you people in the USA and Canada that got that model?

My old saloon, with NOS C230 Laurel alloys and borrowed JDM plates!...



The front end you got on your facelift 810s is very different to our 4-cyl cars, if anything it’s more like the Laurels we got:

From what I understood Japan did get the long nose 810's as a Bluebird-Maxima with an L20E. I could be wrong though...

I see the similarity of the lights and grill to the Laurel. Thanks... maybe I can borrow some fender mirrors from one of those.

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http://www.youtube.com/user/myz32rocks?feature=mhum

I dunno... been thinking about it. I think some gold mesh wheels with a polished lip would look good! Anyone good with Photo-Shop around here?

Put these on my wagon:

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http://www.youtube.com/user/myz32rocks?feature=mhum