My 1979 Datsun 810 Coupe 5spd

Chickenwing · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2009 5:53 pm

1979 Datsun 810 Coupe 5-speed.

Picked this up off of craigslist the wednesday before thanksgiving.
Doesnt really need any major work except for some bodywork. I will be trying to source some odds and ends in the classifieds

Its my first datsun but definitely not my first nissan. My daily is a '00 Infiniti G20.

Funny story, 2 days after i picked it up i was offered $1000 over what i paid for it haha (didnt sell of course).

PICS FOLLOW!

Chickenwing · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2009 5:53 pm

Affectionately named "Zero".

john · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2009 7:08 pm

Looks like a great starting point. :tu:

Ya know... the Japanese made some really nice bumpers and mirrors for these... :wink:

ben · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2009 10:53 pm

Awesome 810 coupe. I love the plaid seats. Welcome to JNC

What are yer plans?

Garant · **Posted:** Mon Nov 30, 2009 11:03 pm

wow i hope you keep it the original paint color ...

Chickenwing · **Posted:** Tue Dec 01, 2009 7:28 am

Plans are pretty much slow bodywork. Turbo would be nice eventually but I have to do a lot more research. I'd like her pretty close to stock looking, maybe a little lowered and the bumpers a little tucked but nothing crazy.

The paint on the car currently is not original but it's 'close' to the original blue. It needs a repaint anyway, and i'd like to got a little darker in the blue hue.

Thank you for the warm welcome.

zcarnut · **Posted:** Tue Dec 01, 2009 7:46 am

I moved my bumpers in by releasing the gas from the bumper shocks and then securing the shocks in the fully compressed position.

Pics at:

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=101289

Definitely improved the car’s appearance, but I think the best way to deal with the USA production 810 bumpers is to replace them with ones from the 200B version.

Chickenwing · **Posted:** Tue Dec 01, 2009 9:30 am

Yea I had a Porsche 924 that I also tucked the bumpers on by 'blowing' them.

I had a few questions on these cars...

Lug pattern? 4x114.3?
Engine compression? 8.3:1?
Round or square exhaust ports?

According to wikipedia the 810 and 280zx have the same chassis, so do the suspensions and exhaust and such interchange?

zcarnut · **Posted:** Tue Dec 01, 2009 9:55 am

>Lug pattern? 4x114.3? Yes.

>Engine compression? 8.3:1? Yes.

>Round or square exhaust ports?

Round with the liners. The 810 head is marked N47 (like the 280Z and 280ZX) but the 810 head has smaller intake valves (i.e, the same intake valve that the 240Z used).

>According to wikipedia the 810 and 280zx have the same chassis, so do the suspensions and exhaust and such interchange?

For the most part they will. The rear suspensions will interchange as does the front crossmember, lower control arms and the T/C rods. However, the 280ZX uses a different front strut. Rear springs and rear shocks will also interchange. I have tried using a 280ZX header on my 810 and there is an interference issue... I don’t know about the remainder of the exhaust system.

Chickenwing · **Posted:** Tue Dec 01, 2009 3:23 pm

awesome info!

now a few questions about my particular car ...

gearing: my car is obviously running non-oem wheels/tires ... and in fifth at 3000rpm the guage cluster says 55, but ive been told by a chase car that its closer to 65, is 65 at 3k normal for this car?

temp: my car never seems to reach operating temp according to the engine water temp guage. only gets slightly past the cold line, never more.
besides a bad sender, im thinking bad thermostat. thoughts?

thanks.

john · **Posted:** Tue Dec 01, 2009 4:36 pm

Chickenwing wrote:

gearing: my car is obviously running non-oem wheels/tires ... and in fifth at 3000rpm the guage cluster says 55, but ive been told by a chase car that its closer to 65, is 65 at 3k normal for this car?

Fifth gear at 3000rpm should be in the 62-65 range. :tu:

An even 70mph should be around 3300rpm.

Chickenwing · **Posted:** Tue Dec 01, 2009 7:09 pm

sweet!

i guess i was just used to modern cars (3100rpm at 80mph in my G20) or vintage vw's ... 55mph @ 1,000,000rpm lol

Chickenwing · **Posted:** Wed Dec 02, 2009 6:16 pm

can anyone tell me what differential i should have?

oh little update ... Hella fogs and no-name rear fog.

KenH · **Joined:** Tue Nov 17, 2009 4:10 am **Posts:** 55

the seat fabric and door cars looks pretty interesting. If they are factory, the car sure was taken good cared of by the previous owner

zcarnut · **Posted:** Thu Dec 03, 2009 8:34 am

Chickenwing wrote:

can anyone tell me what differential i should have?

R180 with a 3.70 ratio.

s30trbo · **Posted:** Thu Dec 03, 2009 10:22 am

Welcome!

It looks like there are 4 of us with 2 door hardtops. Was this one for sale at an auto dealership or body shop in PA? My twin was on Ebay a few times in this past year.

A friend sent me a link for 2 for sale in Atlanta.

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/search/ct ... maxAsk=max

Chickenwing · **Posted:** Thu Dec 03, 2009 4:19 pm

this one was indeed in Reading, Pa but it was for sale by a private party.

Thank you for the axle info!

zetozeto99 · **Posted:** Thu Dec 03, 2009 10:38 pm

Gorgeous Coupe! I so want one of these! Congrats!

Some nice ol' school JDM wheels and a drop job would make it look killer!

Here's my 810 Wagon...

Chickenwing · **Posted:** Fri Dec 04, 2009 6:24 am

I did a lot of reading about your wagon before I bought my coupe. Love the wagon.

I'm currently looking at ground control coilovers for a simple, quality drop.

arsonist63086 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 05, 2009 4:34 pm

datsunfreak wrote:

Chickenwing wrote:

gearing: my car is obviously running non-oem wheels/tires ... and in fifth at 3000rpm the guage cluster says 55, but ive been told by a chase car that its closer to 65, is 65 at 3k normal for this car?

Fifth gear at 3000rpm should be in the 62-65 range. :tu:

An even 70mph should be around 3300rpm.

well i just payed atention to my tach and speedo and on my 77 810 wag. i get 70 mph at 3000 rpm in 5th gear :mrgreen:

My 1979 Datsun 810 Coupe 5spd

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