This video is about a month old, but it’s still worth sharing. Matt Farah’s Smoking Tire channel drives a lot of enthusiast cars, from Mustangs to Porsches, but this Datsun 510 Wagon is our kind of build. It was put together in the owner’s garage, has a Troy Ermish built 2.1-liter stroker, 280ZX 5-speed, Koyorad radiator, a roll cage, a SSR MkIIs, and a heavily modified suspension. Most of all, it looks like loads of fun.
We also liked the owner’s, who is also named Matt, response to Farah’s question of “Why not drop an SR into it?” He says the old school L-series keeps the vintage feel, and these days they are rarer at car shows than more modern Nissan 4-cylinder swaps. Matt says it’s comparable to an E30 BMW, despite being 15 years older, and just goes to show why 510s are so beloved.
If the brakes need a double pump, something is very, very wrong. It has nothing to do with them being unassisted. My initial guess would be the front stub axles are flexing in the strut when loaded, or poor wheel bearing adjustment. Also it could be poor caliper mounting.
Normally I only see this on older British cars, TR 3s are very prone to this.
Cool ride none the less though.
The double pump is very common on 510s, It is indicative of the rear brakes needing adjustment as the have to be manually adjusted, there is no automatic adjustment and most owners don’t know this.