(By Greg Rourke) – My first car was a 1969 Datsun 510. The Chevy dealer would only give Dad $100 trade in on the 1973 Nova hatchback he was buying, so he gave it to me. It wasn’t my dream car, but it was a car, and I was 14. Did I mention it didn’t run? Yeah, it didn’t run.
It was titled as a 1969, but when I ordered a replacement taillight lens I found out it was actually a 1968, and Datsun just titled leftover cars as the next year. It took weeks for a lens to be shipped from Japan, the local dealer stocked almost nothing for Datsuns.
I messed with it trying to get it running, but failed. I decided the engine needed a rebuild, even though it only had 45,000 miles. My high school didn’t have an auto shop class, just what they called “power shop”, where you rebuilt small engines. They had a few car engines to run on stands, including a Ford 302 on a water brake dyno. The teacher, Mr. Williams, said he would let me and my best friend Gregg out of every class assignment and test so we could rebuild my Datsun 1600cc engine. The catch was we had to drive it to the last day of school to get an A. If we failed to achieve victory, we would fail to pass the class. Long story short, we got the A.
Sorry, I’m old and tend to ramble. I often look for a Datsun 510 to relive my severely misspent youth. They were a throwaway econobox back then, but are highly desirable now. Rear drive, four wheel independent suspension, and a high winding engine with a chain driven overhead cam, the import guys go nuts for them. Not many are left. I found one for sale in Tahoe.
Text from the ad: 1968 Datsun 510 2 doors with title
Street / Track / Race (vintage, ITC, B sedan,…)
L16 motor
4 speed transmission
280ZX struts with Ground Control coilers
280ZX front brakes
Fuel cell with electric pump
Inside:
Original 68 dash (no gauge) and original door/side panels
Older racing seat and harness
6 points roll cage
Also for sale:
fiberglass hood (used)
fiberglass BRE front fenders (never mounted)
fiberglass BRE rear fender flares (never mounted)
Pair of vintage look racing seats with rails (new in box)
SERIOUS BUYER ONLY PLEASE
Best offer
(was trying to sell before moving, now car is in Tahoe)
