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Well, I figure if the wartburg can have a build thread, so can my datsun replica. If that's something you guys don't care about, just say so and I'll shut up about it. Last weekend I used a piece of angle iron to fill in a depression in the dakota front end I'm using. Here are some pics. Bigger versions are here:
Neato Burrito!
Screw the rest of 'em, I wanna see more.
Definitely a neat project. I've been following your Reader's rides' updates.
Should be quite the sleeper when it's done!
That explains the car in my Datsun truck owner's manual. That thing is everywhere in it.
bamalama wrote: That explains the car in my Datsun truck owner's manual. That thing is everywhere in it.
Yeah, cartoons of the '32 were in the maxima station wagon's owner's manual, too. I scanned a few of them and put them here
Bring it ON!
JoeyM wrote:bamalama wrote: That explains the car in my Datsun truck owner's manual. That thing is everywhere in it.Yeah, cartoons of the '32 were in the maxima station wagon's owner's manual, too. I scanned a few of them and put them here
Those are in my 720 manual. I was wondering what a 30's Datsun was all about.
Luke wrote:Definitely a neat project. I've been following your Reader's rides' updates.
Should be quite the sleeper when it's done!
This ^^
Looking forward to more updates.
I like the part where its awesome. 
Pretty dang cool. 
I'm not sure you would consider this related, but this week I "passed" on a decent 720 King Cab with 4WD because the seller stated "needs a carb rebuild". My meager experience with 720s says that the carb on these trucks is a VERY complicated affair and an attempt to find one already rebuilt/guaranteed is fruitless or that carbs are mucho expensive. Any ideas guys, on a substitute that is resonably priced and also gets good mileage?
integraguy wrote:I'm not sure you would consider this related, but this week I "passed" on a decent 720 King Cab with 4WD because the seller stated "needs a carb rebuild". My meager experience with 720s says that the carb on these trucks is a VERY complicated affair and an attempt to find one already rebuilt/guaranteed is fruitless or that carbs are mucho expensive. Any ideas guys, on a substitute that is resonably priced and also gets good mileage?
A weber swap is so easy a cave man can do it, it its still available go back and low ball em' as hard as you can, then get a weber conversion kit, you won'y regret it
Yeah, a Weber 32/36 kit is about 200 bucks. Use that and throw the Hitachi in the woods.
That's really cool, thanks for sharing
Funny you mentioned the Dakota donor frame.
A few guy over at the HAMB have been using the Dakota frame clip in their customs with good results.
Apparently it's the perfect width for 1940's and early 50's cars and you can get it real low without a ton of work.
I was going to use a F-car subframe in my '48 Chevy but it's too wide and the stock '48 Chevy front suspension is pretty well set up as it is.
Shawn
bamalama wrote:Yeah, a Weber 32/36 kit is about 200 bucks. Use that and throw the Hitachi in the woods.
I just moved out to the woods. I was wondering why all those Hitachis were covering up the piles of Solexes...
Joey, I think that's a seriously cool build. I just didn't realize you'd updated it. Keep working on it!
HappyAndy wrote:integraguy wrote:I'm not sure you would consider this related, but this week I "passed" on a decent 720 King Cab with 4WD because the seller stated "needs a carb rebuild". My meager experience with 720s says that the carb on these trucks is a VERY complicated affair and an attempt to find one already rebuilt/guaranteed is fruitless or that carbs are mucho expensive. Any ideas guys, on a substitute that is resonably priced and also gets good mileage?
A weber swap is so easy a cave man can do it, it its still available go back and low ball em' as hard as you can, then get a weber conversion kit, you won'y regret it
Plus eleventybillion.
OK, two weeks of screwing around with the geo, trying (and failing) to get it ready for the MSCC autocross school. Instead, I used the daily driver. 
Anyway, that's why there has been a long delay on the datsun build.
I also got thoroughly annoyed with the motor mounts, and decided to play with other bits of the car for a while. I really liked Andy Nelson's floorpan made from sheet metal off the sides of a washing machine, and decided to see how far I could push that idea. Last month I scavenged a bunch of metal from similar sources...a refrigerator, upright freezer, clothes drier, a pair of stands for a clothes washer and drier.
Today I started to cut apart one of the washer and drier stands. The sides are just a touch larger than needed to make the sides of the scuttle/footwell area.
Trans_Maro wrote:Funny you mentioned the Dakota donor frame.
A few guy over at the HAMB have been using the Dakota frame clip in their customs with good results.
Apparently it's the perfect width for 1940's and early 50's cars and you can get it real low without a ton of work.
Interesting. It's a bit wider than ideal for this application, but it will still work pretty well. I'm happy to know that other people also think good things about the dakota clip. I would have preferred the 1500; still rack and pinion, but rear steer which would give a better steering column angle. Unfortunately, though, the salvage yard I frequent only had one, and it had already been scavanged for steering parts.
I love this project, but I'm curious: What drew you to this particular car?
For a long time I've wanted a 1930s streetrod, and originally thought that I would save up money for a fiberglass model A or deuce. A few years ago, someone I know sold me a non-running 1982 datsun wagon. I originally thought about putting the drivetrain from the wagon into a fiberglass streetrod body, but decided that would be lame. When I found out that the first datsuns were sold in 1931/1932, it seemed like the right use for the drivetrain.....the only problem was that I didn't know where I'd find a body.
The whole plan started to form in my head when I saw the Car and Driver article on locosts. I spent another year or so reading the HAMB and locostusa.com, taking welding classes at the local votech, searching the internet for pictures of the 1932 datsun, and using photoshop and sketch books to plan the build.
It was originally going to be a challenge car, but I'll definitely be over budget. (I spent more than I planned getting the wagon running before I took it apart.) I'm having a lot of fun with it, though. When it is done, I'll still bring it up to a challenge to show it off. (Remember, MSCC does the autocross timing for the challenge....I'll just volunteer to work that event and drive the datsun to gainesville.)
That's an interesting story, Joey. But since you mentioned streetrods, you gotta spill it...
Will it look like a stock Type 11, or are you going to show us some pre-war "bosozoku"?
friedgreencorrado wrote: Will it look like a stock Type 11, or are you going to show us some pre-war "bosozoku"?
More stock than not, although the sides of the engine bay will probably be open.
I definitely want fenders if I can learn how to fabricate them. This ford is the right idea, although I don't want to do the flat black thing....
In reply to JoeyM:
Coolness. I gotta remember to keep checking your Readers' Ride this time.
