Dude, that car is LIGHT!
This street rod is powered by a 1982 maxima L24(e) station wagon engine, and was built to resemble a 1932 Datsun Type 11 Phaeton. I made the chassis locost-style using lots of 1-inch square tubing, but used the front suspension from a 1990 dodge dakota (a short-ish double wishbone), the rear shocks of a Toyota Rav4, and shortened leaf springs from the station wagon. The grill shell, cowl, doors and body formed from sheet metal off of broken appliances. The specs: length: 135 inches wheelbase: 96 inches front track: 60.8 inches weight: ~2100 lbs (that’s what the truck stop weigh station says) power: ~100 hp (this is a guess. The L24 in a 240Z was 120) See the updates build thread to see what happened during the build. https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/my-datsun-build/18604/page1/
Here I am with one of the fenders that Andrew Nelson kindly donated to my …
not street legal yet, but she runs. I like this angle because you can get …
The gas tank is mounted, and the rear quarter panels and curved back piece are …
I put the body panels and exhaust back on and then rolled it outside for …
There’s still a LOT of work to do before the hood is complete, but I …
Dad and I broke out the bead roller to make the lower grill insert, and …
I finally manned up, fabricated some motor mounts, and put the engine in place. It’s …
All my earlier problems were because I didn’t realize how slowly I had to move …
I’m using a slushbox in the datsun replica. (Not because I want to….because it was …
I got to play with the english wheel and bead roller as I fabricated the …
this time, from the rear. I’m not sure about how, or if, I’ll modify the …
I tried squeezing the engine into the 1932 datsun frame. It is a very tight …
I pulled the engine out of my donor yesterday. Next up….figuring how to mount it …
I welded the front end into place today
I had the rear leaf springs shortened and re-rolled, and I’ve cut the tubing for …
Dude, that car is LIGHT!
hey, it won't be that bad when the sheet metal is on
I like! Can't wait to se the finished product.
I'm loving this build. :-)
Thanks, ECM. That's kind of you.
Nice project concept. 3 things I learned making a replica: For a narrow radiator, a cross-flow radiator can be stood up on one end. the temperature sensor hole will then be located where it can be used to bleed air into a header tank. Old wheels can make a car look surprisingly old, the problem is in finding tires to fit them. Painting a fan black makes it disappear. (I rarely use fans).
Thanks for the tips, Gman. I've got a radiator that I think will work (Rav4....I didn't start fabrication until after I bought the radiator, since that controlled the grill width) but will definitely try painting the fan to hide it. The wheels/tires idea is also good...I may try that after the challenge
I went over $20xx budget, changed jobs, and then I ran out both skills and time to develop skills. The car sat in the garage, untouched, for three years. I can't give up on it, though....too much time, energy and emotion. I'm going be driving a finished car car, even though I cannot DIY it.
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