Monday, February 18, 2013

Square-Rigged Dragon Slayer ("Built" Datsun 510)

What a nice job the owner has done on this car!

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/cars/nissan/1971-datsun-510/index.shtml#item=278196

It brings a smile to my face, and a tear to my eye, now that my own 510 is long gone.  The video brings back fond memories: the engine sounds just like mine would have, had it gone to the gym.

One could quibble here and there (I don't care for the color), but he went exactly the right ways on the mechanicals and the interior.  Some of the touches he came up with are superb (like the black crackle finish for the engine compartment).  And it didn't cost a fortune to build the car with so many 280-Z parts that bolted right in.  Notably the limited-slip diff/i.r.s.

With 67% of the weight and power of my Honda Civic Si (and more torque), and 4:11 gears, there is no doubt that Greg Elliott's 510 would wax most of the current hot imports in a drag race.  And with its lowered suspension and sorted camber, it would take us to school on the Tail of the Dragon too.  I wouldn't want to drive it on a day-trip.  Box-stock, the 510 was a noisy car.  But it would be an absolute hoot around town.  Grin after grin.  I loved the look of this car when it was new, and still do: functional and classy.

Long gone, never forgotten.

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