Stored For 40 Years! 1969 Datsun 510

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You would have to think that this 1969 Datsun 510 might have a story to tell. The owner has dragged it into the light of day after it had claimed to have been in storage for forty years. He has coaxed it back to life, and this classic Datsun now runs and drives. It looks like it has spent time in the racing world, and it also seems to be a classic that has managed to remain rust-free. If all of this sounds too tempting to resist, you will find the 510 located in Fort Worth, Texas, and listed for sale here on eBay. Intense bidding has pushed the price beyond its reserve, and it currently sits at $5,655.

When we are young, we are told that we should never give in to temptation. As a 21-year-old, I listened to this advice, and then I chose to ignore it. That was when I bought myself a 1971 Datsun 510 as my daily commuter. I was young, so I drove that thing pretty hard. This lasted until the day that a momentary loss of concentration on my part resulted in a collision at about 45° with a large truck. I only tell this story to demonstrate just how strong these little cars are. Once the dust and debris had settled, I unclipped my seatbelt and climbed out of my Datsun with nothing more than a slightly bruised knee. Those who witnessed the accident were astounded that I climbed out of that car at all. That is why the 510 was such a successful competition vehicle. Datsun put a lot of work into the engineering of the bodyshell, and that still pays dividends today in cars like this. It appears that it spent some time in competition before being parked. This action has had no apparent ill effects. The body looks straight and clean, with no significant dings or dents and no evident rust. A previous owner has installed steel fender extensions to cover Minilite-style wheels that still wear their old racing rubber. Interestingly, the inner floors have been coated in fiberglass, but an underside inspection reveals no rust. I would assume that this could indicate that this Datsun might have been used for circuit sprints during the weekend but was also used as a commuter vehicle. Removing the carpet may have been a regulatory requirement for fire safety, but the fiberglass may have been a compromise to stop the occupants from feeling like they were traveling in a large steel water tank when they were on the road. The Red enamel paint looks pretty tired, but returning this little classic to its former glory looks like a straightforward proposition.

While the exterior might provide some clues to this Datsun’s past, the interior would seem to reinforce that. The owner says that there is no evidence that the car has ever been fitted with a rollcage. However, the more supportive front bucket seats, outdated racing belts, and aftermarket gauges all point towards a life of track action. You can also see the fiberglass on the floors that I mentioned previously. If the buyer wants to return the interior to a factory appearance, they need to source the correct seats and a few other missing trim pieces. The rear seat is intact, and surprisingly, the dash pad has not cracked. Removing the fiberglass from the floors might be a challenge, but I can think of worse things to address. At least it won’t be a case of cutting out steel to perform rust repairs.

Lifting the hood of the 510 reveals a bulletproof L-Series 4-cylinder engine backed by a 4-speed manual transmission. This is when things take on a mysterious quality because the owner doesn’t indicate which version of the L-Series this is. When it rolled off the production line, it would’ve been the 1,595cc L16 that produced 96hp. Datsuns from this era were a mix-and-match proposition, and it is possible that this could be an L18 or even an L20. All of these engines utilized the same engine block, but the main difference came down to cylinder bore and stroke changes to arrive at the various capacities. Regardless of which this is, it has received some very visible performance upgrades. These include a previous owner installing a set of twin Mikuni sidedraft carburetors, headers, and a Mallory electronic ignition system. Even if this is the L16, you can be sure that it would be pumping out significantly more than 96hp. After four decades of inactivity, the current owner has coaxed the 510 back to life. After cleaning everything, fitting new plugs, and a new battery, this beast runs and drives. He says that it idles nicely and goes pretty hard, but it will need a thorough check before being considered roadworthy. I’d probably also replace that vintage racing rubber before I went too far. Once again, this part of the restoration looks pretty promising.

If you have never owned a Datsun 510, they should come with a sticker warning how addictive they are. When I had my accident, I saw my entire life, along with the lives of several people that I’d never met, flash before my eyes. You would think that an experience like that would have me avoiding these little cars like the plague. The truth is, as soon as my finances allowed, I bought myself another one that proved just as enjoyable. If the circumstances were different, I would have no hesitation in bidding on this car because solid examples like this don’t emerge every day. If you would like a 4-cylinder sedan that will leave you with a smile plastered on your face after every drive, maybe you should give this one a closer look.

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Comments

  1. bobhess bobhessMember

    Adam… What you are looking at is probably a former autocross car. In the mid ’90s I helped a friend in our local club convert his 510 from an autocross car to a SCCA ITC race car. That didn’t take much as the roll cage and fire system were the only things we had to add to make it legal for track use. As it turns out, in the next two years running endurance races with the car we came out with a 65 percent win rate and never finished any lower than 2nd. Besides being a lot of fun, to this day it was one of the best race cars I’ve ever driven.

    Like 10
    • bill tebbutt

      Great cars. Had one many years ago (40, actually), it could not be killed despite my best efforts. IF it isn’t rotten underneath, will sell for in excess of $10k – these things are being bid like nobody’s business.

      If the floors are glassed in however, they are most likely rotten/pinholed everywhere – no other reason to glass them other than to keep the water out! And no pics from underneath means a buyer simply has to see it personally before buying.

      These were a breeding ground for tinworm. The entire fibreglass replacement fender industry was built around this very car in 1970!

      cheers,
      BT

      Like 8
      • Derek

        I agree; you wouldn’t fibreglass the floor of a competition car – it’s heavy!

        Like 3
  2. That AMC Guy

    Wish I still had my ’71 510! The problem for these cars in the northeast and midwest is that rustproofing was pretty much nonexistent. (Same story for all Japanese cars of that era.) They dissolved back into the earth a long time ago.

    Like 1
  3. AMCFAN

    At the price and currently four days to go for many it’s wishful thinking. The price is not staying there for long. Finding one in project form with great bones doesn’t happen often. At import shows command respect and the interest is huge. Restored examples are bringing $30K-$60K

    All one has to do is watch the 1971 Datsun USA vid on Youtube Against all odds. The Datsun racing doc and let me tell you. Money is no object on this car. Everyone wants to live Pete Brock and John Morton in a R/W/B painted 510 Everyone loves an underdog.

    Like 5
    • Rick Rothermel

      Looks like fun, and one of few fun things from the choked-down ’70s car hobby.
      I did a similar treatment to a BULLITT Green ’73 Mercury Capri v6 that l bought new, then a low-mile ’74 Capri 2.8/4-gear a coupla years later.
      Western Wheel Minliite-style rims, Pirelli cn36 tires, Interpart and Parts&Polish spoilers, hella h4 headlights, Racemark (Mark Donahue) steering wheel, Interpart suspension bits… Tons of fun!

      Like 0
  4. Steve BushMember

    Considering how good the Datsun 510s were, both on the street and track, I’ve never understood why both Ford and Chevy apparently virtually ignored them when designing the slightly larger and at best mediocre if not somewhat awful Pinto and Vega.

    Like 3
  5. Steve R

    This is typical of nearly every 510 roaming the streets in the late-70’s and 1980’s. Many are still stashed away in garages, in much better shape than this and get dropped into the market from time to time.

    Steve R

    Like 2
  6. NovaTom

    My first car was a 510 also (’69) and I can vouch for their toughness. Rolled mine and destroyed the sheetmetal , broke out the windshield and shoved the drivers rocker in 4 -5 inches. Being a poor teenager I could only afford a new windshield so that’s all that got fixed before driving it for another year or so. Sold it to a friend who did manage to finish it off for good – stupid thing still ran and drove but looked like a crab going down the road.

    Like 1
  7. jerry z

    Finding a 510 that isn’t swiss cheese is a win! I had a few mid-70’s Celica cause finding a 510 back in the 80’s in Jersey was tough!

    Like 1
  8. Martin M

    Memories of Trans-Am and the Alfa-BRE wars.

    Like 1
    • Ronald L Jordan

      The L20 was a little taller.

      Like 0
  9. Will Owen

    A couple of guys I went to work for in ’79 bought a pair of 510s as company cars. I got to drive both of them on errands all over the SF Bay Area, but the longest was an all-day run from Palo Alto to Seattle, followed by maybe four hours of sleep and a trip back. Going up, we hit a top of 102 mph (indicated) a few minutes before an Oregon highway patrol car crossed the median and came after us. They’d not clocked us, and let us off with a fatherly warning …

    I did almost all the driving on that run, and suffered no attacks of NumButt or back problems. Back in CA I made frequent runs over the twisty bits from PA to La Honda and thereabouts, fun enough to make me regret never having had one of my own. That remains my favorite non-European little foreign car …

    Like 1
  10. stillrunners

    This could be a co-workers car I found for him in the late 80’s. Good 510’s were hard to find even back then. He already had a track/street 510 car he drove to work but it was coming apart due to his racing and street use. The one I found for him was a factory red/orange paint car just like this one. He was going to put all his yellow on to it. I left BofA for Citi Bank in 1994 and lost touch with him.

    Like 1
  11. stillrunners

    All of the parts from his yellow car – it should have read…..

    Like 0
  12. Kelly Breen

    Datsun 510 was my first car and a great machine it was but despite my best efforts the Canadian winter ànd road salt caused the thing to disintegrate in one year. Great cars, bullet proof mechanicals, wonderful suspension, but absolute rust buckets.
    In warmer climes I would tell anyone to get one and enjoy it.
    Or drive it from May to October. The first sign of snow get it some place warm and dry. Even dew will rot it.

    Like 0
    • Will Owen

      Kelly: I am surprised that Canada used salt on their roads. When I lived in Alaska, they were using either ashes or sand, expressly because any melt would refreeze, and the salt (especially in the mountains) would kill off roadside vegetation, not to mention attacking car and truck bodies.

      Like 0
  13. Bruce

    My first new car, a ’72 two door. That car taught me everything good I ever learned about car handling, heal and toe downshifts, cornering.
    Koni shocks, stebro exhaust, Michelin radial (sold thru sears as roadhandlers) at the time a very sophisticated little car with the overhead cam engine and irs.
    I thought at the time the engine was the L16 with the L13 head for emission reasons, but memory fades after 50 years.
    All four dealer options, tach, am/fm stereo, white “DATSUN”sill stripe and something I forgot.* All up sticker on June of ’72…..$2208 and change. What a bargain. What a blast to drive. I’m five years it never let me down.
    If give a body part to go back in time and drive it again.
    *chin spoiler?

    Like 0

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