Anth's 1969 Datsun 1600 - FJ20ET

[anth]

thought it was about time i started a thread here. i wasnt sure at first because i didnt know what direction the car was going to take. ive owned the car since about last june or july, so there are many updates to show you guys, but ill bring it up to date slowly

anyhoo...

it all started out like most young datto heads around my age, when i was reading the "1600 Shootout" issue of fast fours many years ago at the age of 12 years old. i would find myself drawing 510s over and over until i knew every detail off by heart. A few years later i wanted a 1600 for a first car but it didnt happen, then a couple of years later i toyed with the idea of buying one again, then finally a year or two later i bought a bare shell with all parts included. I sold off the shell as i realised i wouldnt be able to undertake such a project, but luckily i kept all the parts (bumpers, trims, lights, etc etc)

fast forward to the present day, ive just sold off my S15 200sx and bought myself a nice clean 69 model + a SSS pulsar daily driver.


Here are some brief stats (shamelessly stolen from the carsales ad):

Engine/Driveline:
FJ20 Turbo conversion rebuilt with forged pistons
5spd manual
Ken Hastings rebuilt tailshaft and half shafts, limited slip diff
3" exhaust
Immobiliser
H/D Clutch
twin thermofans
new clutch master & slave cylinders

Wheels/Tyres:
R31 Skyline 15" Rims with Yokohama 205/50's

Brakes:
Nissan Urvan remote brake resevoir, 7/8" Master Cyl,
Mitsubishi Verada V6 Front Discs with VL Turbo Calipers,
R31 Skyline rear discs & calipers,
certified braided brake hoses front and rear,
new prof. made modified handbrake cables

Suspension:
new balljoints, tie rod ends front & rear wheel bearings,
strut inserts and poly bushes throughout & engine mounts,
front & rear whiteline sway bars, strut mates.
Steering box brace,

Interior:
new roof lining
front buckets (not sure what from, maybe stanza or bluebird?)
Front and rear Klippan seat belts
VDO temp, oil, volt & boost guages, Datcon Tacho

Body:
Re-sprayed white (not sure how recent or if its 2pac or acrylic)
new rubber seals all round
new windscreen

Misc:
Surge tank, 400hp high pressure fuel pump, 650hp lift pump
rear battery box

i have a book full of receipts to go through so i will update as i find out more.

PICS:









Immediate plans:
- general tidy up
- remove those mirrors. i have another set of doors here, and the drivers door has a more suitable mirror (might be original?), so ill put that on and leave the passenger side off for now, then eventually get gt tear drop mirrors.
- lower it down to a nice height
- polish up the wheels that are on it
- fit a pod to get it breathing a bit better
- full service + tune + fit electronic boost controller (have one waiting)
- fit autometer tacho, speedo & boost gauge into custom dash panel (already have gauges)
- white venetian (its a must :p )
- spray under car and inside guards with a durable black paint (its already been stoneguarded and painted white)
- spray the right sections of the grill and headlight surrounds black or maybe charcoal? opinions?
- fit a small stereo (already have most of what i need)
- tighten up the feel of the shifter a bit (any tips?)

Long term plans:
- front mount intercooler and alloy radiator
- new front seats and re-trim interior, nardi steering wheel

"One day" plans:
- respray, coilovers, bigger turbo, better brakes, yadda yadda yadda...

so there we have it. glad to finally have one, and glad to see it in the garage.
opinions and/or suggestions?

Thanks for reading,
Anthony

[S30Mike]

ohh yes, very cool stuff!
How does it go with the Fj20?
i love my old school Nissans..

Watanabes and flares needed!

[anth]

goes good with the FJ, very good actually, dynoed at about 120ish kw at the wheels..but it leans out at the top end, so i dont rev it past 5000. getting a microtech very soon so that will all be sorted out

[HuH]

Awesome! I love P510s. The colour is fantastic. Look forward to reading about your progress.

[hammo_89]

^As do i!!! love it man!

[mattymc]

I love the shape of the 1600's, Can't wait to see how this turns out.

peace.

[Mr Happ]

bookmarked!

always wanted one of these when i was a kid.......twin weber 45mm DCOE was the dream..........one day!

[rayray086]

Your 1600 looks so straight! Fantastic find. Floor carpet colour is wild.

For your shifter, the sloppiness is usually due to worn bushings connecting the linkages. I wouldn't know where to source them for your gearbox linkages but that would probably be the first step in tightening the shifter feel again. If you find it hard getting it into gear, you could possibly try changing the transmission fluid (make sure you get the right spec).

[Bronald McDonald]

FIVE TEN!

It's what it's all about.

/ adds to favorites.

[anth]

thanks guys, heaps of updates on the way!

ray, its not hard to get into gear, just feels a bit notchy. but dont forget that when i wrote that i had just stepped out of an S15 and into a 40 year old car

all good now, i love the raw feel of it, nothing compares. just took me a bit to get used to

[anth]

ok so the first area to be attacked is the front end

firstly heres some detailed pics of the state of the bumpers, not very pretty, especially the rear one




in my first post i mentioned i bought a shell a few years ago with all the parts required to build a full car, but sold the shell off shortly after, keeping all the parts.
Here are the two bumpers that i had in storage. the front one is almost mint, just a few scratches on the surface, but the rear one has some pitting on the chrome


after a bit of a polish on the front one:


tried to put them on the car but they didnt line up properly. damn old cars! i'll try again at a later date when i have more time to play around

One thing i always wanted to do is clean up the grille and headlight surrounds...


badges removed


polished on the left, un-touched on the right, they came up nice



next i masked up the "rings" that go around the headlights


this is my favourite paint, its a nice metallic charcoal/grey, really glistens in the light. Its called "Cast Alloy"


finished product with a few coats of clear




unfortunately the grill is missing the top slat, but this will be fixed later on

stay tuned

[HuH]

Pictures aren't working, buddy.

[anth]

really? damn. thanks for letting me know...will fix asap

edit: fixed pics. someone let me know if they work now

[felixR]

they work and it's looking good!

[anth]

Firstly here is the car after a nice wash with the grille and headlight surrounds put back in place. Sorry about the average pic, I'll get better ones soon. The car has also been lowered slightly by compressing the springs, but it didn't turn out how i had hoped, so I'll just wait till it has coilovers all round before I tackle the ride height again. Might as well do it properly!


Old cars and window venetians go hand in hand. This mod was always going to happen. I bought it off ebay from Getashade



Did you notice the sticker on the rear window? It's a re-manufactured sticker from the original Datsun dealerships. These are top quality stickers that adhere to the inside of your window, just like the old ones.



If you want one, hit up Martin

Also, my new mirrors came in. They are metal reproduction trear-drop mirrors that came from the XY GT Falcons of the 1970's.

After carefully marking & drilling the holes I gave them a quick trial fit.







I know they're not exactly JDM, but I don't want fender mirrors, and I think these are nice and small and suit the shape of the car. I guess thats why they are used so much on so many different cars from this era.

Until next time...