In the opening paragraph of my previous Project 510 update, I eluded to the fact that I’m in a bit of a refinement phase with the car, and that methodology continues to the undercarriage with some front and rear suspension (re)development that took place earlier this year.
Continue reading “Project 510: Suspension Development”Category: Project 510
1969 Datsun 1600
Project 510: Interior Refresh
With this site now into it’s tenth year, that means my ownership of Project 510 is into it’s 11th. In the early years I pushed hard to knock out a lot of the “big ticket” items, like wheels, suspension, ECU, FMIC, etc. Now that I’m older and (questionably) wiser, I’m trying to tidy the car up, make it a nicer place to be in, and consider what I want it’s “final form” to be. Apart from seats and a steering wheel, I’ve neglected the interior, until now…
Project 510: Still working on it!
After a slow couple of years things are happening in the garage again! Hint: The seats I fitted in my last interior update are no longer in the car. Expect a full update once it’s complete.
Project 510 gets meaty
If you’ve been following me on Instagram (@buildthreads) you might have seen a story I posted on the weekend showing some upcoming mods planned for the car. One of those being a fresh set of rubber! The tyres I had on the car were getting close to a decade in age, and even after a couple of track days, skid pans, and plenty of mountain runs, they just wouldn’t quit. While the tread was still plentiful, the compound had become hard and useless (yay free horsepower!), and a great deal on some Hankook R-s3s saw me getting the credit card out.
Project 510 – Take a Seat
I’ve owned my car for around 8 or so years now, and in that time it’s been in a perpetual state of modification/restoration. One area that I’ve neglected over that time, apart from a change in steering wheel, is the interior. This isn’t unusual for most people, but it doesn’t make sense for me as my dad is an upholsterer! I’m hoping to change that this year, and the first area I attacked was the seats…
Project 510: Short Shifting v2.0
Yes, this car is still around! In the last update, over a year ago, I made the trek over to Classic Auto Fabrications to have a custom short shifter made and fitted, which you can read about in detail here. Not long after, Lachy contacted me to let me know that he could now offer a CNC machined shifter to replace the cut-and-welded version he made for me. Well, my birthday was coming up, so who was I to say no?
Project 510: Short Shifting
It’s been a hell of a long time since any real work was done to Project 510. In fact, looking back at the archives, it’s been around 2 and a half years since I ripped it apart and fitted my FMIC and supporting mods! In that time I have driven the car plenty of times (including a track day and skid pan), which is what it’s built for, so I can’t complain about that. Let’s not forget I also built a garage recently, so that counts for something, too! (I should probably also mention at this point that my wife gave birth to our first child at the end of March)
Project 510: Random Snaps
Winton Track Day – 3rd May 2014
A few weeks ago I made the 2 hour trek up north to Winton Raceway for my second ever track day in my Datsun 1600. I have to say it was a fantastic weekend, due not only to the great company of my friends Tony and Ryan, but also the smooth running of the day by EXE Crew and the like-minded enthusiasts that attend their events. Compared to Phillip Island (the only other track I’ve driven on), Winton is a bit slower paced and more technical, much better suited to a noob like myself. I didn’t set any blistering times, settling on a PB of 1.53, but since I started off the day around the 2min mark I am happy with my progress, and it gives me a benchmark to beat next time I’m out there. One thing my car desperately needs is some more supportive seats, as the marshmallows I currently sit on offer me no support what so ever, and I find myself holding on to the steering wheel around corners. Luckily I have a pair of fixed-back buckets waiting to go in, but that will have to wait until I complete a new project that you’ll be hearing about soon.
Head below to see some of my images from the day (click for larger versions), most of them are of our cars but I thought I’d share them with you guys anyway. Thanks to Ryan Lewis (ex Editor of Fast Fours Magazine who wrote the feature on my car) for taking the action shots of my car. Hopefully next time I can get my hands on a GoPro or similar.
***Just a word about Facebook. If you rely on the Facebook page for your Build Threads updates, you might not be seeing every post. It’s no secret that Facebook has tightened the amount of reach that pages can achieve without paying, and I’ve noticed the majority of my posts are only reaching about 10% of the audience. So please keep remembering to check the main site, put it in your bookmarks and RSS readers, or follow me on Twitter where every Facebook post is mirrored.
Project 510 – Fast Fours Magazine feature
It’s been over a year since my Datsun was featured in Fast Fours & Rotaries magazine, so I thought I’d upload the full article to the site for those who don’t have access to this particular publication. I would like to once again say thanks to Ryan Lewis for writing the story and Jun Sawa for the photography, it was an honour for my car to grace the pages of a magazine that I was glued to whilst growing up.
You can click on each pic for a larger version, enjoy!
