I’ve been wanting one of these grilles for a while now. Initially, when I first saw one, I hated them. The ’73 model Datsun 1600/510 was never sold in Australia (we only got the ’68-’72) so growing up as a Datsun obsessed tween/teenager I never actually saw one until a local car magazine featured an [...]

As you all know, I recently bought some second hand wheels from the Yahoo Japan auctions for the Datsun. (click here to read the previous post) Like most of you reading this, I can’t leave things alone, and I knew before I even bought them that I wanted the centers to be painted black with [...]

Since I purchased the car, the main limitation was the standard ECU. The car had an assortment of issues, such as a very high idle, poor starting when cold, leaning out in the upper rev-range, and sometimes hesitating/misfiring under boost. Doesn’t sound very fun, does it? The mighty FJ20 nestled between the strut towers needed [...]

A while ago I approached Dan for some help with navigating the Yahoo Japan auctions, and I slowly got the hang of it with much assistance from Babel Fish. I highly recommend jumping on yahoo.jp if you’re looking for 2nd hand Japanese parts, but I also highly recommend staying the hell away from it if [...]

I thought I’d re-visit the rear suspension, since I didn’t actually install the coil overs myself, I had them put in while the adjustable tabs were being welded onto rear crossmember. I’ve been having some noise issues with these coilovers, mainly some light metal-on-metal sounds which are to be expected with a bare-bones coilver set [...]

Progress isn’t always good… About 2 months ago I was rear ended at low speed. Luckily insurance took care of it all. Along with body repairs to the rear of the car it also received another bumper which was re-chromed along with my number plate light surround, and some New-Old-Stock tail lights.

In the last update I gave showed a picture of the Datsun’s next mod: Well it’s a front lip from a Mk1 VW Golf (or Rabbit), also known as a large duckbill. I’ve seen few pictures here and there of older small cars with front lips on them, and have always loved the look. I [...]

Finally the Datto gets some serious upgrades. Enough of the polishing, painting and little fiddly bits, its time for the good gear. Troy Ermish Racing (USA) rear coilovers & Datsport (AUS) adjustable rear crossmember DIY kit.

Back to the front of the car again. It’s finally time to fix the missing piece of the grille.

The front of the car got a slight re-fresh when i painted the grille and headlight surrounds. Now its time to take it a bit further. Here is our starting point: