I've wanted a Datsun 510 for years, but they've never exactly been affordable as long as I've been looking. Nice ones are five figures, project ones are typically way overpriced, and I rarely have more than maybe a few hundred bucks to throw at any given project. I had pretty much written off the idea of ever actually owning one...now I'm lucky enough to own three, although realistically there may only be one or two good cars that could be made from the three...and a lot of work required. Not complaining.

The first two 510s:

The story of these Datsun 510s begins in late 2021. I had just pulled into the Menards parking lot when I received an Instagram message from my buddy Tim, with a link. He knows what I like, so of course I instantly checked it out.



The ad:



The ad copy:



And the original ad photos:








Now obviously only two of these "three Datsuns" were actually Datsun 510s, the third one obviously being a 1976 Corolla Deluxe, another car I desperately wanted. I messaged the woman who posted the ad immediately to get more information. I agreed to buy the cars sight unseen, and deal with the consequences. After all, who wouldn't buy a few 510s for $100?! I was honestly surprised she still had the cars at all, as the ad had been posted about two hours before Tim sent it to me. I guess my idea of a good deal is not universal.

A day or two later, I headed about 45 minutes out to the property with the cars on it. This was a pivotal moment in my life, as there ended up being several more vehicles on the property, all of which were of interest to me, and all of which I would end up dragging home eventually. This was the first sight as I walked back to where the cars were located:



I wasn't even aware of the 1970 F-250's existence, but I knew I wanted it too. However that could wait, I needed to hand five 20s to the seller as soon as humanly possible. I get extremely anxious about deals in the time between agreeing to meet, and actually handing the money over. You never know what could happen in the meantime. Especially when paperwork is involved.

The woman who was selling the cars' name was Lynn, a very nice woman, most likely in her early 70's. The property and all the cars had belonged to her brother Jeff, who had passed away a few months earlier. He was a bit of a recluse, a former horticulturist at the local university who was well-loved by his colleagues, and even had a garden on campus named for him. After he retired, he basically stayed on his property as much as possible, doing woodworking projects, maintaining (and eventually neglecting) his various vehicles, and drinking. He seemed like an incredibly interesting person who sadly passed away in the middle of summer 2021, and was not discovered until about a month later by a neighbor who had noticed his truck hadn't moved in weeks, and his mail was piling up.

Anyway, I took one quick glance at the cars and handed Lynn the money. She was a bit surprised I even wanted the cars, as she didn't even intend to list them originally, but one of her relatives told her it may be worth putting them up since people "like them for (insert their explanation of something along the lines of 24 Hours of Lemons here)".

I couldn't help but ask about the other vehicles on the property, and as is my nature, I had to see what was in the various barns and out buildings. The house was off-limits, but everything else was accessible. I love exploring old properties like this. So much history and adding up all the pieces to make sense of the previous owner's story is a blast for me. Seeing a property that was actively being used and maintained, and then just cut off one day when the owner died is endlessly fascinating.

The other vehicles on the property were the previously mentioned 1970 Ford F-250 Ranger XLT Camper Special, a 1970 Ford Country Sedan station wagon, a 1993 Toyota Pickup, and inside one of the barns was a 1973 Honda CB450 motorcycle hiding away. Although everything was for sale, we didn't come together on prices on any other cars that day, however I did end up taking home the Honda for $200...more than all the cars combined. Eventually we'd work out deals on all the vehicles as I spent more time on the property in the coming months, and helping Lynn here and there, but that's a story for later.

Since Lynn and I both had differing schedules to work around, and getting cars that haven't moved in decades is always a guess as to how much effort and work is going to be required, I basically got allowed unlimited, unsupervised access to the property, so I could pick away at whatever I needed to at my own speed. This was amazing, as the property was a few acre lot out in the absolutely middle of nowhere, surrounded by corn fields. There were a few houses nearby, but it was dead silent and incredibly peaceful. I would have lived there instantly if it were in the cards. The place quickly became my private sanctuary. I could come and go as I pleased, and I certainly was pleased to be there. First order of business was to move all the various branches and garbage off the cars to see what I had gotten myself into, and if the cars were going to even be salvageable.






As I picked away at the cars and saw what I had, I was surprised to see how decent the two Datsuns were, at least for the area. The yellow 1971 was very complete, and clearly was running when parked at some point in the 1990s. Inside wasn't even full of garbage, like most cars I find abandoned in the woods. It had been "fixed" many times in the past, lots of bondo and patches in the floor. Overall not perfect, but here in Iowa, finding an early 70's Japanese car that exists AT ALL is amazing. I was pleased with the first car.

The second 510, a red 1969 model, appeared to have been a parts car for a while, as many things were missing, including the front and rear glass, and most of the interior. The engine amazingly turned over by hand even though the hood had been off the car for years. As I dug all the detritus out of the open interior, I quickly found that the chassis had held up surprisingly well for not being sealed off from the elements, let alone being parked on grass. Most of the floor pan was intact, the trunk interior was in amazing shape, and really most of it was solid enough that it seemed like the contender for patching up and turning into a car someday. This car is still the one that I plan to build when the time comes.

As it was November, and winter was quickly approaching, I needed to act fast if we were going to get these cars off the property. I planned a day to come out with a few friends and try to free up the locked up wheels and remove whatever trees were blocking the cars in. Sure enough, it ended up being windy, cold, and even snowing for part of that day. I had borrowed my dad's chainsaw, brought a bunch of tools and got to work. I managed to get all the wheels unlocked, cut down a few trees, and we were able to pull the cars out into the front yard so we could retrieve them with my friend's trailer later.







Once the cars were freed and pulled to an open area, we were finally able to drag them home, using my friend Andrew's truck and trailer. I was so excited about the red car, we even stopped at a car wash in town and blasted it off on the trailer.



While this is far from the end of the story when it comes to my experiences with Lynn, the property, and all the other cars I rescued from the crusher, this is more or less where the story slows down for the first two 510s. We got them to my place, parked them behind the garage, and they're still there. I have picked away at them, and actually got the red car running, but the scope of the projects is so overwhelming that I'm hesitant to start really tearing stuff apart. That's not to say I haven't done SOME work, but the red car really needs to be fully patched up before I start building it up. I never stop thinking about these cars, but I also have no intention of parting with them, especially as time goes on and I can accumulate more parts. I REALLY want a 510 still, so these are always in the back of my mind, waiting for me to start making serious progress. Someday.



Here are a few photos from these cars as they sit today:









Once a plan is hatched and space is made, these will start to trade parts and become a good car.

A little over a year later, as I was thinking I got lucky and would never ever see another 510 come up locally, at least not an attainable one, something crazy happened...

The third 510:

In early December 2022, my old high school friend Cyrus messaged me a few photos of a repainted blue 510, with an explanation:



Of course I was excited, and needed to know more. This car was another 1969 model, and I definitely saw stuff I needed for mine immediately in the photos he sent. I asked where it was, and a few months later, my friend Jade and I went and checked it out. We took a few photos:






At first glance, the car appeared pretty solid, and the drivetrain was intact. The car was so full of junk that we couldn't really get a good idea of the condition of the floor pan, but what I could access felt pretty sturdy. I already knew I wanted the car, but now we had to get it home. This took a few months to actually happen, but when it did, it was quite the challenge.

The car had been sitting in this spot since the early '80s, and was sunken very deep into the ground. I brought a set of rims with good tires on them to swap onto the car to pull it out. Hours later, I had good tires on three corners, but none of the wheels were spinning at all, and due to the position of the car and the adjacent scrap pile, navigating it out was going to be a challenge. We tried pulling it out with the Bobcat on the property, and then locking up the trailer with the winch to pull it out. Seemed hopeless at first, but we persevered and finally got it out. The sun was out, and it was a surprisingly warm day, which definitely helped. I didn't want to give up, since the car was pretty far away from my house, and i didn't want to have to make a reutrn trip after driving all the way out there with the trailer. Eventually it was fully on Andrew's trailer and we were able to bring it home.






Once the trailer was back at my house, I instantly got to work cleaning all the crap out of the car and taking inventory. There was enough actual garbage to completely fill my garbage can, but also a lot of spare 510 parts that could eventually come in handy.

This was the car AFTER I had emptied most of it out already.



The next challenge was going to be getting a car with four locked brakes back on the ground. Being stubborn, I decided to do this alone. The truck and trailer was backed into my driveway, so I parked the F-150 I had at the time behind the trailer with my winch hooked up, and dragged it (and one of the ramps) off the trailer. Didn't go particularly smoothly, and the car was now sitting at an angle in my driveway, but at least Andrew could get his truck and trailer back now.






The car is actually not horrible, probably almost the same shape as the red '69, but a few parts are signficantly worse. Either way, this car will be incredibly nice to have around. It has a windshield, the doors are in way better shape, and the dashboard is much more intact thanks to not being exposed to the elements for decades. Shame somebody shot out the back glass, or the car may be even nicer than it is now. I did check the engine, and it's locked solid. Most likely a blown head gasket took it out...not sure there's much salvageable, but no big deal. Between the red and the yellow car, there's plenty of great engine parts.

My friend was over a few days later and we pulled the car over so it was at least sitting straight in the driveway. It still sits here to this day, although I have taken the engine partially apart, washed the car, and got the front wheels unstuck. The rears are still locked as of typing this, but hard to say if it's brakes, or a blown up differential...the transmission is definitely in neutral, so surely it's not just stuck in gear. Eventually I'll strip all the stuff I need off of this car, but the body is decent enough that it could be fixed if somebody really wanted to. That's for future me to figure out.

Here are some photos of the car as it sits today:





When the time comes to start tearing into these more and making one good driver out of the three, this page will be updated. Until then, these are on the backburner. I desperately want to at least yard drive the red one, which runs, but it needs all the hydraulics redone before that can happen. Maybe this spring...stay tuned.

Thanks to everybody who made this all possible. Tim, Andrew, Jake, Sam, Marc, Jade, Cyrus, Mike, Aaron...you all helped in one way or another and it is much appreciated.

Last updated: 1/11/2024