G'Day Folks,
It's about time that i started a build thread for my project.
I'd been looking for a 2 door 1600 for months and had all but given up on the idea when I heard about one for sale in Sydney.
After a few phone calls and emails I wasn't convinced that it was suitable, but as they're so rare, I was thinking that it may be a case of buy it, or give up on the idea.
I kept looking for more options and remembered that an OZDat member had made a 2 door out of an aussie 4 door years ago. Not ideal, but it looked great in photos so I tracked the guy down. Unfortunately he no longer had that car... bugger.
Thinking that my only choice was the car in Sydney, the guy then went on to tell me that he had another 2 door that could possibly be for sale. I couldn't believe my luck!
The car was in Adelaide so viewing it was difficult, but I did receive some photos which looked promising. Promising enough that I organised another Datto mate of mine who lived in Adelaide to have a look, who also gave it the thumbs up. Well as much as you can give the thumbs up to a 40 year old non restored car.
I decided to go and have a look at both cars over a weekend and either buy one of them, or go back to another 4 door.
I flew to Sydney on Saturday morning, borrowed a friend's car and drove out for a look.
It would have been a good project for someone, but for me, it was disappointing. It just needed way too much work, and at this point, i was thinking that the Adelaide car had to be far better for me to continue with the 2 door dream.
I then jumped on another flight and headed for S.A.
I'm lucky that my brother lives in Adelaide so when i got there, I organised a visit the next day and chilled with the bro.
The next day we headed out to see contestant number 2.
We walked into the sellers garage and I knew within about 20 seconds that I'd found my project. The paint was screwed and the car had 40 years of bumps and bruises, but regardless, it was perfect.... to me.
We had a chat as I looked over it, and the more I looked, the more I fell in love with it. It was absolutely perfect for what I wanted.
The body was straightish, the interior was great, and it had less rust than any unrestored 1600 I'd seen.... regardless of how many doors they had.
I left the house, called the boss to tell her I'd bought a car and then phoned the seller back to confirm it all. Stoked!!

Will continue when I work out how to re-size photos, lol.

Nice one. Very jealous. A 2 door is something that has always been on my want list.

Looking forward to more pics.

Awesome stuff, looks and sounds like it has a lot of potential! Can't wait to seed what you have in-store for it!

Once the deal was done, it was decided to send the car directly to Sydney to get the steering wheel put on the right side.
This task was entrusted to Dural Datsun who’s done several conversions in the past. Mark took his time (plenty of time actually ), but did a killer job, and kept me updated sending me pictures of his progress every few weeks. The result is a car that you’d never know was once LHD and an engine bay that looks better than factory. Mark also relocated the battery, roco’d the steering box, brake booster, pedals, heater, etc etc. The list goes on. The attention to detail Mark went to is impressive to say the least, and I couldn’t be happier with the result.
I flew up to the Datsun Day 2013 to pick up the car and help Mark get a few things back together before driving her home.
Things didn’t go to plan, and I ended up leaving Sydney at 10.30pm in a car that had been driven about 1km since having the motor out, steering wheel moved and all the other work done. To say I was a little nervous is an understatement.
I set off and within a few minutes I realised the light switches are all arse about, the noise is ridiculous and the seat seems likely to break my back before I hit the Hume. It’s going to be a long drive….. I hope anyway. Either that or I’m sleeping in the car by the side of the road somewhere.

So are you keeping it an L series or going something newer??

S15 SR20det. Will upload some more pics tonight hopefully.

That engine bay looks very tidy as is. I'm sure it will look just as good with the SR but it will have many fasts too!

Have you already done something with L series? I'm on the hunt for something that looks nice and original such as this for my stockish resto that I'm just starting, particularly the round top SU carbs and associated bits and pieces.

Thanks mate. Have no plans for the L series. Will probably sell it when I pull it out, but that won't be for a couple of months yet.

While the car was in Sydney, I started collecting and preparing parts. Some were standard, just to get the car back together such as RHD dash etc, and others for a future SR20 conversion.
The dash was the first thing I needed sorted out. I ended up buying a SSS dash from Nick who I’d bought the car from. As it turns out, I also bought a 68 grille and SWM surge tank with pumps from him too (handy dude to know!).
I picked up NOS headlights, taillights, Combination lights at the front + clear lenses, some aftermarket US indicators with clear lenses, and luckily the car came with some NOS rear number plate lights.
I also bought a pair of carbon F1 style rear view mirrors. I can appreciate that theses don’t look great on the car yet, but when it’s lowered…. And painted, I’m sure it’ll look just as I want it.

I was really lucky to find a guy selling some Datsport goodies. Picked up an adjustable rear end, plus some front struts complete with 296mm disks.
Unfortunately they didn’t come with the callipers, but it didn’t take long to track some down and install them on the struts. Had to buy a few parts to get them on, but a call to Datsport quickly sorted that out.
I also bought a Datsport SR20 fitting kit that came with a tranny cover, accelerator pedal and a steering box brace.
It was an awesome buy, and as this build is going to be done on the cheap, it was great to get some quality parts that may not have ended up on the car otherwise.

I like the new colour.
Subscribed...

Thanks Nick.
Colour is Porsche Sport Classic Grey. I love it.
Same colour as this Golf, and the porsche Sport Classic..... Of course!!

The first thing I had to do when getting the car home was to make it look a little more loved.
I called on Datones for a little assistance (well a lot of assistance), and we removed the rear end and installed the new one.
Once we’d sorted that out with new bushes etc I moved my attention to the front.
I took the old struts out and installed the new ones.
I also installed my BBS LM wheels which are 17 x 7.
The car is sitting a little too high at the moment, but it can’t go any lower due to the spring seats hitting the top corner of the tyres if I try to wind them down further.
I may have to get some shorter front springs to get it lower.
The rear is too high at the moment too so I have to get some shorter springs for out back too. Although, I’m currently looking for some wider rear wheels with more dish, so I’ll wait till I’ve got that sorted out before I mess with the height.
I also changed the grille to a JDM model I’d had for ages. I love the JDM grilles, but once the car is sitting how I want it, I’ll try my 68 SSS too. Not sure which one will work best yet.

I like the side mirrors, can you give me any details on where to buy?