Buying a non-running car is always a gamble, but I felt ok about this one. It ‘ran when parked’ and I believed it. The body has zero but zero rust, and aside from some sun damage the interior is good. It came with a ton of extra parts, which is nice in general but does tend to fill otherwise usable space in the garage. (Anyone need all 4 doors for a 410 or 411? How about a perfect gas tank? Steering column? Let me know.)

I love the Coño sticker

I spent a weekend getting this car to run again. It took a lot of carb cleaner but SU carbs are so simple, I can’t complain. Once it was running, I took a very cautious drive down my (cul de sac) street and got a feel for the rest of the drivetrain and brakes. The Borg-Warner automatic is shot (more on this later), but the brakes actually worked enough to lock up the wheels. But when I pulled the car back into the driveway and stopped a weird noise and lurch told me something wasn’t quite right. Pulling the drums off the rear wheels revealed a brake lining that had come completely off its shoe. Nice.

this isn't supposed to happen

So, after scouring the web for useful info, and yet more useful info, I took a chance and ordered a set of 510 brake shoes from my local Kragen. There’s an extra flange but it doesn’t interfere with anything that matters, so it looks like they’ll work fine. (Naturally I cut my finger pretty well when I installed them. My dad says we should cut a knuckle before doing any car work, just to get it out of the way.)

This project was an easy distraction from the bigger task ahead, swapping out the transmission. I picked up an identical unit last weekend from a guy in the south bay who had more than his share of cool vehicles (a dozen or so Vespas and Lambrettas in the garage, a Ford Anglia on the street, and a black plate Land Cruiser in the driveway). Apparently the BW T35 transmission was used on a LOT of mostly smallish cars in the ’60s.

Posted Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 at 8:42 pm. Filed under 1967 RL411 Wagon, Datsun. Follow responses through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or Trackback from your own site.