Do It Yourself And Save: 1972 Datsun 510 Wagon vs 1973 Plymouth Duster

Welcome back to Shitbox Showdown! All right, so the modified cars are going over like lead balloons, so today we’re going to look at a couple of cars that still need all the work done. Let’s see if you all think you can do any better starting from scratch.

But first let’s wrap up yesterday‘s choices. A Ford Taurus is never going to be anybody’s first choice, I imagine; it was the “fine, whatever, I’m in a hurry” choice of rental counters everywhere for a long time. And it’s the last car you’d expect someone to do a full-on custom job on, but someone did – and most of you hated it.

Personally, I like the Tamaro; it reminds me a little bit of the custom cars in Baz Luhrmann’s rendition of Romeo and Juliet, one of which I’m pretty sure is based on another mundane car, a Chevy Celebrity. It’s different, and I like different. Would I choose it over a perfectly good stock Taurus? Maybe. It is cheaper, after all, and the air conditioning has already been fixed.

(Oh, and I do apologize for putting the poll in the “wrong” order yesterday – it “read” better to list them in the order I did, which was the opposite of the order they appeared in the article. Didn’t mean to cause confusion. I won’t do it again.)

Now then: it’s after Labor Day here in the US, school is back in session, and the weather is about to turn unfriendly towards classic cars. It’s time to start thinking about projects, especially if you’ve got a hole in your garage that needs filling. So today we’re going back to my old Portland stomping grounds, always a likely place to find project cars, to look at a couple of potential time-killers that you could probably at least have drivable by Springtime. Here they are.

1972 Datsun 510 Wagon – $2,000

Engine/drivetrain: 2.0 liter overhead cam inline 4, four-speed manual, RWD

Location: Salem, OR

Odometer reading: unknown

Operational status: Ran out of oil years ago, parked ever since

Datsun had been selling cars in America for ten years by the time the 510 debuted, but this was the car that really caught on. Dubbed the “Poor Man’s BMW” by enthusiasts, the 510 was praised for its good handling and road manners. The sedan version featured a semi-trailing-arm independent rear suspension, but this wagon makes do with a more traditional solid rear axle on leaf springs.

The 510 originally used a 1.6 liter L-series overhead cam engine, but this one has a 2.0 liter engine out of a ’78 Datsun pickup. The story goes that the seller swapped in this larger engine, gave it to their step-son to drive, and the ungrateful little shi – I mean, inexperienced young operator – ran it out of oil and caused a rod knock. That was nineteen years ago. The car hasn’t turned a wheel since.

This car is obviously going to need a lot more than just an engine overhaul or transplant, though. The interior is trashed, and will need to be completely gutted and redone if you want it to look like anything other than a mess. It doesn’t have to be a true restoration, mind you; you could make custom door cards, and install whatever seats you want.

The Achilles heel of 510s has always been rust; most of them have long ago rusted away or been crushed. This one has some rust, to be sure, but it’s not terrible. In fact, if you wanted to, it could probably be ignored. It’s otherwise straight and intact, and it wears a nice set of Z-car alloy wheels.

1973 Plymouth Duster – $2,000

Engine/drivetrain: 225 cubic inch overhead valve inline 6, three-speed automatic, RWD

Location: North of Battle Ground, WA

Odometer reading: unknown

Operational status: Disassembled, engine ran before disassembly

The Duster was the sporty version of Plymouth’s A-body Valiant, a role filled by the Barracuda a few years earlier. But by 1970, the Barracuda had moved to its own platform, the E-body, and the new Duster became Plymouth’s entry-level sporty coupe.

A wide range of V8 engines were available, but the basic engine was Chrysler’s good old Slant Six, and that’s what this one has, along with the ubiquitous Torqueflite automatic. The seller also has a newer 360 V8 they’ll include for an additional cost, but personally, I’d rather just keep the Slant Six. Obviously, as far disassembled as this one is, it doesn’t run at the moment, but it sounds like it did, before this project was started.

It looks like the seller disassembled the car in preparation for body and paint work, but everything is there. The seats will need reupholstering, and it will probably need new carpet as well, but the rest looks all right, from what I can see. It just needs to be put back together.

A good chunk of the bodywork is done, and the seller says there is no rust-through, only some minor surface rust. A little more work, and it’s ready for paint. Painting a car isn’t cheap, but it’s a cheap car, so there’s no reason you couldn’t try to do it yourself. Grab a Harbor Freight paint gun, and give it a try.

These strike me as two different sorts of project car. The Datsun is more of a tinker-as-you-go project; swap in a good-running engine from another pickup, maybe even a newer NAPS-Z engine, get it back on the road, and fix up the other stuff at your leisure. The Duster, by virtue of already being torn down, is more of a proper restoration project; you’ll need to spend some time on it before that first drive. But they’re both worthy projects, in my mind. Which one can you see yourself working on?

(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)

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