hey all. this is kinda my intro into the world of datsun 1200's. ive had many project cars, starting with my a suzuki mighty boy, then a suzuki sierra both with larger engine swaps. the mighty boy had a 800cc 3 cylinder, and the sierra a 1600cc efi conversion. and then i got a toyota celica ta22, with ALOT of rust, which only showed itself after a bit of digging.

unfortunately i had to move the celica on before completion as money and living factors meant it had to be stored out in the weather.

now for the next project. now this is a project that isnt for myself. i will be restoring a 1977 datsun 1200 ute. for my daughter. the plan is we can both work on it and she can learn her way around cars. as she loves them, shes only 2 at the moment but can already use a screwdriver in the correct way.

so she will have the final decision on colour and modifications. now i know this isnt going to be a quick resto. but it will hopefully be a good one.

now heres a picture, i have more but need to transfer them to my pc

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nice work, should be a great way to spend some time with your girl, enjoy and good luck, keep us posted on your progress , lots of pics :)

I gotta get the rust work done while she's young as I don't really want her to be too close when grinding and welding. More so the mechanical.

Just wondering out of curiosity. Does anyone know if anyone has fitted a h25a Suzuki v6 to a 1200 Ute.

Very unlikely.

Awesome to see families rebuilding old cars. Great starting point, will your daughter own this car when you have restored it?

yes it will either be her first car if it stays original. or her toy car for after she gets off her p's depending if it gets an engine conversion. im sort of leaning towards the later as then she's not learning in something that has just had so much work done to it.

as an update. I have gotten the engine to run for a very short time. the starter motor was dead, didnt have the power to turn the engine. so replaced that but it looks like the fuel pump is stuffed also. as there was no fuel getting to the carby, if you pour abit down it, it will run on it for a few seconds. and i pressurized the fuel tank to bleed up the fuel to the carby and it still wont pump fuel.

i would have liked to hear it run before i stripped it down but i might just cut my losses there and get into the dirty work. as i'm going to need to remove the whole ute tray to even start the rust work.

going to buy a decent mig in the next couple week as my old one is WAY over due for retirement. (at a guess it would be close to 10 - 15 years old) looks alot like the one in the link below just with a handle, or case and covered in a layer of dust.

Emac mig welder

on a side note, has anyone used or heard anything about the 180A tradetools brand mig welder MIG180GG

Tradetools Mig

either that or a magmate which is abit smaller amps but also does stick welding and i know i can always get parts if needed.

Magmate Mig

bit of an update, ive bought a welder. got a magweld 150 amp. running on gassless for now but am thinking of investing in gas. i've cut most the floor out of the ute to repair the rusted subframes. but that is all ive gotten done so far.

Keep chipping away at it ..... litttle by little you'll get it done

Cheers mate. I've been.thinking about engines.and I'm pretty set on one, just gotta do a bit more research into it before I commit. But I am pretty certain it hasn't been seen or done before and should still be legal in qld at least lol. Will keep you guys posted.

Is it a Suzuki Swift motor? Please do it!!!