hi all, first id like to say wat a lovely site this is and wat a lovely helpful bunch of people you are...
k, now to my dilema..
ive always loved 1200's so wen i found out an aquaintance of mine had no room to keep his 1200 4 door wagon i offered to buy it from him... for $100! yes can u believe it??? this car is by no means a wreck, i will have pics up soon, the floor plugs are quite rust free (jsut some surface ####) and the sills on the sde are fine also, no bog work on these parts as far as i can tell, the front flooring has been refabricated and it has a goddamn sun roof too aparently the headgaskett is broken but im not too sure on whether i should fix it or what???? i really dont know wat i wanna do with it atm, i will be earning money as soon as i graduate from uni in dec so im not expecting that to be a problem... i just wanna hear other enthusiasts opinions whther i should give it the TLC it deserves or just sell it or make it a drag monster... id really like to clean it up and put an A15 in it seeing as that looks the best for performance and $$$$, i have limited mechanical experience so most of the work would be sent to a shop... any insights or opinions on what i should do would be greatly appreciated.. i promice pics within the next week
-thx all

I would say the easiest and cheapest way to get mobile and still remain focused on what your long term goals are for the wagon would be to pop the hood, remove the radiator hoses and drain the fluid, remove the air cleaner assembly, remove the rocker cover, check the rockers for excessive play then remove the head and check it for cracks, or rust stains around the water jackets, if it looks ok and you are willing to lay down about $35 on a new gasket kit you could try replacing the head hasket and see if it will get you going, at least you know your only going to lose $135 if it doesn't work and you don't want the car anymore, but if it does work then you can start enjoying the car now and start planning the big A15 transplant

buy the manual, to see how to change head gasket if ya wanna do it yourself (mechanic too expensive)

or just buy a complete running a15 and read up on this site how to fit it, then do that

also watch the fast and the furious for modification ideas

sell the wagon i say

ill buy it 0422 521 574

haha swap the whole motor over. learn a lil about the , can never no too much about cars ay..

sero ill buy it haha

I'm with the other guys here...mechanics stuff is easy - I mean even mechanics can do it - it's that easy!

Seriously though I've found it ain't much fun withOUT some reasonable tools, these could cost some serious $$$.

If you know someone with a decent set of tools this would make your dream of fixing it up and lot more realistic.

Paying a mechanic $300ish to do the head gasket (and the other gaskets like manifold, rocket, thermostat, etc...) at the same time might be a possibility - or spend the same $$$ on some tools, then another $100 on gaskets and learn something yourself - and have the satisfaction that the guy who did the job (you) did so with a much higher care factor than any mechanic could muster.

Overall though I'd say much more fun to learn then pay someone who could care less to do it.

I would say the quickest way to learn the mechanical side of things is to grab the manual and work on the little Datsun, you will be an expert in no time and feel a great sense of satisfaction.

I am sure many of the guys here know everything they do because they couldnt afford a mechanic and had to try it for themselves.

Datsuns are the easiest cars in the world to work on, you will surprise yourself.

If you dont have any tools, get a chinese kit from Bunnings or Supercheap for $100 or so, they will work fine,I am still using the tools I bought at KMart 18 years ago.

Where are you located? there might even be someone from the site local to you who could pop in to show you the basics.

hey thanx guys, i tell u wat im gunna do now... im gunna get the manual.. can i order it from here or can i just order it from a supercheap or something???! either way, ill do that, buy some tools and ill check out the head gaskett myself.. still im not going to worry about the body side of things for now, itll last a fair bit longer i rekon and instead ill pop in the a15 and all the other stuff that goes with it and make it a phat lil speed demon, if i enjoy the feel of it i may then take to the body and restore it completely.... now i think that sounds like a plan.. im still waiting on digi cam so i can post pics..
p.s. im from townsville QLD australia

You can get the manual at supercheap or cheaper on ebay.

I would make sure its registered before you put the A15 in to save any hassles.

cool, ty.. btw i cant find any cool picks of datto wagons, has anyone got a link to them???

Hi,
There are loads of the manuals coming up on ebay at the moment. Unfortunately though I have found North Qld is lacking in the amount of Datsuns at the wreckers (I am in Cairns).
Good luck with your project. And if you decide to sell it let me know. I will happily drive down to Townsville to pick it up.
Ray