I did a quick search, and I couldn't find any topic on Safety while working on your Datsun.

I figure what's the point of spending hours working on your beloved datsun if you injure yourself, or even worse, the car :P

So I thought we'd all just bring up some safety topics and discuss them.

First off, I was wondering, where are the best points for jacking up a datsun 1200 ute, from the front and the rear?

Cheers.

Front - Under the cross member and axle stand somewhere on the front chassis rails.
Rear- Centre of the diff and axle stand as far outwards on the diff housing you can go.

There are jacking points on the body at the sill but in a old car i wouldnt trust them. Always use good axle stands(no that doesnt mean bricks)

Jack points recommended by Nissan:
- side rail points for jacking (as marked on the jack)
- center of diff
- center of engine crossmember
See Datsun1200.com: Jack

I've had good success jacking under the leaf spring pads and under the a-arms. Just be careful where you put the jack.

yeah i don't trust those seams either.

Okay here's another topic

Proper safety glasses/goggles.
Do you actually wear them?

I always do when i get under the car (usually just to stop crap dropping in my eye whenever i touch the underbody), or when i'm working on something that spins/moves.

How about the rest of you?

Angle grinder, die grinder - I use safety glasses...under the car - maybe but dirt in the eye shouldn't kill you. Drilling under the car then definitely safefy glasses.

Car stands are definitely a good call too, better than bricks.

I have a 'glove-o-meter- for spanners too - if it becomes too hard to undo/tighten I go put on the gloves. When I start straining on a bolt I stop grab the gloves and then continue - saved me a lot of skin in the last few years.

be very careful when doing anything with the engine running!

I had my motor running with the car on stands, I was sitting with my legs under the car and grabbed near the grille opening to stand up. The thermo fan (it's a pusher in front of the radiator) kicked in and chopped off my thumb

Fortunately the surgeons put it back on, but it hurt pretty bad and no one was home to help at the time, so I drove myself to hospital (10 mins away). Rocked up to the hospital completely covered in blood, and waited for 7 hours with no pain relief in emergency... not fun stuff.

Good mate of mine is in intensive care at the moment. And he is very experienced with cars and racing etc. So it shows it can happen to anyone.

He had a car on car ramps at the front and was under the car removing the tailshaft. However this was what was stopping the car comming off the ramps. When he dropped the shaft of the diff the vehicle rolled back and squashed him under the car.

8 Broken ribs, Punctured Lung, 2 Broken vertebre in back, shattered knee and broken leg. Not to mention concussion and bruises etc.

So be careful and dont get complacent.

Even when I put the car on those stands I still put the hydrolic jack under the car somewhere just in case the stand fails or the car for some reason drops off the stand.

if ever im under a car i always throw a 7inch rim and tyre under the sill so if it does for any reason fall of the jack/stand it dont crush you to death.

my uncle reckons its pretty hard to yell for help with 2 tonne of car on top of you.

We had a thread on worst injury while working on dattos..

Basically the Datsun community (in my opinion) lies on the side of danger, rather than safety.

Driving a Datsun affords the occupants minimal safety in most collisions, so why bother being safe when you work on it. (I'm joking).

edit: Just read old_school's comment..crikey.