Only be spending money on the materials... got all the welding gear at work and I'm a decent welder lol
but its only a thought, a way of having full height adjusting rear :)

Not if u want to do it and want to spend the $$

something like this... dont need massive HP to warrant it do you?
http://datsun1200.com/modules/newbb/v ... ASC&type=&mode=0&start=80

With the way leafs can be played with these days to can make a big difference depending on the way you want thing setup! Shocks also make a big difference on the rear to so a good quality shock could make a big difference! Some people use tarago shocks and some ppl use a 4x4 shock, I've used heavy duty pedders shocks and have had no problems! There are a set of kyb shocks fs here they are good!
I'm yet to try Retrorallys setup in my coupe yet which is Bilsteins shocks and spherical bearings in leafs!

totally agree.

There are successful race 1200s with leaf springs. But then 4-link can be made to work well too (although it's easy to make a 4-link that doesn't work well). There are also successful big power cars with leafs.

It's like the old saw that double-A-arm suspension are superior to McPherson strut. Lo and behold it's usually true. But then Porsche makes strut suspensions that work just as well.

Depends on what you want to do in the long run bud, if it's going to be a street car leafs will be good enough, ppl here have track cars still with leaf setup, im building a 1200 coupe for the track and will still run leafs, if your going to have BIG power and so on then I'd may e spend the extra and do a coilover setup in rear! I've looked around and some ppl leave one leaf in to locate diff and go coilover shocks which would be a cheaper way rather than 4 link!
But really up to what u want at the end of the day

Hey Shoota..
Ok cool, I'll have a look. Weldin skills arent an issue lol
and thats cool no hurry, gonna fully rebuild it anyway. thinkin about goin forged internals and maybe boltin on a turbo haha...

ddgonzal: what about going coilovers with like a 4 link set up?

Hey Nathan, check out my build blog Shortening struts and welding on coilovers to see how easy it is to do a coil over modification on the ute. All you need are a few welding skills and you'll be right. I had to get a little bit of machining done (about $30!), the rest is pretty straight forward. You can do that same mod with any struts, just pick which brakes you want to end up with and work backwards.
I'll drop the motor off tomorrow, couldn't do it this morning sorry mate.

Keep it leaf. Coilovers won't do anything except make it easier to change the spring rate.

But upgrade the front now! Don't wait until you have an accident with those little drum brakes and big tires.

Also what do people think about the rear suspension?
should I keep it leaf or go for a coilover setup on the back as well?