'New' Datsun 1200
Hi Datto fans: I was crawling around under the '71 1200 I picked up to keep my 521 and 510 company in my garage and was intrigued with what I saw. It appears that the tunnel just forward of the differentiall has been reshaped and that there is a lot of custom welding that has taken place apparently to provide clearance. QUESTION: Is there a lot of separate sections where welding is done on the body pan on the stock 1200? Since mine is an old race car, I am assuming that this is a modification. This car has been severely lowered with, I believe, the rear springs turned over, as they appear to have a reverse arc. QUESTION: Is that how it is done? It also has adjustable struts and some later year Sumatomo brand disc brakes in front. QUESTION: Since my front axle ends have no caps and these would require one with a diameter of over two inches, does anyone have a clue what might have been fit to this car (I have looked in the JY and find nothing that large.) So, I plan to reinstall the windshield wipers, fix the brakes, check out the lights and license in for street ues in CA. , Maybe even take it to Shasta/Thunderhill this summer.

We'll see, Ed

I'll have a go at answering your questions:

QUESTION: Is there a lot of separate sections where welding is done on the body pan on the stock 1200?

There should be no welding in the floor section above the axle. The sections are spotwelded and the overlap is sealed with dripcheck on inside of the cabins. I remember that there was an axle bumpstop above the diff yolk. Maybe this was repositioned to suit the lowered suspension.
I've also seen the damage a diff can do if tramping (axle/spring wind-up) is a problem, I put a rather large dent in my underfloor section once, so I think it could make a mess, especially if a much larger (custom) diff were installed.

QUESTION: Is that how it is done? It also has adjustable struts and some later year Sumatomo brand disc brakes in front.

Yes, 'reverse-eyed springs' are a better way to lower the car than lowering blocks. We've discussed this before, some springs are almost straight, in orderto get the desired height, reversing the eyes, allows for lowering, without removing too much of the 'designed' spring travel.

QUESTION: Since my front axle ends have no caps and these would require one with a diameter of over two inches, does anyone have a clue what might have been fit to this car (I have looked in the JY and find nothing that large.)

I know the axles from some 180B (610s) are large, but they aren't near 2 inches, sounds like you have an insteresting install. I've heard or people using 200B struts with sumitomos, but not seen them, and I'm certain that the 200B hubs aren't that large.

How does one go about dearching or reversing the leaf springs? I have 1" (25.4mm) blocks in back. The swaybar i plan to install sits on the leafs, goes across in front of the axle and dips under the diff. If i install this swaybar, the part that dips under the diff will have less than 3"(75mm) clearance with the ground.

Go to the downloads section of this site and look at the "1200 Competition Suspension" thing. See if what they show to do is what has been done to your car. A friend of mine has that book and there are quite a few really trick things in it. I'll bet your front suspension has 240Z parts like the blueprints show to convert to. But I'm just guessing.

oh yea, about the blueprint, i have a copy and im trying to figure out how to scan it on an 8.5x11 scanner. I'll eventually get it scanned and add it to the downloads.
angelo