hey every one names Shane im a panel beater from the blue mountains. I just got myself a lil project car a 1970 Datsun 1600 its a whole car but has been sitting in a shed for the past 8 years. it not currently running but has a l18 was told it has cams not really sure. from what I can see appears to be a 180b sss motor not sure tho. the clutch cable is snapped so he believed not sure. would love some advice on where to start with the enine etc was just thinking change all the fluids spark plugs and give a carby some carby cleaner. then give her a start??

Hey shane
Nice platform for a good car.i would change plugs and fluids and see if it starts.by the way what colour is the block.cheers terry

Hey Shane,

Good luck with your build.

Snapped clutch cable...

What do you plan on doing with the car?

First thing on my list would be tackling that rust.

Cheers,

Trent

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1600 Build: http://ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=22694

I sorta want to tackle the mechanical side first as im comfortable with the panel repairs. hailest you don't believ it could have a snapped clutch cable? the car will just be a a weekend cruiser. keep is as an l18 nothing like old school;)

1600's do not have a clutch cable.
They have a hydraulic actuated clutch.
Try bleeding the clutch and checking for leaks

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Circuit Race 1600 in the build

cheers lampy. as I said mechanics are not my strong point. that's odd the i found a clutch cable on ebay? and copthat I believe the block is just silver?

Hey Shane,

There is a lot of great info on this site to get you started.

Also from a mechanical basics, might be worth picking up a workshop manual. They can be a great source of info on explaining how things go together and are pretty cheap to come across on ebay.

As Lampy said, no clutch cable in a 1600, they are hydraulic.

Cheers,

Trent

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1600 Build: http://ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=22694

Some info that might help:

You have late type 180B SSS carbies (1976). These are the "anti pollution" type which are more complicated and less popular than the earlier type.

Your brake master cylinder is not original. It's from a 200B or Stanza. That's not a bad thing, just letting you know in case you ever need parts for it. It may have been installed when a previous owner changed the front struts & brakes. If the front calipers are marked "Girlock" or "PBR" they are from a 200B or Stanza. Someone has gone to the trouble of painting them green so they may well have been upgraded.

Your fuel pump is an aftermarket replacement. If it works OK, leave it. On stock and mild motors electric fuel pumps are not worth the effort.

I can't really see your distributor but it looks like you're lucky and it's an electronic ignition unit from a Series 2 (1985) Bluebird. These don't have points which means they need less maintenance. If it's marked "Bosch" but has ignition points it will be from a 200B, Stanza or Series 1 Bluebird and will have ignition points (part # GB700) If the distributor is a Hitachi it's from a 1600 or 180B. Most of these have one set of points (part # GH203) but late 180B distributors have two sets (I can't recall the part number for those). The other possibilities are a Lucas distributor from a 1600 or something with aftermarket electronic ignition.

The stock 1600 throttle linkages are easy to adapt to the 180B SSS carbies but are missing from the photo. Has someone tried to adapt a cable instead?

Cheers!

thanks for all the replies.
180bssst thanks heaps that has cleared a fair bit up. is it worth looking for new carbies? also the distributor is marked bosch. not really sure what im looking at tho.
trent I had a look in the clutch cylinder(what you highlighted not sure what it is called) but there is no fluid in there. so ill give that a go at bleeding. guy at worksaid to just use brake fluid is this ok? and what dot should I be using? for that and the brakes? also has any one used any of there pre fabbed rust panels on ebay? I will need a beaver that's for sure.

If your distributor has 2 wires coming out of it (one green, one pink) and a grey, vaguely rectangular bit on the side away from the engine it's a Series 2 Bluebird distributor.

If the car runs fine with those carbies, use them. If they give you problems it may not be worth your while to spend a lot of time or money sorting them out. For a standard or mild engine a stock 180B Nikki carby works fine. If it does have "hotter" camshaft a properly tuned Weber 32/36 DGV works really well but needs a "sports" air cleaner to go with it. The 9" paper filters are the go as you just use dirt cheap A24 (suits Holden Red & Blue sixes) replacement elements. There are other carby options of increasing cost and complexity depending on how fast you want to go....

The part Trent indicated is called the clutch master cylinder. The white plastic reservoir on top needs to be filled with brake fluid. The dot rating is not really critical for the clutch but you want good, fresh fluid in your brakes (Dot 4 or above, I think). If in doubt, change it. It's way cheaper than panel damage.

When you push on the clutch pedala piston in the clutch master cylinder forces the brake fluid along pipes to the clutch slave cylinder on the gearbox bellhousing. The fluid pushes a piston which moves the clutch actuating fork and disengages the clutch. If you find that the new fluid you add leaks out soon one of the cylinders will be leaking or the flexible hose on the slave cylinder is cracked. If is's the hose, replace it. If it's the slave cylinder, replace it (180B slave cylinder PBR part number is JB4055 and they're really cheap). A leaking clutch master cylinder can be repaired (if the bore isn't scored) with a rebuild kit or replaced.

Haven't tried finding a new beaver on EBay (Wow, they sell everything!). Good luck with that.

Hope this has been useful.

Cheers.

180bsss thanks heaps you are a full of knowledge. I grabed a 2 litre bottle of dot 4 brake fluid today so ill attempt to bleed the brakes and the clutch this weekend fingers crossed. mums looking at moving soon (yes I live at home but im only 21) so im going to just try and get the motor running and start on the mechanical side. so that I don't have to move a shell plus parts etc. once we move ill strip it to bare shell maybe get it blasted then epoxy prime it and tackle the rust from there on. ill try and accumulate some rust panels etc between now and then. will the fuel in the tank be useless? its been there for 8 years is it worth dropping it out and getting some more or not? also what oil should I grab?

Hey mate,

Best to replace the fuel. There is a drain plug that you can access from under the car, just ensure you take the necessary precautions.

Cheers,

Trent

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1600 Build: http://ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=22694

cheers hailest. haven't really had a chance to work on her been on holidays to the snow..
still trying to find a workshop manual for the l18? anyone know where to get one?
also I have a hose coming off the fuel pump(I think) that goes to know where just a big black bundle? I will attatch a photo any help as to where it goes would help.

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1600 Build: http://ozdat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=22694

thanks hailest. so today I spent a few hours on her new sparkies and some fresh fuel and after a little bit of trouble got her started;) also figured out the hose from the fuel pump, was just the inlet hose that had been put on by previous owner to use a jerry can or something to pump the fuel from.. it starts and runs but just has a real low idle will get my uncle to have a look at it later this week.