Here you go Neohic -Datsun & Chief Pics

[glundblad]

I used to frequent this site a few years ago but life got in the way.  In another post, I mentioned I was restoring old Datsuns.  Neohic asked for pics along with any updates on my '87.  So assuming I know how to upload pics, here it goes:

I liked 240Z cars since I was 15.  I bought a '73 as my first car.  I later sold it.  In the mid 80's I bought a second one and kept it for a couple of years.  I traded it in on a new '87 Comanche Chief for my wife's daily driver.  About 6 years ago, I bought a '71.  It has about 60k original miles on it and is in very good condition.  These cars don't age well so finding one in unrestored good shape can be challenging.  Here is a pic of it:

 

I struggle with common sense so about 3 years ago, I came across what the Datsun community refers to as a "Series 1" 240z.  It has some features only found on the earlier cars.  This one is vin #53xx meaning it is one of the first 5300 cars sold in the US. It was in desperate need of some love.  It needed some rust repair work and a new paint job.  I did a bad thing and changed the color from factory white to factory 918 Orange.  The color is very nice but my florescent lamps don't allow for good pictures.  The second picture is probably the most accurate rendition of the color:

 

 

 

I was able to find a new Nissan dash for the orange car.  A rare find for sure.  Moving the wiring and gauges is not very fun (it sucks beyond imagination):

 

Regarding my comanche, as I mentioned, I bought it new in '87.  We later sold it to my father in about '95/'96.  We bought it back off him in around 2009 if memory serves me correctly.  We needed to replace the bed and fenders.  There was rust behind the flares.  Then we gave it a new paint job and new "Comanche Chief" decals.  It now sees about 200 miles per year and gets stored in the winters.

 

The truck was restored to factory condition with a few exceptions.  When my dad had the truck, it was garage kept but the garage didnt have a door so the rear leafs were in pretty bad shape and needed replaced.  When they did that, the leaf specs must not have been correct to the truck because it raised the rear by about 3/4".  The rake in it looked way off.  That is visible in the 2010 Comanche of the month photos elsewhere on the site.  To correct it, I replaced the front coils with OME springs.  That gave the front a 3/4" lift.  It looks factory now.  Don (ie Hornbrod) suggested I go with OME shocks so I did.  I also bought an OME steering stabilizer.   I really like the OME shocks.  Funny comment about Don.  Everyone spoke highly of Bilsteins so Don bought a set to replace his OME shocks. He had the Bilsteins for sale a few months later.

 

My truck came with what Jeep called the "Optional Heavy duty axle" which was a Dana 44 with limited slip.  It also came with the factory roll bar as seen in the pics.  I think the truck has 90k miles on it now.

 

It came with factory fog lights on the front bumper but they were rusted bad.  I found a new set of Marchels and installed them.  Later I was able to locate a new set of the original (but cheap quality) ROL fogs.  So I remove the Marchels and put the factory replacements on along with the factory covers.

 

The truck came from the factory with a black interior. I was able to find black Cherokee Limited leather seats to replace the bench.  It sits much nicer now and I have no fear that my head won't go through the rear window in case of a rear collision. I was also able to find a full size black console.  Finding black anything can be tough.

 

Over the years, I was able to accumulate a couple of factory rear bumpers and the necessary plastic trim.  The comanche of the month pics still shows the embarrassing aftermarket bumper.  I was also able to locate NOS taillights which were scarce a few years ago.  I found some NOS rear mud flaps.  I also found the fronts but I havent installed them yet.  

I assume finding NOS comanche parts is about impossible now?   

 

I apologize for the poor quality pics.  I didn't have any good side shots but notice the rake is gone now. It is only a mild rake just like factory:

 

 

Here are the fogs.  This is exactly how the truck looked from the front when it was new (sorry it is so dark):

 

Here is the factory rear bumper with the new components on it.  Just to document for posterity, the bumper has a flatter finish from the factory than it does in this repaint.  But at least it is straight:

 

Here is my black interior with my XJ leather seats.  I was very happy with how they turned out:

 

 

So there you have it.  If anyone is restoring a chief and needs a picture of something, please let me know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[eaglescout526]

My grandfather has a 240Z sitting in his backyard in unrestored and untouched shape. It just needs some love and someone to drive it. Course he reluctantly let go of his MJ when I asked him for it. 

[neohic]

Everything looks great! So good to see the Chief again. I’m a bit of a sucker for first gen Datsuns as well. 
 

Thanks for checking in with us! Don’t be a stranger. Nice seeing old familiar faces around here.  

[Muncher]

My chief. Even tho it doesn't say it on it it's a real chief