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Classic Black. Classic Car. Classic engine swap. As the car is coming through a twisty section, you can appreciate that other drivers would be looking twice when the 510 showed up in their rear view mirrors. Pic by Mercedeh Ajamzadeh.Helping to ensure that the engine bay is clean and incredibly reliable was Ryan Maxwell from Ryan Maxwell Racing. He did all of the wiring. The wire tuck makes the engine bay look clean, however, the focus was on being serviceable. Not only is this going to be a daily driver it is going to be a track car so the aviation theme continued with Mil Spec wiring, Deutschwerks connectors and, where necessary, Honda factory connectors. This is absolutely the best wiring job I have seen. The car is currently running a stock S2000 ECU but it is already wired for an AEM EMS standalone. That will be installed once all of the bugs have been sorted out. The fuel pump is a Walbro 255 that is mounted on a custom sending unit.
This Datsun is currently running a factory S2000 ECU. The only modification is that the immobilizer has been removed. Carefully. With a pair of pliers. Ryan ensured that everything was ready for the standalone ECU that will be installed in the not too distant future.
There's a lot to see in this pic. The Tilton clutch and brake pedal setup that came with the car. The fabricated transmission tunnel. The wiring, switches, and ECU that was hooked up by Ryan Maxwell Racing. The gear shift lever that was fabricated from suspension parts off of a Datsun 1600. And, of course, the footwear JP and myself were modelling!The suspension consists of Stance GR+ Coilovers that were originally intended for a Nissan S13 240SX. The car also has Stance Camber Plates. The rears bolted in fairly easily, with a bit of welding to box them in. The fronts, simply put, that was a massive amount of work. Spring rates are currently 390 lb front and 200 lb rear – but that is changing frequently as the car’s handling is dialed in. In the process, everything on the front and rear was designed to be adjustable – to ensure that setting up the car would not be limited by design. So you will see heim joints everywhere. The front hubs came from a Nissan S14, it has S14 SPL outer tie rods, the control arms are custom and designed by JP and built by Hitman HotRods. The steering box and inner tie rods are all stock Datsun 510 parts.
The amazing paint job. The unknown brand front lip. Fibreglass fenders with awesome flares. Sentra Spec V brake calipers and rotors, tucked in behind the Rota Grid Classics. This car is subtle and sweet.The brakes came from a donor Sentra Spec V car – stock Nissan calipers and Brembo blank rotors. These parts are readily available and reasonably priced. This was a former daily driver of JP’s and he felt that it provided the modern braking power that the S2000 engine mated to the Datsun 510 would require. The car came with what is now a classic Tilton dual master cylinder clutch and brake pedal setup. It had been installed by Tom Hnatiw and it looks awesome and should be amazing to drive. It absolutely stayed in place. Power and braking go to the ground through Rota Grid classics that are staggered. 15×8 with zero offset are mounted on the front while 15×9 with -25 offset are mounted on the rear. Tires are currently BFG Rivals sized 225/45/15.
The Tilton pedal setup cannot be called 'Old School' – although it may be older than many of the people reading this! Pic by John Paul Ellis.
