Trying to save them all, Datsun Stanza 1.6GL, 84 Datsun Bluebird

[nisfan]

Thought i would start a thread to keep track of some of the shite im trying to fix/keep on the road and first up is the stanza,

 

When i bought it, now off the road to sort out the rust. As with most datsuns the mechanicals are spot on its just riddled with rust.

I decided to start with the p/s rear, the progress so far,

From this,

 

To this,

 

Rust cut out and primer on as its quite damp in the unit. Seen some rust on the bottom of the door so took door card off and poked about with a screwdriver.........

 

 

Oh bugger...

 

More of the same,

 

Caught this just in time i think, all the underseal was peeling off.

 

 

Think this has helped, lived in whitby most its life and its still here,

 

 

That was the easy bit, hard work still to come and this isnt even the worst side.

[Burnside]

Good luck with it haven't seen a saloon or a hatch Stanza in a long time. Near where I grew up a chap had a A reg Met Brown hatch for around 8/9 years last time I saw it the lacquer had completely gone and the rear arches and door bottoms were toast. That must have been around 1996/7.

[nisfan]

Thanks, if it was metallic brown it would have been the perfect car, seriously this car is brilliant, ive never had a car that has a good turn of speed, that also returns great mpg and is also prime shite, the handling is nowhere near as bad as the reports suggest. Once you put decent lower profile tyres on. The 1.6 accord ive just bought has shit mpg in comparison and is longer geared!

[KruJoe]

Nice to see a report that a Stanza can actually be a very good car. Great to hear that you'll be getting on top of the rust, too.

If you ever need a respray, there's a lovely dark metallic brown out now. Yesterday I saw a new-ish Micra and it was resplendent in the sunshine.
Strangely I can't find a pic of a Micra, but it's probably this hue:
 

[vulgalour]

I think that's the first saloon Stanza I've seen.  I remember them all being the pale metallic blue of yours, or almost-silver and all hatchbacks.

[Uncle Jimmy]

Small, boxy, Japanese saloons, very stylish.

Keep up the good work.

[Partridge]

Oh I do like those. How many did they import? They've always seemed really, really rare.

[derskine]

I've been a passenger and can confirm it seems a comfy, quiet car.

I had never heard of them or seen one until Nisfan bought this.

[MrDuke]

Here's my old one, from about 7 years ago:

 

 

 

 

It was shockingly smooth and refined for its age, and fairly flew on long journeys (although a 5th gear would've been even nicer). I believe it still resides with D Hirst, formerly of this parish.

[nisfan]

its that one ^ that got me into them. Mine is a 5 speeder and its says in the brochure that 1st, 2nd and 3rd have shorter gearing for accelaration and 4th and 5th are longer for mpg. Did you know they did a 3 door? Now extinct.

[trigger]

The 3 door models looked pretty cool.

 

Datsun Stanza 3 Door! by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

 

[trigger]

 

This one is now showing as untaxed since Feb last year.

[KruJoe]

I was gonna mention the beige ex-Duke, now Hirst Cabs' Satanza saloon when I posted. That's some cool shiz.

 

Double the Stanza, double the pussy, etc.

[nisfan]

It looks in proportion in 3 door form, now i have the saloon i think the hatchback looks better but im happy to stick with this.

Ground back most of the rust in the wheel well and used jenolite to get rid of the rest of it,

 

Primer caked on with a sticky trigger, this is the second can in a row to fuck up (upol zinc 182)

 

[Partridge]

I've been a passenger and can confirm it seems a comfy, quiet car.

I had never heard of them or seen one until Nisfan bought this.

The first one I ever saw was in a scrappies. It was Trigger Gold from memory.

[Burnside]

Nice work just spent today an yesterday doing a similar rust treating and painting exercise on my dads 03 combo van what a nightmare!  

 

Think the original Metalic blue suits it well but the Brown would certainly earn you extra AS points.

 

Forgot about the 3dr versions surely someone must know of one still on the road in the UK?

 

The pictures of the 3dr with that bodykit fitted looks fantastic too. 

[Bren]

Here's my old one, from about 7 years ago: It was shockingly smooth and refined for its age, and fairly flew on long journeys (although a 5th gear would've been even nicer). I believe it still resides with D Hirst, formerly of this parish.

Why do 80's jap fascias resemble a caramac bar?

[Shep Shepherd]

A schoolfriend's parents bought an A-reg 5-door GL hatchback in metallic green with a brown interior in 1992. They paid £1995 for it, which even then was far too much. They also bought a Y-reg Peugeot 104 for the same price from the same dealer at the same time. Mental

[MrDuke]

Why do 80's jap fascias resemble a caramac bar?

 

I don't know, but it was one of only 2 cars I've ever owned that made me smile the whole time I was driving it, mainly because of that utterly gorgeous dash. I really should've grown a pair and kept hold of it - it was a one-owner-from-new car with stupidly low mileage,and turned out to be one of the earliest Stanzas imported. I got rather scared by the ever-encroaching rot, and royally screwed up my attempt to rectify a crap blow-over job below the trimline, and being a shallow 20-something tart, changed it for something prettier   Thank fook I had the sense to sell it to someone who loved it as much as me. I'd definitely take it back if the opportunity arose.

[DodgyBastard]

Check out these dodgy looking fuckers...

 

 

 

[MrDuke]

Ooohh, 1.8! 5-speed box! Unfortunately can't be straight-swapped for the 1.6, as it has a transaxle.
 

I was reliably informed that the CA18ET from a ZX coupe would drop straight in... but then I heard that about the N12 Cherry too, and that turned out to be balls. So who knows.

[Shep Shepherd]

^

Puts me in mind of some of the design studies for the Escort mark 3 from those angles

[RichL]

Good work. How long have you had it? I saw a blue Stanza parked in a street opposite Pannet Park in Whitby in June.

[nisfan]

ive had it for a few months now.

[catsinthewelder]

Didn't you get this one from Whitby?

[DodgyBastard]

Yeah, we traveled to Whitby in style, insured it and booked it in for an mot in Dunfermline, saw loads of police but never managed to get pulled over.

 

Volvo 360 & Stanza by srblythe, on Flickr

[nisfan]

The only way to collect chod...... with chod

[nisfan]

Work on the stanza has slowed somewhat, have some pics but dont have time to upload just now due to working till christmas eve. Talking of christmas eve I bought this a few weeks ago to use in the winter......

 

got a nice surprise through the letter box from the dvldlvaadlvadvla, your car requires a VIC check before we will give you anything, CUNTS!!! So im booked in for 11.50 on christmas eve. I cant take much more of driving a pineappled polo or a shitlook mx5.

[kinkersaab]

Never seen a 4 door stanza up here, did see one in yorkshire years ago, seem to remember rear fogs looked like an afterthought. Nissan/ datsun did a masive ranfe of similar cars back then. The stanza sunn y and bluebird all around the same time and not that different, did the stanza use the bluebird engine rather than the sunny one? Why didnt they all use the same 1.5 /1.6 engine? I always liked an old nissan,

[Shep Shepherd]

I like those Accords. Very smart looking things