A rare view today...A 1973-1977 Datsun 160J SSS P710 Violet

Saw a rare Datsun 160J SSS P710 Violet in a depot area today. My first reaction was "Retro" and somebody fortunate and with a keen sense of value for Nissan/Datsun had found this car. I believe whoever it was will certainly restore it to its former glory!

Figure 1
Body has some bogging but straight generally.

Figure 2
Hmmm...missing that rear plastic piece! Some cracks to that very rare rear lights.

What can I say? Wish it was mine! I am encouraged to look harder for one!

Figure 3
Very straight IMO

This just tells me that cars like that are hidden all over the country. One just needs to spend the time looking for them or pass the word around.

Figure 4
Somewhat dilapidated interior...expected.

Figure 5
Restorer's dream.

Car has been sitting unprotected under the sun for a long time, some years I reckon. Rust is still not too bad actually.

A replica of Markku Allen's and Timo Salonen's 1975 WRC 710s by Janne Karppinen...sibling of the 1974 Datsun 160J SSS KP710 Violet Turbo.

What do you expect making a blog of a race car? Of course I will get many similarly minded people (now friends) from all round the world making contacts with me and telling me of their beloved hobby and machineries! :-)

Figure 1
Replica of 1975 WRC Datsun 710

I recently got an email from Finland by a Janne Karppinen. I know the Finnish people from having watched WRC videos of the seventies and eighties and many a night re-watching Ari Vatanen's Duke videos as he threw and flew that Ford Escort to victory and then the Peugeots some. They are among the best in the world for drivers and mechanics.

Janne put together this meticulously prepared replica of a 1975 Datsun 710 WRC car...I have his permission for the pictures :-).

Figure 2
LZ18 in meticulous running condition. Mechanic par excellence.

Figure 3
Car is loaded with Nismo rally option gears. LZ18 twin cam, competition option1 gear box, dry sump, 4-spot sumitomos, 5.1 r180+ nissan lsd, etc.

Hope everyone enjoyed this. Cheers!

I found out where all the Nissan/Datsun L18s are! Short block of the 1974 Datsun 160J SSS KP710 Violet Turbo.

I was rambling in an earlier post about the rarity of the Nissan L18 engine and a little disappointed that I could not locate a unit(safe for the rusted unit) in any of the engine yards.

Lo and behold workshop owner and mechanic friend, Mr. Canisius Chong, posted to me the following pics of three units of L18s including multiple gearboxes at, of all places, a junk metal scrapyard!

Hmmm...no oil cap. Rust warning. This one looks like a carbureted unit. Possibly SSS A87! The other 2 units seems to be Bosch L-Jetronic EFI. Hopefully, all three will have the "more" counterweighted cranks.

I decided to buy all of them. Sold to me by the per kg basis. :-)

Apparently, there were more under the pile of scrap metal. :-)



A day earlier another workshop owner and mechanic friend, Mr. Ng Guan Fatt (Western readers by now know that Ng is the sir name), who had just about thrown away all the L engines he ever had save for an L18 A8740 stamped crank with minor surface rust. He gave it to me! Thanks :-)!

It went straight for light journal polishing of which I will make a post later. It'll be interesting to check the radius sizing on this versus my LZ18 crank. Well, at least I could still compare the con-rod journal radii.

Cheers!