Reader Ride - 1970 Datsun 1600

By: Unique Cars magazine

Date: 25.09.2016

A lot of work went into this.

Simple lines still work.

Very neat engine installation.

A lot of work went into this.

Simple lines still work.

Very neat engine installation.

Meet Damien Birch and his quick Datsun 1600, done on a budget

Damien and his creation - very nice.

The project started in 2003. I bought the car for $1500 along with an SR20 motor to slot in. I did the swap myself over two years, had it engineered in 2008 and have since completely transformed the car into what it is today. I used all kinds of parts from various Nissan models to make the new engine work. In fact the only thing that's cutom is the radiator.

I flared the front guards using the original metal, removed a bit of rust out of the doors and I modified the rear of the car to fit a slimline license plate. I did all the body work myself as a self-taught panel beater which resulted in a lot of trial and error.

It's a standard variable cam-timing motor with the boost set to just 14psi. Right now it's good for about 160kW.

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