>This morning I had the service manager at the Nissan Dealer drive my car.
>After it drifted on him a couple of times he had it put on the rack and two
>mechanics took crow bars and started putting pressure on the front end.
>Movement big time. Turns out all the front suspension ball joints and
>bushings are bad. I need to spend another $1,170 to fix the front end. I
>also have purchased new rear springs, bearings and seals. To install them
>will be another $700 in labor. So I have spent $6,000 and still need to
>spend another $2,000 plus a new top and bow are around $600 and then the
>body& paint job, not to mention re-chroming parts, and on, and on it goes
Ron,
Having good work done well is never cheap. That may be one reason most of
us tend to do as much of our own work as we can. Another reason is the
enjoyment derived from doing it yourself. Honestly it sounds to me like
what you've had done was not done well and far over priced, even if it
had been done right. The race suspension (parts) for our E Prepared 510
is going to cost $2K to $2.5K. However that includes a modified front
cross member and struts with fully adjustable (easily changed) coilover
springs and shocks, fully adjustable rear cross member with coilovers
similar to those in front, and adjustable front and rear sway bars. Some
of the work I'll have done, but I'll do most of it and all the
installation myself.
A couple of years ago I bought a '70 Impala that only had 20,000 miles on
it. At the same time it was the newest old car and the oldest new new car
I've ever seen. Almost everything was original. I bought a suspension
rebuild kit that included urethane bushings (front and rear), ball joints
and tie rod ends, KYB shocks, and front and rear sway bars. Total cost
was around $600.
This all to say that it sounds like you might want to shop around for
parts, for a mechanic and for an alignment shop.
>Its no wonder these cars are know to ruin marriages. :-)
I guess (heck, I KNOW) I'm very lucky in that respect. When I mentioned
to my wife that I might buy another 510 to build as a track only project,
her first response was, "Where in the h--- are you going to put another
510?", followed about 10 seconds later by, "Will I HAVE to run Ladies
Class?"
The one really unexpected thing that I noticed at the All Datsun Shasta
last year was the number of families and couples, the wide range of ages,
and the obvious differences in lifestyles. Yet we all shared Datsuns as a
common denominator. I experienced, and heard about, a number of
interesting encounters between us "old guys" and the younger crowd.
Anywhere else we probably would not even have spoken. One couple even got
married at the Ski Park on Saturday afternoon.
If she's not already, get your wife involved. Take her for a top down
cruise through the country, ply her with with a wine and cheese roadside
snack. Take her to an autocross, get her to drive one. Maybe it won't be
so hard to persuade her that you need those new wheels and tires rather
than a new dishwasher. <G>
FWIW, Ron
________________
Ronnie Day
rday@airmail.net
Dallas/Ft. Worth
'71 510 2-dr (Prepared class autocrosser)
'73 510 2-dr (Street Toy)
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