Bent Datsun 510

[Richard]

I found this at a garage sale last year and upon opening the box it was an " alright" quickly followed by a "crap" which is unusual because it's usually firmly one or the other. The seller wanted $5 but when I showed him the damage he said $3 will do. Complete, unbuilt, awesome! But apparently it sat buried at the bottom of his closet for years, resulting in all 6 pillars being bent. I've never fixed a problem like this before so I'm putting it out there, does anybody know how the fix this kind of thing?



  

[chepp]

Chop the windshield and remove the rest of the top turning it into a convertible. Or skip the folding top and make it a roadster -- hot rod guys call them coupesters (coupe transformed into a roadster).

[Richard]

Hmmm I like that idea that might be more feasible than trying to straighten it up but it seems like a last resort to me. I really want to keep it as is and build it as a rally car. Thanks for the idea.

[HotRodTom]

Hot water!!! Turn it roof side down and suspend it in a tub of hot water. Gravity got it in the condition it's currently in, gravity and heat can get it out. Be patient. Not hot enough to melt the plastic, just to enable it to become pliable or, "lose it's memory".

[jbwelda]

try ebay


which is funny because I basically could not give mine away.

jb

[Richard]

Thanks Tom. I'll give that a try.

[Richard]

Wow $70 US ? That is a pricey little kit! I'm in Canada so that's about $130.00 shipped.

[jbwelda]

You wanna play, you gotta pay.

Another way of looking at it is it is only an average of a little more than $35 for each of the pair. US$ of course. Not including tax and shipping.

You could always cut the roof off the one you got and pretend there is a reason for a phantom roadster. Or birddog ebay and wait for one to come up at a more reasonable price "point". Might also notice that the guy selling the one for 70$ hasn't actually sold anything. Hey I want a hundred US for mine (doesn't mean anyone is going to be foolish enough to buy it for that). If you are actually interested you might message him and make an offer. Pretty sure he will not be selling it for what you got the bent one for. There was also a partial build with what seemed to be a straight, but painted, body for considerably less.

jb

[Richard]

That's a really good way of looking at it and some good advice too and I get the "you wanna play you gotta pay" thing but I have to be a budget modeler. Income minus life expenses divided by number of kids = oh oh. I'm an avid yard sale hunter and I've been lucky enough to fine dozens of kits for a few dollars each.