1971 Datsun 1200 Coupe
Owner Dave Patten
2008 Watkins Glen SCCA Nationals
This car has the original unibody with
no significant structural modifications made to it. The floor, firewall,
rockers, rear quarters, roof, tail light panel, all inner fenders and strut
towers are still factory sheetmetal. 2/3 of the radiator support and about
9" of the lower front frame box have been replaced with tubing,
but that is the only real structural modifications made to the car.
The body and interior has been modified. The interior is completely stripped of upholstery and seats except for the driver. The dash has been removed and a gauge pod added. There is a switch panel mounted to the rollcage. The front fenders, rear quarter panel overlays, hood and the combination air dam/bumper are fiberglass. The doors (driver is hinged) and trunk lid are OE steel skins with their inner framework removed. It still retains the OE grill and tail lights.
Suspension uses all the original systems. A live axle with leaf springs using the stock mounting points is in the rear. A panhard bar was added. The front is still Macpherson strut with camber plates, adjustable spring seats and 2.5” coil springs. The LCA's are tubular with rod ends at the pivot and TC rod connections. The front cross member is a modified OE part. Steering is still the original steering box/steering shaft, cross link and idler arm with custom outer rod end links.
Brakes are solid front rotors on Mac Tilton aluminum hubs with cast iron FIA 4 piston calipers (all period competition parts from the 240Z).The rear has 240Z aluminum drums. The pedals are an early cast aluminum overhead set-up with dual reverse mounted master cylinders.
At the corners, I have 13x7 VTO Wheels with Goodyear Race slicks, 20.0x8.0-13. For Vintage events, I use Toyo RA1r 205/60-13 tires.
Driveline is a Datsun 510 wagon rear axle from the same period as the 1200. The differential is open. The car uses a stock synchromesh 5 speed from a 1978 Datsun B210 and a custom length steel tube driveshaft that has OE replacement u-joints.
The engine has been updated from the original A12, 1.2L to an early ‘80’s Datsun A15, 1.5L. The engine is of the same engine family and shares the same head and many of the same accessory parts as the original A12. The block has a slightly higher deck height and the distributor/oil pump locations while still on the right side of the engine are in slightly different locations. To a casual observer the A15 looks virtually the same as the A12. The ignition is an OE A15 electronic distributor with the vacuum advance removed. The oil pump is a factory high output that is modified with AN fittings for a remote oil cooler. The oil pan is a baffled wet sump Datsun Comp part with kick-outs for added volume. The intake is dual Weber 45 DCOE carbs with 32mm chokes, a custom air box and a 25mm single inlet restrictor that is required for SCCA/GTL completion. The engine in this configuration makes roughly 140rwhp in proper tune.
Safety equipment includes a Kirkey roadrace driver seat, FIA seat belts, onboard Halon fire system, FIA-FT3 fuel cell, full DOM steel tube rollcage with bracing fore and aft to the car’s suspension points and NASCAR style, triple bar driver door protection.