Happy to enjoy rallying in a 510 Bull customized to rally specs
In 2024, we checked out a vehicle of interest at the Kanazawa Classic Car Meeting held at the Japan Automobile Museum in Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture on Sunday, July 28. This time we will introduce the owner of a 1971 Datsun 510 “Bluebird 1800SSS” customized to rally specifications. What are the details of the customization that he has done to recreate the rally car that he had longed to own when it was new?
Custom vehicles, which are becoming a minority at old car events, are fun now
The trend at old car events these days is that the overwhelming majority of vehicles are stocked or restored, and the number of modified and custom vehicles is decreasing. This is because it has become increasingly difficult to obtain original parts, and the same can be said for many old cars regardless of genre. This trend is not likely to change significantly in the future.
Because of these times, custom vehicles are attracting attention. Customization that dares to break down the stock car has become a higher hurdle to overcome in this day and age. In this sense, owners must have their motives for customizing their vehicles. This time, we focused on a Datsun 510 “Bluebird” customized to the rally specifications that we found at the event. We spoke with the owner, Mr. Fukuda.
It has been 30 years since I acquired one of my youthful dreams at the age of 35
Fukuda-san says that this 510 Bluebird has been one of his dream cars since he was young. At the same time, he also loved rally cars, which were popular at the time, since he was young. So he thought, “When I grow up, I will drive a rally-spec Bluebird! But when he got his driver’s license, he found that the model had been changed and the 510 was no longer available. Years passed, and at the age of 35, Mr. Fukuda was able to fulfill his wish and acquire this 1971 Bluebird 1800SSS, about 30 years ago.
“Of course, I had decided before I got the car that I wanted to make it into a rally-spec car, which was my dream. So when I got the car, the first thing I did was to get NISMO shocks and lift the car by 5cm.”
At that time, he experienced rally competitions with his custom car
After acquiring the car, Mr. Fukuda immediately proceeded to customize it into a rally car. Starting with the aforementioned rally shocks, a skid plate and huge rally fog lights were installed on the front. The vehicle was also fitted with Watanabe 8-spoke suspension and Dunlop SP SPORT 85-R tires for dirt track use. The rear is fitted with a mud flap with the DATSUN logo, and the vehicle’s appearance has been given a great deal of attention.
The car is full of nostalgic details, including a rally trip counter mounted in front of the passenger seat, a map light, and other accessories, as well as a drilled hole in the air cleaner, which was popular at the time, in the engine compartment.
Mr. Fukuda participates in rally competitions with his customized 1800SSS. He is enjoying rallying with his beloved vehicle, fulfilling a dream he had in his youth.
translated by DeepL