Looking to finally start the restoration of my 1960 Datsun PLG-222 so if you know someone with an early '58-'61 Datsun 200 series sedan, roadster or truck let them know or just check in to see how this one goes.
Here's the link to Alan Bent's earlydatsun.com and the Datsun PLG-222 entry. A good run down of the Datsun PLG-222. As noted mine is the longer wheel base G model with the 1200cc, 37hp E engine.
http://www.earlydatsun.com/datsun222.html
For those of you who slept through US History 102, that's the Civil War through modern times (at least it was when I was in high school), George Wallace's 1968 presidential running mate and the USAF fire bombed Japan....relentlessly, then two big bombs later Japan capitulated. Shortly afterwards the American Caesar occupied Japan and began the arduous task of rebuilding a devastated and non existent industrial base. And for this reason many of the earliest Japanese cars were copies or near copies of some of the least desirable automobiles ever produced by the British. That's right, the Brit's Austin A series to be exact, as the huge American cars of this period were, well, just to big and resource intensive to produce and work in Japan. Knowing this is half the battle of restoring any early '60s Datsun as many BMC parts work, though there are a some minor differences that I have expensively discovered along the way. So let's get started.....
Here is it, sorry for the bad pics, all I could find from 3+ years ago.
Here's the good -
Rust free and original sheet metal and body panels, though the battery area does have a little cancer that needs to be fixed.
All good glass - not a crack, pit, or chip.
Matching numbers - that's the frame serial number and engine serial number with the data plate
Original "Dallas Cowboy" colored seats under the red vinyl.
Pretty much complete minus a few things below.
Engine is an E, just an E an not an E1, but a rebuild is easy
Transmission - it a 4speed column shift, but basically the same as in a 320, so seals and gaskets are no problem.
The bad -
Missing the original oil bath air cleaner
Missing the original front bumper
Missing the original "Datsun" emblem from the grille, nicked long ago....
Missing the original brake and clutch master cylinders, but the 320s are close, and, I need to double check, but the early TRs have the same brake M.C....I think
Missing the shift knob. Probably just fell off and out to the vehicle.
Missing the original ignition switch and key, but something from Victoria British or Moss Motors should do just fine.
Missing 2 x 15 inch steel rims, yes 15 and not 14 as on the 320. I believe 16 inch were an option, need to check the brochure.
I could definitely use some help with these missing parts - thanks.
The Ugly -
The brakes...what a disaster. Who ever thought this was a good idea???? More on this in an upcoming post.
Suspension - yeah, not familiar with the front reverse Elliot I beam front suspension system. But LMC (that's Long Motors Corporation) is just around the corner from Victoria British, down in Lenexa, KS. So hopefully we can find some compatible parts from the earliest Chevrolet and Ford 1/2 trucks.
Well that's about it for now. More pics are here in my PLG-222 album on flickr - https://www.flickr.com/photos/113742723 ... 6064915279
cheers,
Li'l Truckie
seriously how's this missing? fabricate??
Oh well, so let's put "it runs" into perspective. 
No ignition issues - cap, rotor, points, condenser, coil, wiring (all of it) plugs (okay, these are new) are still operational after who knows how many years of sitting idle.
Carburation, ran okay and strangely the dust inside throttle body disappeared...oops. In a later video (pay no attention to the "accident") we did pour fuel into the float bowl and the carburetor pumped fuel and we were able to rev it a little.
I know I don't have the best hearing, but all I heard was the nice mechanical sound of tappets going up and down. No grinding, no weird noises coming from the time chain, no strange knocking from the block or any other noises that would make me think we are on the verge of a catastrophic breakdown. And I think the compression reflects that all the internals are in working order.
