New Zealand Datsun Club

bout to do the hilux myself, As im wanting to go five stud i eventually found a 5 stud diff for $250, was probably a little overpriced i thought (turned out to be a bargin as we noticed that the wheels went the same way when rolling it out from under the truck and once home it had a LSD head in it too) but complete and local, as its from a early model hilux is pretty skinny already but will work the difference out over the next month or so. Will put some process pics up for you

Hilux are fairly cheap, and made strong. But, they also mad heavy too. I've seen projects where people have had to alter their floor pan to gain clearance on the diff head when they sack their car right down. The last point is unlikely to be an issue on a ute. The other downside is that they use a cone LSD. Probably not such a ball breaker with a 4age, but will eventually lead to open diff like behavior with used behind an engine with lots of torque.

are hiluxes cone lsd too bart? Or are your getting mixed up with my BW diff?

I reckon F series diff FTW (lite ace/estima diffs) 7.5" crown wheels vs 8" hilux, way lighter housings and strong enough for 90% of the motors we but in live axle datsuns. Cheap too as most people want hilux diffs. Also Altezza torsen LSD's bolt in and also TRD LSD's are easily available.
That said Supra IRS TRD lsd's can be made to fit hilux diffs with a little modification. A guy on oldschool has done it.
Good score for $250 though.

I'm almost certain they are cones Nick. They are well known for becoming loose after doing serious yards.

i can believe that bart. mates hilux has a factory LSD fitted, has done 280 000km, and is as open as a hookers box

anyone want to do a cashie for panel work on the ute? or know anyone that wants to? otherwise ill wait a few more months for wal to free up lol

We have a big decision to make and I need some opinions from the pros... Been thinking serisously about the work involved in getting the ute up to scratch and am thinking of cutting the loses and trying a different plan. I would love to have the time and money to build the ute up from how id like but am getting the feeling buying one for around 3-4k that is already straight and then doing my plans might be a lot easier. I also say this as id also rather a 1200 sedan over the ute....

So options are.... Power on with the ute....

Or get my cash together and buy a runner sedan or ute and go from there?

Looking at the green 1200 on trademe at the moment in chch and also wondering if anyone knows the person selling it? and also wondering if i was to try part out or sell the rolling body of the ute do you think anyone out there would be keen.

Go crazy with your opinions guys. Cheers

It's always nice to see a car restored that most people would scrap. Then again, it is nice if you can finish a project and drive it around. It can be hard to keep motivation up if the end isn't in sight sometimes.

I think if you think getting a tidier car/ute will mean you will have a datsun on the road sooner then I'm all for it. If you do decide to tough it out with the one you have that's all good as well

Hmm....guess I'm not very opinionated probably wasn't much help

the best thing about finishing the ute you have is you know exactly whats under the paint, the risk with a $4k datsun is that you are relying on a 25-35 year old car to have no rust or bog/cardboard/newspaper/plastic bags used under the paint to make it look good. Depends how far gone the ute is i suppose and what it will cost to get it up to scratch?? you could always put the engine conversion on hold and put an a15 in it and use the rest of the cash on the body??

I concur with grants statements.
You'll never know what lies beneath with that green 1200. Nothing worse than having to carry out major rust work on your drivable car. Get the ute fixed properly, and then you'll know there's gonna be no nasty suprises down the track. I know where you're coming from though. The waiting, and not being able to enjoy it here and now sucks balls.