Building an M2 Diecast Model Car Kit Verses Factory Built Comparison: Datsun 510.

July 16, 2020

#396

Gentle reader,

I have been a car guy all my life. I'm 63 now and still play with Hot Wheels. My wife and I, like many influenced by YouTube videos of like-minded adults who have built extensively detailed downhill race courses, are in the process of designing and building our own course. The best of said channels is this one:

(20) 3Dbotmaker - YouTube Start with your viewing with races from 2020, they had two new courses and had perfected their commentating by then. 

Before I get started, some months ago I went through all hundreds of articles I have written since this adventure began and created a web page for each category. 

The Robb Collections: INDEX To EVERY Diecast Die Cast Car And HO Slot Car Article I Have Written  

Clicking on that will show you a list of links starting with the earliest at the top.

I was a trained auto mechanic long ago. I attended two years of auto mechanic training through the city school system. I started working at 16 at a Mobil station and the owner helped me to get started in the field. 

Later, upon graduating from high school, we moved east and I have been here since, for forty six years. I was working at a Chevrolet dealer in the late 1970's when Dad got a job in Washington, D.C. Our parents did not want to move up there until they were sure he would like the job.

Image courtesy of  Hemmings.com.

So, he needed a small economical car to commute to and from D.C. on the weekends. On the lot, we had a really nice 1972 Datsun 510 two-door with a manual transmission. Dad bought it. When it was the weekend, I often borrowed it to drive along a two-lane road that meandered along the James River. That car was a blast to drive and I STILL want one.

Someone in the Diecast Collector's Facebook group had posted photos of an M2 brand 1:24th scale diecast car KIT of a 1970 Datsun 510. Since I had sold all of my plastic models I figured I would get around to once I retired, one of which was a Datsun 510, I jumped at the opportunity and bought one via eBay.

When it arrived, I was pleased with the quality and detail, but disappointed with the fact that the windows were blacked out and that it had no interior. Only the hood opened. But, I built it nonetheless.

It should be easy for anyone to construct. A bit tricky to wrangle the tires onto the wheels do the the latter's shape. And pressing the axle into the wheels required a bit of pressure too. Engine is pre-assembled and one screw holds it in place. The instructions show installing an interior, but as stated, in this form, there is none. Getting the chassis into the body takes a little patience, but four screws tighten them together.

I went back on eBay and found a factory built 510 which was the same color of the one Dad had. It was modernized with a much later model turbocharged engine, full roll cage, lowered suspension, aluminum wheels and more. It was HALF the cost of the kit. The hood, doors and trunk also opened.

The kit model is not stock as you can see by comparing the photo of a real 510 above. For example, these are aftermarket aluminum wheels. There is a chin spoiler too. And the engine has a tube exhaust header instead of the stock cast iron manifold.

Interestingly, they attempted to make the stock engine appear to have two side-draft carburetors. If you look closely inside the engine compartment of the left car, there is NO intake manifold at all on the engine. An air cleaner and two cylinders designed to mimic downdraft carburetors is attached to the driver's side fenderwell.

This is a real US-market Datsun 510 engine bay. A single downdraft carburetor with standard air cleaner atop it. 
Perhaps elsewhere in the world which had less stringent emission laws, the cars came with twin carbs. 

Above is a 510 which has been modified similar to the model on the right. QUITE a different scene from stock.
That is a HUGE turbocharger! I am enjoying my forth turbo powered car and they have much smaller turbos.  

That engine was built for racing but large turbochargers mean "turbo lag". When I hit the accelerator pedal in my car, there is no hesitation, it leaps forward, the front tires.

Just look at the oversized hood hinges these cars have! It's like they looked at their 1:64th scale model's opening hoods and enlarged them with no further thought.

This is a photo of my 1:18th scale 1967 Chevrolet Impala SS. Note that it has correctly scaled hinges with springs that look and work exactly like the real things. Granted, this model is larger and cost WAY more than M2 1:24th scale models do.

Speaking of oversize, the hinges for the trunk lid are just as burly. Why even make a trunk open if it only has an opening large enough for the hinges?

Same Impala model with properly proportioned trunk opening and a spare tire.

Lest you think I am being picky, this is the trunk of an Audi 100 Coupe model. It too is 1:18th scale, but the opening is useful. 

You can see the roll cage through the back window.

The doors do not open very far. But their scale is correct. These cars are very light and made of fairly thin steel.

Racing type seats in the car as would be expected in a highly modified car.

The tubes of the roll cage are flat on the inside, rather than round as in real life.

An odd way to paint the steering wheel. As if the spokes are wooden rather than metal. 

An after-market Grant GT steering wheel I put in my 1987 Porsche. See? Wooden RIM, metal spokes.

Since I have not seen a "stock" Datsun 510 M2 1:24th scale model, I do not know if that radio is supposed to be a "head unit". But it probably is. Again, as expected.

Their chassis are identical. With same transmission used. It does not connect with the driveshafts. I tried to get the model's transmission to do so. But once the screw was tightened, it popped out. Same tires too. The kit had two sets of tires and wheels. One set of tires has whitewalls.

Clearly, the one on the right has been lowered.

It is also entirely likely that the person who modifies an old Japanese car would opt for side mirrors mounted way forward on the fenders as they were in Japan.

Looks like I need to further tighten the left rear screw on the kit as it is listing to the right.

At the time my Dad bought the 510, I had a 1967 Impala SS convertible almost identical to this one. Only my car's interior was black. The 1967 Chevy bodies are longer than the 1964 cars were.

Since I don't have a 1:24th scale 1967 Impala, here is a 1:24th scale 1964 Impala, representative of my first car. 

These photos are to give you an idea of the huge difference in size of the sub-compact Datsun compared to full-size Chevrolet. 

Aside from the nits I have been picking, the detail and shape, size and all for these M2 models (my first purchases of the brand) are excellent. 

If I could have a REAL one of these two, which would I chose? The Datsun. 

Were I to get into and drive most of the cars I once owned, I would be sorely disappointed. Mushy suspension, drum brakes, and more. But that's what all American cars had in the "olden days".

The 510 model was created to compete (on the track) with BMW's 1600 series sedans. Later which were called 2002 when their engines were enlarge from 1600cc to 2000.

As a result, they had four wheel independent suspension, an overhead cam engine and much more to make them competitive on the track and in the showroom. 

I have loved sports cars and the racing of them since at least the mid-1960's. 

I actually prefer to watch vintage racing that modern stuff. There are many series around the world which feature cars from the past. Below are some photos of Datsun 510 cars made into racers.

The car above's paint scheme (livery in racing terms) mimics the BRE Datsun racers of yore.

 The wheels above are similar to the model's.

The chin spoilers on all these are mimicked on the M2 Datsun 510 models.

I wonder if "BS" stands for bone stock? I kind of doubt it.

Lest you did not know it, the engine in Datsun's 240Z through 280Z sports cars were created by adding two cylinders to the 510's four cylinder engine. If you know cars, you know the 240Z and it's descendants are legendary on the street and the track.

Thank you SO much for taking the time to read my humble blog. Please take a moment and click FOLLOW which can be found at the bottom of the article's dates.

Also feel free to leave a comment below or on Facebook.

Scott
July 16, 2020
#396