Today’s Datsun 510 has a KA24DE under its hood, and a lot of those were hecho’d en México. That and a turbo makes this one caliente longroof, but does its price still need some work?

Back a few years ago when GM was culling their brands, Buick made the cut. That was perhaps because the General feared the wrath of Buick’s fans and the actions they might take should the object of their fanaticism be unceremoniously bumped off. After all, if they could put up with the spectacularly flaky ‘80s Riviera and Reatta electronic dashboard, they’d be capable of nearly anything.

Considering that yesterday’s had a working edition of that dash, and that you all gave the car an amazing 78% Nice Price win, I’m thinking that I should keep my eye on you as well.

Buick’s Reatta was the brand’s first production two-seater since the 1946 Model 46, as well as its…

You however will need to eyeball this , which has a fresh coat of gnarly red paint on the outside, and a built KA24DE on the inside. You may remember the we had here a couple weeks back. That one - all stock motor and vampire of fun automatic transmission was priced to be the beginning of something big. This one, you might say, is already there.

Owing to dreams of Brock Racing Enterprises heroics, most of the love for Datsun’s venerable 510 is

The thing of it is though, while it’s obviously had a lot thrown into it, much like a celebrity plying the red carpet perfectly coiffed and meticulously made up - but missing their pants - there’s a lot seemingly missing here as well.

The seller offers up the usual litany of 100-proof parts that have gone into making the engine able to withstand its own output. Strangely however, he also says that it still needs a good tune. I don’t exactly know what that means in regards to an ECM-controlled, breakerless engine with fuel injection, but I suppose it involves a laptop and a guy in skinny sunglasses.

Other aspects of this car that makes it seem incomplete are all the open orifices. There’s the apparent lack of a gas cap, and holes where the sidemarker lights belong in the rear. Those could be attributable to the recent respray, but the gaping maw of the big ass turbo mounted loud and proud right behind the grille’s Datsun badge seems intended to invite errant neckties, bikini tops and squirrels with poor timing. None of those are good for an engine’s health. Also, what’s up with the oil cooler? That location might work for a carbecue, but I doubt there’d be enough airflow there for it to do much good in keeping the Pennzoil from percolating.

Otherwise the car looks badass. The wheels are chunky alloys that looks like star washers and are painted in Darth Vader. They tuck up under what’s arguably one of the best looking small wagons of any era, and one that seems to be pretty tight. Also, BRE air dam!

The interior remains a mystery wrapped in an enigma and cloaked by the 510’s red longroof body. From what can be seen in the photos, there are a pair of later Honda chairs in front and the stock bench in back. The dash appears to be eff’d, and there don’t seem to be door panels so those looking for the lap of luxury would do well to keep on dancing.

For everybody else, the questions surrounding this car are many. Questions such as how much needs to be done to make it roadworthy? Why no intercooler? But the most important one still remains the price, which is $9,000.

What do you think about this Rabid Transit 510 for nine grand? Is that a price that should make it worth completing? Or, does that make this 510 too frivolous?

You decide!

, or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to Latty Ayonn for the Hookup!

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