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Dime, Quarterly: Tell us about yourself.
Julie Coop: My name is Julie Coop. I work at Wells Fargo as a web developer/designer and communication consultant. I have a 22-year old son and two older stepsons. My partner Craig and I have been together for 19 years. I plan to graduate in 2007 with a degree in Public Affairs from Washington State University. I’ve been attending college part time and working full-time to complete my degree.
DQ: How did you get into 510s?
JC: When my dad got tired of buying gas for my first car, a 1967 Chevy Impala four-door automatic with the 327, he sold it to my cousins and bought me a '71 two-door 510. That was in 1977 or 1978. It had a SSS badge and was yellow with a green vinyl top which I painted black the first week I had it.
My Mom and Dad had owned a '71 wagon previously. Dad traded our full-size van for the wagon without mom knowing. I was one of five kids at home and she was ticked because we couldn’t all fit into it. Dad loved that car. He’d go four-wheeling in it in the snow. He had a favorite story about stopping on the way up a hill in the snow for a guy stuck in the snow in his big 4x4 truck. Dad gave him a ride to the top of the hill.
Dad knew the engine in the two-door he bought me was going south, so I obliged and blew it about a year later. He had picked up another engine and installed it for me then. I cannot remember which engine, but I suspect it was an L18 with perhaps a Carter carb. Dad died about 10 years ago so I’ll never be sure.
It was a great car for me. We lived in the country and it was a long way to anywhere. I actually took it on a motorcycle trail one time and got it high-centered on a stump, right under the door, on the driver side. Dad had to come pull me out with his 4x4, and in doing so, drove over some vine maple. The brush got caught under his car and bent both tie-rod ends. I was 17 and in big trouble for a long time about that one. Dad just kept asking me “Honey, what in the world were you thinkin’? Now tell me why you’d take your car on a motorcycle trail in the woods?” As I remember it, I just wanted to see if I could!
DQ: How long have you owned it?
JC: I’ve owned my current 510, a 1972 four-door, since July of 2004.
DQ: What were your objectives?
JC: I needed a commuter car for my 40-mile round trip commute and I thought I might as well have a car that I liked to drive.
DQ: What tuning style would you describe this car as? (ex. old-school, street racer, autocrosser, etc.)
JC: Definitely "old-school." I like to drive but speed isn’t my thing. Handling is what makes the difference to me. Anybody can go fast down a straight stretch in the right car, but it takes a driver to handle the curves…and the motorcycle trails!
DQ: Who helped you build this car?
JC: It’s not really built, but I’ve had lots of help from all the people in the Datsuns Northwest Car Club. Bruce Palmer has been instrumental in tossing parts and advice my way. Kelvin Dietz sold me the 5-speed. Z-Therapy installed the dual SU’s. Dave Bothwell is always there when I have a question. Also, my son loves to come help. He bought me a starter for Christmas last year and installed it. I could have installed it, but he really likes to do things like that. That’s the one issue I have being female. Sometimes when I ask for advice I get way too much hands-on help. I really like to do the work myself if I can.
DQ: What makes your car special?
JC: Oh, probably it’s current fuzziness. It was just a fit of decorating I had one night. The back speaker deck was just masonite so I had thrown a bit of carpet in there. When I finally went to mount the speakers I decided to give it some flair with the fuzzy fabric. Then the dashboard started looking all bare, cracked, and ugly in comparison, so it’s now covered too. Then the glovebox needed a hole in it repaired so…the decorating just went on from there. I thought the car would be called “Tigger” for its color, but that’s just too cutesy for me. After installing the fuzzy fabric, it came to me. The car is Shagadelic! So I made a decal for the rear window that reads “Yeah Baby”. I’m not sure where the decorating will stop. I do know that it can’t go too much farther or the car club guys won’t let me come on cruises.
DQ: What is your favorite part?
JC: The carbs! I’d been fighting the stock Hitachi since day one. The minute Steve installed the dual SUs, it started purring and just runs awesome!
DQ: Who or what inspired the direction of modifications on this car?
JC: Necessity mostly. My son borrowed it and got the original 4-speed stuck in 4th gear, so I got the 5-speed. I did that work myself with some lifting help and advice from my son and my partner, Craig. The carb modification was done because I couldn’t get the Hitachi carb to work correctly.
DQ: What don't you like about this car?
JC: The crappy original seats and it’s a little noisy inside. These are all fixable things and are on my list
DQ: What would you like to change?
JC: If I could...I think I’d rather have a two-door again. Of course it would be really cool to have it completely stripped and rebuilt from the ground up, body and engine, but then it would be a trailer queen and I got it to drive it!
DQ: What would you do to the car if money were no object?
JC: I’d do a total restoration to completely original specs.
DQ: What is your favorite place to drive this car?
JC: Germantown Road in Portland, from 185th street to the St. Johns Bridge. It’s about 8 miles of hairpin turns. Half goes uphill and half goes downhill. It’s on my daily commute to Beaverton.
DQ: Technical Specs?
JC: Hmm, ‘77 PU 5-speed, dual SU’s, original everything else.
JC: I found the Bluebird maillist right after I bought the car. I asked about local people and Bruce Palmer invited me to the next car club meeting. The local
Datsun folks welcomed me and I’ve been in the club ever since. The club decided to hold a car show in Canby a couple of years ago and it’s become a great success. It’s in June at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds in Canby. Two days of swappin’ stories and parts and gawking at Datsuns. It’s a really fun group of people that put it on, and even after organizing and doing the shows, we’re all still good friends. I think that’s the thing I like most about my 510, all the friends I’ve made because of getting involved with Datsuns.
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