Courage may have just found the kind of project car you don’t go looking for — the kind that finds you.
In this episode of Cool Cars with Chris, Chris sits down with Courage from The Real Driven Dad to talk car culture, local meets, classic Volkswagens, and the possibility of taking on a 1969 Datsun 510 that has been sitting for years.
The conversation starts with a question every car person understands: how much of your weekend gets planned around cars? Chris and Courage get into Cars & Coffee culture, why enthusiasts will happily take the long way just for a better drive, and the appeal of getting out to local events even when life and family make scheduling tricky.
Then Courage shares what he saw at a local Volkswagen meet — including classic Beetles, dune buggies, and one seriously wild off-road Beetle build with a twin-turbo LS engine hanging out back.
But the real story begins when Courage reveals a possible new project.
A friend has a 1969 Datsun 510 that has been sitting for roughly a decade. It’s already been modified with an SR20 drivetrain, but this isn’t a car that’s ready to fire up and drive home. Courage talks through what taking it on would really mean: garage space, tires, mechanical work, engine work, interior pieces, sourcing parts, and potentially spending a year and a half to two years just getting it to the point where he feels comfortable driving it.
That raises the bigger question:
When a project car falls into your lap, how do you know whether to walk away — or say yes?
Chris and Courage also talk about keeping the character of an old Datsun, whether an LS swap would be too much, what a lightweight 510 with an SR20 could be like, and whether the entire build could become its own YouTube series.
And yes, the project may already have a name:
Project Nickel and Dime.
In this episode:
- How car people plan weekends around meets and events
- Why sometimes the longer route is the better route
- Cars & Coffee culture and local car communities
- Classic VW Beetles, dune buggies, and a wild off-road build
- A twin-turbo LS-powered Volkswagen Beetle
- Courage’s potential 1969 Datsun 510 project
- The SR20 drivetrain already in the car
- What happens when a project has been sitting for years
- Garage space, rollers, towing, and project-car logistics
- Keeping the personality of a classic Japanese car
- SR20 vs. V8/LS swap ideas
- How long a real garage build can actually take
- Building a car instead of simply paying someone else to finish it
- Turning the project into content for YouTube
- The people and relationships that come from car culture
- The origin of Project Nickel and Dime
Would you take on a project like this, or is this exactly the kind of car that can spiral into years of work?
Follow for More
Love cars, horsepower, road trips and real automotive conversations? Follow Cool Cars with Chris and Courage for new podcast episodes, YouTube videos, car reviews, event coverage and behind-the-scenes content.
🌐 Cool Cars with Chris Website:
https://coolcarswithchris.com
▶️ Cool Cars with Chris on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@CoolCarswithChris619
📸 Cool Cars with Chris on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/cool_cars_with_chris619/
▶️ Courage — The DriveN Dad on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@TheRealDrivenDad
📸 Courage — The DriveN Dad on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/therealdrivendad/
00:00 Cool Cars with Chris Intro
03:45 Why Car People Love Cars & Coffee
07:18 Classic Volkswagen Meet
10:20 Wild Off-Road VW Beetle
11:21 Twin-Turbo LS Beetle
18:23 Courage Teases a New Project Car
20:38 1969 Datsun 510 Reveal
22:11 SR20-Swapped Datsun 510
23:17 What This Project Will Really Take
26:28 Should the Datsun Get an LS Swap?
27:40 250 HP in a Lightweight Datsun 510
33:15 Why Courage Wants to Build It Himself
35:00 Is the Datsun 510 a Good Deal?
39:03 How Long Until It Runs?
40:17 Turning the Build Into YouTube Content
42:40 Project Nickel and Dime
43:40 The Real Driven Dad + Outro
#Datsun510 #1969Datsun510 #DatsunBuild