1964 Datsun Sports 1500

[Toptech360]

Hi all, new to the forum and to Datsuns. Was referred here by goldfish101 so I'm hoping to meet some new people to help me keep this cool old roadster road worthy. Looking forward to working on and learning about this classic! I am a Toyota technician so working on it will be doable, what I'm discovering is the abundance of parts that does not exist! Any advice on even basics like oil and air filters will be appreciated.

 

This project will be more of a semi resto since it's in pretty good shape. But any input or advice would be awesome

 

 

[Eagle_Adam]

new guy with an intro and pics!!!!!!!

 

 

 

welcome aboard :D 

[Goldfish101]

Good job man, but your gonna have do take more pics!!!

[]2eDeYe]

Welcome aboard. Nice find, need more pics 

 

Let's see under the hood. :D

[Toptech360]

More pics coming soon I promise!

[wayno]

I am interested in seeing if it has the rear seat, and a single SU.  :)

[Toptech360]

It has the rear seat, but dual carbs.

[Goldfish101]

Pics or it's not true!

[Goldfish101]

so...... Do I need to go over to your house and take the pictures for you?? Did your batteries die on your camera?  Whats going on?

[Toptech360]

I work dammit! LOL. It's dark and or raining by the time I get home. This weekend. I promise! Lots of pics.

 

It's driven me nuts too. I haven't even got to open the hood on her yet since she has been up here. :-(

[Toptech360]

I already know I get a failing grade for lack of updates and pics, but better late then never right?

If anyone is interested I could take more / specific pics of the car if it could help someone out there with a roadster. I had to first build a home for this datsun before I could work on it which is why it took so long to here... Excuses right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Think it could attain survivor status? I don't want to restore it, rather preserve it. It's in excellent condition and don't want to erase any of the patina lol. But I figure a super thorough cleaning and buffing shouldn't ruin that, would it?

[H5WAGON]

SO EPIC!

[Eagle_Adam]

i like ur plans!! a deep cleaning should do

[Toptech360]

There is some bad and ugly to go with the good.... Broken thermostat housing bolts

 

 

Cooling passage for Water pump (any suggestions for flushing?)

 

 

And this is one of the phenolic spacers for where the carbs fit to the intake. The other one is just as bad! It's not even the right shape anymore. See the gap at the top? Lol

 

 

Does anyone in Washington state know of a reputable Radiator place? The radiator needs some lovin too but I'd like to repair this one by getting a new one.

[wayno]

That doesn't look like the proper carb, but it's been a long time since I looked at an early roadster.

[MikeRL411]

That doesn't look like the proper carb, but it's been a long time since I looked at an early roadster.

 

The very first 1500 Roadsters came with a single SU intake manifold and a "banjo" single Hitachi "SU" intake and air filter housing.  It didn't take too long before competitors found that a MG dual SU intake and filter housing made a big difference in performance.  A friend of mine competed his 1500 roadster with the MG upgrade in Japan.  Not being idiots [e.g. long  before Renault started interfering with good sense engineering] Datsun brought out their own dual Hitachi "SU" manifold and linkage.  Many very early 310 roadsters will have either MG or retrofitted Datsun dual SU intake assemblies and air filters.  Not a "bad boy" mod to the original, but a very early 310 with original single Hitachi SU and banjo filter, is a rarity today.  Leave this roadster as is, it's a beauty!  It represents an authentic period configured roadster.

[Toptech360]

This one, AFAIK, has the same dual su carbs it came with from the factory. This used to be my father in laws car, he bought it new from "clean car center" in Orange California. I plan on testing his memory banks about the car when we go visit. He has told story's of towing a ski boat with the datsun and people looking in disbelief as they passed him. Lol!

[bananahamuck]

Does anyone in Washington state know of a reputable Radiator place? The radiator needs some lovin too but I'd like to repair this one by getting a new one.

It would help boat loads if you gave your location,, as Washington is a pretty large area,,, but i believe A-1 in Aberdeen still fixes radiators..

 

My brother took his radiator over to ABC radiator in Burien and they soldered it up for $40. so maybe them to.

[Toptech360]

Oh yeah. I suppose people live on the other side of the mountains too huh? Lol I'm actually close to Aberdeen. I live in Olympia and work in Puyallup... Thanks for the suggestion. I reread my post and noticed auto correct helped again. I do want to fix this one, not replace it!

[bananahamuck]

My sentence structure is like a drunk weasel on the freeway during rush hour so i understood what you ment. :lol: .Both of those places have fixed radiators in the past but as always grill them on how they fix radiators just to make sure the guy who "used to do it" hasn't moved on.

.. I dodged a bullet with the Radiator Inlet place downtown Oly as i had my 55 ford radiator in there and he said it couldn't be fixed without re-core, so i picked it up and a few weeks later Jon posts that the place is closed and gone.

 

I took it home and soldered it myself .

[wayno]

Is this some kind of adapter holding the carb on the intake manifold?

Do you see the giant hole below your quoted post in the photo?

 

The very first 1500 Roadsters came with a single SU intake manifold and a "banjo" single Hitachi "SU" intake and air filter housing.  It didn't take too long before competitors found that a MG dual SU intake and filter housing made a big difference in performance.  A friend of mine competed his 1500 roadster with the MG upgrade in Japan.  Not being idiots [e.g. long  before Renault started interfering with good sense engineering] Datsun brought out their own dual Hitachi "SU" manifold and linkage.  Many very early 310 roadsters will have either MG or retrofitted Datsun dual SU intake assemblies and air filters.  Not a "bad boy" mod to the original, but a very early 310 with original single Hitachi SU and banjo filter, is a rarity today.  Leave this roadster as is, it's a beauty!  It represents an authentic period configured roadster.

Maybe that hole is a mount bolt hole???

[Toptech360]

Wayno do you think this could have been one of the factory single barrels that was swapped to dual? The was purchased new in January of 1964 so definitely built in 63 I assume.

 

Here are 2 other engine bay pics.

 

 

[wayno]

As you can see in the photo below, I have a set of carbs that look to be of the same era, but are made differently, yours doesn't have mount ears for the carb that mine has, but mine are mounted on a competition 4 bolt A series manifold, mine are bolted on top left/bottom right, while yours seem to be bolted on top right/bottom left, other than that they look to be basically the same.

 

My bowl covers are clocked differently, but the same.

 

 

 

 

I could not tell you how yours was equipped, as I have only owed a 67 Datsun roadster with an R16, if it runs properly, just leave it alone till you know more about what you have.

These nuts I have outlined in your photo below don't seem to be connected to the carbs, they seem to be connected to a plate, maybe it's some kind of adapter plate.

I have no idea why this photo came out so small.  :sneaky:

[Toptech360]

Got the thermostat housing off. No thermostat in there....but there is lots of nasty corosion. Switched gears pulled the distributor to check its condition. Overall good but the breaker plate is gummed up and needs replacing. Next is to drain all the rust water from the block and find a way to flush out the junk. Do all Datsuns use a mish mash of sae and metric fasteners or am I just one of them lucky phucs?!

[wayno]

Early stuff seems to be both, engines are metric, while the body stuff is SAE, then somewhere around the early seventies it went all metric, depending on the vehicle.