Ct06033 Posted July 19, 2015 Report Share Posted July 19, 2015 Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and Datsuns in general. I just came about one so Im hoping to find a active group of enthusiasts to share my experiences and make some new friends! About a year ago, i first learned about these cars but though they were unobtainable due to my never having seen one on the road in my few but enthusiastic years as a car lover. Anyway, doing some dreaming on Craigslist, a Datsun popped up. After some digging, there were several for sale in Denver! The hard part was finding one that i could daily while doing restoration as budget/time permitted. Well, i eventually found what i was looking for and here it is! My old Daily (gf is taking it over) and the new baby. Yes, the plates came with the car, PO worked hard to get them too! The paint was cheap but it looks good from a few feet away and the chrome is all decent (but bumpers need to be straightened) The drive train has a few leaks but all together, everything looks good. Even I was surprised as to how good a shape it was in! took it home for $6100. Engine is original and has 91k (at least thats what the odo reads) and already has an electric fuel pump conversion. I am hoping to keep things as original as possible while making a few changes as necessary for reliability. And eventually repainting it, i know its popular but i cant stand the red. Thinking about doing black or metallic silver but that is much further down the line. My first order of business is to get her running again. She starts with a jump but even after driving around town, she needs a jump again when you go to start. the amp meter still moves and the PO said the battery is only 2yo. Ill start by swapping it for an AGM and go from there. My short list so far is (in no particular order): Brake upgrade Soft Top (came with hard top, but no soft top or frame. I figured the hard top is harder to come by for winter driving) Suspension (probably will be first as it rides like a mechanical bull) Transmission Rebuild Change out all engine gaskets/rebuild if budget allows Restore interior Hope this is a satisfactory intro. If anyone is in Denver, ill be at Cars and Coffee on Aug 1! -Sean 3 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted July 19, 2015 Report Share Posted July 19, 2015 Welcome to Ratsun Sean, we could sure use some more Roadster tech spread around here. Quote Link to comment
Doctor510 Posted July 19, 2015 Report Share Posted July 19, 2015 Welcome, I am currently doing an R16 motor resto for a lady. If you need carb ir distributor work, let me know. I am in Arizona. Quote Link to comment
67_1600 Posted July 19, 2015 Report Share Posted July 19, 2015 Nice looking Roadster, Sean! I had a '67 for a while and they are a blast to drive. I might suggest also checking out the 311s site - it is dedicated specifically to the Roadster and has an amazing amount of information. http://www.311s.org/phpBB3/ 1 Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted July 19, 2015 Report Share Posted July 19, 2015 man those stock wheels painted white look awesome Quote Link to comment
MikeRL411 Posted July 19, 2015 Report Share Posted July 19, 2015 When you get around to changing the gaskets, a word of caution. 1968 was a transition year for the roadster. Early 1968 SP311 had the all SAE fastener engine. Later "1968 1/2" SP311 had the all metric fastener engine. 2 Quote Link to comment
Ct06033 Posted July 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2015 When you get around to changing the gaskets, a word of caution. 1968 was a transition year for the roadster. Early 1968 SP311 had the all SAE fastener engine. Later "1968 1/2" SP311 had the all metric fastener engine. Oh man, I'm only aware of the 67.5 change.. how can I tell? See if my metric set fits? 1 Quote Link to comment
Ct06033 Posted July 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2015 man those stock wheels painted white look awesome Thanks, I'm actually looking to get a set of daisy's for summer driving. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment
Ct06033 Posted July 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2015 Nice looking Roadster, Sean! I had a '67 for a while and they are a blast to drive. I might suggest also checking out the 311s site - it is dedicated specifically to the Roadster and has an amazing amount of information. http://www.311s.org/phpBB3/ I've actually been reading the site in anticipation of the alternator change. I'm interested in doing a GM swap but I don't have fabrication tools so hoping to find a bolt on solution. Quote Link to comment
Ct06033 Posted July 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2015 Welcome to Ratsun Sean, we could sure use some more Roadster tech spread around here. Thanks, I'm not sure how much I'll contribute in the beginning, I'm about to make a slew of new topics to cover some questions but any work I do I'll document as much as I can. Quote Link to comment
exit64 Posted July 27, 2015 Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 Just stick with the stock alternator. I makes plenty of juice for a roadster and weighs less than the GM unit. 1 Quote Link to comment
Ct06033 Posted August 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2015 Just stick with the stock alternator. I makes plenty of juice for a roadster and weighs less than the GM unit. So, i was able to fit an optima battery... 800 CCA!! Anyway, turns out the PO used a Walmart battery so unsurprisingly, it had a dead cell. Once i replaced that, everything ran fine and no problems since so im just going to leave the alternator alone. Otherwise, I replaced the sparkplugs with Autolite Platinum which helped the misfiring a bit. ordered some NGK wires and will probably replace the distributor cap and pin. I found a local guy Rallye Sport / Winter Racing who specializes in Datsuns. Seems to be the only decent guy in town. Mostly old Z cars and 510s but he was pretty excited to see my 1600. Seems there arent many around town (i have gotten that comment several times while stopped at lights). 1 Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted September 2, 2015 Report Share Posted September 2, 2015 My short list so far is (in no particular order): Soft Top (came with hard top, but no soft top or frame. I figured the hard top is harder to come by for winter driving) FYI, I recently bought a '68 2000 and have zero plan to ever run a top on it. If you don't mind driving down here some weekend I'd let you have my roof cheap? Just a thought... Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted September 5, 2015 Report Share Posted September 5, 2015 Or not... ^_^ 1 Quote Link to comment
Andy_in_SD Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 For $6100 you got an outstanding deal! Congratulation on an excellent find. Quote Link to comment
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