So, Why did you buy a Roadster?

[Garm]

^ Awesome pictures.

I get to post in this thread again soon... as the purchase of #2 is shaping up.

[S Allen]

This is a thread with a lot of good reading. Boy, I got a really late start on roadsters. I did not even see my first one until 1996 when I went to take a look at one for sale. I had never seen one before that nor did I know that Datsun even made a sports car other than the Z cars. I have owned a few Z's and still have my 72 240. My very first car was a 1963 Triumph. Great little car but traded it for a 64 Chevy after a few years. Back when I was in the service I was always dreaming of saving up and buying an MG Midget. Never quite made it and ended up buying a 69 Cuda with a 440 Magnum in it. Scary fast car. Fast forward to now and I have bought 5 roadsters total. The first one was the one I went to look at in 1996 which was for sale-a severely abused 1968 1600. I ended up parting it out. I then bought a 1967.5 1600 fixer upper from Mike Young. Completely restored her with a stroked 1600 and she is a daily driver now. Picked up another parts car from San Jose- a 1966-parted it out as it was too far gone. Next, I bought a 66 from Gerardo and turned that one into a race car which I wish I still had. Next one was a 65 out of the desert in southern cali. Ended up parting that one out as well but drove it as my Columbo car for a few years. Lastly I picked up a 67.5 2 liter which I am slowly rebuilding. It was a project that was torn apart close to 30 years ago. Pretty sure it will be my last roadster purchase. These are for sure fun cars to drive and pretty easy to work on. Plus the fact that it is hard to stop at just one. Enjoy the ride.

Steve

[RC240z]

I am a little late to chime in here....Well, I have had a Nissan/Datsun of one form or another since I was 21 (now 46) I built a really nice racing 240Z to take to the track and learned the first and most important rule of racing. Dont build anything that you can wreck and burn to the ground....After some soul searching I noticed a Datsun Roadster for sale on a local website. It was a race car with history that was really well put together and the right price. I have been racing it since then, and of all my Datsun's it is my favorite. I expected it to be a good car to learn racing, it has turned into a great car that makes me smile every time I drive it. There is something about a convertable race car.

[DnCrs13]

I was looking for my first collector car project. I wanted something simple and was looking at spitfires and MGs. I happened past a place down town and there in front was a Sora blue 70 1600. I never knew Datsun made a convertible. I got the owners number and talked to him for about an hour, and the car was not for sale. I did a bunch of research and found that these little cars were as simple as the Brits to work on but reliable like any good Japanese car (I have always owned Hondas). I found this site and read the buyers guide a hundred times. Then started hunting. About a year later I had my 68. Best decision I ever made! (yes honey, your right, second best decision I ever made)

[blueridgespeed]

My first car was a gen 1 1200cc Honda Civic. It did an honest 100+ mph (speedo to 100) which is fast enough in a civic. I bought it from a friend's dad, used at a great price. Drove it and drove it. I guess I learned that at 6'2", there isn't NECESSARILY anything wrong with a small car, and there's a lot RIGHT.

I remember being pretty impressed with my mom's 1984 Honda CRX 1500, which she bough new... and never knew I "borrowed" so many times....

Fast forward to "parenthood" and driving "practical" cars when I saw DATSUN 510 for sale for $1200. It had a 2.2 block, 44mm mikunis, and a spare zx 5-spd included. It was pretty fast-feeling, especially with about 1 inch of rear suspension travel before it hit the bumpstops.

With that car I experienced carb tuning, welding, autocross, body and paintwork, and after enjoying/surviving the car for years, I sold it. 9k was a good deal for that car, I still maintain to this day!, but it gave me some money in hand to buy the "untouchable" 240z.

I did the same with that car. Purchased. Drove. Replaced parts with new OEM nissan parts (and a few select mods) and enjoyed the improvement at every step.... And sold it to get my money back out...

FINALLY, I have enough $$ for the elusive MONEY EATER (a roadster). Can you quantify how great a convertible is? Well, for one, chick's dig it. That included wives who do NOT dig loud carbueurated "stinky" Datsuns, no matter how fast or good-handling they may be.

A brief stint with a too-easy Miata confirmed the fact (convertibles are cool) but I do need a little TORQUE and I am NOT happy with a car if I don't work on it for a few years to make it decent.

So I got a 69 2000, and everyone that sees it says "ohh, nice car". It's been a long build, and as a one-owner car I wanted to respect the example so for the first time in my car-owning-life I paid $$ to people like Rebello for engine work... and I'm now glad I did. Damn if a warmed up U20 doesn't scoot. I don't care if a modern swap would have been cheaper.. it can't match the sound and feel - and righeousness of rebuilding the original engine in a 1969 car.

'nuff said. Lil' Datsuns are enough for me. Driven vigorously, they get the job done.

[Fubar]

I bought a roadster because I got kicked out the S&M club for crying too much so thought I could get the same pain trying to get parts for a roadster and the cost would be just as high as that club membership so that would be a wash but man I'm crying even more now....

I was raised in So. California in the 60's and 70's Datsuns were everywhere but the coolest of the cool was the Roadster. My older blond prom queen model sister went out with a guy who hada Roadster and he took me for ride in it up through carbon canyon the twisty roads and we stayed up with the cafe bikes when we stopped at a circle K people siad cool car and thumbs up. I was about 8 I said I'm getting one of these when I grow up and did.

I have had many many cars I think this damn roadster saved my life in some way at least made it a distraction and a day dream of having a bad ass car to give my grand kid. I'm getting there but not with out tears...

[gvpjared]

I've been enjoying this thread for awhile now and figured I should tell my story...

My first vehicle was a 81 Datsun Pickup, 4x4, King Cab, it was a great truck until I wrecked it one easter morning. My second car was a 79 280zx... it was really a fun car. I remember taking it to Fresno one time and firing up my radar detector and driving at 90-110 the whole way. It really enjoyed going fast. During my days with the Z I became aware of the roadster and knew I wouldn't mind having one...

Fast forward a few years and I found myself dating a girl who's parents had a nice little Miata. We spent quite a few sumer nights driving that thing around... ever since then I've wanted a small convertible.

Fast forward again to summer of 2010... my brother (roadsterjon) finds a roadster on craigslist and decides he wants to go check it out. We do some quick online searching to see if the CL deal is decent and find another roadster on ebay... Jon suggests that we both should by ourselves roadsters, I was a bit skeptical, but told him I'd think about it.

Saturday comes around and he drives down to look at the one on Craigslist and ends up buying it for $800. It's a beat up 67.5 1600. I went over to his house to check it out and realized I had to have one of my own. It was the first time I had actually seen one in person. I went home and put in a bid on ebay and the next day (sunday) Jon and I were on our way to Berkley to pickup my roadster!

Over the next few months my other brother Jesse bought a beat up 67.5 1600 as well. My dad Ken also found himself a 70 1600. So, we now have four roadsters in the family! We have had some good times cruising them around. None of our cars are very "nice", but that hasn't stopped us from having a lot of fun!

We are days away from making our first pilgrimage to Solvang and look forward to meeting everyone!

Jared

[notoptoy]

Very cool story plus you have a built in family support group - in real life and in the Datsun community!

[dbrick]

Jared, Great story. Are all 4 coming?
Fubar...TMI?

[dbrick]

^ Awesome pictures.

I get to post in this thread again soon... as the purchase of #2 is shaping up.

And so it begins...Craig Halstead started with just one...

[gvpjared]

The support has been great! And all four of us are heading for Solvang tomorrow afternoon! Jon and I are driving the whole way, and Jesse and my dad are trailering. All our cars run, so if Jon or I have a catastrophic failure, we should be able to swap cars and keep moving!

[aclever1]

So, i'm not sure why I bought my roadster, it was a moment of weakness. I was looking for a new Daily driver so I could turn my current subaru into a deadicated track car. I started looking for a cheap car that would be a good car to haul my kids around and did well in the snow. I ended up getting the opposite but haven't regretted one day of it. I have always loved roadsters but it just wasn't a practical car for me so I never really looked into buying one but when one popped up locally for a good price I couldn't resist. So now my subaru has turned back into my DD, well atleast when the weather is bad but I drive the datsun as much as I can. I even did a track day in the datsun and I can say it is equally as fun on the track as my subaru is.

[DBarr]

My grandfather bought my 1600 new in 1965 and kept it running his entire life. I’ve got some good memories with him and that car; no seatbelts, novelty horns, and driving fast after grandma said to keep it slow… All the stuff that kids love! Now it’s up to me to keep it going. Feels great that he wanted me to have it.

-David

[Roman]

I was a mustang guy. I had a buddy who was a datsun mechanic. He had a 66 that he had rebuilt the motor and transmission on. The customer couldn't afford the work and gave the car to him.

My buddy dangled the carrot by handing me the keys, I figured what the hell, I'll take it for a spin.

He said he just wanted the money for the work.

Seeing how it was a lowly 4 banger, I had to step on it, I took it on the freeway and was surprised.

I bought it!

The bottom line however for me is this. The car fits my frame perfectly. Proper legroom, shifter where it should be, steering wheel in the right spot, all switches at my fingertips etc.
In other words, it was designed perfectly for my body. I'm 5'9 and I found out later the cars were designed around a 5'8" cardboard dummy.

Been hooked ever since.

[SLOroadster]

I've been enjoying this thread for awhile now and figured I should tell my story...

My first vehicle was a 81 Datsun Pickup, 4x4, King Cab, it was a great truck until I wrecked it one easter morning. My second car was a 79 280zx... it was really a fun car. I remember taking it to Fresno one time and firing up my radar detector and driving at 90-110 the whole way. It really enjoyed going fast. During my days with the Z I became aware of the roadster and knew I wouldn't mind having one...

Fast forward a few years and I found myself dating a girl who's parents had a nice little Miata. We spent quite a few sumer nights driving that thing around... ever since then I've wanted a small convertible.

Fast forward again to summer of 2010... my brother (roadsterjon) finds a roadster on craigslist and decides he wants to go check it out. We do some quick online searching to see if the CL deal is decent and find another roadster on ebay... Jon suggests that we both should by ourselves roadsters, I was a bit skeptical, but told him I'd think about it.

Saturday comes around and he drives down to look at the one on Craigslist and ends up buying it for $800. It's a beat up 67.5 1600. I went over to his house to check it out and realized I had to have one of my own. It was the first time I had actually seen one in person. I went home and put in a bid on ebay and the next day (sunday) Jon and I were on our way to Berkley to pickup my roadster!

Over the next few months my other brother Jesse bought a beat up 67.5 1600 as well. My dad Ken also found himself a 70 1600. So, we now have four roadsters in the family! We have had some good times cruising them around. None of our cars are very "nice", but that hasn't stopped us from having a lot of fun!

We are days away from making our first pilgrimage to Solvang and look forward to meeting everyone!

Jared

Random question, do you happen to have an aunt and uncle who live in Napa? If so I think they live down the street from me.

Will