My introduction to the roadster began while working at a Z car specialty shop in Atlanta during the late 80's. The owner picked up a 2000 and I thought it was the coolest thing ever! I had always been a fan of the AH MkIII (a friends Dad had one when I was in HS), but the Datsun just had more appeal to me. I decided back then, that I had to have one, but not just any roadster. I had set my sights on getting a 67.5 2000 which were hard to find "cheaply" back then.
My best buddy ticked me off by getting a 1600 for himself (sucker still lived at home, while I was on my own with the new world of paying your way) before I could get one! We had a lot of fun in his Roadie, he had put a "L" series in it as the original was no good or missing, I don't remember.
Anyway, fast forward through life, college, racing motorcycles [my true passion, I still compete in Hare Scrambles] and working and managing auto repair shops. Nearly 20 years later, I was talking about old cars and stuff [bench racing] with one of my vendors/customers and the standard question of what car would you like to have that has eluded you. I told him that I really wanted an old Datsun Roadster. He said "oh yeah? Which one? I replied "at this point any one, but I really want a 67.5 2L."
He looks at me with a big grin and says, "I have one." Well, you know that a long discussion ensued but I won't go into it here.
The short of the story is ... He bought the car from the original owner [his boss] around '79-'80, since it was smoking but running well, he decided to have the engine rebuilt/balanced by a local datsun engine guru in Florida where he lived at the time. He said the car ran like a scalded dog after that. In '82 he took the car out [after being parked for close to a year] and it wasn't running right and determined that the mikuni's had gummed up or something. So, he rebuilt the carbs and while making adjustments he ran it down the road without the air cleaner on and it "popped" and the next thing he knew it smoke came billowing from under the hood and the paint began to blister. Yep, it caught on fire!. He decided after that that a total resto was in order and he stripped the car down and boxed everything up. Then, as he put it, life got in the way and the project stopped at that point.
Back to 2004, as we were talking about his "project" he asked me what I intended to do with my 86 PL720 that I was not driving. I told him that it needed a head gasket and then it goes up for sale. He said that he needed a pick up and probably would never finish the Datsun and asked if I would be willing to fix it and then trade it for the roadster? I said HECK yeah! a week later we did the deal and I became the proud owner of a 67.5 2000 #321 w/ Factory Solex pkg [Carbs/Oil Pan & "B" cam] after 20+ years of desire!
Last fall my wife asked when I was going to put it on the road because she would like to drive it ..... I got online and 15-20 minutes later I showed her and ad on CL. She said that looks like your car, I said no this is going to be YOUR car tomorrow!
We went and looked at it and she liked it so we bought it .. a 66 1600 "driver"that she has named Walter!
What a sickness ... ain't it grand?
Well, that's my story and if you are reading this sentence than it wasn't too long!
Vince
