I'm finally getting around to introducing myself.

Here you can introduce yourself to the group.

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aclever1
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I'm finally getting around to introducing myself.

Post by aclever1 »

I figured I'd post up my cars story and some pictures since I've been on here for a while now. My name is Aaron Cleverley and I bought my roadster a little over a year ago (that sounded like AA or RA, roadsters anonymous). I've always liked Datsun 510 and 240z's and remeber as a young kids seeing a roadster and couldn't believe it was a datsun. My family has alway been into cars and have had a number of hot rods growing up and would spend friday nights at the Big Daddy's drive-in in Auburn Washington to look at all the hot rods. After I got a little older I was drawn towards Japanese cars, I loved that there was a whole other world of cool cars that I had never seen before.

So one day looking through the local car adds I saw the roadster for sale, it's not common to see them for sale here in Utah. It was priced way to high so I moved on but would check on it every once and while to see if it had sold yet. After a while I noticed the price was dropping about $500 a week so it got down to a reasonable price. I called the guy to come check it out. Over all it was in good shape, it had a new paint job and was about 90% done but there was quite a few minor issues that I knew would add up so I gave him an offer and he said no. Well a week later he called and said if i was still interested I could come pick it up. He was moving to Chicago and needed it gone immediately, he wasn't going to have it shipped there. So I said yes, and have been loving it ever since.

Here are a few pictures of it from the add and the day that i picked it up.

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The first order of business was to get rid of the 6 ft antenna and put on some fender mirrors. I then installed Comp racing springs and short bumpstops to get rid of the 5 inch fender gap and started the search for some wheels that didn't look like they belonged on a military vehicle.

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Now I was in search for some vintage JDM wheels. I soon realized that finding wheels for the roadster was a daunting task, being limited by the rear fenders, the wheels had to be just the perfect width and offset in the back but still needed to clear the sway bar. To get the look I wanted I decided on staggered wheels and finding a set of staggered vintage wheels was near impossible. After months of searching I realized it wasn't going to happen, and that I would have to run spacers so I decided to buy a set of 3 piece Black Racing wheels and have them shipped over from Indonesia. They were a bit rough when they showed up so I spend the next couple of weeks restoring them. I sand blasted them and powder coated them red baron red, sanded the lips forever and polished them and bought new hardware. With the right spacers I managed to get them to fit in the rear with just a few mm to spare and spacer up front to clear the say bar.

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I found out the side marker lights weren't working so I rewired them and swapped them out with clear lights from a 510. I also added some amber fogs and clear turn signals from a older roadster. Now I'm starting under the hood, I powder coated the valve cover and filter cover light blue, like the original Nissan oil filters. Put in a new distributor, polished thermostat housing and have been replacing gaskets. I think over the winter when I have to quit driving it, I'll pull the engine and wire tuck it and paint the engine bay and who knows maybe a engine swap.

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Last edited by aclever1 on Tue May 22, 2012 10:45 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Garm
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Re: I'm finally getting around to introducing myself.

Post by Garm »

Looks great, very bold with those wheels.
1969 Roadster 1600-ish #26244 "Spike"
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aclever1
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Re: I'm finally getting around to introducing myself.

Post by aclever1 »

Yeah, I've had 4 sets of black and 2 sets of bronze wheels on my subaru so I wanted to do something different and bright. I always loved the old rat rods with the red and white wheels so I thought this could be my interpritation of that but in chrome and red. Also my brother has a powedercoating business so if I didn't like them I could change them anytime but they really grew on me so I've kept them.
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notoptoy
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Re: I'm finally getting around to introducing myself.

Post by notoptoy »

I like it and a good story overall.
I like the wheels and can't believe the transformation from what they were when you got them.
I also really like the clear side marker and TS lenses, they look just right!
"When all else fails, force prevails!" Ummm, we're gonna need a bigger hammer here.

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RobertAuclair
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Re: I'm finally getting around to introducing myself.

Post by RobertAuclair »

Love it. Great pictures and story.
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LI Roadster
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Re: I'm finally getting around to introducing myself.

Post by LI Roadster »

when you relocated the side mirrors from the doors to the fenders what did you do to cover the holes?
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Linda
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Re: I'm finally getting around to introducing myself.

Post by Linda »

So it looks like you are an artist and like bright colors. The car paint looks good.

Linda
Sadly-Linda has passed away 2022. She was the 311's den mother and drove the first Rare-Parts ball joint project. RIP.
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aclever1
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Re: I'm finally getting around to introducing myself.

Post by aclever1 »

LI Roadster wrote:when you relocated the side mirrors from the doors to the fenders what did you do to cover the holes?
I haven't patched the hole yet, well except with a ratsun sticker. I talked to a paint guy and he said it would be hard to match the pearl paint so he reccomended repainting the whole car again. I decided against that for now but will look into finding someone better that can patch it and just repaint the door. It's a nice paint job and the car looks good but it's no where near a show car so it hasn't bothered me too much yet so i've just been fixing other things.
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dld
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Re: I'm finally getting around to introducing myself.

Post by dld »

Welcome! Nice looking car.
David Layne

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Skyman
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Re: I'm finally getting around to introducing myself.

Post by Skyman »

Aaron, lets get together and run these in the twisties! Have done a few drives with a buddy in a 66 with a U20 and 5 speed. I now know of 5 running roadsters around town.
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DatsunBucky
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Re: I'm finally getting around to introducing myself.

Post by DatsunBucky »

Plus at least 1 non-running (yet).
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aclever1
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Re: I'm finally getting around to introducing myself.

Post by aclever1 »

Hey Kyle, I meet a guy named Keith a couple of weeks ago with red 69 roadster so ther are more of us. I'm down to go for a drive but I won't be able to keep up with you, my 1600 is bit slow in the canyons, actually is slow everywhere but still a blast to drive.

JDM Legends is having a grand re-opening for their new location this weekend, and are trying to get a bunch of the vintage japanese cars to show up. I'm going to be in Seattle for a wedding but you should go and maybe talk Jason into bringing one of his cars.

I'll talk to you when I get back so we can get together for a drive.

Image
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Skyman
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Re: I'm finally getting around to introducing myself.

Post by Skyman »

I'm going to try and show up. Jason is in Austria for a few weeks. I hear there's a new dyno shop next door? Lets certainly get together. I could care less about how fast a car is, just how much fun you have driving it. My engine builder is out of business, so I need to find someone with some expertise. Maybe the JDM guys can help. Have fun at the wedding.
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Alvin
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Re: I'm finally getting around to introducing myself.

Post by Alvin »

+1 for more roadster video footage at Miller!!!
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Skyman
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Re: I'm finally getting around to introducing myself.

Post by Skyman »

Alvin wrote:+1 for more roadster video footage at Miller!!!
I'm planning on June 11th to head to Miller. I'll have the GoPro going! What camera angle do you want to see? I can mount it almost anywhere.
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67.5 SPL311-14241
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2003 Ford Powerstroke; Piped & Chipped
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