New member from MA

[Mainer311]

Hey guys, I just wanted to introduce myself and give a little background.

I'm a 27 year old mechanical engineer in MA who bought a 68 SPL311 number 21773 yesterday from a gentleman up in NH. It seems the car has seen many owners, and the car can be traced back to PA and before that, NJ. The car itself is in fair shape, but certainly needs a lot of restoration work, beginning with the engine/engine bay. The PO had the head rebuilt with new valve seats and guides, but it seems there is a lot of exhaust (read: excessive) coming from the "PCV" on the valve cover. He said there was very low compression on cylinders 1 and 2, so we're all assuming the rings are toast and there is tons of blow-by. I trailered the car to my parent's house in Maine where it is residing in their barn, awaiting the restoration process. The car has a hardtop, which I think is terribly ugly, and a soft top frame which I hope to make use of. The electrical system is in really rough shape, the heater core control cables aren't attached to anything, and there is some body work that needs to be done is virtually every corner of the car. It's currently red, but I've found bits and pieces that are blue and turquoise.

As for myself, I've always been a Nissan owner. I've had a 1993 Nissan Pickup 2wd, 1996 Maxima SE 5 speed, and now a 2008 Frontier 6 speed. I've always dreamed about owning and restoring a 240 or 280Z, until I had discovered a Datsun roadster for sale on a back road in Freeport, ME when I was in high school. I didn't have the 5k at the time for the car, but have always had them in the back of my mind. From what I can gather, I'm sort of one of the younger owners of a 311, as most guys my age are too busy chasing WRX's, BMW's, Hondas, and other vehicles with no character.

Anyways, I gotta get back to scouring this website and soaking up all the information I can before I start the resto on my new 311. Hope to learn a bit from everyone on here.

Edit: can a moderator please move this post to the "introductions" forum? My first post and I've already messed it up.

Cheers,

[Skyman]

Welcome, you will find plenty of help and support here. Ask plenty of questions. We are a great family here.

Kyle

[notoptoy]

Moved and welcome!
Pictures are always welcomed! (OK, required!)
And please post your location in your profile.
We look forward to your posts.

[dld]

Welcome! This is THE place for us Roadster owners.

David

[dbrick]

Welcome. Please tell me it's not red with a white interior and a big "puke can" on the crankcase vent and a funny looking roof, low top vinyl on a high frame. If so, it's the Roadster from Hell I owned and dumped a few years ago. If you're going to need to rebuild it, you might want to hunt around for an H20 forklift motor.

[Mainer311]

I'm not sure. You don't remember the car's serial? Looking at the picture, I'm almost positive that's the car. Can you give me some background on it? Is the engine not rebuildable?

It certainly has a white interior, but the top was lost while it was transported from PA to NH. The PO purchased a hardtop for it at a later date, which it has now. No canister or anything on the breather, it's just the tube coming out of the cover.

[only in a datsun]

Welcome to the site. This is the best site with the best people I have come across. It sure has been extremely helpful for me.

[Gregs672000]

Gee Dave, great way to get him motivated! Roadster from hell? Aww, she just needs a little attention! I think you had too many girlfriends (other Roadsters) for her to fall in love with you. Nothing is beyond repair...

Welcome Mainer311, as stated this is the place and this is the family. No stupid questions here, so ask away, we'll steer you right...

[Mainer311]

Forums love pictures, so here she is:

Ready to be loaded:


About to hit the road:


This is the barn that it's in right now at my parent's house in Maine:

[notoptoy]

Great pictures, good luck on your progress and getting it on the road soon!

[Roman]

Hey, what's not to like? looks presentable, and any issues can be fixed.

[spl310]

Ignore Dave. It can be made to be a hoot.

[Alvin]

one man's Hell is another man's Heaven
Welcome to the forum!

[Mainer311]

Okay guys, my first question: On my dash, to the left of the steering wheel, I have my headlight switch on top, and there is a switch missing below it...what is supposed to go there?

[notoptoy]

Check out the owners manual in the tech wiki: http://www.311s.org/PDFs/OM1968DatsunSportsSML.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, that may help.
I have a low windshield, so not much help here!