Hello from Minnesnowta

[OldYeller]

Hello all,

I grew up in SD and have owned this '69 SRL 10482 w SUs since 1990. Our relationship is actually a little longer than that as the PO was a family friend and I used to sit in it as a kid. I recall thinking that it was "just my size" and guess at some point I asked about buying it. It was parked then and would be for years to come with a blown head gasket/warped head. In the spring of 1990 the owner called and reminded me that I wanted it. At that time it had amassed 36K, had been fitted with a used motor, repainted and migrated to Arizona. He offered to drive it back to SD and had the # matching engine and a lot of spare parts that came with it. I think I paid the princely sum of $2500 for it. Who was I to refuse? I drove it some and got familiar with a few places like Rallye and more familiar with broken cams and cloth woven hoses. I bought another used engine and installed it myself by pushing the car out of the tiny garage since I could not move the crane back. I was quite careful to get the proper hoses, clamps, etc and was proud to have done it all myself. I drove it a little after but and the clutch got tired (did something wrong when I installed it?) and it langoured for another decade and ended up in storage until a few years ago when my dad asked about it and offered to get it running, so it went by trailer back to SD again. I threw in new side trim, carpets, dash cap and a clutch in the trunk. Amazingly it started right up! He had it media blasted, some old body work redone and new 2 stage paint was applied. He put a lot of time into getting it sorted and installed the parts I had hoarded for 15 years. He then put a few hundred miles on it before getting interested in a Pontiac Solstace. Hey, I know... I try to get back home once a summer and subsequently drove it a few miles each summer and it is now at 67k. Eventually my dad said he wanted his garage back so it was shipped back to MN and the first thing I did was drive it to work and then have take the intake and carbs off in the parking lot because the starter went out. Uggh! I soon discovered that the internet was, if not teeming with parts, at least making it a lot easier to own a Datsun Roadster. So here I am surfing the internet, which my wife sarcastically calls "car porn", and having a great time driving around when weather permits.

I'd like to do a frame off restoration and have been reading a lot over the past 6 months, buying a few items here and there and admiring the handiwork of a lot of the people on this site. I recently read Nissanmans built and it gives me hope that I can do my own restoration. Winters are long here!

I've tried to attach a few pictures but the file size is too large for even one shot. I'll enter this and try to add on.

Thanks in advance for the inevitable help and advise I am going to be asking for!

[twistin]

Welcome, very helpful here and I am surprized with how many owners have these little cars hidden away for so long. As mine has been apart for too long ,I would recomend not taking it apart for a restoration till you have all the parts or deep pockets.

[OldYeller]

I'm kind of on the other side. If I don't get it taken care of now I fear it'll get worse and more expensive. I see the horsehair horrors and some little bubbles on the a pillars.

Can anyone offer some advise on reducing file sizes? I'll post pics if I can get them to load.

[OldYeller]

Here's a few photos.

[OldYeller]

Image 3.jpg

Not to versed on the picture thing...

[OldYeller]

Image.jpg

[OldYeller]

Image 1.jpg

[notoptoy]

It looks good, what are those wheels?

[spl310]

Welcome! Get it driving safely, and make up for lost time!!

[S Allen]

Hey Steve-welcome. That is an interesting history on the car. Sorry about the size limitation on the picture sizes but they load faster being small. GIMP is free and is pretty easy to use for resizing pictures. Car looks pretty good in the pictures. Just an FYI-you can add multiple pictures to a single post. There is also a Gallery you can use to upload pictures. Use the link next to the registry. Direct link is http://www.311s.org/Gallery/ Register your car in the registry as well. Looking forward to you sharing more of your project with us.

Steve

[bikermike]

Welcome. Yes, your winters are long, but I bet your summer days are long too. Perfect for some evening tops down cruising.

I look fwd to hearing about your adventures in future posts.

[Copterpilot]

Welcome! I'm originally from St. Paul, but 25 years in the Coast Guard and now 11 years in Ohio nearer my wife's family have kept me away except for summer trips to visit my family. You have a nice looking car.

Skol!

[OldYeller]

Thanks for the encouragement, kind words and clues on photo posting.

The wheels are of Toyota DNA but not sure what they are called. They were pretty oxidized so I sprayed them with a weak solution of muraic acid and they are really clean now. I have thought of polishing them but I think I'd have to send them out with all that weaving. I've read a bit about the Rota RBs and have thought of trying the 16x7 +10. Imho the hyperblack would look sharp against the pale yellow and black interior. I even think Alvin said so in one of the threads.

For what it is worth, I have the original wheels, caps, bill of sale, warranty card, owners and shop manuals as well. Not sure it adds anything other than nostalgic value, but I like that I have them.

Might be like looking for flubber, but I am searching for some woven hoses, specifically the upper radiator. It sprang a little pin hole leak that I sealed with rubber cement and carefully wrapped in fabric hockey tape. It has held so far and looks somewhat like the others... I replaced all the hoses in '92 so they are likely all coming due. That one for the heater valve was a trip.

[aspitfire]

Welcome fellow minnesotan!

[Gregs672000]

I love these owner stories. So often it seems the cars have some kind of history that makes them members of the family, so welcome to ours cousin!

I really like the color, and agree the black Rotas would look awesome. Many of the shades of yellow are rapidly becoming my favorite, and that pale yellow seems very period correct and right on the car.

Get the Rotas, then post the pics! (I love spending other people's money for them!)