New to me roadster

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Sukhi
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Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2015 2:10 pm

New to me roadster

Post by Sukhi »

Hi! I'm Sukhi.. Excited to be part of the roadster community. I picked up a roadster from Portland, Oregon this weekend and just finally made It back home to the Bay Area.

I'm not new to Nissan, but I admit I didn't know the roadster existed until a few weeks ago...my first vehicle was my Dad's '85 Nissan/Datsun pickup truck. I jumped at my 1st opportunity to put my personal touch to the truck. lowering it, painting, interior,stereo, wheels, etc I even beat my buddies prelude "back in the day" ....fun times.

The 300zx Z32 TT was one of my childhood dream cars, the other a 911 of any year but the 996 generation. I was Lucky to own a 94TT that I bought in '00. That car was impressive at so many levels and I've never had more fun in a car since...but I sold it for a family car a few years later :( .

The itch started again and I found a stock '95 TT in '07 that I restored and turned into a beast over the span of a few years. 390+ rhp on stock turbos (3" expansion downpipes were amazing)...after the car was finished my eyes turned to 911s and I Sold the Z to a "enthusiast" in '11, He wrecked the motor that week when he downshifted from 5th to 4th at 140 :(

I debated between a 993/997... I went with the advice "get the newest one for your budget" and found a '06 997S. Loved the car, it did everything well, almost too good to really get the sensation of it all. I ended up selling it a yr or so after and have been driving a MPG friendly passat TDI for the last 3 yrs. My only constant vehicle of the last 10yrs a '04 Titan turned into the only "toy" left. After having it stock all these years, I had it lifted and put some new wheels on it, so much more fun to drive now...


I wanted to get back into my passion/hobby of cars and wanted something older... browisng cars I could never decide what I wanted my next project to be. Old school muscle, 911sc, 90s era Japanese (supra, Rx7,NSX, etc)??? I wanted an older car, one that I could build with my son and own a long time. He's only 2, and I'd probably be done before he gets out of training wheels but sharing the experience with him would be fun.


I searched craigslist, etc...I've known Rob @zcargarage since I got my first Z and just happened to be reading the blogs on his website a few weeks ago. There I saw pictures of a Datsun event, I know they aren't new, but I never paid much attention before. I ran across a awesome looking Black roadster and was amazed. After more research I've come to learn that this is Alvin's roadster. Hats off! So we'll put together.

I have been looking for roadsters nonstop since. I found a nice '70 1600 in Salem, trusted the seller in his rating of the car, took a road trip with a good friend and just got back with what so far has been a awesome LITTLE car! On the way back today we stopped by Mt. Shasta un loaded the car off the ramps and drove it about 70 miles until we got to Redding. What view and an experience! Felt Like a go cart, so tiny amongst the big rigs. Even a corolla looked imposing next to me! The car ran really well, temps stayed in line and only went up slightly going up hill hard and 80 mph and close to 5k! (4spd tranny) after leveling off it was smooth sailing! The car seems to have good bones, it needs some body work and paint and probably a body off resto at some point, but I'm thrilled with what I've got at the moment!

Here are a few pics to share!
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'70 Roadster 1600
SF Bay
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spl310
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Re: New to me roadster

Post by spl310 »

Awesome, welcome!
"Wow, a Roadster!" Stuart Little

1967.5 2000
1967.5 2000
1964 1500
1964 1500
1967.5 1600
1968 chassis
2006 Acura MDX
2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI wagon
1995 F350 Powerstroke!
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notoptoy
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Re: New to me roadster

Post by notoptoy »

Welcome, it looks like you did your homework and got a great starting point. It will be a great project and story your two year old will be telling in 14 or so years!
Looking forward to watching your progress. It's great that you are already driving it. Drive it as much as possible, keep it a rolling restoration so you never lose that feeling. We've seen too many get burned out on a restoration that they never got to drive and enjoy before they threw in the towel! I don't think that will be a problem for you!
"When all else fails, force prevails!" Ummm, we're gonna need a bigger hammer here.

67.5 SPL311 H20 w/5 speed
65 Impala Convertible
2017 C43 AMG
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S Allen
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Re: New to me roadster

Post by S Allen »

Great story and looking forward to reading about your new acquisition. Sounds like you purchased a good starting point. You will definitely grow fond of the car as you get to know it better. We are glad you decided to join us.

Steve
66 Stroker-Going Orange
67 SRL311-00279-resto project
Stock '72 240Z-Blue
2002 Ford F250 7.3 Diesel 2WD Hauler
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Rodster
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Re: New to me roadster

Post by Rodster »

Welcome from Sacramento. 1970 you will to be a different that the other Roadsters. However than is the fun of it all. When you get parts, some parts will not work on your car,most will just keep that in mind.

Welcome and have fun!
Rodney

Looking for a project - modified - what do you have.
Sukhi
Roadster Nut
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Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2015 2:10 pm

Re: New to me roadster

Post by Sukhi »

Thanks for the welcome!

A few pics from today. Little man already started with the inspections.
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'70 Roadster 1600
SF Bay
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notoptoy
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Re: New to me roadster

Post by notoptoy »

Really looks great, and its awesome you have a top notch inspector at work already! :-)
"When all else fails, force prevails!" Ummm, we're gonna need a bigger hammer here.

67.5 SPL311 H20 w/5 speed
65 Impala Convertible
2017 C43 AMG
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exit64
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Re: New to me roadster

Post by exit64 »

Take good care of her. I resurrected that one years ago and did all the hard stuff on it. That is the one that I regret selling. PM me and I will give you the full rundown on all the work that was done. A little body work and some fresh paint and that will be a well sorted car.
1967.5 SPL 311-14542 Pieces-parts
1969 SRL 311-09979
1966 411 Blackbird....Stay tuned.
1971 B110 757213 About to unleash 69 HP @6000 RPM
A carburetor man in a fuel injection world.
"Ripping the Bring* and sanding it round"
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exit64
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Re: New to me roadster

Post by exit64 »

So here's the rundown. I got the car out of Portland Oregon in nonrunning condition. The previous owner had had the car painted and then stuck it under a tarp outside at a buddies house while going through a divorce, or so the story goes. By the time I bought it off CL, the paint was coming off wherever there was a sharp crease in the body. Solid car with very little rust as far as I could tell, just poorly done paint prep. I was more concerned with rot and a solid starting point for a build so I pulled the trigger and towed it out to Hood River. The PO had a bunch of the electrical hooked up wrong so I spent about the first two weeks unhooking just about every bullet connector in the harness and putting them back in the correct spot. It took forever to figure out why she would blow a headlight fuse every time I used the right turn signal. After that, I put the spark plug wires back to 1,3,4,2 instead of 1,2,3,4 and she ran like a top. Not. Motor had good compression and oil pressure but missed on acceleration. Worn out dizzy. A quick call to Dave Brisco and a few days later a new EI unit shows up on my doorstep. Put it in, runs better but not as good as she should so another call to Steve at ZTherapy pretty much solves the rest of the motor issues. I did the K&N air filter mod too. Your welcome. Now onto the suspension. Ride height was stock when it left my house but did have a fresh set of Hancook 185/70/14 on stock steel wheels with hub caps. Hopefully they came with the car. I had a new cloth top that came with the car and it was put on by a guy in The Dalles who has since gone completely off the rails.. What is it with upholstery and substance abuse? After getting the motor and soft top sorted, it was on to the front end. Rebushed the idler box, new upper A arm spindles and lower ball joints from the original order that Linda put together from Rare Parts. This car has some of the tightest steering of any that I have driven, 12 or so at last count. I drove and enjoyed this car for about 4 years and then sold it to the girlfriend of a guy on Ratsun. She had for about 6 months before someone missed a shift, chipped a chunk off one of the transmission gears that hold the dogs, and locked the tranny solid in 3rd gear. Ironically, this happened while passing through Hood River on the way to eastern Oregon, so once again the car was sitting in my shop taking up time and space. Ended up swapping out then Borg Warner 4 speed out with a known good servo unit that came with another car, so that is what is in there now. At the same time, I put In A new clutch and throw out bearing and plasti gauged the mains, since the motor was out, and I wanted to know. Everything was well within spec at that time.
The gal ended up turning the car over to her Dad, who sold it to a flipper. That guy couldn't get the $10k out of it that he was trying for and it eventually ended up in the Salem area, living with Jorge, another Datsun guy who also has a sweet Z and dime wagon. I first ran into him with the car at the Shedd BBQ a few years back and then again at Shasta last year. He had some work done bySteve at ZTherapy and they lowered it to the stance that it now has. He sold it to the guy you got it from this spring, who was supposedly buying it for his girlfriend but only he knows the straight story. You got yourself a sweet one. I entertained the idea of buying it back and selling the 2000 for a brief period of time. I liked it that much. Good car. Enjoy and see you at Shasta.
Mike
Aka exit64
1967.5 SPL 311-14542 Pieces-parts
1969 SRL 311-09979
1966 411 Blackbird....Stay tuned.
1971 B110 757213 About to unleash 69 HP @6000 RPM
A carburetor man in a fuel injection world.
"Ripping the Bring* and sanding it round"
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Gregs672000
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Re: New to me roadster

Post by Gregs672000 »

Welcome, very nice color and wheel combo, as normally I don't like darker wheels. Your beginning story is much like mine... only it started with a '73 620 PU where I learned everything mechanical with multiple engines, cams, heads, carbs, transmissions, lowering, etc. Still wish I had that truck.

Maybe you will be the one who does a nice R1600 turbo considering your past experience... I plan to be at Shasta, so if you're there I'll look for you...
Greg Burrows
'67 2000 #588
Tacoma, WA
Sukhi
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Re: New to me roadster

Post by Sukhi »

Wow Mike that's awesome to know. Thanks for the rundown, makes me feel even better with the purchase!
I'll PM you for more details.
'70 Roadster 1600
SF Bay
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Trav
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Re: New to me roadster

Post by Trav »

Welcome! I really like the ride height, it inspires me to lower mine! Any info on the suspension specs? Congrats on the new ride.
1970 1600

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mshort07
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Re: New to me roadster

Post by mshort07 »

Ride height and wheel combo looks great! What's wheel and tire size? Any info on what suspension mods were done, front and rear?
Matt
Urbanna VA
1969 SRL311 / 1967 SPL311 - Resto Project
1967 SPL311 - Donor Car - long gone
1967 SPL311 - Donor Car - long gone
1968 SRL311 - Donor Car - long gone
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exit64
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Re: New to me roadster

Post by exit64 »

Springs were cut by the PO. Not sure if he used lowering blocks on the rear as I never got that deep into it when I was around the car after I owned it. After riding in it, I felt that comp springs all the way around would have handled a touch better. About an inch too low was my take on it. It looks ever better in person though. Those wheels are 16. I bought the 15" Rota's from Jorge a few weeks ago and they are now on the Blue Lady. Totally changed that car.
One thing that I forgot was that I also did a single wire GM alternator swap, so the stock amp meter never shows much charge. Jorge and Steve might have done a work around on that but I am not sure. I put a lot of time and effort into this car but once I got my hands on the 69 2000 my focus was on that car. I sold this one to force myself to work on the 2000 or it would have never gotten to where it is now. I enjoyed the 1600 that much. Give her a decent paint job and drive the wheels off.
1967.5 SPL 311-14542 Pieces-parts
1969 SRL 311-09979
1966 411 Blackbird....Stay tuned.
1971 B110 757213 About to unleash 69 HP @6000 RPM
A carburetor man in a fuel injection world.
"Ripping the Bring* and sanding it round"
Sukhi
Roadster Nut
Posts: 38
Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2015 2:10 pm

Re: New to me roadster

Post by Sukhi »

Curious, does the body on these roadsters make a lot of noise when going over bumps and imperfections on the road?

Hopefully some rubber and weatherstripping that is missing can be added to reduce it. Also feels as if I'm hitting the bumpstops.
'70 Roadster 1600
SF Bay
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