About 12 years ago I had to sell my 1966 1600 Fairlady. She was one of the few that were officially badged Fairlady and exported to Mexico. I got a little cash in my pocket and decided to go looking for another roadster. I found this one on the auction site and thought it looked like a good project. True there was some odd body mods done by the previous owner. The tops of the doors were filled in along with the door handles, rear license plate and really odd - the fuel filler area. It looked to be rust free and most of the hard work had been done.
Here she is.
1965 Datsun 1500 SPL310 - basket on hold
1966 Datsun 1600 SPL311 - running and driving!
Check out some of the motor goodies! The auction said nothing about the condition of the motor but when I took the head off to load it into the truck I found a rebuilt head, fresh cylinders with .040 pistons, what appear to be rebuilt and polished carbs, polished alternator and brand new headers. Not sure about the smog inserts. Will these "Whistle"? How do I know what camshaft this is?
1965 Datsun 1500 SPL310 - basket on hold
1966 Datsun 1600 SPL311 - running and driving!
Score!! I've never seen red jets. That's a new one. If you are really curious about the cam, pull it and look for stamping. As far as the smog plugs, yes they may chirp. You can stop that with some Allen head cap screws. Get some that will fill the holes and put the pipe plugs on top to retain them.
Now for the real work. I figured that I would get the raw body work done so that I could get it to a paint shop. Then I will focus on the chassis with the body out of the way. I went through a couple of approaches to use the donor parts. I then settled on drilling out the spot welds and rebuilding the assembly. I am glad that I did. There was a lot of rust hiding in the panel overlaps. I must have removed 5 or more pounds of lead. I may need some help on the final lead loading. I would like to get a couple of cardboard templates from good cars so that I can match the factory contours. Hindsight is 20/20. Please forgive the crudeness of my work. This is the first time I've ever done this level of body work. This is also the first time I have done any welding of sheet metal. The shot with the entire panel was just a temporary test fit.
Father's Day PBR. Kiddo knows what I needed. It was hot outside. The donor car was originally Sora Blue. I'm really liking that color and will probably go with it for the final paint. Note the amount of surface rust in the overlap area. I will get it all clean and use tinning butter before I reassemble the entire assembly. The RH side has been welded in place. I will weld the LH side this weekend.
1965 Datsun 1500 SPL310 - basket on hold
1966 Datsun 1600 SPL311 - running and driving!
spl310 wrote:Score!! I've never seen red jets. That's a new one. If you are really curious about the cam, pull it and look for stamping. As far as the smog plugs, yes they may chirp. You can stop that with some Allen head cap screws. Get some that will fill the holes and put the pipe plugs on top to retain them.
Hey spl310 - There are several spare carbs with the parts car and the 1500 that I orginally purchased. None have the red jets. I'll take out that inner plug and see what it looks like. Where will the cam info be stamped?
What happened to SEROC and the registry they had? I'd like to register mine and the donor car. Is there anyone in the Atlanta area that I can meet up with?
My goal is to have the car on the road before the end of summer. Definitely before the Walter Mitty event.
1965 Datsun 1500 SPL310 - basket on hold
1966 Datsun 1600 SPL311 - running and driving!
You are making much progress. Nothing like developing new skills. You can registry your cars in the registry here. I am doing away with the old registry. Go here to enter them yourself http://www.311s.org/phpBB3/app.php/page/page-registry And welcome back to the fold.
Great work...you have a roadster guru up in your area...Jim (jt68) on here. He has tons of roadster knowledge and makes beautiful reproduction and performance parts. I miss the Mitty with SEROC and hopefully we will pick it back up soon. Looking forward to updates on your ride.
Well it has been nearly 6 years with lots of diversions and no further progress has been made on this project.
Started up a new business that is finally starting to pay off. Selling off a Miata project that had my attention for awhile. Next to go is the bunch of Honda MR50s sitting in the basement.
I'd like to find someone local that I can hand off the body to while I work on the chassis. Is there anyone close to the Suwanee area that is interested?
1965 Datsun 1500 SPL310 - basket on hold
1966 Datsun 1600 SPL311 - running and driving!
@spl310 No - Sorry Suwanee GA - 30024
@eye - She needs a complete stripping to bare metal and rebuild. No real progress since I posted the pictures at the beginning of this thread nearly 6 years ago. I will get the body off of the frame so that I can work on the chassis while the bodywork is being done. I am researching media blasting equipment and temporary carports. Might need to do it all here at the house.
Thanks!
Michael
1965 Datsun 1500 SPL310 - basket on hold
1966 Datsun 1600 SPL311 - running and driving!
