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Wellll, it's coming up Roadster Season!! Finally tore myself away from my 240Z fix-up chores to pay some needed attention to my roadster in prep for fun runs, a trip to the dyno, and of course, the Rolex Monterey celebration of all that is Datsun-Nissan in August!!
I've owned the car about a year or so; purchased from a local (SF Bay Area) seller through Bring-A-Trailer. And I need to clarify, I bought it as it sits, and not in "some assembly required" condition like how I buy my other old cars! At the time, I already had too many other automotive diversions in my household and that incented me to buy a "no-work-needed" driver that I could just enjoy! Laff. Unlike this one, needing a fair amount of mechanical love...
...but that is now "nearing completion".
So, this morning, went out to the garage to address some little issues that have plagued my roadster since buying it last year. The biggest issue of which is that it's always been something of a bother to get started after sitting a while. There are/were two fairly obvious "issues" that could have contributed to this:
- An ignition-off parasitic power drain that necessitated it being on a Noco charger to keep the battery up while sitting and...
- Finicky Solexes that just hated to start without the usual pump it and crank, pump it and crank until the battery crapped itself, making me haul out the jump box.
Wellllll, the battery issue was not a total mystery as the previous owner told me he experienced a power draw likely from the huge "1000 WATT" amp in the trunk - something I've been meaning to (and eventually will) yank because honestly, it just doesn't belong in a classic roadster!
What a terribly difficult fix too!! I pulled the power wire two days ago and the battery was fine today. Hahahahaha. Wish all issues could be so easy to resolve.
The carb issue was/is pretty obvious too. No choke cable. Well, let me clarify.... it's there but has been hiding, tucked out of sight behind the motor next to the firewall.
It's really odd too. The cable is the proper length but remains shielded all the way to the end with only about one inch of frayed cable sticking out.
As I suspected, after viewing pics of "normal" choke cable installations on U20 Solexes, it was clear the cable is supposed to be unshielded about 10-12" at the end to reach both carb/choke ferrules. "Hmmm..." methinks. Wrong cable or someone tried to use an aftermarket cable to "fix it" but didn't really have a clue how to set it up. Another easy fix in sight.
But before doing anything like rush out and order a new cable, I thought "What if someone before took the cable off because the chokes were FUBAR and non-functional?" So to verify choke operation with an experiment, out comes my internal Mickey DaMouse troubleshooting methodologies:
Yep, that there is a coat hanger connecting the chokes. Laugh if you will (and hope that you do) but this arrangement allowed me to pull both chokes closed while simultaneously reaching the key and cranking the engine and bringing it to life almost instantly. That, followed by holding the choke partially closed until the motor settled into an unassisted idle. Win!
Now debating on whether to just order a new cable (best option) or to play with what's there and strip the sheath to the proper length and attach to carbs OR maybe figure out how to attach the cable to the "was-temporary" CHCAD (Coat Hanger Choke Actuation Device. Laff......) Actually makes sense since the CHCAD is solid and won't fray or wear like a normal stranded cable. Hmmm...
OK, point of all that is that my MicMousey methodology worked and now I know that whatever route I take, be it the simple Mouse solution or the right thing to do with a new cable, the chokes work.
Well, while the car was running and fully warmed up, I had the chance to get the car out and about for an hour to fully analyze the other stuff I want to do to the car; either by myself or when it goes to Rob's (Z Car Garage) for full tune/dyno.
I should note that I can easily synch the carbs at home but want to have it all baselined - carbs tuned to correct AFR - so that when I do perform the bi-monthly synch checks and adjustments where needed, I'll already be at the correct jetting and any minor adjustments I make won't throw things off too much.
There are a number of things it "needs" (well, not really NEEDS per se; but one can always benefit from... and yes, you can read that as "I want..."
): Braking improvements, possible suspension tweaks, and so forth. But I mostly want Rob and Josh to go through the car to help me identify areas of concern and/or possible improvements I might make going forward. But also, want to get some rack time to get photos throughout and under the car for future reference, something I do with all my cars or projects be they keepers or ones I'm planning to sell within a short time.ZCG has done this with me on at least three other cars and it always pays off down the road. Don't mind paying for their services to enable me to do this!!
That's my Z33N on the rack.
Anyhow, with my seat time today, I was reminded again just how much I love roadsters. Fits me well (I'm not a small guy), drives as well as a 50 year old car can - AND MUCH BETTER ACTUALLY - than so many more contemporary sports cars, and key to me is that it has character that said modern cars lack. My philosophy in semi-retirement is that I'm doing things now that I did in my youth... reliving my childhood as it were.
This particular car brings me back to the days where I'd line up my SCCA D-Production roadster on pre-grid and think, "These guys gridded ahead of me in their Porsche 924s ain't sh...." Hahahahahaha. Well, it was a good psyche anyhow. Those Porsches weren't slow and honestly, I simply wasn't competitive or had the deep pockets I needed to be.
But it was FUN. Just like it is today!
Cheers!
But ya, all of life's issues should be so easy.
