Roadster/Fairladay 1600 From Singapore

[Ravashanks]

Hello everyone!

Just picked up my 1967 (67.5 maybe?) 1600 last week and have been getting to know it a little better. I believe it is currently the only one in Singapore, and arrived here from South Africa (where it was stored for many years after originally being a Japanese car imported into the UK).

Have been lurking here recently while i waited for the 1600 to be registered. Now that she's officially mine, happy to jump on here and actively participate in the community, though I suspect there will be alot of knowledge absorption going on for awhile.

Here are some pics of the car taken after my first proper drive after picking her up.















Car is pretty clean, although the chrome wheel arch surrounds bug me and I'm likely to remove them. I have not see other cars with that element. If anyone spots something amiss from these images, would appreciate if you could let me know. I'm trying to have the car slowly restored to it's stock condition.

Work planned for now is the following -
- restoring/replacing several of the gauges as the chrome has tarnished
- speedo and fuel gauge not working, so those need sorting out
- car is running a little rich with intermittent white smoke; need to see if engine needs to be overhauled
- gearbox is grinding when I shift down from 3 to 2 regardless of speed. perhaps synchros are shot? I haven't driven a manual for about 5 years but i can't be that bad to the point of repetitive grinding

Singapore is really not the place to be if you love cars. We have exorbitant auto taxes, can only own our cars for 10 years before we have to pay taxes to own them for another 10 years etc., no proper roads for a proper long drive etc.. The 1600 was brought into Singapore on a classic car scheme, which means I can only drive it up to 45 days a year. But still, super privileged to be able to own this car here and hope to keep it with me for a long as I can.

Images courtesy of a local hobby photographer @abelart

Ravi Shankar
Singapore

[S Allen]

Welcome. Nice looking roadster. You could lose the chrome wheel well trims for sure. Please add your roadster to the registry.

Steve

[Habitat.pat]

Welcome, Ravi! Good looking car.

From your photos I’d day it is not a 67.5. Look @ the brake master cylinder, if is a single circuit cylinder it’s a 67, if it’s a dual master, it’s a 67.5. The 67.5s in the u.s. had split gauges.

There is someone in Los Angeles on this list, Jon Frampton who restores gauges. Very professional.

I also don’t care for the chrome wheel well trim. I had black rubber trim on mine that looked good but it needed replacing & wasn’t available any longer.

Peace,
Pat

[Gregs672000]

Welcome! After reading your introduction I feel very lucky to be able to have my car and drive it on the roads we Have!
There are a few things that are likely not exactly "stock" (emblems for example), but I don't thing they look bad or detract from the car. I do think the rear spring shackles may be fitted incorrectly but it may be to gain more ground clearance for roads or maybe the springs have sagged? Do determine if you have a head gasket issue (white smoke) as you do not want to over heat and warp the head as I can imagine repair places are hard to find? Could be head gasket, could be condensation in the exhaust... check the oil, plugs, smell ,loss of coolant, etc. We'll help keep her running!

[shawn.e.casey]

Dear Ravi,

Nice looking car. Are you sure it is the only one in Singapore? Singapore is an interesting place. I have been there many times during my working career at Western Digital and the disk drive industry. The 45 day limit for days/year that you can drive a classic car seems like something that could be ignored without having to worry about a fine. To really open it up, you will have to take it to Malaysia for the day. Plenty of roads there to get it out for some exercise. Have fun.

Regards,

Shawn

[Ravashanks]

Thank you for the welcome everyone. Just came back from a long vacation in Japan where other automotive interests were pursued. Now back in SG and on to attending to the matters that need sorting with the Fairlady.

@Habitat.pat - thank you for the info on the brake cylinder! I'll have a look together with the mechs this week and see what version mine is. I'll need to reach out to Jon Frampton to see what it would take to have the gauges sent to him for restoration. Thank you!

@Gregs672000 - Yes planning to have a thorough check on the source of the white smoke. Mech says it's likely head gasket issue and will take a look at that first. Hopefully it's a quick fix. Didn't notice anything amiss with the rear spring shackles. But will now take a more thorough look!

@shawn.e.casey - Yes pretty sure this is the only pre-Z Fairlady in Singapore. There is a strong Datsun community in Malaysia and I'm told there are several SPs and SRs running around still, but none in SG. I do know of a Japanese SR311 on its way to SG though. So mine wont be the only one for very long. Would love to take mine up to M'sia for a clean run on the north-south highway but the traffic jams at the border have been prohibitive. And the prospect of sitting 45min to an hour in a jam in a car without air con in our weather is just not enticing at all, regardless of the colour of the grass on the other side!

I am now thinking that the gearbox needs an overhaul as the syncros do appear to be shot. Just wondering if it would be easier to source for a replacement gearbox or to take the current one apart and have it serviced. Anyone has any ideas of where to source for a used 4-speed gearbox?