(Nope, 1968) 1969 1600 in pieces

[rbhenderson]

Last weekend I acquired my first Datsun Roadster... Supposedly a socal car that ended up in flagstaff about 5 years ago. It seems to be rust free and mostly free of filler, though the paint isn't great. Previous owner had started disassembly from running condition intending to do a full body off restoration.

I *think its a 1969, but it seems to have parts from a few different years (the dash doesn't have a VIN tag, DS door post does though)

I'm still in the planning stages, figuring out what I want to do but I'm thinking I'll likely go down the path of restomod/engine swap. That said, I'm thinking about putting it back together and get it drivable/titled/registered before I start the full project. I've never driven one of these and kind of want to get a feel for it before digging in. I have owned a 73 RHD MGB and driven other things from the era so not totally in the dark but I feel like it would be helpful to have a baseline.

Really appreciate this forum, tons of useful information and lots of help available. I probably wouldn't have jumped in without y'all being here!

Forgot to get pics before loading it in the trailer so here it is in my messy garage:

Front_garage.jpg

And here it is in the trailer:

Back_trailer.jpeg

[Habitat.pat]

Greetings, Ben.

Good call on getting it on the road to see how you like it before doing major work. Some folks go through lots of work on their cars, drive it once, then decide it isn’t a good fit.

As to determining what year it really is, there is a serial number stamped on the top of the frame by the washer tank. That will tell you when it was built but not necessarily what it is registered as. I have a short windshield car, so I don’t know the significance of no VIN number on the dash.

There is a lot of information & experience on this site as well as other Roadsters in the Houston area. I’m near Austin.

Please post more photos.

Peace, Pat

[david premo]

Looks like a 68, the cars are very different with regards to electrical, and few other things.
Dave

[Gregs672000]

Welcome! I hope you end up enjoying the Roadster as much as we all do. These are great vintage cars, generally well made and easy to work on with lots of support from sites like 311s. Outside of ergonomics like seat position, room, height etc I think the addition of the Bilstein shocks is by far the biggest change in how the car "feels". Yes, they are expensive. I've had my car 37+ years and had every shock available on a comp suspension. Not only did they improve handling in all situations and road surfaces, they make general driving much better by giving more compliance to an otherwise stiffly sprung suspension... it will be much nicer going over bumps and irregularities, and won't get upset in a corner if you hit poor surfaces. Just my humble opinion, but I've made a number of modifications over the years and this one is in the top 3. I know you're just getting started, but wanted to give this feedback for future reference.

[rbhenderson]

Thanks everyone! I dug around for all the various numbers I could find… SPL311-20028 does align with being a ‘68 car, no idea if the other numbers mean anything. On my phone right now, I’ll see if I can attach the photos below. It came with a safety dash which I think was a ‘69 thing?

I definitely want to swap to the custom Bilsteins, seems to be a universally loved upgrade. I need to sort the leaf springs too, they look pretty flat even with the car mostly disassembled, I’m expecting they will need work.

My garage is a disaster so I haven’t done a good job photographing things yet, added a few pics from the previous owner.

[rbhenderson]

Oh, coincidentally, it looks like the body may have originally been either ivory or pale yellow. It didn’t come with the cowl panel or paint tag so not sure. I’ve sanded to bare metal in a few spots and it’s got red primer then the yellowish color, then the rest. (Didn’t get a pic)

[david premo]

The rear bumper is a 68 and in the current pictures I can see a little better that the license lights are removed from the rear panel, and the real check is the hood safely catch on the latch mechanism. Also 68’s have 6 fuses and 69/70 have 8 fuses, as well as marker lights that are not visible on your car.
Dave

[fairlane292]

There wouldn't be a VIN tag on the dash or on DS door post. Is the original cowl (pass side) VIN tag in place?

As mentioned the rear panel has the 69-70 license light holes; however the nearby rear side lights are not visible. Look inside the trunk and see if there are signs of metal fab for the rear panel and also for closing up the side light holes; or other evidence of repair inside the trunk space.

[rbhenderson]

Thanks for the feedback yall, I’ll get more detailed pics tonight when I’m back home, have been out of town since Friday. The car does have a vin tag on the DS door column, but it wouldn’t surprise me if someone added that later not knowing anything about where they normally are, it’s the bluish tag in the pics above. The car didn’t come with a cowl plate, mores the mystery… More fun - the hard top has the 3 latch setup from later years, the soft top I got has the older 2 latch setup…

I’m considering getting a parts car, will depend on how many parts are not shown in the pics (seller claims she has everything). I want to do a flat dash conversion, and I’m missing lots of misc trim and hardware. Hoping this one has it all in boxes so I can end up with a complete car and sell off the bits I don’t need. I’ve talked the seller down cheap enough that I think it’s worth it. I’ll still have to buy some things depending on what year we end up deciding mine is.

[rbhenderson]

Alright, got a few more pics. Not sure if I got all the details people mentioned so let me know if there’s something else…

[Curtis]

You can tell easily by the fuse box what year it is.

https://kendo-usa.org/datsun/68%20fusebox.pdf

https://kendo-usa.org/datsun/6970%20fusebox.pdf

[rbhenderson]

You can tell easily by the fuse box what year it is.

https://kendo-usa.org/datsun/68%20fusebox.pdf

https://kendo-usa.org/datsun/6970%20fusebox.pdf

Knew I forgot something, it’s got a 68 fusebox.

[david premo]

The catch pin for the hood also says it’s a 68. The 69/70 hood catch pins have a safety as well.
Dave

[sfyks870]

Thanks for the feedback yall, I’ll get more detailed pics tonight when I’m back home, have been out of town since Friday. The car does have a vin tag on the DS door column, but it wouldn’t surprise me if someone added that later not knowing anything about where they normally are, it’s the bluish tag in the pics above. The car didn’t come with a cowl plate, mores the mystery… More fun - the hard top has the 3 latch setup from later years, the soft top I got has the older 2 latch setup…

I’m considering getting a parts car, will depend on how many parts are not shown in the pics (seller claims she has everything). I want to do a flat dash conversion, and I’m missing lots of misc trim and hardware. Hoping this one has it all in boxes so I can end up with a complete car and sell off the bits I don’t need. I’ve talked the seller down cheap enough that I think it’s worth it. I’ll still have to buy some things depending on what year we end up deciding mine is.

I saw that add recently. Hope you talked her WAY down from what she was asking on fb. If you were looking to spend that kind of money for a parts car, maybe check this one out https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... tid=dXMIcH