New/old Roadster owner

[het976]

Hi...Well I am back to being a Roadster owner after a 30 year absence. I was given a 1970 2000 as a high school graduation present in 1975. It suffered in the hands of a 17 year old hot-rodder and in the 18 months I owned it...coughed up 3 timing chains, one jackshaft, one cam, two clutches and a set of rod bearings. I am sure there are other things, but time and wine have blocked out the details…

Fast forward 30 years and I am back in the Roadster game. I just brought home a 1968 (titled as a 69) 1600 roadster from Northern CA. It has been a summer car for it’s entire life and as a result has not seen rain in 30 plus years and has zero rust. We are the third owner. It is all there, but just needs a little TLC. Surprisingly my wife really loves her and was in the garage working on it as soon as we parked it (I have a 240 that I have owned for 30 years that she refers to as, “Me or the Z�. She is joking, but really not into the Z). To this one she has already said…�Mine, Mine, Mine�.

Now for the thing that may get me banned on my first post.

The previous owner bought the car in Nov 1974 from a Phoenix used car lot and drove it until the engine wore out. 20 years ago they replaced the 1600 with a Toyota JDM 18-RG, which is a Japan only 2 liter twin cam engine, with 145 HP and a 5 speed. The car runs like a champ and really purrs until you step into it and then it roars. If you think about the fact that he did this in the mid-80s, he was kind of ahead of his time. Based on my past experience with the 2000, maybe you can cut me some slack.

I look forward to your comments, razes and hopefully acceptance of the newest member of the family…�Little One� ...

I parked some pictures in the Garage

[S Allen]

Welcome and no having a Toyota power plant in your ride will not get you banned. I need to head over to the garage to check out the pics. It sounds like a little rocket. Enjoy.

Steve

[het976]

Thanks for the welcome.

She is pretty fast, but really she is so smooth.

The big thing is she just needs to be cleaned and revived some and then just driven.

I plan to do some overall clean up and make her very nice to look at and safe to drive. I want to be able to jump in and just go with out worry, but not like the Z where I went down to the shell. I may do a frame on restoration and clean up over the winter months, but I just want to drive her. New paint and wheels are first on the list.

[S Allen]

I like it. Motor looks like a tight fit. Those air cleaners are huge. Keep us posted on your progress. Thanks for loading the pictures into the Garage feature. Have you sbmitted a roadster registry entry yet? I am a bit behind on adding some of the latest entries but will get to it soon.

Steve

[Dave]

Welcome! That Toyota engine looks right at home in there.

[het976]

Thanks for the welcome.

The engine really does fit well and looks like it was meant to be. The downside is that parts are hard to find since the engine was never brought to the US. Fortunatly it came with a spare complete engine so I have extra parts. I have found a place in CA that seems to have all the parts I need. I have not tried to order anything yet, so we will see.

[ppeters914]

Boy, that engine will definitely be a conversation starter whenever you pop the hood...and that's a good thing.

[dbrick]

Where are you located? I like the car, engine does look right at home.

[het976]

The entire car is a converstaion starter. Seems many people, like me have Datsun Roadster experiances. I am in Vancouver, WA.

[ppeters914]

There are several roadster folks in Vancouver, WA though the only one I know by name is Enrique Scanlon.

You might consider bringing your car to the Blue Lake show in August:

http://dimequarterly.tierranet.com/calendar.shtml Scroll down the page for the event info.

[het976]

We will plan for it (Good goal to have the Z done by then too). It would be great to see all the other Roadsters in the area. I dropped by the Canby Event to show my GF what I was getting her (she wanted a convert for the summer) so I saw some cool rides. We talked to a couple who live 1-2 miles from us who had a nice 2000. Seems like there is a good Roadster comunity around here. Just to warn you all, she is a little rough, but has tons of personality (sounds like some of my biker friends). We have been having a ball driving her around town...Always gets looks...My GF is like..."Chick magnet huh?"..."No dear, most of the people who talk to me and look at her are all middle aged men..." Ah well, she does get some attention, for sure.