New Owner from Long Beach, CA

[Stubtify]

Hello to everyone,

I was thinking "boy I wish there was a forum where i could introduce myself to this group," and until I (finally) logged in I didn't know you all were already a step ahead of me.

Long story short, I saw the car all summer long online, spoke to the owner and felt the price was just way too high. 5 months and a bit of money later and I took a chance on her and bit. That was 3 weeks ago, and I've put a good solid 300 miles on her since, and have fallen in love. 1969 2000, #7801.

I know a bit of the history of the car, the frame and body are pretty decent, a lot of work was done 3-4 years ago, but the car seems to have sat for a while since then. The previous owner bought it earlier this year and was forced to sell.

Issues to attack:
The car leaks a bit of oil, I have some cardboard down to try to find the leaks. This being my first older car I'm not too sure how worried I should be.

The car smokes. About a pack a day. Well not that much, but in low RPM's (1500-2000) there is a noticeable cloud of what I'm assume is oily smoke (not really blue, but... what else could it be?) The car does seem to be running rich, but starts up every single time, first time. I drove her every day for the first week, and have calmed down a bit since then to try to address these issues in a responsible manner.

Ticking noise. Sounds like valve chatter to me, but I could be wrong. I'd like to get it down to a minimum as best as possible.

I took her out this past weekend to some of the more industrial areas here in LBC and pushed her... pretty hard, hitting 60 in 2nd gear more than a few times (figured if something broke I knew I needed to fix it) and she handled it without any complaints. I did find the brakes to be really mushy in the turns, leaving me to hold back as things heated up.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll be lurking and commenting as needed. Is anyone else local?

[S Allen]

Welcome to our little slice of cyberspace. I think you will find good company here. It sounds like you are already enjoying your Datsun Sports. Keep driving it as long as you can before you do any major projects to it. There are plenty of folks in your part of the country. Here is a link to SoCALROC http://higenki.com/socalroc/ I am 100% positive they will welcome you warmly. Good luck and enjoy!

Steve

[FergO2k]

Greetings, welcome, resistance is futile.

Sounds like you have been exploring the capabilities, and Steve is right to recommend keeping it together to explore the weaknesses before tearing down. Coldn't tell whether it is a 1600 or a 2000 (did I miss something?), but you may just be in for a valve adjustment, which we should all learn how to do in time anyway. Local folks can help, as it is a pretty simple process, and is a good opportunity to learn the ins-n-outs.

I am planning a roadster get-together in early Dec at my house in Los Alamitos. Post pics when you can, we are always curious whether it is a car that has been known or is another "outta the woodwork" cars.

Fergus O

[Stubtify]

It is a 2000 Roadster. 1969. I thought valve job... however I feel like I'm starting all over as far as the ins and outs of older carbed motors. I can't lie, half of the appeal was the fact that an old car gives me plenty of opportunity to learn as I progress.

Los Al, sounds fun, I'm working on signing up with the SOCal roadsters club, and look forward to the events.

Just a quick photo to show the car:



Might have seen it on ebay last month, also on CL for the entire summer.


Mark

[waggleboy]

nice looking car. how long did it take before you drove it? i mean, really drove it, i picked one up and worked about 80 to 100 man-hours and got a great 300 miles. Then she broke. But not to badly.

Into my 2nd month on the refresh. I'm praying for a Dec. Roll Out.

yours sure looks a lot better than what i got......
there was some mention of 'parked for a bit?'

the white one was parked for a while as well.

she'll be on the road soon......dammit

[waggleboy]

you know, it's an awful responsibility that was thrust upon me.

the FairLady is such an elegant car.

oh well.......lets kick some booty!

[Stubtify]

Well I drove her home the day of purchase, a good 80 miles or so to get back home, but I was PARANOID! I thought the whole way home I would be stranded along the 5 Freeway at some point. I have to say 70 MPH feels like 200 in a small, low car on a big wide open freeway.

I drove her two weeks... most of that 300 miles. I would mess around a bit here and there, but waited until this past weekend to really get on her. I figured the weather was changing and if I broke something... well I'd be working most of the winter anyway. I haven't done any work yet. PO said all was well, and I sort of took his word for it, but have no way to know if he was telling the truth or not. Most of the motor work is dated 3-4 years ago (before the car was parked).

I'm reading up on valve work and a tune for now. I need to read so much about future plans, as the datsun world seems so... limitless!

[Linda]

Welcome Mark,
There are many local owners and it is helpful to see other cars and how they have been restored.
Enjoy!

Linda
68 1600
Los Angeles

[FergO2k]

many words of wisdom from previous posts.
I was in exactly the same position when I first bought my roadster (and I remember the drive home!), and wondered when the first major project requiring a teardown would happen.
8 years and 35k miles later, still waiting. (still babying a weak 2nd gear syncro, but it hasn't worsened during that time/mileage either)

you are trying to learn its quirks faster than it throws them at you, so a lotta checking helps.
cardboard underneath to notify you when anything new starts appearing is good. I took my car to a quarter wash place, with my ramps, and pressure blasted the whole engine comp (Leave it Running!) and underside, so that if any new leaks start, I can see them.

Is it "digesting" any fluids? (coolant, brakes, you mentioned an oil spot - but that is just "marking its territory)
blue smoke = oil burning
white smoke = steam = water/coolant being lost

any sign of oil in coolant? (brown slime on underside of rad / overflow, resembles boiled root beer)

probably worth swapping out the trans fluid, which is an easy job. (note: make sure the filler plug comes loose before pulling the drain!) diff fluid as well. I tried synthetics in both of these, but my old seals weren't up to it, so now my car has a nice layer of really expensive synthetic rust protectant on the bottom of it, and 75/90 in the tranny case!

good to do a visual of the brakes, just so ya know. flushing the fluid wouldn't be a bad idea, and is cheap to do.

wanna hook up to give it a once over? this weekend is supposed to be WARM.

PM for cell phone #

[ppeters914]

I took my car to a quarter wash place, with my ramps, and pressure blasted the whole engine comp (Leave it Running!) and underside, so that if any new leaks start, I can see them.

Most places won't let you do that anymore.

[dbrick]

Unless the motor is a complete grease ball, spray engine degreaser on a warm engine usually works. If you want to be enviormentally responsible, park on an old tarp or sheet, it will let the water run of and catch most of the oil and gunk. If it's not bad, Simple Green or Strong Orange sometimes works, less solvents, biodegradable.


classic spots for a 2000 to leak
Tachometer cable seals on the distributor...easy replacment
Valve cover gasket...TIGHTEN BY HAND AND WITH CARE!! they crack very easilly, ask me how I know
Oil pressure gauge hose, pass side just ahead of and below the distributor...Replace if deteriorated.
Head gasket, pass side rear corner..Bad news..usually head gasket replacment, retorque may work
Rear main seal, worse news.
After the engine is clean, drive it or run in driveway, look for the source.

Adjust the valves, retorque the head bolts, replace the valve cover gasket if it's not soft and flexible anymore and you may fix half your issues.


Smoking..Could just be too rich at idle..smell like gas or oil? Check for stuck chokes and/or choke cable housing not in place on carb.