Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

Tomakze wrote:

jcd0402 wrote: I have been working my butt off on the Z so I can have a reliable daily driver. Once it gets sorted out, work on the roadster will continue! Feel free to check out the build thread on the Z though, no one has even commented yet, lol!

Hey! A roadster is a perfectly reliable daily driver! For years, that's all I drove. Well in all fairness, I had 3 cars, so while I was working on one, I'd drive one of the others.

Just ribbing you, I love the 300zxs. I got to borrow one for a year. Fun Fun!

Some roadsters might be reliable DDs, but not mine, lol! Plus, horrible in the snow. Not that the Z is much better, but at least is has a good heater for when you get stuck and have to wait for a rescue! lol.

I'm back! Did you think I abandoned my Fairlady? NEVER! LOL!

While I was away, the car sat, but I did not. I bought a house, got promoted... twice, then bought a brand new car (2014 Fiesta Ecoboost), and got engaged! I've been a busy bee!

Anyway, I'm ready to begin again. I'll be fixing the error I made on the 200sx brakes (They kiss the frame over big bumps!) and going through the carbs again (after the last car show I went to, I got great advise on my carbs. Explained the funny timing problem I had been dealing with, and everything. Now I can get it right!) and then... A WHOLE NEW BODY.

I've decided to use the '69 2000 body and frame to create the final car, pending the title coming back clear. I do need to apply for a title though, and make a new vin plate since mine is missing. Then, since I could care less about keeping it original, I will make a hybrid of the two cars. The 2000 will get the original paint/interior colors the 1600 had (white with a red interior) and I'm still going to use that KA motor. I've sort floated back to the idea of carbing it though. I think it is fun to keep the original feel, but this is still up in the air, and a project for later besides.

For now, I need to do a speedy restoration with the original 1600 engine, and have it done by June 27th 2015. That is the day I'm getting married, and both my fiance and I want the datto to be our getaway car! The resto will not be a perfect, car-show job to be sure. But as you guys know, that isn't my style anyway. (Not to mention the depths of my pocketbook are not up to the task!) It will be much better off than it is now, though. My skills have grown since I worked on it last.

Update time!

So, I dragged the car home from my parent's house where it was stored, to my house! I finally have a garage of my own to work in, so long term projects can finally be done. So excited about this. Before, I could only do projects that took a day, maybe two. It severely limited what I could get done.

On the trailer home:



As soon as I got it home, I started investigating what I could do to keep the brakes from hitting the frame rail. The passenger side was actually the least problematic, but here is where the caliper sits:



Not much room when the suspension is compressed. I think that is why I never noticed before. When I installed them, the suspension was hanging down. Made it look like I had much more clearance than I did.



Any pointers from others that have done this swap? I used the templates, and as far as I know, I followed the instructions. I'll have to go back and read them again. What did I do wrong?

Then I started looking into the seat belts. The cheapy ones I bought when I got the car both broke from people closing the door on the clip. No real loss, I never really liked or trusted them before anyway. Time to kick it up a notch! This is just a mock-up to see how I like them, but I bought a pair of expired SFI rated belts. They were never used, just older. I don't plan to professionally race the car, so who cares! Got them both for $70 shipped. Score!



The final configuration will have a harness bar, and double hoops behind the seats. Yes, I know it isn't as safe as a proper roll bar, but my roll bar won't let either of my tops to work, and I like the look of the double hoops anyway. Besides, anything is better than what I had before, and that was still probably safer than what the car had originally!

After that, I decided to strip the interior. Remember, I'm swapping everything into the other car, as long as the title clears. The old carpet was horrible, and filthy. Since I am buying a new carpet set, I just tossed what I had in the trash. Then I stripped the floor of all that insulation, just out of curiosity. I wanted to see what I had. HOLY. COW. I'm glad I decided to swap bodies! The Rust Rocket is aptly named!!!



Just a small sample of what I mean:



The worst of it is under the driver's pedals. Someone took heat resistant cloth and covered the muffler, and then sprayed expanding foam over that to fill a 6"x6" hole in the floor!!! So the muffler is supporting the floor... AND COVERED IT IN FREAKING FOAM!!!! Who was the genius that came up with that idea???

Ahh, the extremes of, the sins of, the PO!

notoptoy wrote:Ahh, the extremes of, the sins of, the PO!

When I remove the lump of foam that is the floor, I'll be sure to post pictures. I still can't believe they did that! I'm not shy of a "quick fix" here or there, but there are so many ways to do a quick fix that would have been safer, more reliable, easier, and less idiotic. At least they used the heat resistant fabric first... otherwise I'd bet it would have caught fire yeas ago.

Well, I was wrong about the foam's location. There was heat insulation above the muffler, but that was unrelated to the foam. Once I dug it out, I discovered a 6x6" hole through the floorboard and the top of the frame. Yes, I had a 6x6" hole in my frame. *shivers* The muffler may have been better...

I know it has been a long time since I updated, so I imagine you guys think I've been slacking. Well... Not so much. Here is where I stand now:



The engine fell out...



I carefully removed the windshield, and managed to save it. Then I got a little paranoid and packaged it up so it will still be intact when I need to reinstall it!



Remember this thing? It's time has finally come.





And where we are now. Time for the REAL fun to begin!!!

I did notice a very poor repair job on the front of the frame. It is all before the suspension, so I'm hoping it will be okay. It looks like the car was in a front end collision, and they welded in a new piece of frame to repair it. It was done very poorly. The body has almost no rust at all, and is in fantastic shape, but it looks like someone did a hell of a job botching plenty of work. Is there a tutorial on how to measure a frame to see if it is bent?

Just looked up my VIN... Apparently it is a 1970, not a '69. Furthermore, it was one of the last roadsters ever built, if I'm reading this right!!!

Hey just wanted to say I am enjoying your enthusiasm and jealous of your unlimited energy- no wonder they promoted you! Car work is looking good

Linda

Linda wrote:Hey just wanted to say I am enjoying your enthusiasm and jealous of your unlimited energy- no wonder they promoted you! Car work is looking good

Linda

Haha, thank you!!!

So, I have pretty big news... I am not going to restore the '70 2000 I just brought home. It is a really nice body, and pretty much completely rust free, but despite that... I acquired something much MUCH better!!!

I will be starting a new build thread for my latest acquisition. The new car is SRL311-13257.

Here, I'll tease you guys with a photo:


It is a total diamond in the rough. Stay tuned, and you will see what I mean!!!

OH! Did I also mention this new car came with it's own parts car? Here is SRL311-05600:



The photo does this car too much justice. It is a total rust bucket. It makes my rust rocket look solid as hell. But it is full of amazing parts!

Tomakze wrote:OH! Did I also mention this new car came with it's own parts car? Here is SRL311-05600:

Um,, no, i dont think you did!
Whats up with that inside rear view mirror?

pebbles wrote: Um,, no, i dont think you did!
Whats up with that inside rear view mirror?

Hum... it looks like it has a flip dimmer, doesn't it! I'll have to look at it when I get a chance. The car is being stored in another town.

Here is the new build thread: Enjoy!!!

http://311s.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=22992" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;