Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

Alvin wrote:OMG factory roll bar!!!

So, are the factory rollbars actually worth $500? I want to sell it so I can fund building a custom rollbar for the car.

Also, I shot some WD40 into the cylinders (and peered in through the spark plug hole... shiny and new inside!) And moved the engine. It moves easily and freely. Looks like we are good! I'm going to buy the U20 gasket set from Datsunparts.com and replace them all. Sitting dry has not been kind to the existing seals, and several have cracked. Might as well pull it apart, check the torque on all the bolts, apply new assembly lube, clean any crud off, and seal it back up.

Getting wheels for this car has proven to be a challenge. The steel wheel company I was going to use can only get smoothy wheels in our bolt pattern. The alloys I picked out are discontinued. And getting anything that has the right offset is practically impossible. Gah!!!

Last night, a buddy of mine and I yanked the engine, pushed the shell outside and power washed it. It cleaned up nicely. The tranny looks like someone pulled it apart and resealed it. The whole thing is spotless, and looks brand new! Not even a speck of clutch residue inside. The clutch and pressure plate are both brand new, and the flywheel was surfaced. Pretty exciting!

Oh, and yes, that is a 4 into 1 header you see!!!

I have been a busy bee! I have been working on this thing almost every night. I've also been selling anything and everything I can to raise funds to build it. So far, so good! I've also had some adventures already... for instance, I pulled the oil pan off the engine, and found this:



So that was a fun discovery! I cleaned most of it all out, but I will spend more time on it yet, as I don't want this to cause problems. I guess I can actually say my car is mouse powered! Perhaps I'll name the car "mousetrap" or something similar. lol!

A buddy and I have also begun prepping the body for POR15. We plan to coat the inner fenders, interior, and perhaps the engine bay. Here is what we've done so far:



And I've started stripping the insulation off the floorboards. The heat gun and scrapper made a sticky mess, but a flathead screwdriver and a deadblow hammer makes quick work of it! It explodes into chunks, which is oddly satisfying, lol!



In this process, I've teased out a few rust spots I couldn't see before, but it is all really minor. Nothing I'm going to spend much time worrying about. We will clean it up, patch the tiny holes, use rust converter on what we can't reach, and then seal it with POR15. I like being on top of this stuff... ignoring rust is a pretty bad policy!

Then I've decided to buy brand new seat rails for the Miata seats I have. The Datsun rails were sticky, so I took one apart and cleaned it all up and re-greased it... but now I can't figure out how to reassemble it!!! So, brand new seat rails it is. Probably a better plan anyway. Corbeau sells double latching seat rails with great reviews for $50 each. I'm sure I can modify them to work, and have a nice, high quality rail to go with the newly recovered seats.

Also, if you want to hear me blab about the car some more, I made a video as well:

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One word about Miata seats, height. If you are tall, cars will vanish behind the rear view mirror. Also, Miata seats aren't very comfortable. I had them in my car, but getting rid of them was the best move ever. I'm about 6-2, and with the Miata seats I was looking through the upper 2 inches of windshield. I now have Corbeau classic seats that are mounted directly to the floor and they are both more comfortable, and I sit low enough that my helmet is below the roll bar.

Will

I had these seats in the '68. I too am 6'2", but never had an issue. They were mounted directly to the floor before though. I always thought they were comfortable...

My miata seats are directly mounted on the floor, and I took a steel peace of the bottom plate of the seat to lower it, they have a great seat, and I got the type with the low neck rest. The seats are lower then the original seats from the 66.

I find the Miata seats very comfortable, the ability to recline the back is key. They do sit high - I have not performed the lumpectomy though.

I have had Miata seats for years - IMHO more comfortable, 'breathe' better, no thigh burn on hot days, reclinable, more lumbar support, but then again, I am only 5.7

Looking at the miata seats, I feel like there should be a way to keep them quite low, with the sliders. They are designed to have the sliders tucked in beside the butt cushion. As long as I can keep them as low profile as possible, I should be alright. I'll probably keep the insulation under them as thin as possible. I have some ideas for how to do this.

Speaking of insulation, I've nearly finished removing the old insulation from the floorboards. Nasty stuff, and horribly ineffective by today's standards. I have both floor sections stripped, and the firewall behind the pedals is done. That was "fun." Tonight I'll finish the passenger side, and begin stripping paint/rust. The worst rust in the whole car is on the driver's side body bolt under the dash. It is bloated and peeling, but still feels fairly structural. I think I'll wire wheel the shit out of it, use rust converter on it, and then apply POR15, in the interest of saving time. I have a very limited amount of time to get this car on the road. I'd like your thoughts on that though... I'm guessing the "right" way to fix it would involve removing the body from the frame, and I've ditched that idea for now to save precious time. Getting that beautiful engine working is eating into the time I had allotted for the bodywork. And I still need to replace the windshield frame! I'd like to replace the notoriously crappy body pads though... Maybe I can do that without completely removing the body, and just lift it enough to slide them in. Might give me a better idea of how bad the rust is right there, too.

Anyway, I will be stripping the interior panels, use rust converter, then coat with POR15, then apply dynamat to EVERYTHING. That should give me extra thermal protection, and quiet down the ride, which will be nice.

As a sidenote, there are weird cardboard panels under the dash, attached to the firewall. Definitely factory. They are in great shape, but what are they for? If that is supposed to be insulation, WOW. How ghetto! Can I remove them permanently? I'm guessing the dynamat will do a much better job.

There are some 'triangularish' cards/panels in the footwells of both the driver/passenger sides. They are purely decorative - hide the hole that the door limiters have. There are holes in the body to allow for 'snap fit', but velcro works just as well.

Get the car on the road, get 'bonded' so that the time/money you will inevitably spend will give its own rewards. These are OLD cars, with old car issues (wiring, lower fender rust and front ball joints especially) -- but they are infinitely rewarding in FUN and driveability. You will hardly EVER be able to gas-up without a conversation.

And you have found this forum - full of knowledge and love for our little cars.

Others will hopefully chime in, but my ONLY concern wold be the condition of the engine. SRL engines can be spendy to sort out and I would be inclined to get some 'expert' advice on the condition of the one you intend to maintain.

I'm still pissed off that YOU found such a great deal <LOL> but it sounds as if you are going to add another roadster to the list of 'driving' cars, as opposed to scrapping.

Don't forget to add them both to the registry.

And, unless I have missed something, it helps to post city/state to your avatar.

mraitch wrote:There are some 'triangularish' cards/panels in the footwells of both the driver/passenger sides. They are purely decorative - hide the hole that the door limiters have. There are holes in the body to allow for 'snap fit', but velcro works just as well.

Get the car on the road, get 'bonded' so that the time/money you will inevitably spend will give its own rewards. These are OLD cars, with old car issues (wiring, lower fender rust and front ball joints especially) -- but they are infinitely rewarding in FUN and driveability. You will hardly EVER be able to gas-up without a conversation.

And you have found this forum - full of knowledge and love for our little cars.

Others will hopefully chime in, but my ONLY concern wold be the condition of the engine. SRL engines can be spendy to sort out and I would be inclined to get some 'expert' advice on the condition of the one you intend to maintain.

I'm still pissed off that YOU found such a great deal <LOL> but it sounds as if you are going to add another roadster to the list of 'driving' cars, as opposed to scrapping.

Don't forget to add them both to the registry.

And, unless I have missed something, it helps to post city/state to your avatar.

Huh, my avatar info is displaying state/city so far as I can tell In case I'm wrong, I live in Greeley Colorado. Anyway, I've been a roadster owner and member of this site for about 7 years now, but this is my first 2 liter. I'm getting tons of expert advise from the wonderful people on this forum! And luckily, I live fairly close to a few experts. I haven't yet, but I'm hoping I can convince Gary Boone to come lend a hand, since he is only an hour or so away. If not, Jeff Winters is also around, although I'm not sure he is still in business. If anyone is nearby, and want to help, a meal and free beer is up for grabs!!!

Anyway, thank you! I couldn't believe the deal I got. The good car is so good I can't believe it is 45 years old!

Didn't you need one of these? This might be a faster way to resolve problems with your existing...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1968-69-70-Dats ... 8c&vxp=mtr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ha! That is exactly what I need, but I plan to use the one off the rusty car. It seems to be in good shape, and I already have that, so won't cost $250. Lol! Thanks for thinking of me though!!!

BTW the factory roll bar is worth more than $500 as they never come up for sale! If you are looking to sell it I would put it on ebay and let the bids fly! You can ship it easily as it comes apart in sections. Just my 2 cents.