My Coronavirus purchase – 1969 Datsun 2000

[Old Rice]

Looks like a great restoration, welcome.

Thanks Mike!

[notoptoy]

Sid (SPL310) is in your area, a wealth of knowledge and possibly some parts if you can pry them out of him!

[Old Rice]

Sid (SPL310) is in your area, a wealth of knowledge and possibly some parts if you can pry them out of him!

Great to know as someone who is knowledgeable and has parts is worth their weight in gold!

[Gregs672000]

Welcome Steve, two great cars you have there. The great thing about a Roadster is it's a convertible. I dont know what kind of roads you have to drive, but nothing beats a convertible in the mountains!

Given the plugged fuel filter, check inside the gas tank for any crud as a few others have experienced that. I've been fortunate not to. Also, make part of your tune up an inspection of the upper timing chain tensioner and the chain guide. The upper tensioner should be shimmed to take up most of the travel of the tensioner to keep the chain tight during start up. It is oil pressure actuated, and is the last part to get pressure. This design flaw results in the next thing you need to check, which is the sides of the L that is in front of the cam gear, looking for chain strikes from when the chain is loose on start up. This weakens the L until it breaks off and blows up your motor. This is covered in the tech wiki on the site under "evil L". Regarding oil pressure at start up, when you do an oil change check for the presence of the anti drain back tube that fits inside the filter. These can go missing over the years. Check your valve lash/adjustment. Just as an FYI, they loosen instead of tighten as the engine warms up. So for example 8 and 10 cold (intake/exhaust) will be 10 and 12 hot. This is the opposite of what would be expected.
Has the smog equipment been removed? That's important to know as there are differences in ignition timing based on the curve that is built into the distributor, and unless this is known it can cause an over advanced condition if the initial timing is set to pre-smog specs.
We're here to help. Ask any questions!

[Old Rice]

Welcome Steve, two great cars you have there. The great thing about a Roadster is it's a convertible. I dont know what kind of roads you have to drive, but nothing beats a convertible in the mountains!

Given the plugged fuel filter, check inside the gas tank for any crud as a few others have experienced that. I've been fortunate not to. Also, make part of your tune up an inspection of the upper timing chain tensioner and the chain guide. The upper tensioner should be shimmed to take up most of the travel of the tensioner to keep the chain tight during start up. It is oil pressure actuated, and is the last part to get pressure. This design flaw results in the next thing you need to check, which is the sides of the L that is in front of the cam gear, looking for chain strikes from when the chain is loose on start up. This weakens the L until it breaks off and blows up your motor. This is covered in the tech wiki on the site under "evil L". Regarding oil pressure at start up, when you do an oil change check for the presence of the anti drain back tube that fits inside the filter. These can go missing over the years. Check your valve lash/adjustment. Just as an FYI, they loosen instead of tighten as the engine warms up. So for example 8 and 10 cold (intake/exhaust) will be 10 and 12 hot. This is the opposite of what would be expected.
Has the smog equipment been removed? That's important to know as there are differences in ignition timing based on the curve that is built into the distributor, and unless this is known it can cause an over advanced condition if the initial timing is set to pre-smog specs.
We're here to help. Ask any questions!

Hi Greg,

I appreciate all the information you provided. I need to see what a stock engine looks like to see if mine has been tampered with.

I have been reading a lot of posts on the site and have seen many references to this 'Evil L' and will try to address it. As for the oil, I already made my first mistake and bought a K&N HP-2005 oil filter on eBay which is shorter than the filter that is on there now. I ordered a Hastings which should be the right height. If the anti drain back tube happens to be missing, I will probably put the smaller K&N on until I can source the tube. Hopefully, when I do the oil change next weekend, it will be there.

As for mountain roads, unfortunately none near me. Taking the car to the mountains one day will certainly be a future goal of mine!

[Old Rice]

Welcome Steve, two great cars you have there. The great thing about a Roadster is it's a convertible. I dont know what kind of roads you have to drive, but nothing beats a convertible in the mountains!

Given the plugged fuel filter, check inside the gas tank for any crud as a few others have experienced that. I've been fortunate not to. Also, make part of your tune up an inspection of the upper timing chain tensioner and the chain guide. The upper tensioner should be shimmed to take up most of the travel of the tensioner to keep the chain tight during start up. It is oil pressure actuated, and is the last part to get pressure. This design flaw results in the next thing you need to check, which is the sides of the L that is in front of the cam gear, looking for chain strikes from when the chain is loose on start up. This weakens the L until it breaks off and blows up your motor. This is covered in the tech wiki on the site under "evil L". Regarding oil pressure at start up, when you do an oil change check for the presence of the anti drain back tube that fits inside the filter. These can go missing over the years. Check your valve lash/adjustment. Just as an FYI, they loosen instead of tighten as the engine warms up. So for example 8 and 10 cold (intake/exhaust) will be 10 and 12 hot. This is the opposite of what would be expected.
Has the smog equipment been removed? That's important to know as there are differences in ignition timing based on the curve that is built into the distributor, and unless this is known it can cause an over advanced condition if the initial timing is set to pre-smog specs.
We're here to help. Ask any questions!

Hi Greg,

I appreciate all the information you provided. I need to see what a stock engine looks like to see if mine has been tampered with.

I have been reading a lot of posts on the site and have seen many references to this 'Evil L' and will try to address it. As for the oil, I already made my first mistake and bought a K&N HP-2005 oil filter on eBay which is shorter than the filter that is on there now. I ordered a Hastings which should be the right height. If the anti drain back tube happens to be missing, I will probably put the smaller K&N on until I can source the tube. Hopefully, when I do the oil change next weekend, it will be there.

As for mountain roads, unfortunately none near me. Taking the car to the mountains one day will certainly be a future goal of mine!

[Gregs672000]

You're more than welcome, we want your Roadster experience to be great and long term! I tried the Mobil One short filter without the tube but found it would cause a much longer rattle before pressure came up to the tensioner. Now that mine is shimmed it may not be as noticeable, but I run the Hastings now with the tube and it's good.

[Old Rice]

You're more than welcome, we want your Roadster experience to be great and long term! I tried the Mobil One short filter without the tube but found it would cause a much longer rattle before pressure came up to the tensioner. Now that mine is shimmed it may not be as noticeable, but I run the Hastings now with the tube and it's good.

Appreciate it!

[Gregs672000]

When I got my Roadster 34 years ago as a student at Washington State University, my friend and fellow student John bought a '73 240 with '72 carbs on it. That summer we worked side by side in my parents carport south of Seattle, me on the 2000 and John on his 240. My car was far worse off than his, so we got to enjoy the Z much sooner, and it gave me the drive to forge ahead with the Roadster. Good memories.

[Old Rice]

Those do sound like some great memories and times. I will be having a steep learning curve because I have not wrenched on cars other than basic maintenance (hoses, filters, oil, battery, etc).

[spl310]

By the way, I am in St. Johns (Jacksonville) FL. Anyone else nearby?

I am sort of nearby. I am also in St. Johns! Holy cow another Roadster!! I will PM you my phone number. I am a resident Datsun Dork, so I will be happy to help!

[Old Rice]

Sid, thanks so much - I have sent a PM with my contact info as well. Looking forward to meeting you!

[Gregs672000]

Welcome to the power of the Roadster family! Insta help! Don't worry, Roadsters are fairly simple cars and a great platform to learn on and tinker with... that's why I love Mine! I'm mostly self taught with some great support over the years, and if I can do it you can too!

[Old Rice]

Yes, looking forward to learning how to work on it and I will have to be forgiving of myself for those "oh crap" moments when I screw things up!