Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

Just a small update on where things currently stand:

I finished one of the STI swap projects. And right before I was about to start the second STI swap, I ended up selling that my Forester XT and a Bugeye Impreza to make space for a 98 Supra from a mutual friend.

Original owner, no accident, factory original, and always garaged in one of the rarest factory colors, Quicksilver FX Metallic, so I just couldn’t pass it up. I really want to build the Supra, but the prices of factory original Supras have gone crazy the past 6-12 months, so I’ll leave it stock and reassess in a year or two. I still have my R32 GTR to scratch that itch.

So, without the second Subaru project, the Datsun is on deck! This will be a pretty long process with too many unknowns currently to precisely scope out my project.

Before anything, I plan on stripping the entire car down to verify the chassis and frame worthiness. I hope to start this process around February. This worthiness check will be the ultimate “go/no-go” event before true project planning starts.

I’ll make a project thread when I get the Datsun out of storage. Happy New Year everyone

GREETINGS! I some how missed your intro but we're happy to welcome you to the family. Glad that you're enjoying the site. As you said, this really is a wonderful bunch of people who want nothing more than to help everyone enjoy their Roadster no matter what form or shape it's in. Looking forward to seeing this project come together. Since you clearly like your cars and drive them, one of the things that will become most obvious is the vintage suspension. One of the best things you can do for that are the Bilstein shocks. You will find numerous posts about how transformative the shocks are (several by me!). I've had most every shock available for a stockish suspension on the car and these are hands down "it." I think they will do more for how much you enjoy the ride than just about anything else.
Welcome, and sunny side up!

Thanks Greg.

I just spent the last hour or so reading up on suspensions. The bilstein setups sounds ideal for my use case, mostly as a cruiser/canyon carver. This is my first solid axle car, so should be educational once I start dismantling everything. Thanks for checking something off my list.

Glad to help... and I don't even get a commission from JT . I've never had anything but a comp suspension on my car, so when I read the old magazine articles that said the tail end could get "hoppy when it's choppy" I knew exactly what they were talking about. You're probably used to a suspension that absorbs bumps, not a BANG! "What the #%@&!" if you hit a bad spot. The Bs control the chops/hops and really help absorb the pot holes... not like my wife's Z3, but soooo much better than before. To me, what makes the Roadster great is that it talks so much more directly to you because there are no electronics or power boosted this or that between you and the road... nothing. If I shut my car (engine) off going downhill it drives exactly the same... a little cart with grip! I do that frequently coming off Mt Rainier here in the PNW. It's surreal to silently coast downhill at high speed in a convertible... and I get great gas mileage that way, and achieve zero emissions! HA!

Yeah, definitely haven’t had any struts bottom out on me. My r32 has an extremely high spring (14kg front/10kg rear) which causes some air time on certain bumps. My struts are way too slow/weak on the rebound to catch the springs, so I go flying. I’ll probably switch it around tax return season; it’s getting unbearable.

As long as the bilsteins keep the car planted over subpar road conditions, so be good enough for me. I’m not trying to break any course records. I usually like having a little adjustment over rebound to dial up and down depending on cruising or canyon driving, but I guess I’ll shoot for a Goldilocks alignment setting.

"appearance will supersede authenticity"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Love this!