Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

A Tale of Two Sora's

I drove Sora to the SSF area.



As I was snapping pics by the bayside a gentleman walking his dog called out "Hey, are you Alvin?"


Turns out he's a fellow roadster owner with several cars! He started showing me pictures of his Datsun on his phone.
This is his '70 with a 215hp Rebello U20:



1 of many(!) race cars:


We chatted for a bit and it was rad. When he's ready we'll put it on the dyno.
I headed home on a beautiful day.

The Jag Lady
An encounter from 2016 on my way home from work in the roadster, enjoy!

This made my day today as I drove the roadster home from work:

I spotted an E-type Jag one car ahead of me while driving on I-280S. I sped up to snap a picture but when I got close the driver sped up too! Eventually I got side-by side and we exchanged smiles and thumbs up all around.




You know me I love to roll so I gave the signal and waited for the Jag to surge forward...then I gas it. 3rd, 4th and into 5th we were dead even. We took the same exit and chatted at the stoplight. It is '71 XKE V12 and she owns 3 of them!
Here is the best part: After we both acknowledge each other's cars she says oh my god I love MG's! I tell her it's actually a Datsun. She then asks me if I belong to an MG club.



Linda Jannsen(sp?) you made my day if you are out there contact me!

At work:

Henceforth, "Alvin G., Ambassador for Datsun Roadsters." Congratulations -- you've earned it.

I parked in front of my local Fred Meyer a couple weeks ago, and when I went inside, a lady asked me if that was my 68 roadster outside. I said yes, and she told me that was her first car. I told her her folks were cool, but she said that her folks wanted her to buy a mustang, but in 68, the roadster was cheaper. Had it for years, and she wished she still had the car. I told her the keys were in it, but she declined, due to bad hips. Lots of smiles. Pat

Last Saturday drove out to the lookout. It's always exciting to see who's up there, or if the view is clear.



I met met some really cool car enthusiasts and turns out we grew up in nearby towns. We ended up chatting for about 30 minutes.



As I was about to leave a group of teens arrived and put on a show. I was so happy to see younger folks still into cars. The 350Z owner was actually an intern at the shop!

Young punks!!! Get off my lawn!!!

But seriously... Alvin, I think your 'Who did you meet today?" posts are what it's all about.

From my perspective and my background of hunting and fishing in some pretty remote places, those interactions with folks you wouldn't normally run into, but inherently have at least some common interest with, are usually the highlight of the adventure.

It's not about the fish I caught, or if I harvested an elk, but about the journey and the people met along the way.

I just can't wait to do that in my Roadster!

Last Friday it was Mr rattlesnake
I was going for a ride on an Enduro cycle , heard a rattle thought was a bike problem then got bit , but thought at first it was a bee , he went for a short cycle ride before dropping off

redroadster wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 7:36 pm Last Friday it was Mr rattlesnake
I was going for a ride on an Enduro cycle , heard a rattle thought was a bike problem then got bit , but thought at first it was a bee , he went for a short cycle ride before dropping off

Dude! What did you do?

Well it wasn't til I got home and started rubbing that anti bacterial gel that I saw 2 punctures
Also I was getting weak or dizzy headed but it was never swollen or sore at the bite ...itched like crazy though
I thought a black snake or rat or king snake I've got those , because it was black and a lighter color , I ruled out a rattler , but then that rattling noise hmmm.
At home wiped away some blood and a bitter ( smelling) clear fluid maybe was the venom , I quickly reached down and felt the head when it bit but wondered what that was.

I went to sleep woke up later felt ok
Maybe it was a fake rattler there is one non venom , I see there are black & gray Rattlers out W and up N it might have hitched a ride down with the west in drought

The Ozzy in Cali

I took the roadster to run errands. As I backed out of a parking spot at our local strip mall I spotted a bright yellow Mazda RX-2 sedan! We were heading in opposite directions but as I looked in my rear-view I could see that he stopped and had his turned around like me, so I turned around and we both parked. The owner's name was Tony, and he was originally from Australia.


He told me all about his Mazda and how he restored it himself. It sported a 12A with a few chassis upgrades.Super clean.




Tony had a wonderful sense of humor and similar taste in cars. We both took the "less is more" approach (at least aesthetically) when building our cars.

We would go on to enjoy many fun runs and events together. Here we are side by side staging for a massive caravan I organized to the landmark 2012 "Bayline" event in San Leandro.



Our latest drive was in 2020. I haven’t seen Tony in many years so it was a joy to have him along:
In addition to the full restoration it now has a full (S5) 13B turbocharged drivetrain with a Ford 9″ rear end! It is still mint.




We are still in touch to this day and try to enjoy the occasional brisk drive.
Always thankful to many friendships that have been sparked by my roadster!

Roadster Ralph

Circa 2001, I remember seeing a silver roadster roaming around my town on a few occasions. Spotted it at a stoplight once. The driver was super tall and it had a seat cover. Then I actually saw it parked in a grocery store lot. Didn't think to leave a note, but I enjoyed admiring it...a '69 SRL, with Panasports on chunky Advan A032R slicks and a slightly lowered suspension...it really got me excited.

Fast forward a year and I'm cruising in my roadster. I took a shortcut home through an old neighborhood and noticed the same roadster, sitting in a garage! This time I didn't hesitate and walked up to the house to try and meet the owner. We both ended up chatting for a bit. His name was Ralph and he was a huge car enthusiast.




Not only did he own the Datsun roadster, he had an BMW E30 M3 and a Datsun 1200 race car in his sideyard. Ralph raced the 1200 at local community college auto-x event known as "The Duel at DeAnza".


We talked roadsters for awhile...his car was set up so that he could instruct drivers at Thunderhill Raceway! Hence the slick tires and (1 coil removed) suspension.

Ralph was very adept at auto-repair...he told me to return a week later as he would be changing the clutch on a friend's U20...of course I obliged to be part of the fun and the prospect of meeting another roadster owner! And this is how i met John....



John owned a '67 SPL with a full U20/5-speed and Solexes...I'm struggling to find pics I snapped of the whole car. John and i jumped into my roadster to grab some parts from a local vendor named Rod (of Rod's Datsun Parts)...I'll never forget Rod's garage...it felt like a convenience store of Datsun parts.
We got the clutch replaced and John was back on the road...I never heard from them afterwards

Some three years later, around 2004-5 I was at Z Car Garage and somehow John was there! He was thinking about doing an SR20 swap...so we both drove each others' roadsters, I remember we even did a roll-on race. John was in San Jose living out of The Fairmont hotel temporarily...didn't get his full story but I'm asking Rob of his whereabouts.


I missed both of these guys...Ralph called me out of the blue sometime in 2008. He wanted to sell all of his Datsun roadster stuff as he was moving. I said to post it on the mailing list. I think he ended up giving to Mike Young. That was the last I heard from Ralph. Hope he 's out there Enjoying the Ride!

The Nicest MG guy/I'm an MG Magnet Part 2

My first car was a 1977 MGB roadster. Since owning a Datsun roadster I've bumped into many MG's on the road with enough stories (and pictures) to start a sub-thread This is a story of encountering one MG owner and by chance bumping into him again!




In 2013 I drove my roadster to the local auto parts store to get a new battery for our VW and there was an MGB in the lot!!!
I could not find the owner in the store, but caught him as he was leaving. The car was in a fire and he restored it. I asked him if he wanted to do some roll-ons but today was oil change day...all smiles as we departed.


Z Car Garage held a dyno day for MG cars the following year. We thought it would be fun crash the party and we put my roadster on the dyno for fun:D There were crowds of MG owners at the event and I felt a hand on my shoulder followed by a voice "You really love MGBs don't you?!" It was the same gentleman I had run into at the auto parts store! But I never got his name...and though we did finally exchange names right now I'm drawing a blank Here he is posing with my roadster, at an MG Dyno Day, with the "Not MG" sticker (thanks Mark Dent) that we joked about at our initial encounter, and his full MG apparel:

Yesterday I decided to put some more miles on the refreshed engine and work on EFI tuning and ended up out in a place called Mossy Rock, kinda between Mt Rainier and Mt St Helens. While checking out a really nice riverside park, I came back to the lot to find my new friend Roger taking pictures of the car. He and his family were up from Oregon and camping in the park. Turns out his dad has a '69 Roadster with a KA24 conversion and a custom dash they did, as well as a series one 240Z. When I popped the hood he immediately recognized the Jenvey DCOE look-alike throttle bodies, which was something he and his dad were considering for the 240. He's been on 311 many times for tech info, and I encouraged him and his dad to post some pics and share their cars. They also have another Roadster that's being set up with a Ford 2.3 turbo motor in the works, and was aware of the member here who runs one (blocking on the name, sorry! BTW, Hot Rod Garage season 7 episode 5 has the guys upgrade that engine to produce 278WHP from a crank 150hp. Just watched it today). Dad is 85 now and like many of his generation is not computer savvy or very interested in group car meets, but I bet they would have enjoyed Shedd. I am ready to share all I've learned about EFI and the wonderful family here, so I hope he reaches out when they get back home.

Great information Greg. Way to represent.
I'll have to look up that show.
BTW, I read an old Datsun Roadster Review and it had this guy on the cover...
.

Ah yes, many moons ago when I lived in So Cal. Several great folks, among them Dave Premo and wife Karen, did a good bye fun run when I was moving back to Washington. The car's look hasn't changed that much from the rear, other than the wheels. It was my daily driver back then. I must have somewhere around 250-300K miles in that car. I never get tired of it!