Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

Hello everybody,

I've had a 67.5 1600 sitting in my garage since I was a little kid (for about 20 years). I've always been in love with the car, but don't know a whole lot about it. That's why I've registered here. I've been browsing this site all day, and I already feel pretty knowledge about this car. You guys really know your stuff.

My car is in REALLY bad shape. I'm not really sure what it would take to get this at least up and running. Regardless of what the picture shows, I do have all of the parts, they just aren't necessarily on the car at the moment.


I hope to chat it up roadster-style with you guys alot, so I can possibly get something accomplished with this car.



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I forgot to add something to my post.

I noticed that most of the Roadster owners on this forum are mainly on the west coast. Is that cause the other roadsters elsewhere can't handle the crappy climate of the Central US?

I was just wondering who else was lives near Illinois, and if anybody knows of anybody who specializes on roadsters a little more local to me?

I'm having work done on my car in Eastern PA. The shop doesn't specifically work on roadsters (in fact, mine was the first they had. There is a second one there now.) but they can take an old car, tear it apart and make it look and run like new.

I have no idea just how many original Datsun parts were put in so far. The shop hesitated to pay more for the hard to find parts. They have other resources to find parts from other cars that will work with our cars.

I'm finding that it would be cheaper to buy a working car off of ebay, but the car belonged to my dad (he lost interest in it) and it has sentimental value. I remember being stuffed behind the front seats when I was in 1st or 2nd grade when he first got the car.

Send me a private message and I'll get you the contact info for the restoration shop. If you want something more local, look for someone driving an old car and ask for a recomendation. There may also be some local auto clubs...

Counting you that makes ten of us here in Illinois!



Dave Cooke
69 1600
Lake In The Hills, IL

I know what you mean NKing79, this car has sentimental value to me as well.
Can you believe it? We used to fit five people in this car, back when child restraints weren't as enforced.


That's me with the bottle in front of my dad.

D Cooke, who else on this forum is from Illinois? I searched the member list, but it only showed about 2 or 3.

Welcome and may you get your roadster back on the road sooner than later. We actually have people from several different countries and as well as some East Coasters. The Easterners are at Road Atalanta this weekend I believe. I think you will find us willing to help any way we can. ---And usually you get good advice.
Enjoy.


Steve

Welcome. And...

Woohoo, another Roadster restored back on the roads.

Judging from the photo, your dad looks like a real cool cat. I mean he did own a Roadster and all.

Wow - that photo is awesome. I should ask my dad if he has any photos of the car. Maybe you can find another roadster and combine the parts to form a super-roadster.... From the photo at the top it looks like the body is in good shape and is fairly free of rust. From what it looks like so far (I'm still new at all of this), roadster parts are expensive. If your engine is too far gone it might be cheaper to drop in an engine.

When I first got the roadster from my father I had it looked at. It was kept outdoors and I wanted to make sure the frame was still good and the body wouldn't fall apart. That might be a good place to start. Also, from the photo, it looks like you need to re-assemble some things. Is the engine still in tact or is it taken apart?

Darkbane,
Here's a link to a list of Midwest Datsun Roadster owners I threw together on my homepage yesterday. There is no club here in Illinois for us, but Eric Frisbee in Maryville, IL is working on something for us stuck out here in the Midwest.

http://home.comcast.net/~cookefam314/mi ... owners.htm


Dave Cooke
Lake In The Hills, IL
1969 1600

I've thought about buying a roadster that is already up and running, but the only ones that I see for sale are all on the West Coast. That's very frustrating.

I don't think the first picture I posted gives the car much justice. It has been sitting a while, luckily in a garage. Before it got permanently parked, my dad had gone from top to bottom rust proofing as much as he could, so othere isn't a whole lot of rust. Besides a little surface rust and a few dings here and there, the only bad spot on the car is on the Right Rear Wheel Fender. It has rusted through unfortunately, but that can be fixed. Everything else that I can see is rust free. I'm working on getting a page on my website for this roadster, so I'll be able to post some more pics.

As far as the engine is concerned. I don't really know. All except for the valve cover gasket being gone, the engine is pretty much sealed up. I don't really know what kind of damage oil that has sat that long can do.

What are some things I should look for or keep in mind when determining if the engine is junk or not. My dad said that it ran great when he was driving it.

The only thing I've done to the engine was tinkered with the carbs back in the day when I thought I was some kind of master mechanic.

I would like to keep the engine that is in there, mainly cause I dont' really have the resources or tools or know-how to swap the engine. That's why I wish I knew someone around my area that could help. All of the mechanics around my town are All american hillbillys that would just laugh at the thought of this car.

Hi,

I bought my 1970 1600 and it had been sitting inside a sealed up garage for 12 years!

I turned the engine over by hand with the spark plugs out just to see if it was frozen up or something and it turned ok so I proceeded to put on a new water pump as the old one was about disolved away by electolisis.

Drained the oil, changed the oil and filter. Made me an extension to chuck in a drill to turn the oil pump and have instant oil pressure, and after replacing some hoses and having the raidiator rodded out, fired her up.

Just go along on each item starting with the basics and I'll bet you'll have her up and running in no time.

Scott

I agree with Scott. If it has been indoors, there is every possibility that it can be brought back to life with no real drama. Plan on the gas tank needing to be redone, the hydraulics all being wasted, and maybe some cooling issues, but the engine itself is likely OK. I have started several that have been put away. When I brought home my 1500, the car had been in a junk yard for 10 years. Mercifully, it was a British car junk yard, so no one scavanged it. I got it running (well I might add!) in about 45 minutes without replacing any parts. I eventually replaced the water pump and had the radiator cored along with new hoses, but the engine was not opened up other than the valve cover being removed and oil poured over the rocker shaft assembly prior to priming. I did not make the primer - I removed the plugs and cranked it over with the starter after pulling it through by hand. It worked fine. Best of luck!!

Be thankful your motor was in one piece.

I bought mine with only the block attached to the tranny. The rest was in boxes. It like putting a big ole puzzle back together. Annoying has all heck, but you really get to know your a motor that way boy. Course, I wouldn't curse that on anyone.

Hey that car looks pretty good. I'd rather rebuild yours than do mine over again. That looks like it was just pulled apart. Putting one back together isn't that hard if everything is there. A little time consuming, but a good learning experiance non the less.

have fun,

Will

Thanx for all of your positive comments guys. I really appreciate it.
I'm starting to feel like this is fairly reasonable goal for me to accomplish.

I was feeling a little overwhelmed by it before.

I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more posts from me in the near future, because I have a lot of questions to ask, and I can tell that this is the right place to ask them. You guys really know your stuff. I'm glad for that, because I don't.