Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

AC77 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 21, 2018 2:11 pm Hopefully, I never have a "roadster wreck" story to tell, not because I don't survive, but because it never occurs. I am a defensive driver in all cars, but especially so in my Datsun. Compared to a normal car I'm small, let alone trucks and semis. I'm always thinking of the "what if" scenarios and try and never put myself in situations where I don't have some options. Unfortunately, you can't account for every fool on the road.

AC77 I expect that pretty much everyone who has had a wreck said exactly the same things before theirs. You may be overdue for yours.

I've almost died at least a half dozen times in my life, so you're probably right. I suppose if it doesn't kill me, it will add one more story to the list.

Not a car collision, but a wreck:



From Michael Jennings:
"This happened in the late 80s, Al & I where heading home from a vintage race when he made a mistake on exiting a corner. When off the road & down a hill, hit a tree stump in the tall grass & went airborn and hit a tree 6' up, upside down just behind drivers door, ejected out on one side of tree & car landed on otherside. Al recovered & never had a convertable again. This was a clean car but most everything was damaged, even the roll bar was bent !!"

someone mentioned the thin studs on the stock seats... I didnt like that at all and when I was looking for new bolts for my new seats, I fit the largest one that would go through the stock holes and bought the best one that I could, all Stainless Steel....

Safety by 2mAn

2mAn wrote: ↑Wed Mar 21, 2018 10:17 pm someone mentioned the thin studs on the stock seats... I didnt like that at all and when I was looking for new bolts for my new seats, I fit the largest one that would go through the stock holes and bought the best one that I could, all Stainless Steel....

Safety by 2mAn

2mAn, your stainless steel bolts are good from the aspect that they will not rust and will stay looking good and will come out more easily than rusty steel ones, but from the aspect of holding your seats hey are very poor. The SS is just slightly harder than the softest bolts that you can buy at your hardware. If you want stronger go back and get grade five or eight. It is a very common misconception that stainless steel is harder than it really is.

Well... I’m glad I posted them! Nobody had mentioned anything about it in my thread. Should I keep any of the SS stuff? The hut and washer are also SS.

I wonder what the Hardware Stores return policy is haha

I thought about that, but wasn't sure about the accuracy of my thought.

I imagine, you could keep the washer - no stress there, but not the nut.

I also put a rubber washer between frame and big washer to keep some of the water out.

My (limited) understanding is that SS is actually more brittle, and more likely to break in an impact?

A lot depends on what grade SS it is, it will definitely be better than unheat=treated (grade 2) steel bolts but probably not as strong as grade 5 or 6. This chart has great info if you want to see more detailed info. https://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-info ... Chart.aspx

I (thankfully) have never been in a wreck in my roadster or any car really but have had many close calls. 2 of them were in the roadster.

The first one was at a light at night. The light had been green for at least a minute and this guy decides to blow through right as I enter the intersection. Luckily, between my maneuver and his braking, we didnt collide but man that gave me a shock.

The second time was just recently. I got caught in saturday (why?) traffic, stop and go and since i constantly check my rear out of habit, i saw the lady (with a kid!) behind me on her cellphone. Sure enough, a few minutes later, we come to another stop and she slams on her brakes, locks her tires and stops a foot from my bumper. I gave her a finger and my best pissed off look and go in the next lane. Sure enough, as she passes, she is back on her phone. I was so angry...

C.Costine wrote: ↑Thu Mar 22, 2018 7:33 am 2mAn, your stainless steel bolts will come out more easily than rusty steel ones,

Another misconseption, Stainless steel is also very prone to galling, so its doesn't come apart many times.

IMHO, the SS bolts are fine, I would be more worried about the bolt pulling through the floor.

Regarding the bolt through the floor trick, that was what Dan at Rallye discussed many years ago in his manual. He was in a serious accident and noted that the collapsible steering column worked as designed but the seat back broke and his seat bolts had nearly pulled through the floor. He suggested large thick washers or metal plates to reinforce this area. I just pulled my seats to do some work on them recently and noted that I had listened many years ago... big ol washers in there!

Gregs672000 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 07, 2018 11:32 am Regarding the bolt through the floor trick, that was what Dan at Rallye discussed many years ago in his manual. He was in a serious accident and noted that the collapsible steering column worked as designed but the seat back broke and his seat bolts had nearly pulled through the floor. He suggested large thick washers or metal plates to reinforce this area. I just pulled my seats to do some work on them recently and noted that I had listened many years ago... big ol washers in there!

I recently had to remove my seats (upgrade to 3 point belts) and noticed these beefy steel washers as well. I assumed they were factory but very interesting to know there is a story behind them!

I decided to remove the seat mounting plates to get to the rust underneath. Not a fun job and probably not necessary, but I did put in wider, thicker plates.



Complete overkill would have been to install identical plates under the body as well!