Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

Hey all,
I recently started looking for a Roadster to add to my collection of Datsuns. One kind of found me and in my price range. Best of all it was only 3 miles from my home.

Its a 1970 1600 and in fair shape. Its been sitting for years so it will need some things to get it back on the road. I'm sure I will find out more about what it needs once I get working on it more.

It also came with a parts car (1969) in rough shape with lots of missing parts. According to the owner he drove the parts car home years ago, so he says it should run. The engine looks complete. I want to get rid of the parts car soon because of room issues. (or should I say "Lack of room"). Any suggestions on what a rough parts car is worth (roller, with engine and trans).

So, here are a couple pics of my newest addition, the red car at the end is the parts car!

Thanks, Dale

That 69 engine compartment is so clean, it looks like you came across a great project there. On the roller - i have no clue what it is worth - what someone would pay.
The 1600/4 speed is not worth much on it's own so your value is going to be in how useable all the sheet metal and frame is.

L320 wrote:Hey all,


Its a 1970 1600 and in fair shape. Its been sitting for years so it will need some things to get it back on the road. I'm sure I will find out more about what it needs once I get working on it more.



Thanks, Dale

In Fair Shape?? Where's it been sitting for a while............At The Dealer? Looks great!

Get that smog stuff off of there ASAP, the clutch fan fails frequently.
A true sign it has been sitting though when there is smog equip still on.

Linda

That 69 engine compartment is so clean,

It's a 70 from the sidemarkers -- did you see something else in the engine bay?

RFR wrote: In Fair Shape?? Where's it been sitting for a while............At The Dealer? Looks great!

well, maybe it looks a little better in pictures. The paint and body work fair to good. Definitely not perfect. But thanks.

Linda wrote:Get that smog stuff off of there ASAP, the clutch fan fails frequently.
A true sign it has been sitting though when there is smog equip still on.

Linda

Thanks, Yea I will look into taking off all the smog stuff.

Garm wrote:

That 69 engine compartment is so clean,

It's a 70 from the sidemarkers -- did you see something else in the engine bay?

Yes, the white car is a 70 and the red parts car is a 69

Dale

You are too humble......That's a nice car. I can only wait till it is done!

Are you staying with bone stock??

RFR wrote:You are too humble......That's a nice car. I can only wait till it is done!

Are you staying with bone stock??

Thanks. Yea, I'll probably stay fairly stock with it. I like the stock look. However, some day I would love to have a really nice driver that's suitable for long distances. Like some of the nice Roadsters I saw at the Classic Datsun meet in Williams.

Dale

A properly set up roadster is a great reliable driver. Just make sure you have a good motor, good suspension, good breaks, good cooling system and electrical, etc, and you are good to go.
The key is to have everything up to snuff, just like any other car.

One recommendation I have is to change the Alternator to a a higher rated single wire GM. you can eliminate the original voltage regulator.

My 70 had logged quite a few faithful long distance miles for me, and I was always quite pleased and she never left me stranded.

As to the Alt mod, I took the 7 hour trip from Phoenix back to LA in pouring rain...............the whole way back! I had lights, heater, wipers, driving lights and full blast stereo with a separate power amp going the whole time. Electrical performed flawlessly as did the car.

The only down side to a roadster for long trips is the 4 speed transmission. You are running around 4,200 RPM at freeway speeds. I imagine a 5 speed would be better but I've never owned one, so cannot comment on that.

Well I made some progress on the Roadster today and was able to drive it a little bit. First I put new tires on it today. The old ones looked like new but were badly flat spotted from sitting so long, plus the DOT date code was 1997! So it got new ones today!

Next I had a couple buddies come over that know these SU carbs pretty good. We removed both carbs and cleaned them real well, re-installed them and synced them. The car runs MUCH better now. But I'm still having one issue. That is, the RPM comes down very slow when driving the car. For example when I accelerate in 1st to 3500 RPM then let off to change gears, the RPM hangs there to long. It doesn't drop between gears making it awkward? Any suggestion on probable causes? All the linkages look good and seem to return just fine, no cables hanging up.

Next, I have no tail lights or brake lights. They were working earlier but not now. The rear lights work with the turn signals but that's all? Maybe a fuse? All the fuses in the glove box look ok?

I'll keep looking tomorrow to see if I can find anything.

Anyway, it was a great day! The cars runs, MUCH MUCH better today. Just trying to narrow down the # of issues!

Here are a couple pictures of the new tires!

Thanks, Dale

As for the tail lites, check the connector under the clutch master and clean. May have bumped it working on the carbys.
love the new keds!

Man that is one nice looking Roadster. I would check the Choke cable, and then make sure you have springs on the throttle mechs - and are they attached and strong enough, not too strong.
Also, look at the needle alignment - if the needles aren't straight, they won't go up and down smoothly. Lastly, what weight oil did you put in the top of the carbs? It might be too thick?

pebbles wrote:As for the tail lites, check the connector under the clutch master and clean. May have bumped it working on the carbys.
love the new keds!

Thanks, I checked that and all is was good. I hate to admit it but I found a simple problem after lots of searching....
Last night I checked all the fuses and connectors that I could find. Then I pulled the light switch and checked to make sure it was working properly and it seemed to be. Couldn't find anything.

This morning I re-checked everything and I wasn't getting power to the connector that attaches to the light switch. So I traced things back to the fuse panel. Again everything looked ok, but this time I took the ohm meter to each fuse.

Ah-ha... There was one fuse that was open. I replaced it and everything is good again.

So, I didn't do the simple steps first! Even though all the fuses appeared to be good and no signs of a burned or broken fuse, one was in fact bad! Should have ohm'd them out first! I wouldn't have had to spend 2 hours contorted under the dash!

Dale

notoptoy wrote:Man that is one nice looking Roadster. I would check the Choke cable, and then make sure you have springs on the throttle mechs - and are they attached and strong enough, not too strong.
Also, look at the needle alignment - if the needles aren't straight, they won't go up and down smoothly. Lastly, what weight oil did you put in the top of the carbs? It might be too thick?

Thanks for the input. I will check the choke cable and springs today. The needles looked good and everything moved great when we had the carbs off yesterday. We used ATF for the oil in the carbs.

Dale

L320 wrote: But I'm still having one issue. That is, the RPM comes down very slow when driving the car. For example when I accelerate in 1st to 3500 RPM then let off to change gears, the RPM hangs there to long.

Check the throttle cable. might be a bit tight.