Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

hi folks...

My name is Rudy and I had just purchased a '68 1600 roadster late last week. My car is due to arrive from CO tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday) via transit carrier. It supposedly to have 66k original miles on it and was driven by an elderly lady who passed away and left the car in the garage for a couple of years. I happen to search on CL one day and saw the post which was only an hour old. After chatting with the gent who also recently acquired the vehicle via auction, I decided to bite the bullet and make the purchase before chatting with the wife first. Surprisingly, she was supportive with my decision and was looking forward to seeing the car in person. I admit, I was a bit apprehensive in purchasing a car unseen/untouched. But, the gent I was dealing with sounded like a stand up kinda guy and had to go with my gut feeling on this.

A bit of history, I had my first encounter with the roadster about 10 years ago. As I was driving along, I noticed an abandoned vehicle parked on the side of the road. It look like it went through hell. Rust bucket and beaten up I decided to check it out. It was a rusty red convertible with flat tires and was able to barely identify the emblem on the hood. It said Datsun, with a letter or two missing. The more I checked it out, the more I wanted it. I managed to find a contact number of the owner and wanted to see if they wanted to sell it to me. A week or so passes before I get a rejection from the owner who got it towed the following day from the spot it sat. Not sure what may have become of it. But, ever since then, I fell in love with the idea of owning my own roadster some day. During more research on the net, I stumbled across the Porsche 356 replicas which distracted me from the Datsun for a while. Then, I saw tv ads on the up and coming Pontiac solstice. It was a compromise from what I originally wanted. But, I ended purchasing the turbo version. As fun as it was, it did not have the same character quality of a classic roadster would have, imo. Nevertheless, I ended up selling the solstice after getting laid off from my previous job.

Three years later, I now work in SF as a Modelshop Manager in a large design firm. One of my co-workers, owns a 240z and showed me pics of his car in progress. All of a sudden the bug got me again and I remembered about my infatuation for the roadster. Afterwards, I became obsessed with doing research and reading as much as I can about this car. I ended up checking out 2 cars, one I already had a deposit on and cancelled later since it was not in running condition. I was this close to giving up on the search for a decent running roadster, as it was starting to take a toll on my sleep and time away from the fam. Then, without trying, the ad in CO came up out of no where.

I have big plans for the car and the first thing I plan on doing is dropping the fuel tank to get it cleaned at a radiator shop. Then follow up with replacement of hoses, dist. cap and points, spark plugs and wires, fuel filter, air filter, oil and filter, and whatever I can think of. Based on the pics, the exterior will need some minor body work and paint. And the interior will need to be worked on as well. But, I'm happy to get a roadster that runs unlike the previous one and, according to the seller, was complete, and had original miles and equipment in good shape still.

Anyway, sorry for the long story. Would like to meet other fellow owners in the bay area so I could tap into their knowledge banks about these wonderful cars. Will probably be asking tons of q's as I go on owning and driving this gem. Cheers, rudy

Congrats! Get ready to ask a lot of questions. Everyone here is very eager to help. Looks like a nice solid car, and there are many owners in your area. I would consider a EI Dizzy. (Distributor)

Welcome, fine looking start! Make sure to post your VIN# in the registry. You have found the best source of Roadster information in the world in my opinion!

Welcome. Congrats on the purchase.

Some local events coming up for you to check out. Come with your car if you can.

Fun run on Saturday: http://www.311s.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.ph ... 30#p196370
ZONC Car Show: http://www.311s.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21888

A bit further away:
Shasta Meet:http://www.311s.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.ph ... lit=shasta

Welcome Rudy! Looks like a terrific car, and its a great story! You're already on a great path to keeping that car on the road. There are plenty of us here in the East bay, so keep your eyes here for opportunities to get together. Consider coming to a Blackhawk Cars n' Coffee (the first Sunday morning of each month), or maybe the Downtown Danville "Hot Summer Nights" in July and August (or the Danville d'Elegance in September!). There are always a few of us Roadster guys hanging around. Cheers, Dave

Welcome. lotsa good roads out your way, epsecially on them levees going out in the Delta.
Don't forget the snowball rally as well. Might want to check out "vintagerallyecartel" on yahoogroups (might not have an e in rally), they have some cool events as well.
You have a soudn "starter checklist" to have a reliable safe ride. Questions always welcomed.

Thanks all for the welcome! It sounds like a very warm community already. Well the car arrived safely yesterday. The driver drove it off the trailer so I knew it ran. There's going to be some needed attention for the body as well as interior. But nothing major or catastrophic. The motor and all it's contents seem to be in decent shape. So, I decided to take he car out around the neighborhood. I drove a few blocks and decided to turn back. Made a sharp U-turn and the car decided to die. Tried re-starting while coasting and still will not crank. Rather, it just click once and no sound after. Played with the terminals on the side of the road an still same result...click and no sound. Pushed the car back to the house for a block or so and tried charging the battery. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the battery was loose and was not bolted down. Just sitting on the plastic tray. Also, noticed a couple of wires disconnected near the coil. I figure that when I made that u-turnthe battery must've tilted over and knocked them loose. Was able to reconnect one backto the coil. But the other, which came off an adjacent condenser, I could not find where to plug it. Here's a pic:
Looked and found a receipt of the battery and turned out to be a 9 yo one. So a quick trip to O'reilly for a new battery, battery mounting hardware, and new terminal connectors. Tried to restart with the same results. Click, no sound...click, no sound. Did it for the 3rd time and he turns over! Let her run and warm up a bit and restarted again without hesitation. Turned it off and again click, no sound. Click, no sound. Repeated this process for a few more times and she starts back up. So, I know it's unpredictable and intermittent. I spent last night researching on the forum and it may be the solenoid and/or starter that needs replacement.

So, I've read up on the gear reduction starters and was wondering if it's worth getting that or just get the coil first to eliminate the issues.

Oh, and here's a few pics when she arrived yesterday:

Definitely solenoid/starter. Before replacing anything, clean up all the ground cable contacts you can find. There should be a heavy ground cable from the starter to the frame.
After cleaning up, try the starter again, if still a problem I lean toward solenoid.
Coil would have nothing to do with the engine not turning over.

Starter has 2 massive cables and one small wire.
Low power goes thru key switch and cues relay inside starter via this small wire, which is a slide-on.
Make sure this one is on tight, just remove it and squish wth a plies, and re-slide it back on. (clean what you can, maybe run some fine sndpaper in there if suspect)

If it is starter, some have found you cna change the pattern of "intermittance" by rapping with hammer handle.
I have only had success in changing my perception of the "intermittance" by rapping on my own head with the hammer handle.

And what units is intermiitance measured in? (sorry, way Off Topic now)

Make sure car is out of gear, primary.
Then you can ground across the two main contacts on starter with a screwdriver. If it jumps every time the quirky signals are external, not your starter or solenoid.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the input all. I'm definitely a newbie on the Datsun motor layout. Are there any links, pics for the location of the starter and solenoid? I've seen starters with a solenoid attached? Is this typical or are they usually separate?

Talked to a local mechanic on the phone and he mentioned about an ignition wire thing if I rule out both components and that it was typical behavior for most z cars.

Thanks in advance!

Might want to get some Electronic Spray Cleaner, disconnect the neg battery cable and start spraying all the grounds and connectors everywhere. Then clean and sand the ground points, and make sure you have all of them. As you go along you can look for frayed wires or poor connectors, which will inevitably lead to http://www.vintageconnections.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for OEM style connectors to repair with. That will be a nice start to get the car more reliable and help keep it from catching on fire The addition of a 30 amp fuse is important as a first step as well.
Enjoy,

Linda

There are complete downloadable manuals, electrical schematics, and a complete parts list with diagrams, as well as a interchange parts page to save you money here on the site. Browse!
Consider the meet-ups mentioned or have a BBq to meet the local brain trust who can troubleshoot for you.

Linda wrote:Might want to get some Electronic Spray Cleaner, disconnect the neg battery cable and start spraying all the grounds and connectors everywhere. Then clean and sand the ground points, and make sure you have all of them. As you go along you can look for frayed wires or poor connectors, which will inevitably lead to http://www.vintageconnections.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for OEM style connectors to repair with. That will be a nice start to get the car more reliable and help keep it from catching on fire The addition of a 30 amp fuse is important as a first step as well.
Enjoy,

Linda

There are complete downloadable manuals, electrical schematics, and a complete parts list with diagrams, as well as a interchange parts page to save you money.
Consider the meet-ups mentioned or have a BBq to meet the local brain trust who can troubleshoot for you.

Thanks for he tips Linda. Yeah, I wanted to go to the Zonc car show but already have plans that weekend tat I can't get out of. Would've loved to join the July run but unless I can resolve this issue before then, not sure I can make it. Same goes for Shasta.

However, I saw this on CL and was wondering if any other owners are going:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/4514878808.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Would love to meet and chat about the roadster with you if you go. Just let me know as I plan to go running or not just to check out what they have available.

Linda wrote: http://www.vintageconnections.com/

Thanks for that Linda. Been looking for that site, now bookmarked

To; rudesvx

Welcome!

Rudesx:
The starter and solenoid are together, but can be separated/replaced individually, however a replacement may be cheaper and worth the effort. The starter is located under the rear carb, close to the firewall.

Fyi the starter can be removed without taking off the carbs by turning the wheel and pulling it out through the small gap between the frame. It looks impossible but trust me that if you angle it right it slides right out. I'm close by in travis afb and willing to drive down and help get you driving to those car shows.