Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

When I was 8 years old, my parents bought a 70 Datsun roadster. I used to ride in the package tray going to school; my mom was a teacher and she would drive my brother and I in. He road in the passenger seat and I rode behind. Things were a bit different in those days. In 1976, my brother wrecked the Datsun, flipping it into a ditch. Luckily the car landed in the curve of the ditch such that while the windshield was ruined, he and the other person in the car crawled out. The car was towed home and sat in a corner of the barn for many years. when I was in college in the 80s, I found a roadster in the wrecking yard and was able to have them cut out the windshield frame and I took it home to Arkansas. Our local body man welded it in, and my dad and I rebuilt the engine and began driving it. This was 1986, and I got married and my wife learned to drive a stick in the Datsun. She often drove it to work, but once I got my dream car, a 1987 Buick Grand National, well you know who started driving the Datsun. I drove it until about 1996, when the clutch started slipping. Since I would have to pull the engine to fix it, I decided I wasn't going to do that until I could swap in EFI. I had picked up my convertible cutlass in 1990 and had swapped a 350TPI motor in it, and had just loved the modern drivability in the old car. So the car goes back to the barn in Arkansas (where it sits today). Life moves on, and I move to Santa Maria CA, not too far from Solvang. In the back of my mind the roadster is waiting. I got to go to several of the shows, joining this forum in 2006. I saw the pictures of Michael's work (especially the Bratten car) and the super-sano clean install had me dreaming. Unfortunately I would not be able to do this kind of work until I could have a shop, which would have to wait. My next assignment was to Albuquerque, where I got to know Shannon, and saw his setup and roadsters. So I still had to live vicariously through 311S. I did manage to swap in two LS motors (one in my 71 Cutlass, and the other in my 99 2dr tahoe). But I always wanted a complete build. I decided to buy a rust free roller off ebay from CA, and it has sat in the barn in AR as well, waiting for its turn. But fortunately, my life now allows the shop I always wanted. So it may take a while, but it begins. The shop will be done in a month (36X24) and I picked up this Autech motor a couple of weeks ago. I hope to bring a couple of my roadsters up in the next few months to begin the process. But I'm looking forward to this. The dream is to have the roadster match the quality that Michael Spreadbury does (hey, need to set the bar high--maybe I can come close) and take the car to solvang in a couple of years. Then drive it everywhere out west for about a month or so. Thats the hope. But at least I can see a path forward now.

The shop is awesome, can't wait to see a Roadster in it!

You and me both!

Cool story and that is a nice looking shop. Looks like the wait was worth it. Looking forward to reading your thread on your build. Nothing wrong with setting the bar high.

Steve

Thanks so much for taking the time to share your story. Being a "people" person whose job (and natural inclination) is to listen to and learn about peoples stories, I eat this kind of stuff up. Over time, you see that peoples lives are like chapters in a book, full of ups and downs, good and bad, but hopefully always moving forward, developing new characters and growing the author as only experience can. As a Roadster CAR guy, I will most certainly enjoy reading about the mechanical parts of your restoration and customization. As a Roadster PERSON, I will greatly enjoy hearing about your adventures, trials and triumphs along the way as part of the extended family that is Datsun Roadsters.
Have fun, thanks for being here, and enjoy that super cool shop!

It was very humbling to read your project intro post and see that some of our cars were an inspiration for you-- thank you! You've obviously worked very hard and the roadster has patiently waited its turn-- and what a fantastic shop you have built to be able to do the work in!

As always, let us know how we can help with parts or advice on your conversion, and I look forward to the day when you bring you're roadster out west and visit us at the shop!

Congratulations!

Michael

Well the shop is still not quite done, but almost. Should be complete in a week or so. I went down to AR to look at the fleet, and you can see the 69 that was parted will be the base. I bought the Sora Blue for a complete parts about 6 years ago; probably restore it. The '70 model (the one I grew up with and originally drove) is just under many years of dust. Don't know if I'll ever get to it. Unfortunately my late father was not kind to cars; he allowed me to store them in this old building, but they were just benches for him to put other things on. Oh well...I'll get 'em taken care of. I'm sure many of you cringed looking at their storage..but sometimes you play the hand you're dealt. In any case they were all out of the rain. I hope to bring the 69 up in early March when I'll get off work. I'll have the shop complete and outfitted by then.

I dig the wheels on the 70.

Another cool thing happened in this quest. When I bought the Datsun off ebay several years ago, there was an issue with the title, but I didn't know how it would work. Ohio is very strict, but Arkansas had a thing with bonded title's so you could pay more $$ and have the police come look at the VIN and get a title that way. So I decide to go that route when I go down to AR right after Christmas. Looking back at what I thought was the registration, which is all that came with the car on ebay sale several years ago, I actually had a pink slip "ownership certificate," which I'm thinking is the same thing as the title! Hey, maybe I don't have to pay the extra fee. So I go to the county licensing place, and they look at this 1979 ownership certificate, call Little Rock and yes, it works! Touchdown. BUT, I also need a bill of sale from the original person on the title, even though the pink slip had been signed by that guy back in 1979--apparently AR changed to require a bill of sale for out of state titles only a few years ago. Needless to say the guy I bought it off ebay was not the guy who had signed over the title. The gal behind the counter basically said, look it needs to be signed by the original seller on this form (seemingly suggesting I just forge the name). And it was really tempting, after all, the guy originally signed the title, this new law only started a couple of years ago, and the guy may well be dead. But conscious says no, got to give this another try.

So I go on my friend google and search for the PO, and as you would guess, there are many of his name in the U.S. But then I notice he is a III (the third). so I search for John Doe III and sure enough I find a guy. He has a facebook page where he posted just last year, so he's probably still alive! I send him a note thru facebook and tell him the story, asking if he owned a 69 roadster. He calls back the next day and we have a great talk; he's happy to give me a bill of sale. Today it arrived back in the mail, so I should be able to get the title in my name when I go down in Mar to bring it back here. He also told me that this particular car was the terror of Pasadena; had a hopped up U20 at one time, along with a posi rear end (hmmm, wonder if that is still the rear that's under it now even though everything else was parted?!). Said it beat most everything on the road. He also sent me a few pics of it "back in the day." So I wanted to share with you.

Very cool story - just curious, how old is this guy now?

notoptoy wrote:Very cool story - just curious, how old is this guy now?

He looked early 60s; suspect he was in his 20s in '79 when he sold it.

Arkansas has so many cool roads. I just love that state, really beautiful with nice friendly Southerners.
Great story about your Datsun devotion.

Linda

That story is almost exactly the same as mine.

I bought my car without a title. Later I traced the guy who's name I found on some registration paperwork. The previous owner I trace down was an avid roadster owner in AZ, his name is "Calvin Baker". I contacted him and he sent me a photo. He said my 2000 was the first 2000 he ever owned but he had many 1600s. Maybe someone in AZ knows him. He was great. He went to the DMV in AZ for me to get a title copy. The lady at at DMV counter looked up the current owner's name and scowled at Calvin, asking why he was asking for the title of a car he didn't own. LOL. AS it turned out someone between me owning the car and Calvin owning it, it was registered. I eventually found them as well and he sent me written sales slip.

Calvin's cars & friends cars back in the day...(not sure why the date shows 2013)

One more thing Calvin did for me was write up a little history of the car...it goes like this...

As poverty-stricken college students, my wife and I began our marriage with only one asset: a 1967.5 Datsun Roadster that she had purchased it for $600 from a notice on a college “for sale” board. We knew absolutely nothing about roadsters. However, my wife had a very strong emotional attachment to it due to the fact it was her very first car purchase and she considered it cute.

Our love for the roadster grew. Often the only entertainment we could afford was a “top down” cruise along some back roads in Arizona. We indulged often.

After I graduated and we moved to the almost equally poverty-stricken life of a debt-burdened new teacher, the roadster continued to be our primary vehicle. Friends and family also expressed affection for our little car. They asked for help finding one for themselves. Along the way a hobby developed: find-and-buy-and-fix-a-roadster. At one point we had 6 of them at our little suburban house.

The ultimate quest became the acquisition of a 2000 Roadster.

The problem was finances. We simply could not afford the price bump between a used 1600 and a used 2000.
We searched want ads daily until we finally found a 2000 we could afford. It had a blown engine, dented fender and sun-damaged interior. However, it was a 2000 and we managed to cobble together the negotiated $600 cost.

I pulled the engine and, with no garage, turned our spare bedroom into a makeshift rebuild shop. Over the course of a school year every spare nickel went into engine parts. It was a great day when the shiny new engine was installed and fired up.

We did most of the body work ourselves. The parent of one of my 5th grade students worked in a body shop and gave a special “side job” price on a paint job. We purchased some black naugahyde, pulled the seats and my seamstress mother sewed a diamond-tuck pattern for the seats.

The total package was the work of amateurs, but we thought it was amazingly beautiful . . . and fast. Could not have been prouder.
Shortly after the car was completed I took a job as a school principal in Northern Alaska. We sold most everything we owned, including both our “original” and an extra 1600. However, we absolutely could not part with our beloved 2000 roadster. My wife’s sister had a wooden shed behind her home near Seattle. It became the roadster’s home for the next nine years. And, for the next nine years a highlight of our summer vacations would be trading snow machine thrills for roadster thrills. We pull the roadster out of the shed, get everything back into running condition, clean and polish, and fly down Washington’s tree-lined country roads. There is simply nothing like playing with high rpm’s in second gear — ah, the sweet sound and responsiveness!

After those nine years we moved back to Arizona. My oldest son had just graduated from 8th grade. The two of us drove the 2000 from Washington to Arizona. That trip remains as one of my best and most memorable “special times” with my son.

The 2000 stayed with us in Arizona for almost another 20 years. It remained as one of our favorite past times. As our six children grew up, the roadster was part of their lives. They created trauma by scraping it with their bicycles in the garage and later used it to impress their prom date.

As the years past I added solex carbs and some classic wheels — from a banged up 2000 discovered among the cacti on a neighbor’s rural land. I also did another engine rebuild.
After a relationship of almost 30 years, I finally made the painful decision to part ways with my beloved and memory-laden 2000. Everyone in the family loved to drive the roadster, but when something broke . . . dad was called upon to fix it. My demanding job as a school superintendent simply didn’t allow for many weekends of turning wrenches.
We took a few last pictures and put it up for sale.

Greg, what a great Roadster story that was... a lifetime of fun and enjoyment, adventure, day to day living, generational enjoyment... just really cool. If you get a chance, let them know how much we appreciated their Roadster story and history!

And do tell how the Robello head and cam does for you!