Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

finally decided it was time to find the Datsun of my dreams as I am not getting any younger. have been looking for a 311 via craigslist and stumbled upon your website a few weeks ago, nice site. very concerned about getting a father/son project from craigslist as I read your feedback on the green bay car and a few conversations that I have had with others on craigslist. just not been able to pull the trigger as I am on a limited budget or your could say a linda budget and not really sure what I am getting via phone as I can not travel to each and every location. have talked a few times to mike at datsunsports but Linda's budget tends to get in the way. any suggestions or feed back from you guys on cars that I come across to see if you have also have any feedback on the cars prior to buying would be helpful. thanks

Welcome! First things first. Where are you located, and what is your target purchase price?

Buy the best you can afford.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/ct ... 46292.html
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/cto/5892895684.html
http://wenatchee.craigslist.org/cto/5949938334.html
http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/cto/5903940223.html
http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/5948190543.html

live in Brookfield Wisconsin, just outside of Milwaukee. I saw the green bay ad but I am currently helping my aged parents in little rock Arkansas for the next couple of weeks. my budget is up to 7ish based on the quality of the car and linda's opinion of the car color. can do a lot of the work except metal work, that is my very weak point. have been looking for cars from the south as rust will be hopefully minor.

looked at the list you sent and saw several of these. ruled out the Jacksonville due to rust, san diego is a great car and mike also suggested this car, but out of my budget. la just seems too expensive based on his description. I will reach out to Wenatchee and Denver. thanks for the suggestions. I almost pulled the trigger on a car in south Carolina, but something just did not seem right about the car. talked to mike a the cost of bumpers and the issue with the choke.....still on the radar for me 5,500.

I may be biased but I would say that the '69 2000 is one of the best versions of the Roadster out there. Try to get more photos of the Denver car, then you can get the experts here to find you obscure haggling points

Noel, I'm in the NW burbs of Chicago and have 2 roadsters. I'm needing to go down to one. Let me know if you're interested in looking at one.

Dave,yes I would be interested in one. trouble is I am currently in little rock for the next several weeks or months as we figure out how handle the aging parents. could you let me know the details of which one you are thinking about parting with and understanding that I am also a packer fan.

We were lucky and worked with a great seller. We would request photos of different areas and he would happily send us pictures. Since they covered areas people don't post in their ads we also knew he had the car and was not a scammer. He found a spot of rust he did not know about and dropped the price without being asked when he sent the pictures. Looked at several local cars but waited for the right one. Good luck.

Yes, don't be afraid to just set up an RSS feed and bide your time until "the one" pops up and then you can instantly pounce on it.

noel saubers wrote:Dave,yes I would be interested in one. trouble is I am currently in little rock for the next several weeks or months as we figure out how handle the aging parents. could you let me know the details of which one you are thinking about parting with and understanding that I am also a packer fan.

Noel, No rush, they're tucked away for the winter anyways. I've been contemplating the future of my roadsters recently, but I do want to keep one of them. I'm just not sure which one is going to be my keeper & which one I'll let go. Common sense says to keep the 68 & let go of the 69 as the 68 is only a valve job or so away from being back on the road & the 69, which I've owned for 30+ years is a restoration project. Anyways, let me know when you're back in the Midwest, I'm in no hurry. You could come down & check them both out this spring if you're still interested. I might have a better idea what I want to do by then anyways.

talked to Brian in Washington about the link below. he is going to send me additional pictures and does anyone live in the area of http://wenatchee.craigslist.org/cto/5949938334.html central washington state or could give me the correct questions to ask about this car. it sounds very promising. again thanks for the links on this car

noel saubers wrote:talked to Brian in Washington about the link below. he is going to send me additional pictures and does anyone live in the area of http://wenatchee.craigslist.org/cto/5949938334.html central washington state or could give me the correct questions to ask about this car. it sounds very promising. again thanks for the links on this car

Sorry I don't live in that area, but that looks like a pretty solid car for the money. Work to do, but the engine looks very clean and the body looks straight. One question for the seller is if he/she can provide photos of the underside. Look at frame rails, potential rust spots on the edges of the body panels, leaks and other stuff from the engine, transmission, rear end, suspension.

I recommend you you pick one with either a nice body or good engine. That way you can focus on one or the other and not be overwhelmed having to restore both. Besides you can sell it later and buy another one.

1600 engine parts are cheaper and more easily available. That is worth considering when making a purchase.

Also, take you time. They pop up all the times. Prices are all over the place. If they seem too much today, believe me, a cheaper one will show up later.

And never be afraid to ask for help. We've all gone through it.

Dave_Car_Guy wrote:

noel saubers wrote:talked to Brian in Washington about the link below. he is going to send me additional pictures and does anyone live in the area of http://wenatchee.craigslist.org/cto/5949938334.html central washington state or could give me the correct questions to ask about this car. it sounds very promising. again thanks for the links on this car

Sorry I don't live in that area, but that looks like a pretty solid car for the money. Work to do, but the engine looks very clean and the body looks straight. One question for the seller is if he/she can provide photos of the underside. Look at frame rails, potential rust spots on the edges of the body panels, leaks and other stuff from the engine, transmission, rear end, suspension.

Good advice, and I agree this looks like a nice car so far. Also ask about the condition of the brakes and front suspension (rotted boots, worn parts etc). The brakes can be expensive to do if you stick with stock, and conversions are not super cheap either. The dual master cylinder can be replaced with one from a 510 with proper adapters, and they are often a fraction of stock. But it looks like a lot of the hard, unfun work (i.e. body stuff) has already been done and you just need to assemble it. That's fun, seeing it all come together.