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Hello from Astoria

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2018 10:31 am
by boxcar
Hi there. New member from the oldest town on the west coast.
I recently acquired a 1969 SRL 2000 . Recently , like last week. I have been pining away all week searching sights and reading literature and articles
to pass the time and fill my mind with as much Roadster lore as it can hold.
Today was supposed to be the moving day but weather will not be cooperating. I'm dying here..
The car hasn't seen the light of day since 1996. Its a very low mile, intact 69 that ended up in a barn due to spark issues or lack of spark issues.
I will be going over today to at the very least move all of the debris , pool tables and such that block access to the car.
Last week I was so excited that I forgot my phone ergo: no pics today.
I will be taking my camera today as I plan to document the move and resto mod of the car.
The story is: A very good friend of mines father always wanted a roadster .in 1990 He found what he was looking for , a rust free super low mile 2000.
Low like 25,000 miles. It was at the time a bronze metallic with black interior car.
He drove the car on weekends and such until 1996 when he ran her low on oil .
The engine was pulled and sent off to Bills Datsun in Portland for re build . While the engine was out the car was painted ( poorly IMHO ) the wrong shade of red. A role bar was added, a set of Koni shocks , slotted mags a complete rubber kit, new top, etc, etc, etc. He was building his dream car.
The engine was delivered a few months later . Once installed the PO immediately grounded the points .
Flash forward to 2008. His son mentioned the car to me in passing one day at my shop. I offered to have a look at it just so I could see the car.
What I found blew me away . A rust free damage free 69 with all of the right bits and peace's. Nice interior and best of all 35,000 documented miles .
I extricated the dizzy , and told the PO that if he ever wanted to let go of the car I had first dibs. I then informed him he could pick up the dizzy in a week at my shop. It needed new points / condenser and a basic freshening up.
Never herd from him again. Until last week . Time and health had gotten the better of the PO and he was done dreaming of the little red roadster.
I bought her an hour later . I have always wanted a roadster....
Pics to come......

Re: Hello from Astoria

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2018 11:35 am
by S Allen
Welcome and look forward to seeing some pictures of your new project.

Steve

Re: Hello from Astoria

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2018 1:15 pm
by notoptoy
Welcome another great story and another roadster brought back to the road!

Re: Hello from Astoria

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2018 1:40 pm
by AC77
Congrats and welcome. Looking forward to seeing pictures.

Re: Hello from Astoria

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2018 2:39 pm
by Gregs672000
Wow, that's Great! Welcome. My wife and I love the drive to Astoria, and do it at least once year. There are some terrific roads out there. We discovered some last year that were so beautiful and a blast to drive with little traffic. We usually do our drives during the week, so maybe we'll come by some time and check out the car when summer roles around again. Congrats and Enjoy!

Re: Hello from Astoria

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 8:48 am
by boxcar
While I had planed to move the car yesterday , rain prevented that. She's been in a dry place so long that I really don't want to soak the car.
It was a great day to search through the barn for all of the peace's of the car that had been removed or replaced over the years. While I was at that I managed to clear a path to freedom.

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The car is in pretty good shape. Only found 1 rats nest so far....

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The little buggers seemed not to be to interested in the little Datsun. Probably Fiat fans.

Here are a few poor quality pics of the car.

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[imghttps://www.use.com/media/2018/0318/5195613/p_010.jpg][/img]



I'll try to get better pictures once the car is tucked securely in my shop.

Re: Hello from Astoria

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 10:23 am
by greydog
Wow. Looks nice and straight.
Good find. Maybe we,ll have a chance to see the car if you bring it up the river to Portland this summer.
Have you already made plans for her?
Dan

Re: Hello from Astoria

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 2:34 pm
by Gregs672000
Looks like the engine has been de-smogged. As I recall, you mentioned that your yourself rebuilt the distributor. As you may know, when de-smogged it is important to recurve the distributor to pre 1968 specs. This requires using different parts. One suggestion would be to convert to the now available EI distributor which not only has the correct curve but also provides a hotter spark. This is one of the best upgrades one can do, so keep that in mind as you go forward. She looks like a great find, I'm excited for you!

Re: Hello from Astoria

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 6:22 pm
by boxcar
Thanks guys. Plans are vague at this point. Probably a restomod.
I do plan a frame off rebuild of the car. The engine is filthy but fresh . Hopefully just a full gasket kit and re paint.
Tranny and rear end spilled there fluids over the years so Ill be addressing that. Volvo 240 front rotors 240 sx rear disc conversion.
Restore the suspension as needed and repaint the chassis.
My wife wants to re shoot the car dark blue with white cobra stripes..... I'm against that idea . The car was originally Kind of a light bronze metallic .
I'd like to go back to that color. JMHO there are to many red roadsters out there now. One less wont hurt a thing.
I'm an old 510 hand and have several Dellorto, Solex and Webber carb sets . I may add a set of 44's to the mix. Who knows?
If it ever quits raining it may be coming home next week.....
The dizzy was rebuilt to 67 specs.

Re: Hello from Astoria

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 7:39 pm
by spl310
Beige Gray metallic? Neat color!

Re: Hello from Astoria

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 9:22 pm
by Gregs672000
You won't regret a B cam or similar grind and a set of side drafts...