I've been the lucky owner of this 69 SPL311 for about 8 years. I happened to purchase this car from a roommate whose dad bought it used in 1973. It was driven until the 80s and then stored for the next two decades. Around the turn of the century, my friend and his father worked to make it roadworthy and it was driven by my buddy during his high school and college years (lucky!). By the time we lived together, the 1600 was giving my friend headaches and he had decided to put it up for sale.
My dad is a muscle car nut and he encouraged me to purchase the Datsun as a project. The price was right, and I swiftly took ownership! The car seemed mechanically sound, with no rust, but had electrical issues. We worked to try and diagnose the problems, but then life happened: I moved eight hours north and into a garage the Datsun went... until yesterday! I'm back home and eager to start the project one again.
The first steps will be to bleed to brakes and clear the gas tank. Last time it was fired up was about four years ago while in storage. Hopefully we'll find no major mechanical issues, so we can then focus on the wiring. The previous owner really hacked up the harness trying to solve the perceived electrical issues he was facing. As I remember, we had figured his problem was an incorrectly installed stereo power amp in the trunk that was draining the battery.
We're hoping once we assess the fluids and remedy the wiring, the car can hit the road. Then, onto improving the state of the interior and polishing up the exterior.
That's my story! Happy to have 311s.org as a friendly resource during and after this project. I'm sure you'll be seeing me around
-Steve
