Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

bossbob wrote: ↑Mon Nov 09, 2020 2:42 pm I scraped, sanded, cleaned, and painted SEM Rusts Shield on it. Very similar to POR 15

I was under my car yesterday and found places that I used SEM Rust Seal on it 35 years ago... no sign of rust continuing, even in places where the undercoating didn't cover. Great product IMHO. One thing I would have done differently (and that I can still do) is to add sound deadening on the interior. The more modern roll-out stuff you can get now seems like a good idea.

Bad gas?

Has it been sitting for some Time? Like months? Check to see if the SU pistons push up smoothly and drop.
Also, think about what the chokes do... they drop the needle seat down to expose it and allow more fuel, and it cracks open the throttle plates to increase idle. So, not enough fuel or something is not allowing air flow to keep it running, or bad gas.

Yes, I plan on using sound deadening in the cockpit as well. Going to prime and paint it body color first though.

"bad gas", it's only 3-4 months old

But you probably hit the nail on the head with the pistons sticking. I remember that I had one stick if it sat for awhile, I'll have to check into that. I cleaned and rebuilt the carbs not too long ago, so I thought the sticking piston was cured, guess not, what would make the pistons stick?

Today's gas... maybe. Just a guess.

Just a quick update on the car. Over the past couple months I blocked all the body work, sprayed Epoxy primer and blocked that out. Yesterday I sprayed another 3 coats of Epoxy on it and will block that out this week. With the goal of spraying color and clear coats next weekend. It's not perfect by any means, but pretty good for a rookie like me. I can't believe how much paint, primer, reducers, etc. cost. And if I haven't mentioned it before, I hate sanding..........

Well it took all of 3 years, seems to be running great, finally got some color on it. I painted late in the evening and into the night. Still needs sanding and buffing. All in all, I wish I did a little better on it, but ............. Tires and interior are next.

I bet it came out great! If there's orange peel, fear not, the wet sand and buff will take care of that... even some minor runs. I had a friend get impatient and shoot the car himself... came out as smooth as drywall spackle. It wet sanded out to a minor reflection (black) and nobody (but me, who did all the sanding and buffing... thanks a lot!) would have known.

Soon will come the truly fun stuff... putting on all the trim etc. You'll probably find yourself installing something and then stepping back and staring at it, smiling. Good times coming my friend! Not much more sanding, and it will be sanding that's very satisfying. Be sure to check with the paint supplier regarding how long to wait. I waited too long on the last one and found that the paint supplier suggested to sand and buff 24-48hrs later, not a week as before. The paint had hardened to the point that it took hours to get the sanding scratches buffed off just one door. Nightmare.

bossbob wrote: ↑Wed Sep 08, 2021 11:44 am Well it took all of 3 years, seems to be running great, finally got some color on it. I painted late in the evening and into the night. Still needs sanding and buffing. All in all, I wish I did a little better on it, but ............. Tires and interior are next.

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Looks pretty good from afar. Just remember the 3-4k you saved by doing yourself. More if you did the bodywork as well.

I have a couple of late model center consoles for sale. $600 redone already. Let me know if you are interested, if so I'll send you pictures.
Greg

bossbob wrote: ↑Wed Sep 08, 2021 11:44 am Well it took all of 3 years, seems to be running great, finally got some color on it. I painted late in the evening and into the night. Still needs sanding and buffing. All in all, I wish I did a little better on it, but ............. Tires and interior are next.

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It looks nice, I can't wait to see this build in a complete piece. Soon this classic car will be back to life.
What wheels and tires do you have in mind?

So, my rear shackles are flipped, that's the way I got the car. I've been searching and reading about how the geometry works, and how it can affect the ride or maybe not. I don't know if the springs are weak, sagging, sprung, or worn out. I was thinking I should correct the position of the shackles and see what's going on.

Any thoughts to this, anything I should look for while I'm there? I mean, I don't want to be laughed at for having incorrect shackle positions on my roadster!

Really only two reasons I can think of to flip rear shackles on a car: lowering for better ‘fit’ of custom wheels/tires or covering up for worn, sagging leafs. One could argue that flipping (probably in addition to longer custom shackles), could soften the ride, but it’s really a band-aid solution to a bigger suspension issue and more typical of off-roading.
Only one way to tell for sure what reason the PO did it for

You have it backwards on the roadster. You flip the shackles to fit bigger tires or the wrong offset. Flipping the shackles from stock actually raises the rear.

Right. Our leafs attach above on the shackle to frame mount.