Roadster in Wall Street Journal

[Alvin]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-vintag ... 1584454124

anyone have a subscription

[Gregs672000]

People have come to love and appreciate our "Japanese MG" with the "boat anchor" U20. My love has never wavered, 33 years and counting!

[Linda]

You can get free access to the Wall Street Journal and many other newspapers as a member of Starbucks. Sign in at the store and the list pops up on their website. Nice way to have a cup of coffee and read the news.
Unfortunately all Starbucks in LA closed except for drive thru or pickup due to Coronavirus.
Linda

[Alvin]

from the list:
By

A.J. Baime

March 17, 2020 10:08 am ET


o Richard J. Davidson Jr., 55, a banker living in San Diego and a volunteer at the San Diego Automotive Museum, on his 1968 Datsun 2000, as told to A.J. Baime.



In the 1960s, the first Japanese car models were just becoming popular in America. Datsun made a two-seat convertible sports car called the Fairlady, which competed with the British and Italian roadsters like the MGB and the Fiat 124. Rumor has it that a Datsun executive had visited the U.S. and had seen “My Fair Lady” on Broadway, and that is how the car got its name.



These Datsun roadsters were among the first Japanese sports cars ever to come to the U.S. Only here, Datsun named them after their engine displacement (such as the 2000, for 2,000 cubic centimeters, rounded up from 1,982), rather than Fairlady.

Photos: A First-Wave Japanese Import Shines On
A San Diego banker shows off his rare 1968 Datsun 2000, of the first sports cars from Japan to hit U.S. shores
'There is a great community around these cars and their owners,' Mr. Davidson says. 'There are websites where people pass along knowledge, and car shows that draw dozens of these vehicles.'

Richard J. Davidson Jr. gave his 1968 Datsun 2000 a paint job and an engine rebuild, so it appears much like it did when it rolled off the assembly line in Japan over a half-century ago.

Around the time this car was built, Datsun was cementing its reputation not just in the showroom but on the racetrack. Hollywood star Paul Newman ultimately became a big-time Datsun racer.

Another view of the diminutive Datsun 2000, built in Japan to compete against the roadsters from Italy (Fiat, Alfa Romeo) and Britain (MG, Austin-Healey, Triumph).

Detail of the car's interior. The original upholstery is vinyl.

The fog lights on the front of the car aren’t original, Mr. Davidson says. But they do come in handy, given San Diego’s fog.

The car's back end. The license plate is from the 1960s. Mr. Davidson found it on eBay and had it assigned to his car.

A profile of the 1968 Datsun with San Diego in the background.

This 1,982-cc four-cylinder is original to the car, Mr. Davidson says.





Richard J. Davidson Jr. gave his 1968 Datsun 2000 a paint job and an engine rebuild, so it appears much like it did when it rolled off the assembly line in Japan over a half-century ago.

LUIS GARCIA FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

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Around 2005, I had a little bit of garage space and a little bit of money, and I decided to fill one with the other. I had seen a Datsun roadster from the ’60s and was surprised at how good-looking it was. I was also impressed that this lightweight car had an engine of about 135-horsepower and a five-speed transmission—pretty rare in the 1960s. I bought my car in 2006 locally from a private owner. It had an older, resprayed paint job, but the parts were all there and it was in decent shape. It is nimble on back roads and I started having fun with it right away.

In 2010, I had the car repainted to its original silver-gray. I knew of the color because you could see the original paint in various parts of the car. And five years later, I had the engine rebuilt. So the car is pretty much stock original.


At the time I bought mine, these cars went under the radar. Most from the 1960s did not survive, because people did not look at these cars as collectible, so when they got old, they disappeared. Only now, in part because they are so rare, are people starting to value these cars more. The prices are coming up. [According to Hagerty, the nation’s largest insurer of classic cars, a Datsun roadster from 1968 in excellent condition averages about $37,900.]

There is a great community around these cars and their owners. There are websites where people pass along knowledge, and car shows that draw dozens of these vehicles—including a couple big shows in California specifically for vintage Datsun roadsters.

Ultimately Datsun stopped making these two-seat convertibles in 1970, the same model year that the company launched the Z, which quickly became a sensation. The Datsun roadsters paved the way for the Z, proving that the U.S. was indeed a viable market for Japanese sports cars.







Write to A.J. Baime at myride@wsj.com

[68DSU]

The plate is even right for the year. My 68 was originally XKP. Great car.

[Gregs672000]

I really like the wheels, they work very well on the car, creating a nice, balanced look.

[2mAn]

The plate is even right for the year. My 68 was originally XKP. Great car.

I have a set that starts with JAX ### which I know isn’t correct for mine but I still want to run em

[Bruce]

So good to see Dick and his roadster in the WSJ.

Look'n good Dick!!!

Such a nice guy.

[Captainkaos]

Thanks everyone for the great comments and of course the great community! My roadster wouldn’t be where it is if it weren’t for for 311s.org and this great community. Bruce when we going for a drive?

[Old Rice]

Great story, owner and car!