Has your stock Roadster ever left you stranded?

DELETED · Post by **DELETED** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 10:38 pm

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67 1/2 1600 · Post by **67 1/2 1600** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 10:51 pm

We dont have EFI and a engine that is a few years old. We have carbs and engines that are old(er)than me for that matter. Old things require maintanence, and a whole lot of it. Its also part of the fun of having a old car is tooling around under the hood. Leave that for the new cars if you never want to work on it.

DELETED · Post by **DELETED** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 10:58 pm

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Import_sounds-of-mid-GA · Tue Jan 10, 2006 10:58 pm

alving wrote: tuning and re-tuning something, adjusting this and that

.... you dont have dual POS... i mean sidedraft carbs

and all that jazz?

Dork!... j/k

This is why you won't see my asking questions in the tech section. I'm out driving now.

Alvin, lets remember "pride cometh before the fall"....

Post by **spl310** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 11:00 pm

Reliability to me is being able to drive somewhere with the confidence that I will get home. I have great confidence in Roadsters. I have less confidence in a lot of other cars.

These are vintage cars. Personally, I like to pop the hood and fiddle with stuff from time to time. I like having AM radio. I like a manual choke. If I didn't want all that, I would not buy an old car.

But none of that is the purpose of the post. A lot of guys have strongly suggested that Roadsters are not reliable. I just don't believe that to be true and wanted to get some facts - not just individual opinions. That is all...

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 11:03 pm

All right kids, I know where this thread is heading so I'll give it to you pre and post engine/trans swap:

Pre SR20DET swap:

Transmission died - Input shaft bearing spinning in the case, 5th gear suddenly goes into neutral, able to attain 2nd gear maybe 20% of the time. I'd chock this up to lots of hard miles on an old transmission.

No start - Turned out to be a bad connection at the key switch. Again, lots of miles/key cycles. Just normal stuff getting old.

Wipers cease to work - Bad ground. Hey, that can happen to anyone!

Post SR20DET Swap:

Blown differential - Well, what can I say? I caused that one.

No start - Bad mag switch that I used to feed power to my second fuse panel only when the key is on. That's what I get for installing a Freightliner part on a Datsun.

Blown turbo seal - Chocking that one up to my fault as well. I ran the wrong size restrictor in the line and starved the turbo for oil. Don't believe every internet rumor you come across!

All in all, is my car more or less reliable since the swap? I'd have to say it's about a wash. Is it more fun to drive post swap? Oh yes, and that is what my goal was. When I want ultimate reliability I get in my Subaru.

67 1/2 1600 · Post by **67 1/2 1600** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 11:16 pm

Dont get me wrong. I like EFI. The fact that you can start the car and not have to wait for it to warm up is great.

TR · Post by TR » Tue Jan 10, 2006 11:21 pm

reÃ‚Â·liÃ‚Â·aÃ‚Â·ble ( P ) adj. Capable of being relied on; dependable: a reliable assistant; a reliable car.

Just so we know what the dictionary thinks reliable is...

And what I think...?

Toyota is reliable, that is why they will sell more cars than GM in 2006, the first time in the modern auto industry anyone has beaten GM at there own game.

Ask a hundred Toyota owners why?

They will all say the same thing, "All I do is put in gas and it goes". No mention of maintenance, getting repairs done, etc. They want to know that everytime they load the kids in the car, it will get them where they are going with no fuss. They are not looking for something to work on as we are with our "classic" cars, they want everyday reliability.

That is what I call reliable, too, hence my other cars are Toyotas...TR

Post by **spl310** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 11:24 pm

TR,

You may want to check Consumer Reports ratings on reliability. Toyota has a REPUTATION for reliability, but the hard facts are that their failure rate is higher than some of their competition that does NOT have the reputation for reliability. Again, that is the reason for the poll. To see numbers rather than feelings.

DELETED · Post by **DELETED** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 11:29 pm

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67 1/2 1600 · Post by **67 1/2 1600** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 11:35 pm

A R16/U20 can be a reliable everyday driver. Im sure when sold new alot of their owners put alot of miles on them. I dont think they had t hem locked up i n their garages everyday t hey had them on the streets/freeways moving everyday. And what about the ones that are not running now a days? Owners who probably did not maintain them or engines were tired and just let t hem sit. IF they were able to do the job back then. I dont see how they cannot do the job now. Because stuff is old? Replace it and get back on track.

DELETED · Post by **DELETED** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 11:37 pm

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67 roadster · Post by **67 roadster** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 11:38 pm

I live in michigan, its roughly 30 degree outside, i pulled my car out of field where it sat for along time, ive replaced the spark plugs and it'll start up and run within the first few minutes....also to the toyota comment, i dont know how many of the junky trucks are parked in ppls backyards up here....if you take care of it, it will do its job, just do yours and keep up on it

67 1/2 1600 · Post by **67 1/2 1600** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 11:39 pm

Football sounds good.

67 roadster · Post by **67 roadster** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 11:41 pm

I live in michigan, its roughly 30 degree outside, i pulled my car out of field where it sat for along time, ive replaced the spark plugs and it'll start up and run within the first few minutes....also to the toyota comment, i dont know how many of the junky trucks are parked in ppls backyards up here....if you take care of it, it will do its job, just do yours and keep up on it

Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

Has your stock Roadster ever left you stranded?

Has your basically mechanically stock Roadster ever left you stranded such that you could not drive home?