Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

Your right, it is not a cable it is a little rod that attaches to the back of the pedal. Bicycle cable works fine as a throttle cable - Kevin

I do not currently have one. (Hope to change that next week).
In the distant past (80's) I have had 2.
First was an SP 310 which had never left me stranded which was surprising as even back then it was not in great condition.
Second was a '68 SR 311 2000. It only let me down once and the fault was tracked to a blown fuse which meant the battery was not being charged.

Never. My first 69 SPL311 never let me down. Not once. I drove it every day for nearly five years, through crappy Ohio winters and all. Probably the most dependable ride I had for a long time. I rolled my recent purchase off the trailer, gave it a quick once over and took off on a short 30 mile shake down. No surprises, all smiles.

Terry Z 67.5 SPL31113809

Terry:
Welcome, please add your location into your profile and tell us more about your (new) ride!

Aside from a crash or three, it most notabley stopped running on the SF-Oakland Bay bridge...twice...in one day. On the way to work and on the way back. Both overheats (same problem) but able to limp home with help from the Cal-Trans tow truck.
For those who don't know, the bridge has five lanes of fast traffic and no shoulders. As it was slowing to a stop the second time, my passenger jumped out withut even pausing to open the door and ran.

68DSU wrote:Aside from a crash or three, it most notabley stopped running on the SF-Oakland Bay bridge...twice...in one day. On the way to work and on the way back. Both overheats (same problem) but able to limp home with help from the Cal-Trans tow truck.
For those who don't know, the bridge has five lanes of fast traffic and no shoulders. As it was slowing to a stop the second time, my passenger jumped out withut even pausing to open the door and ran.

That's exactly where mine stopped!! I'd forgotten about this, it was on an early "test drive" (it was my sister's in Pleasant Hill, before I bought it from her!). I knew nothing about Roadsters idiocyncrocies back then.
Luckily her boyfriend at the time had told me about the ammeter wire - that if it came off the car was dead. Stopped in the middle lane of the east bound lanes, I reached under the dash and found the disconnected wire - reconnected it and away I went. Still, I excercised my sphincter musclesfor a short few minutes - it was 3:30PM and crowded - I got very luck I wasn't killed. I was also lucky that the car did not have a console and that's why I was able to get it back fixed so quickly!

My 1500 I had in the 70's had to have the rear end replaced. But I knew it was going so not a big deal. The engine never once failed. It was my sole driving car.

My current driver has never failed to start so long as I keep the battery charged. Had a couple minor problems when I bought it and drove it home from CA. Drove it for 7 years in the Summer without even a tune up. Fixed the brakes and changed the oil, that's about all.

Now that I have the stroker in I still haven't changed the points yet or rebuilt the carbs. And it still never fails to start. Simple car, simple fixes.

Oh man, now I need to change my vote.... I got stranded last night....

...only two blocks from home = LUCKY. She tried her best to get me there.

Headlights started to fade out, became very dim, then the car started to sputter and fail and finally died.
Would barely turn over, then just a click, then nothing.

I'll sort it out today. Try as I might, I can't get mad at the Roadster!

Must honestly say Never stranded. When I first owned my SPL it had been sitting for ~5 years. Clutch slave cylinder got rusty; scraped up and blew out a couple rubber pistons before I replaced the cylinder. Knock wood since then. Solvang here we come!

Burnt out alternator - AAA to nearest Autozone, bought smaller fan belt to bypass alternator + new backup battery. Tailgated Mike Anderson from Barstow to Van Nuys just using running lights.
Interesting adventure.

Hey
I just drove mine at 80 mph for 2200 miles. It ran like a Swiss watch.
It used 2L of oil but no issues.
I have owned dozens of Datsun's and have driven from coast to
coast and have never been stranded.

Sean
Vin #14316

found a car on Fort Worth, Texas Craig list and my youngest son, Bob, and I made a quick trip down to get it. the owner had found this at an estate sale in Tulsa sometime back, and brought it to Texas where he tried fixing it and seven years later gave up. He thought he had water in his oil and a blown head gasket. the title and vin read 1967 1600, so we have a good solid body, with only one small rust area under the front fender.

after getting it home, i drained the oil, and found it ok, so i just poured it back in. worked on the brakes, got them back, and also the clutch. after draining the old gas out, and pumping fresh gas through the lines with out the line attached out the pump, i hooked it back up and got the car to crank, but it ran wide open. shutting it down, i then tried snapping the dog bones off the carbs and cranked it back up and adjusted the idle down to somewhere between 5 and 7500 rpms.

got the dog bones back on with the car still idling smooth, and took my son for a first run. we drove down Highway 7 to a back road that circles back to the neighborhood. got within a block of my home and the car just up and died. there was a very slight hill in front of us and Peyton and I just couldn't push it home. i called the wife, and asked her to come down, and with her help we pushed the car to the next intersection, and it was downhill to my house so i told the wife just to get in and drive it to the house. Calling Bob, he said something must have the intake tube in the gas tank stopped up, and just take the line back off and blow real hard back towards the tank. sure enough Bob knew what he was talking about, and after putting the line back on once more, the car fired right up. i have driven it several times since and had no more issues with the gas tank, but now i hear a noise in the engine i don't like. i plan on draining the oil once more, and pulling the pan to see if anything stands out.

i have only spent money on a K & N filter for the original filter housing, and a new battery. the car came with a set of ARP head bolts. and with Z wheels on the front, and steel wheels on the back( yes that is how I bought it) i have to purchase new tires and have a set of Shelby Cobra Libras that Bob made me a super sweet deal on, knowing i needed them. Until i decide which direction i will take on either rebuilding this engine, or going ahead with a motor swap, for now i will leave the wheels as is. no need of brand new tires sitting and getting a flat spot on them from not being run. the gauges need attention, as well as the carpet, and interior panels need recovered. the seats are really nice so i lucked up there. the p o claimed that the car had been going through a restoration when he bought it. the original red was sprayed over with a redish orange color and that is growing on me, but i have several spots where the paint is flaking off. so i either go cheap and just touch up what's there or strip it off and hope to find enough red under it to work.

Probably should have considered myself stranded as my alternator wasn't charging the battery and I drove home in the dark with no lights, thinking the whole time "this is stupid, this is stupid....". Fortunately there was little traffic and I got a police escort the last couple blocks.

Copterpilot wrote:Probably should have considered myself stranded as my alternator wasn't charging the battery and I drove home in the dark with no lights, thinking the whole time "this is stupid, this is stupid....". Fortunately there was little traffic and I got a police escort the last couple blocks.

She glided into the hanger under her own power; I judge you to be.... Not stranded!

I guess it depends on what you call stranded:
a) Won't start when you want it to,
b) Won't start when you want it to when you are in the middle of nowhere.

Two weeks ago I got stranded... but luckily it was in my own garage! After sitting idle for 6 weeks this winter I went to take her for the inaugural drive of the spring/summer when debris in the fuel tank clogged the fuel line and wouldn’t allow a start. Never had seen any symptom of this before.
Stuck in my garage on a sunny spring day...
Spent the evening dropping the tank, cleaning out the 90 degree bend, and blowing down the line and I was back in business. Then it rained for a week…. HA!
It wouldn’t be nearly as fun if it worked 100% of the time would it?!