Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

Hi All,

I'm elated to be a part of this club's forum. I recently purchased a 1965 1500 (SPL310) roadster. This is my first car purchase. Most people typically get new(ish) cars for their ride, but I've always been into preserving life's historical treasures. I've wanted a roadster for a handful of years and have been patiently waiting and saving funds for the moment to get one. For the first time, I found myself bidding on the roadster on Bring A Trailer (my heart was rapidly pounding), negotiating with the buyer, and successfully getting the car from Alaska to Oregon. Of all the days it arrived in Oregon, it rained! The previous owner took fantastic care of his roadster for the past 47 years and even had it in a climate-controlled garage. I feel very fortunate to have bought it from him. He's full of wisdom, and I hope to continue his legacy with the 1500 I have now.

I'm new to this and have heaps to learn, but I'm eager to soak up as much knowledge as possible. I thank this community for all your support in advance and look forward to learning from each of you. Do you have any advice on how to drive a non-synchronous transmission? My understanding is that I would shift to 2nd and only go to neutral or first at a complete stop. Also, has anyone put power steering on the 1500 and worked with a + ground battery? I plan on putting a disconnect switch on the battery.

If you want to check out details about the 1500 I bought, here is the original BaT posting: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1965- ... oadster-5/. The previous owner is a gem, and I often return to that posting to teach myself.

I welcome your expressed wisdom and need-to-knows as I embark on this Fairlady journey,

V

P.S. If any folks live near the Portland, Hillsboro, Beaverton, Tigard, and Forest Grove areas, it would be great to connect! Feel free to drop me a line

Welcome and you did score a very nice 1500.

Steve

Hi there, I also have a '65 SP310 [RHD], well versed with that awful stock transmission and the positive ground electrics.
As you know, there is no sychro on first so unless you match engine revs to trans. speed with a clever double de-clutch thrown in, a change back to first is done at rest.
I could live with that but my trans. would pop out of reverse as soon as it smelt any torque from the engine: then it started popping out of 2nd which I use for engine braking.
THAT was the last straw.
I now have a modern, 5 speed, constant mesh, all synchro transmission and life is good so far
The electrics can be a pain if you want to convert to LED lighting but I still have the original system and it is OK!
Just make sure folks know about it if you ever need to jump start the car from another battery
BTW that is not the original front grille, did you know that?
Welcome mintyfreshv, you will enjoy the company here

Welcome. Tons of helpful people and exceptional knowledge in the many threads. Enjoy the car. 1965 is a great year!

Welcome to the roadster family!

Ray

Welcome!

Welcome Mintyfresh, Nice decision on the car, respected, authentic piece of history, well done. As mentioned the original gearbox has its difficulties (though, some will say charms ). Please know, the upgrade option(s) thanks to Datsun are mostly a direct bolt-up conversion, meaning they are a 99% swap so not a difficult task to get/install that up-grade, especially with guidance from the experts here---as Nissanman is one, enjoying his ride. I'm in Hood River and/but a good friend is in Cedar Hills, (3 minutes from you). He's an ex-Master Datsun Tech and addicted to roadsters; so help is-round-the-corner. Send me a PM and we'll get you hooked up.

Nissanman wrote: Tue Sep 05, 2023 7:46 pm Hi there, I also have a '65 SP310 [RHD], well versed with that awful stock transmission and the positive ground electrics.
As you know, there is no sychro on first so unless you match engine revs to trans. speed with a clever double de-clutch thrown in, a change back to first is done at rest.
I could live with that but my trans. would pop out of reverse as soon as it smelt any torque from the engine: then it started popping out of 2nd which I use for engine braking.
THAT was the last straw.
I now have a modern, 5 speed, constant mesh, all synchro transmission and life is good so far
The electrics can be a pain if you want to convert to LED lighting but I still have the original system and it is OK!
Just make sure folks know about it if you ever need to jump start the car from another battery
BTW that is not the original front grille, did you know that?
Welcome mintyfreshv, you will enjoy the company here

120220332_10158895230470879_492511225899047642_o.jpg

Hi Nissanman,

Thanks for the tip on the no synchro first. It's incredible knowing you successfully made those changes to your '65. And very observant of you regarding my front grille. I believe it is from a 1600! I do like the 1500s front grille. It reminds me of sweet sweet waffles. Is that kosher to say? Maybe I will get lucky one day and get the original front grille. I'll let you know if I do!

Thank you for all the warm welcomes, everybody!

drieseck wrote: Thu Sep 07, 2023 7:36 pm Welcome Mintyfresh, Nice decision on the car, respected, authentic piece of history, well done. As mentioned the original gearbox has its difficulties (though, some will say charms ). Please know, the upgrade option(s) thanks to Datsun are mostly a direct bolt-up conversion, meaning they are a 99% swap so not a difficult task to get/install that up-grade, especially with guidance from the experts here---as Nissanman is one, enjoying his ride. I'm in Hood River and/but a good friend is in Cedar Hills, (3 minutes from you). He's an ex-Master Datsun Tech and addicted to roadsters; so help is-round-the-corner. Send me a PM and we'll get you hooked up.

Thanks for the the encouraging words, drieseck! I'm stoked to know we're somewhat near each other. This community is awesome. I'll definitely reach out to you. I've got heaps to learn, like learning a new language, but I am reading a lot, soaking up knowledge like a human sponge, and excited to take on this adventure.

Welcome, great car!

That's one nice car! Welcome to the group