A 50 year old Japanesse lady: SRL311 01228

[SkiFree]

^x2

Seriously cool stuff...seriously. The Datsun Roadster just scratches that perfect little convertible itch without selling one's soul to Lucas electricals.

[iwantspeed]

cool purchase simon.


nice work on getting it up and running will

[BlackbirdM3]

Very cool car, I enjoyed reading the story about it. Never really knew about these little cars but I do like it, must be a blast to drive when ready.

Any idea how much it weighs?

The Datsun roadster is one of the least known important cars in motorsports. It was on the BRE Datsun roadster that the airdam was born. Never before had such a thing been used, so Pete Brock protested the team to see if it was legal, this was late 1967. The original idea was for brake ducting, but they discovered other benefits as well. It lowered the underhood temps significantly, and the front end of the car was more planted at high speed. They later installed the oil cooler in the center.

Datsun went on to win a large pile of races over the years. Even as late as 1974 (production ended in 1970) there was a new Nissan Motorsport built car on the start line for the SCCA Runoffs. They continued to win national and regional championships well into the 2000s, the last podium finish was 2014 (I think) by Bill Wesell driving a car that first appeared at the Runoffs in 1969. He was leading till a lapped car spun him with only a lap to go. He got going again and finished a close 3rd place. The car has been retired from SCCA racing now, but will be doing vintage races on the east coast. If you are interested in learning more about the racing history, have a look here.

http://www.fairlady.org/

Many people say the Datsun roadster is a copy of the MGB, but in truth, the 1500 roadster came out 6 months before the MGB did. That said, it will beat an MG in just about everything. I've had my car since 2001, and its been a very good car. I have a little short of 100K miles on it under my ownership and I can count the number of times its broken seriously enough for me to need to be towed home on one hand. Is it super comfortable? Nope, is it the smoothest and easiest to drive? Nope, but it is a ton of fun to drive once you get the hang of their personallities. Every car drives a little differently from all the rest.

They really are awesome cars. Mine is still the most fun car I've ever driven. Driven well on the track they will show their tail lights to many cars that should leave them in the dust.

Here is my car. Yes, its a Petrolicious car.


Will

[BlackbirdM3]

It was a long day at work, and hot... So, what should I do? I need to get stuff done on Simon's car...

Where to start? Well, the cooling system is suspect and needs to come apart, I think I'll do that. I opened the radiator drain and... oh. that is just foul... I pulled the upper radiator hose off and soon after was able to remove the outlet from the head revealing one very crusty foul thermostat... (sorry didn't get pics, camera was inside.) A bunch of sediment chunks plunked onto the drip pan below the car. Old thermostat out, (might actually still work) new one in as well as the correct outlet piece.

correct-thermostat-housing by 2mAn

Onto pulling the radiator so I can fix the crack in the upper hose inlet. Everything was good, till one of hte mounting bolts broke... Bastard.

radiator-01 by 2mAn

Got the radiator out, and yes, there was sediment in the bottom. I stuck the hose in the bottom and reverse flushed it as best I could. The core feels pretty soft so I'm a bit leery of this thing being good.
Old thermostat..

old-thermostat by 2mAn

Onto the next order of business, the brake master cylinder brace. These cars tend to crack at the bottom due to being a weak area being repeatedly flexed by the use of the brakes. You can just make out the crack below the lower stud.

brake-01 by 2mAn

The inside... Now the force of the brake pedal is dispersed over the steering column mounting plate.

brake-02 by 2mAn

I figured it would be a good idea to clean the crank pulley so I can time the distributor easily. I marked it with a gold paint pen, not ideal, but better than it was.

timing-mark by 2mAn

It did get another new piece, a brand new factory oil cap.

motor-progress by 2mAn

And the hood emblems. They make all the difference in the world.
datsun by 2mAn

datsun-face by 2mAn

That is all I have for tonight.

Will

[rzerob]

Subscribed.

[ak-]

Nice, you did it! Congrats Simon.

[2mAn]

Thanks everyone, I was shocked to learn how badass these little cars are, always knew about Zs and 510s, but they are too "cool" for me...

These cars were a hair over 2000# stock and with the SU carbs made 135bhp, and the competition pack (with the Solex carbs and B-cam) were listed at 150bhp stock.

Yes, this car will beat your M42 318is

[bostonvert]

Very cool car, I enjoyed reading the story about it. Never really knew about these little cars but I do like it, must be a blast to drive when ready.

Any idea how much it weighs?

[Northern]

you and Slammin will need to have an "Obscure Roadster"-off at some point.
Datsun vs Jensen

[IceWhite]

Cool stuff here!!

Thanks for sharing, and will also be waiting for updates as you progress.

[AwakenNoMore]

Sweet project. I'll be keeping an eye on this awesomeness.

[parkerbink]

Nice! Congrats!

[2mAn]

It's a very early '68, built in October '67. I'm pretty sure the competition kit was installed in the 70s so this car has a solid racing history or some kind of enthusiast driver

[rturbo 930]

Awesome! Welcome to the world of Datsuns. I'm more into Zs but I have a soft spot for the roadster. Not too much rust... lucky for you.

What year is it? Looks like a later dash, so this is one that won't impale you with the steering column, yes?

[2mAn]

You should name it, "MrBurgundy"

Shes a lady, so MRS Burgundy