We started our Datsun Roadster hobby/obsession with the purchase of a
'64 SPL310 with an R16 engine.
Although this Roadster ran, it ran roughly. It had been parked for over
a year; the PO cranked over the engine occasionally during that time but
never drove it. We pushed it farther than we drove it. Anticipating extensive
engine work, we decided to look for a running Roadster to drive while this
one was being restored. It is currently the recipient of an engine transplant
from a '66 we bought as an engine donor.
One day while surfing the Datsun web sites, we happened upon a running '63 SPL310
located about 600 miles away. We flew up to see it and took our first REAL Roadster ride
in it. The engine number didn't match the VIN plate, but the seller produced
the VIN plate of the engine donor, a '65. 1963 & 1965 are special years for
us, as they are our birth years. It didn't take too long for us to decide we absolutely needed this
baby. Although she ran well enough, we were concerned about a 600 mile drive
that had to be made in 24 hours; no room for breakdowns here! We decided
to drive up the following weekend, rent a tow dolly and bring her home that
way. After a 12 hour ride up, about 4 hours prepping the Roadster for the
trip back and a 16 hour drive back, we got her safely home. She's driven
on weekends, and taken to local vintage car gatherings. What great fun
to pull into a Sonic Drive In! For those of you who don't know Sonic, it
is a chain hamburger restaurant that has drive up stalls and carhops, just
like the drive in places in the '50's.
Our first Z acquisition was this 1973 240Z. Some kind previous owner
fitted the beast with earlier model SU carbs, saving us the hassle of having
to deal with the factory installed flat tops. Yes, she's a bit rough, but
she fits right in!
**Click photo for a progress log **
This is a photo of our next acquisition, a '74 260Z. We
bought this lovely from the original owner, who was able to provide complete
service records as well as the original window sticker and owner's manual!
Fitted with the original flat top carburetors (which were horrible), we
installed a better set of round-tops so we can use her as a daily driver **Click photo for a progress log **
We found our latest family member, a '71 240Z,
advertised on a Z website. Being a local car, we were curious & e-mailed
the owner. Turns out we had looked at this Z when the owner was selling
it earlier in the year! He wasn't really ready to sell back then, but this
time he was very motivated, and we got her for a good deal. She is currently
a daily driver until the '74 above is road-worthy. She has a lot of rust
issues, but is going to a guy who wants to play around with engine transplants
& knows what he needs to do to make her road safe.
We picked up our '68 Roadster as part of
a package deal with a '67 Roadster. We went to look at the '67, a complete
but non-running project that we ultimately ended up selling. The '68 was
of no interest, as we were only looking for low windshield cars, and had no use
for a shell. The ad specified there were two cars, but the seller took almost
half of what he was asking on the condition that we haul off the stripped out
'68. Not really knowing what we were going to do with it but thinking we
might be able to use it for parts, we parked it in a corner of the yard on
blocks. There it sat for almost 2 years, uncovered and slowly rusting away
in the desert sun. We occasionally visited it to scavenge bits &
pieces (the PO had removed anything that could be sold on E-bay) but for the
most part the lonely thing became an occasional home to feral cats. I
always had an uncooked scheme to do something with this blank canvas, but it's
never been anything I seriously thought about doing. Recently, I've
started considering the project in earnest. Always wanting to expand my
mechanical experience, I decided that it would be fun to undertake an ambitious
project.
