Gary's Roadster Project

The car is finished! (pretty much). I just turned 1000 miles on the car and really enjoy driving it. I have some fine tuning still on the Megasquirt fuel injection but it runs well as it sits. I hope to get some dyno time at some point. I bought a top from Les at Classic Datsun and had it professionally installed. It looks great and I'll try to get some new pics of the car posted. Several companies have been very instrumental in this project. R&B Collision, in Glendale, AZ, really put the icing on the cake with a fantastic paintjob. Superior Chrome in Houston, TX did a great job on my bumpers and windshield trim. Memphis Plating, in Memphis, TN handled alot of the small chrome items. I used many items from Dean at Datsunparts.com including: the vacuum formed dash, complete interior upholstery kit, carpet kit, and complete rubber kit. I also had great results with his gas cap repair kit. The Megasquirt EFI computer is working as advertised. I'm learning alot about fuel injection! Overall, I have learned a great deal from the expertise of the Roadster community. The information on www.311s.org and several other sites is priceless. Mark Sedlack's page has been a huge inspiration, as have several others! I've made other purchases from Rallye Enterprises, Sports Imports, Classic Datsun Motorsports, Datsun Sports, Rising Sun Racing, and Stan Chernoff. I have been very happy with the parts and services they have provided. Local businesses, H&H Auto, Tom Tucker Tire, Muffler Master, and Steve's Steel and Glass provided great service to me. Thanks to all. Enjoy!

I bought this car in 1994 and used it as a daily driver for a year or so. It was close to becoming a junker. The only paint on the frame was under layers of greasy crust while the body had 4 different coats of paint over some bad body work. It came with a hardtop, no softtop or frame, and was mostly stock. The engine was weak and overheated easily. I decided to take on a large project and do a frame off. I started with a grinder, wire brush, paint remover and putty knives. After most of the body was down to metal, I built a rack and separated the frame and body. A rented steam cleaner blasted the crud off the frame and a local Corvette restoration shop blasted and painted the disassembled frame components. Some of the changes made to the frame include a rebuilt rear axle from a 2000, re-arched rear springs, new axle u-bolts, new lowered front springs, new rear brake components, steering box conversion, comp sway bar, KYB shocks, rebuilt upper A-arms, urethane bushings and dual traction bars. The car sat in the garage and collected more dust and junk for a few years and then endured a house move. I gradually developed an idea on the finished product. I decided to do a few custom things and various mods. The biggest being the VG30E Nissan V6 and 5-speed from an '85 300ZX I purchased. I bought the car wrecked, took what I needed and sold as many parts as I could, finally sending the remainder to a scrap yard. The engine has been gone through locally and I later purchased a rebuilt tranny to replace the original one from the 300ZX. Other changes...Volvo brake caliper conversion, dual master cylinder, slotted rotors, multi-shaft steering setup similar to Mark Sedlack's design on his website, shaved door handles, custom door panels, custom center console and power windows.