slownrusty Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Well..I have been trying to buy this car for the past 4+ years. It belongs to a co-worker of mine and he has been talking about this old Datsun Roadster that his mother-in-law bought brand new in 1967 - no joke. He knows I am a Datsun man and has been inviting me up to his house for literally years to see the car. I finally made it up to his beautiful house a few weeks ago to check out the car, and I was VERY pleasantly surprised with what I found. Firstly he lives almost 9,000feet above sea level and the dirt roads going up there were a little hairy! Anyhoo...the Roadster is a 1967 1600 (low windshield model), bought brand new by his now passed away mother-in-law. The car is near perfect meaning that it ONLY has 3200miles on it - no joke! We found a hand written card from Sears from 1989 stating that the next oil change was at 4,000miles in the glovebox. The body on the car is perfect - not one door ding, only a tiny crease in the rear bumper. All the chrome is good but the paint is very chalky and faded, as you can imagine (and no biggie). The dry Colorado climate has preserved the car, and it has always been garaged and covered. The car was last driven 4-5years ago, but fired up after being jumped and held a great idle (even at 9000feet), had a small miss but thats about it. It actually sounded pretty nice and throaty. It revved very nicely too. Underneath the car is clean and as you can imagine with any car with 3200miles, looks brand new. I let the car sit and idle for 15-20 minutes and the engine temp sat rock solid at 180F. The tranny feels good too. Under the hood is clean as well. The interior is very good, the dash needs to be recovered only. All the gauges are perfect (even the clock) and electrically everything works, he even has all the factory owners manuals from '67! The trunk looks like it just rolled out of the dealership. My friend Steve and his wife really want to sell the car, as they never drive it and would like their garage space back. Plus they would like to see someone like myself buy it, as they know it will continue to be well maintained and cared for. Plus they want visitation rights, as there is sentimental value attached with the car. The prices on these early model Roadsters are on the climb, and I believe I have one of the lowest mileage ones in existance here in the U.S. Fast forward to yesterday...when I went to pick-up the car, I figured I would jump in it and drive it home (about 35minutes) with the 30year old Bias-Ply JC Penny tires and all (no joke!). When I jumped in the car, it had zero brakes - pedal to the floor! So I spent an hour or so bleeding them, until I got a good pedal pressure, but all the rubber brake lines were scarry looking, and VERY cracked. The car had no gas or coolant in it, so I had to race down the mountain to the gas station. The car only runs on leaded gas, so I had to mix lead additive with the 87 Octane..LOL! Driving down the mountain, with suspect brakes was VERY HAIRY, luckily my buddy was ahead of me in his Toyota Tacoma..just incase, the brakes failed -scary thought, but it happens all the time to people coming down Pikes Peak every year. Engine braking and the e-brake are your friends. Well I got the car home, safe and sound..considering it has not run in 4-5years it was pretty peppy and ran quite well. Over the next few weeks, I will address the old hoses, full tune-up and brakes and put some new REAL tires on it. So here is the latest addition to the family... Note the Prince steering wheel: Yasin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRTY260Z Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Nice score... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CORPCRIM Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 I like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Amazing find - I just hope you changed the oil before driving it. I wouldn't trust the stuff from 89!! PS - I hear this is an easy swap: http://www.zparts.com/showcase/msSR20swap1/intro.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihatejoefitz Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Awesome find! Do you run a Datsun recovery center or something? When you run out of space send this one my way. How much did you pay for it, if you don't mind my asking. -Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TeamNissan Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Got I love the roadsters, if I wasnt 6'1" I'd own one lol. Cant wait to see what you do with it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 280ZForce Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Damn Yasin, I've been admiring those cars since I got in the Datsun game and actually saw one for the 1st time. They are cool looking cars, would love to have one someday myself. Are you coming down for MSA by any chance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Great find! The low rise windshield ones (SPL311?) are may favorite ones. I'm not saying it's not in good shape, but some of the upholstery and dash look a little on the 'old' side for having such few miles on the car. Still, it's all original and that's what is important. I think this one might be best left stock due to it's originality, but that's your call since you are the new owner. The color is a good one--my brother's SPL311 was the same Datsun color: kinda silver, kinda gold, kinda green (almost). Enjoy your "new" car! Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators BRAAP Posted April 23, 2007 Administrators Share Posted April 23, 2007 Very nice. Good score. Enjoy the ride... Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monossi Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Thats great ! Congratulations on the find !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete280z Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Very nice! Great score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mario_82_ZXT Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Yasin I'm jealous!!! We (dad and I) were going to buy one and restore it for my mom to drive (she wanted a roadster). We looked and looked but the ones in the area and price range (~$6k) were in worse shape then a few years ago when I was originally researching them. Plus the only ones nearby I knew of ended up being crushed We ended up getting my mom a black on black Miata, which she loves, but I'd love to get a roadster. My dad found an ok one in Phoenix (low windshield too) but he BARELY fit in it and was actually seeing forward over the windshield (haha). One day... one day... I'll have my BRE schemed Z, dime, and Fairlady roadster... Congratz on the find, Mario Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbk240z Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 some guys have all the luck! Congrats on the find Yasin. One of these days I might have to invite myself over to your place to check out your rides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody 82 ZXT Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Thats an awesome find. Glad you got it. Hope to see more pics of it as you uncover more of it's history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slownrusty Posted April 23, 2007 Author Share Posted April 23, 2007 Wow..thanks for all the awesome replies guys - your comments are all very inspiring. I started clay bar-ing and wet compounding the front fender and its making a difference on the chalky looking paint. I think I will try wet sanding it and see what happens. I ordered some 14" Konig Rewinds for the car (-9mm offset) and some new tires, that should be here this week (a good friend of mine works at Discount Tire). The next few weeks will be straight, replacement of all the old cracked rubber hoses. Change all the fluids, brakes, and a full tune-up. This car is not a project car, just needs some aesthetics to bring it up to driveable. I cannot see me driving it alot but definitely a fun little car (all 97hp). As this car is so original and low mileage, I am not going to be doing any engine swaps or anything crazy with it although a SR20 would be sweet...LOL! To answer some questions: Justin - Yes I will be at MSA this weekend - if you send me your tel. no we can get together - I would love to see your build. Joefitz - You're cracking me up! Team Nissan - I am 6.0" and fit perfectly in the car, lots of legroom, the seats are not the comfiest (especially for long distance) and with the large steering wheel, getting in and out is tricky-ish - bit other than that its comfy. Davy - Yes this is a SPL311 model - low winsdshield. Some parts of the interior has dry-rotted some what, but not bad - the Colorado air has no humidity so it does take a toll on the interior but on the plus side no rust! The car came with a brand new top - still in the box from Nissan (it must be 25years old) but you are right it does need some cosemtic work inside and out. Mario - Cool story...finding a clean one for less than $7-$9K is rare, eBay has a few nice ones...they are great cars. jbk - come down anytime you like! More pics to come and thanks again! Yasin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darrel Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 http://www.wycroc.org/ This is the local roadster club, they get together pretty regularly and have gotten together with the z club as well. John Over lives in aurora and could probably let you know what to do with the brakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Taylor Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 That's awesome. I'm envious as hell.....been wanting one of those for some time now. JT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 man i love those cars still. Been drooling over these pics for well over 2 hours now between other online activity. I'll keep busy for a bit and think to myself "does it still look as good" then switch over to this page "yup, still amazing". That's quite a find man, leave it origonal, wise man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Wow, that's nice! I've got to ask, what did you pay for this gem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Nice find! you lucky SOB! I've been on the look out for an early roadster for about four years now...some day!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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