The Datsun Roadster Book TM

1. Here are some pictures of the second roadster we restored. Our goal was an everyday driver that would be comfortable and reliable. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 Click your mouse to advance the slide show.

2. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 In spring of 1987 we got a call from a guy in South Carolina who had a 2000 that he wanted to sell. He sent us some pictures in the mail and we liked what we saw so we loaded up the old King Cab diesel and took off with the tow bar and the “towing” tires. This is the body after we stripped it – solid but far from perfect. The frame is loaded on the King Cab in the background as we got ready to take it to “the dipper” – a nearby metal cleaning/stripping company. He would also clean all the various suspension parts to prep them for paint.

3. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 The frame loaded on the King Cab. Judicious placement of blocking and rigging allowed us to hang the rear of the frame over the cab. If you look closely you can see the lifting apparatus we had fabricated to easily lift the frame and body tub. It was a four-legged “spider” that bolted to four of the frame out-riggers and had a central connection point with a lifting eye. It saved a lot of time at the dipper – drive under his hoist, pick it up, and set it in the tank.

4. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 Kids, don’t try this at home! Once again, judicious use of blocking and rigging allowed us to transport the body tub on the back of the King Cab. We tied a red flag on the back as required by Georgia law to warn other motorists. We hauled it 35 miles to the shop where it would be blasted and cleaned. They set it on big inner tubes and when they wanted to do the underside they just rolled it over on the inner tubes. They reported that the factory undercoating was really tough to remove! A lot work but worth it as you will see.

5. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 Another view before we took off for the blast shop. Fully supported and balanced, the King Cab drove really well.

6. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 Parts are back from the dipper and are in the process of being painted. We couldn’t afford a professional paint shop so we made our own. Along with help from the next-door neighbor, who had a spray gun (we had the compressor) we painted all the parts outside.

7. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 The paint “booth” under our deck!

8. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 Climate-controlled and dust-free! Yeah, right!

9. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 That’s me hard at work stringing up miscellaneous parts to get their first coat of primer. Notice we taped all the threaded parts to make assembly easier.

10. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 The finished rolling chassis complete with R20 engine and 5-speed.

11. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 A view from the rear. We used competition front coils and 1966 rear leaf springs. Bilstein shock finished out the suspension. The exhaust was stock combining 1968 and 1969 parts. 1968/69 front pipe, 1969 under-seat pipe, 1969 over-the-axle pipe, and stock rear resonator. Boy, did it sound nice!

12. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 Yes, that’s a GM alternator. We also used the die-cast fan spacer and the four-bladed fan. A bit noisy but no overheating problems. It needed a special alignment job to get the front geometry right after the comp springs lowered it.

13. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 Close-up of the right rear suspension before the Bilsteins were installed.

14. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 Front suspension on the driver’s side. A lot of new and rebuilt parts.

15. Another suspension view The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555

16. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 The body tub after bondo, primer, and the first coats of Porsche Guards red polyurethane.

17. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 That red paint is really hot on a clean, straight body tub. The bottom was as pretty as the top.

18. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 Another view at the body shop. The body was really solid but bumpy and needed a lot of touch-up to smooth the dents.

19. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 This time, rather than use wheels with no tires, we recruited a bunch of the body shop guys to set the tub on the chassis. We towed the chassis with engine and gearbox to the body shop and with a little heave-ho set the tub on the frame. I think it took six guys and about 5 minutes.

20. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 The last step of setting the body down. By the body count it only took 5 guys.

21. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 Sorry for the poor exposure. The 1969 joins our black car in the driveway.

22. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 Another bad exposure of the engine compartment. It really was a thing of beauty!

23. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 On the way to Florida. I drove the car from Atlanta to St. Petersburg. It rode nice and drove like a dream. We had installed a cassette player and speakers behind the doors – a real nice improvement over the AM radio. Headlights are Hella H4’s that worked great with the extra amps from the GM alternator.

24. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 The other side.

25. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 The back.

26. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 Another front shot. Sorry we never took any of the inside – but trust me it was just as nice as the outside.

27. The Datsun Roadster BookTM SRL311-12555 The 1988 Walter Mitty car show at Road Atlanta. We took both cars and got two first places.

28. The Datsun Roadster BookTM We hope you’ve enjoyed our reminisces about this wonderful car from our past. I really wish we could track it down and get an opportunity to reacquire it. Check the rest of the site for some more cars from our past. SRL311-12555