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Thinking
of Buying a Datsun Roadster?
My
2 cents worth Buyers Guide...
I
strongly urge you to learn as much about Datsun Roadsters as
possible before purchasing a car. I would shamelessly
suggest you pick up a copy of our catalog insert,
and the roadster magazine article book.
I
would also humbly suggest that you familiarize yourself on
the various vin numbers and characteristics of the different
years
and models.
This may help you spot a car that is a compilation of other
cars. It still may be a nice car that's fun to drive,
reliable and looks good, but you should know what's what up
front. The critical things are of course making sure the
frame number matches the title so you really are buying that
car (except on some 70s, other vin locations are not legal
vin tags). See vin
info
for more on this. Some states provide information on
previous owners to aid in your historical research. We may
have previous owner information on the car since we've been
in business so long, all I can offer though is to contact
the previous owner and ask if they'd mind being contacted by
you (or calling you collect, emailing you etc.) We do not
release any information like this without the person's
express permission. I wish those %@#$#&% companies that
we are all forced to use (banks, insurance companies
etc.,)would adopt this policy.
FIXED
BUT WORSE
When I have bought cars to fix up (I use the word "restore"
very carefully) I have sometimes found my task much easier
with a car that had some damage and had hardly any work done
to it. Some cars that are repaired, body-wise or
mechanically, end up with more problems than they started
with. I've also found the cars that have had 15 owners
usually suffer from more mechanical problems than the
"fewer-owner" cars. People don't seem to care as much with a
short term pet in the driveway as they do with a long term
friend. These are of course gross generalizations. And
although it's always nice to pay nothing for something, you
may discover later, painfully, that sometimes spending a
little more for a nicer car would have made sense. Just
depends on your hurry to have it just so, and how much you
want to work on it and "pay as you go."
YOUNG
AT HEART
There
are not many facts when it comes to discussing the ins and
outs of which car to buy. A car this old and this style
defies any attempt to objectively compare good and bad
points. It's all opinion, and as you talk to people I'm sure
you'll get a basket from which to choose your answers. These
cars are diversions, mistresses, excuses to buy tools,
totally impractical and serve no real purpose except one,
the pursuit of happiness and the enjoyment of life!
MAKING
MONEY...NOT
I
wouldn't buy any car, Datsun Roadster, Porsche, Dodge Viper
or Borgward Isabella, as an investment or a way to make
money. Car values go up and down, depending on the amount of
speculators in the market at the time. It's nice to be able
to recoup some of your financial expenditures if and when
you want to sell it, and sports cars in general seem to
allow that to some degree. (Just don't factor in the
inflation rate, loss of the use of the money elsewhere,
insurance, taxes, etc etc.) T-bills and no-load mutual funds
may look nice in your retirement portfolio, but they don't
have quite the same exhaust note or adrenalin producing
ability that your Datsun does as you run down that winding
road.
BEFORE
YOU START LOOKING
In
your quest for a roadster you have to decide a few things in
advance (unless nothing matters than owning a Datsun
Roadster, any Datsun Roadster! Hey...a TRUE ENTHUSIAST!
WHICH
ENGINE?
The
U20 engine has a lot more zip under the hood, but is a lot
more expensive to rebuild. Roughly 15,000 of the engines
were produced and they are a popular item to put in the 1500
and 1600 as it is basically a bolt in operation. They aren't
any more tempermental than any other engine as long as the
various idiosyncrasies are dealt with in a timely manner.
The solex carb version, whether original or later converted
many find unpleasant in a day to day situation. If you love
to blast around with your foot in it you'll love them, if
you like a wide torque band so you can put along at a a
lower rpm you may not. There's no free lunch.
The
early 1600 engines (below R-40000) have 3 main bearings
versus 5 in the later cars. Don't be put off by what seems
to be a deficiency. The 3 main bearings seem to be as
durable or more so than the 5-mains and the oiling seems to
be better on the 3 bearings it does have.
The
1500 is a little bit less powerful than the 1600 and a
little more quaint, especially the rare 1963 single
carburetor model. Many of the parts in the 1600 and 1500
were used in tens of thousands of engines, some fairly
recent, in addition to the approximately 120,000 "R"
engines.
WHICH
BODY STYLE?
The
biggest difference is low windshield (63-67 1/2) versus high
windshield (68-70). Drive both before you decide on looks
alone.
SAFETY
or CLASSIC STYLING?
Cars from 1968 on have a better padded interior and steering
wheel center. In 1967 1/2 the brake system was changed to a
dual system so if you lose a wheel you don't lose the entire
system. A collapsible steering column was added so in a bad
accident the steering wheel doesn't get pushed towards you.
The 67 and earlier cars have a "classic" looking chrome
trimmed interior. The 67 1/2 is between the two, it has a
flat dash like the early cars, but everything is black and
dull silver to satisfy the well-meaning but often backwards
safety regulations. Don't want you to have an accident
caused by the sun hitting the console lock! The dual brakes
and collapsible column were a great improvement, I wish they
could have stopped at that.
RARE,
ORIGINAL, or WILD?
You can check our section on production amounts,
but most people seem to enjoy their roadster just as much if
it's "common" as those with the rarer ones. None of the
Datsun Roadsters are particularly plentiful, as a group they
represent only about 1/10th of the MGB population. There are
the purists that feel you must have a car with a single
digit vin, or the last one made. You'll find cars that are
kept as stock as possible and ones that have mild
alterations or upgrades, and some just wild. There are as
many different categories as there are owners, and each
seems to bring a nice price if it is a nice car.
The
most sought after car has always been the 67 2000. Only
about 650 left hand drives were made. It is the only 2000
with the low windshield and except for a few 68's sold
before Jan 1, 1968, the only one that could have come
originally with the 150hp Solex Option. During the late 80s
some of these in Japan were selling for the equivalent of
$30,000. Things have calmed down greatly since then in Japan
but for a few years...wow.
There's
also a growing number of people really trying to do justice
to the early 1500s, which are rare from production numbers
and age.
The
bugaboos of having the original engine# that came with the
car, or the original color paint don't seem to alter the
price of the roadsters. Paint can be redone anytime, and
having an "original number" engine might make a difference
someday, but when?
BODY
DAMAGE
I would pay far more attention to crude patch jobs to repair
an accident or rust. Anything can be repaired or
"re-repaired" but at what cost? It is a time consuming job
to repair cars properly, and unfortunately there are a lot
of frustrated sculptors working in body shops that apply
body filler like they are doing their 3rd grade clay-art
project. If a car is known to have had an accident, and
being 30 years old makes it likely, be sure to check the
frame of the car for ripples or even tears near the front
and rear ends. Have an alignment shop make sure the front
end can be aligned. If it's been hit hard enough it may not
be able to be aligned without straightening the frame. It
may look fine, but may never track straight, and/or may wear
out tires extremely fast. The cars usually don't have rear
frame damage as most accidents that would damage that nice
strong frame would really demolish the body, but it's always
worth a look. Front frame damage is far more likely, as the
car frame is designed somewhat to crush inward, either to
absorb an accident's force or just because the frame is
typically lighter on any car towards the outer ends. If
looking for typical accident evidence, usually the inner
fender isn't replaced, and is left in a slightly "crinkled"
state. You can see it by looking in the space behind the
grill, in front of the radiator all the way to the left or
right. In the rear open up the trunk and look at the floor
and wheel wells. A crack in the trunk floor under the tire
is quite common just due to the stress of the tire above,
and gas tank below. I've seen more than a couple cars
that have been rearended and fixed by cutting off the entire
rear half (just behind the seats) of another car and tacking
it on. I'm not talking about a careful professsional fully
welded reattachment, but a slapped on new half with a few
welded or bolted together spots and a liberal amount of some
kind of goo to keep the water out. You can get away with
something like this because the roadster has an extremely
strong frame, but you still have a mess unless it is done
properly. It's worth putting the car up on a hoist and
having someone go over the body if you are paying a pretty
penny (or not). Carpet can hide serious floor
problems.
MECHANICAL
PROBLEMS
If a car, any car, has 50-100,000 miles on it, it can need
virtually anything, whether it is a 35 year old Datsun or a
4 year old Ford. If it's been serviced improperly or not
serviced at all it can need just about anything sooner. It's
part of car ownership, you take care of the problems and
you're done with them. Engine wise, the basic block assembly
can have a long life with care. There are many things to
look for on the roadsters, some common, some not, some
easily checked, some not. These all become negotiable points
on purchase. Some of the repairs if caught at a certain
point can be economical to deal with, and financially
disastrous later. Typical expensive mechanical problems
include steering box gear damage on Type A boxes (63-mid
69); loose upper timing chain, (2000), and unusual
transmission noises, especially on the 1600. Keep in mind
that to do a clutch replacement you have to pull the engine
and transmission, usually a 10+ hour job for a typical shop.
The catalog insert
mentioned above has a section on many of these types of
situations and if your question isn't answered there I might
answer your email if I feel especially merciful that day;
assuming my fingers and/or mind aren't numb from tearing
cars apart, packing boxes and banging on this keyboard. Dark
hydraulic fluid usually indicates moisture in the system,
which can rust the front calipers. Finding no oil in the
steering box, or low oil in the transmission and
differential is also a sign of not much care. I've drained a
couple of transmissions lately that haven't had the amount
of oil it takes to fill my pressure washer!
LOOK
TWICE
Sometimes the obvious can escape detection. One item is just
looking at the car from 8 feet away. Do each front fender
have the same flare over the wheel? How about each back
fender? They'll look different front and back, but shouldn't
LEFT AND RIGHT! Many cars have been repaired with a junk
yard fender that doesn't match. Many of the parts look the
same...until you look at them twice! As we expand the sheet
metal section of this website you'll be able to see the
different flares that different years have, but whatever the
car has, they should match, especially on the rear which is
$$$$ to redo later.
WRONG
BODY?
Another
item which may damage a car's future value to purists (but
still be a great car) is the installation of the wrong year
body on the frame. We see this now and then. There is no vin
number stamped on the body, so the body itself is just a
replacement part I guess. Sometimes this will give itself
away by the hole for the shifter being modified, something
you can see with the car on a hoist. You can see examples of
unmodified floors here.
THE
TEST DRIVE
Much
of the aspects of an inspection and test drive are covered
by your typical "how to buy a car" books and are worth
reading up. A general inspection by a shop that does that
sort of thing may bring up some other concerns. It's hard
though to not let your rational mind be overcome by what you
feel when you are going through the gears with the top down
on a sunny day on the test drive. This is especially true if
you're used to a newer "Did I drive over a curb dear?" cars.
Forget that the car is such a bright color your sunglasses
don't even help, forget the fact that those two girls just
pointed at you, forget that suddenly you're back in high
school and remember the old rules. Turn the radio off, put
the top up, roll the windows up and start LISTENING. Rod
knock? Piston Slap? Transmission Howl? Speedo
Whining?
Dann
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