The Datsun Roadster Book TM Our Car Here are some pictures of some of the first restoration effort on our 2000We started in 1974 and changed course in 1980 which is described in companion PowerPoint on this page. Here are some pictures of some of the first restoration effort on our We started in 1974 and changed course in 1980 which is described in companion PowerPoint on this page. Click your mouse to advance the slide show.

The Datsun Roadster Book TM Our Car The 2000 arrives at the garage on the race car trailer. It had to be trailered because of the seized engine. When we first looked at it to buy, it had a knock but it still ran. We deferred and then got a call two weeks later saying the engine had seized and the price had been reduced. We rented an extra space (for an extra $8.50 per month) next to our race car and moved it in.

The Datsun Roadster Book TM Our Car We immediately began disassembling it – first to go was the engine. After we got the engine out and apart we took it a great local machine shop – Herb Horst Auto Machine. While they did their work we decided to did a little deeper into the redo. We would spend the next 13 years finishing it.

The Datsun Roadster Book TM Our Car Before we knew it the body was stripped an pulled off the frame. The black places on the otherwise rusty frame are all the places that get greased or leak oil.

The Datsun Roadster Book TM Our Car Although only 6 years old the frame has been brutally attacked by the salt and calcium chloride used to de-ice the roads in Pennsylvania.

The Datsun Roadster Book TM Our Car Another view of the frame sharing space with it’s former body with the race 1600 alongside.

The Datsun Roadster Book TM Our Car After a few weekends of wire-brushing and brush-coats of Rustoleum damp proof primer followed by gloss black it looks 1000% better – as long as you didn’t get too close! As noted elsewhere, we were rank amateurs – and poor ones at that. We realized much later (once we could afford it) that all we did was preserve the frame for proper cleaning and painting.

The Datsun Roadster Book TM Our Car After the Rustoleum we reassembled the suspension. Yes, those would be Koni shocks. We removed the Koni’s later on in favor of factory shocks for the restoration.

The Datsun Roadster Book TM Our Car The engine goes back together after Herb Horst finished it. They found a piece of electrical tape in the gallery leading to #3 connecting rod which restricted oil and caused the rod bearing to spin. We replaced the crankshaft rather than turn it down since a new crankshaft only cost us $85 (I could buy parts at dealer cost since I was a mechanic at the dealer). We painted it black since the thought in those days was that black parts gave off heat better.

The Datsun Roadster Book TM Our Car High tech equipment – some barrels and some 2x4’s raise the body high enough to roll the chassis under on wheels with no tires at the front. No tires on the front wheels helped lower the engine to fit it under the body. We would use the “wheels with no tires idea” about 20-years later for the same task.

The Datsun Roadster Book TM Our Car You could use tires on the rear since there was nothing on the back of the chassis that stuck up like the engine. All the bolts were the old (rusty) ones reused – something we would correct in “Part II”. After this the body and chassis went into storage until we could raise enough money for the bodywork and lacquer paint job. It would be along wait.

The Datsun Roadster Book TM Our Car We hope you enjoyed our story of the first “restoration” of our Like the photos in the Race Cars presentation, we go back to a much simpler time. We hadn’t a care in the world – or much money, but they were still the “good old days”. There was a lot of work still to come as you will see in the next two presentations. Also, check the rest of the site for some more cars from our past. Use the “back” button to return to “TheDatsunRoadsterBook”