I needed a distraction that will last me a few days and decided to do some carb rebuilding. It's good mechanical therapy that will take my mind off other things. :good2: Here's a shot of the cleaned up pieces...any guesses of the model and what it's out of?
(http://fjowners.com/gallery/7/697_17_06_14_5_53_01.jpeg)
I have hints if you need them.
Disclaimer: Anyone who has been to my house is ineligible to guess! :biggrin:
SU carb from some rustic old English sports car
Quote from: Capn Ron on June 17, 2014, 06:59:27 PM
I needed a distraction that will last me a few days and decided to do some carb rebuilding. It's good mechanical therapy that will take my mind off other things. :good2: Here's a shot of the cleaned up pieces...any guesses of the model and what it's out of?
(http://fjowners.com/gallery/7/697_17_06_14_5_53_01.jpeg)
I have hints if you need them.
Disclaimer: Anyone who has been to my house is ineligible to guess! :biggrin:
Well it's an SU but i have no idea regards model or fitment? A single carb so maybe a Morris Mini?
Definitely an SU...I think the pot was a dead giveaway!
Okay, first hint: It's one of two from the car.
I realized by doing them one at a time, you always have an example of how it's supposed to go back together right there on your bench! :good2:
Hitachi built SU knockoffs from a Datsun Roadster, probably a 1969.
(If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit I always say...)
Flynt
Frank has 240's on his mind.....
Looks like a MGB set to me....1973?
Hey, I think I still have a can of dash pot oil somewhere....
I can't play, I saw his garage....
Maybe a Triumph TR7?.... I think they ran twin SUs.
If everyone was out of guesses, my next hint would have been: "Frank would know!" And he's nearly a winner having pegged it as a Datsun...and a Roadster at that!
A bit earlier than most of the guesses so far...
(http://fjowners.com/gallery/7/697_17_06_14_10_33_17.jpeg)
(http://fjowners.com/gallery/7/697_17_06_14_10_42_22.jpeg)
It's a 1967 1/2 Datsun 2000 Roadster that has been sitting too long!!! It (not unllike the FJ's) needs to be out on the road! I am endeavoring to do just that. :good2:
I'm going to take a shot with ATF (about 10w) on the first pass for the dashpot oil...then take it from there.
Beautiful car. Now that you have my undivided attention how about some details. History-engine size-specs. Dave
I can set you up with the tune... pm from here.
Frank
Ron, these carbies are probably a novelty in the US but EVERYTHING that came out of the UK (which is what Australia drove) for 50 years up until the early 80's had SU's. From Rolls Royce V8's to Mini's and everything in between, even the Spitfire Merlin engines used them and they were the only thing you ever saw hanging from the front of a supercharger. I still work on cars that have them.
Franks on the money though, technically, the ones you have are Hitachi knock off's (if they're original)
The Datsun is an absolute ripper! They made a very poor cousin of the MBG of the day in every way except heritage and name. They heralded in a new era of automotive engineering while the MG's represented the last stand of a previous one (the engines dated back to the 40's). Japanese cars in the mid 60's were not that popular or plentiful yet and still viewed by many as tinny.
I can remember driving those when everyone, including me, had MG's and Triumphs and thinking just how great they were to drive. They were not only ahead of their time but suffered from an adverse attitude to Jap cars and never sold in the numbers they deserved to. They were the best in class by a country mile. All synchro 5 speed g'box, disc brakes, great steering, good looking etc,
You're a fortunate bloke to have such a fine example (and you've got the best looking one with the low windscreen)
Did you do the resto yourself and have you driven it much? I would love to see some more photos of it.
Noel
Ron, beautiful example of the roadster. Having seen your pics, I have to relate a story (true) about the acquisition of my '85 FJ. I bought a 900 Seca in 1983. Loved the bike, quick, shaft drive, I guess it was the precursor to the FJ. Anyhow, I saw an ad on CL for an '85 FJ1100 last October and the guy said he was open to interesting trades. Called the guy up, had about an hour long conversation about cars, M/C's etc. He mentioned he had some Datsun Roadsters he was restoring and during the course of the conversation he says he's got 50 (that's fifty) roadsters under roof and on his property. I almost soiled my panties. He comes to my house to pick up the car I was trading, then I go to his house to pick up the bike. As I drive up to this guys house - definitely something out of American Pickers - the first thing that I see is a Honda 305 Dream, complete, just sitting in the woods at the top of his driveway. His driveway drops so precipitously - the reason that I needed a four wheel drive to retrieve the bike - that you can't see his house or any of his surrounding acreage. Once you start walking down his drive a landscape of garages reveal themselves and then you start seeing vehicles everywhere, dotting his property. The first building that he takes me into is loaded with doors, too many to count...shit everywhere. As the tour continues more of the same, rooms of parts, frames, whole cars in all states of disrepair. Out of the corner of my eye I see something under wraps and ask him what it is. Like the Wizard of OZ, he pulls off this bed spread and there is this beautiful, gleaming engine that was race prepared by Bob Sharp, so out of place with all the carnage that surrounds it. The bottom line is that if you every need anything roadster related this is the go to guy. And if you have anything interesting to trade...the world of Datsun Roadsters is your oyster. Happy to send you his contact info. All normal disclaimers, the only thing that we share is that he has my car and I have his FJ1100, and I got the better deal!!
Rick
I had a SU carb on a Volvo 142. I used ATF because my dad had a bottle in his garage.
Dammit Ron!..........................................That car is Gorgeous! I love it with the minilites on it...............Superb!
Now you HAVE to bring it out! :sarcastic:
Quote from: TexasDave on June 17, 2014, 11:52:28 PM
Beautiful car. Now that you have my undivided attention how about some details. History-engine size-specs. Dave
Hey Dave!
Thank you!
So, a bit of Nissan history first: Nissan introduced cars to the American market under the name "Datsun" thinking it sounded "less Japanese"...As others have pointed out, this met with mixed success and although a superb car for the time, they didn't enjoy huge sales numbers. The Datsun Roadsters...technically called "Datsun Sports" here in the US and "Nissan Fairlady" in the JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) came out starting in 1959 with the S211 (1959 - 1960):
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Datsun_S211_001.JPG)
The SPL212 (Left hand drive) of 1961 was the first imported into the US in very low numbers (under 300) :
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/SPL212.jpg)
And by 1962, we have the basic shape that would last through the end of 1967:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/1962_Datsun_Fairlady_01.jpg/1280px-1962_Datsun_Fairlady_01.jpg)
Through 1967, these cars typically had engines from 1L up to 1.6L and ranged from 47 to 97 HP. They had a flat dashboard and a low, removable windshield. US government safety regulations for the 1968 model years and on, specified flush door handles for pedestrian safety, a padded dashboard, a certain number of inches of swept windshield area by the wipers. Some British manufacturers added a third wiper to meet the requirement...Datsun made a taller windshield for 1968 that was not removable. With the car changing so radically for the 1968 model year and 1967 parts on the shelves dwindling, Datsun decided to make a special "half-year" model. This would be all the trimmings of the 1967 low-windshield body with special satin-finished trim...and fitting up the new 2L, 135HP engine in front of the new 5-speed manual transmission that would become a standard option in the 1968-1970 year cars. You could still get the 1600, 4-speed (SP311) through the entire year and production numbers were around 6,000 units. The special edition 2L, 5-speed (SRL311) edition only saw around 600 units produced making them very rare and sought after. Basically, the low-windshield everyone wanted, the big engine and 5-speed transmission, the unusual satin trim and very low production numbers.
The high windshield cars were produced in large number from 1968-1970 and were available as a 1600, 4-speed and a 2000, 5-speed.
Now a bit of personal history:
I live in the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles...Some great twisty roads that just beg for a light sporty convertible! Friends of mine had a 1967 1600 Roadster and after checking it out, I was hooked! I got on Ebay that night, not knowing much about all the above history and there was a 1967 1/2, 2000 Roadster up for bid. My friends had seen it in person at a few car shows and vouched for it. I sniped it at the last minute and it was mine. They later told me that these only come up for sale once every one-two years! I just got lucky!
I flew up to San Mateo and the seller picked me up at the airport...we did the transaction in his driveway and I headed out to the coast to drive PCH the 400 miles home! On the way, I was getting thumbs-up from guys on motorcycles, people in other cars and even shouts of "nice car!" from bicyclists! i was feeling very good about my purchase! I rode along the coast and stopped for a few pictures:
(http://fjowners.com/gallery/7/697_18_06_14_11_06_04.jpeg)
I then did the 17-mile drive in Monterey driving along Pebble Beach and eventually stopped to take the obligatory shot of the "Lone Cyprus" tree:
(http://fjowners.com/gallery/7/697_18_06_14_11_08_56.jpeg)
As I was ascending the stairs back to the car i had purchased only a few hours earlier I noticed a bus load of Japanese tourists were surrounding my car!! I wasn't sure what to think. A woman there tried her best to speak English...she kept saying something like, "Company? Car??" Eventually, I figured out that she was asking what company made the car. I thought this odd, because my Japanese car said "Datsun" right on the fender! She looked puzzled. OHHHH...They have never heard of Datsun! I opened the hood and showed her the serial number badge that said, "Nissan Motor Co, LTD" With an "Ahh-ha!" moment, nine Japanese tourists now knew what they were looking at! They were all saying things to me that I couldn't understand, patting me on the back and shaking my hand. This was pretty surreal. Then the woman says something to me in Japanese and gestured towards my car. Just to be agreeable, I nodded and said, sure! She then pointed at her son and then at my car... he ran around and got behind the wheel to get HIS picture taken in MY car!
So odd that I took a picture of all this:
(http://fjowners.com/gallery/7/697_18_06_14_11_20_03_0.jpeg)
They were all snapping pictures and I needed to get going so I opened the driver's door to let him out. He was grinning and speaking something and shaking my hand fervently. I did a pivot away from the car and while my back was turned, his father jumped in for more pictures!
(http://fjowners.com/gallery/7/697_18_06_14_11_20_04_1.jpeg)
As amusing and flattering as this was, I said my goodbyes and got heading south along highway 1 through Big Sur:
(http://fjowners.com/gallery/7/697_18_06_14_11_26_13_0.jpeg)
What a great trip, on the perfect road, in the perfect car! After jury rigging a broken carburetor spring in San Luis Obispo, I got home a little after dark and gave her a place in the garage:
(http://fjowners.com/gallery/7/697_18_06_14_11_26_14_1.jpeg)
Great story and a great car. Thanks for sharing. Dave