Carb rebuild (Non-FJ) Any guesses?

[Capn Ron]

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):



The SPL212 (Left hand drive) of 1961 was the first imported into the US in very low numbers (under 300) :



And by 1962, we have the basic shape that would last through the end of 1967:



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:



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:



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:



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!



As amusing and flattering as this was, I said my goodbyes and got heading south along highway 1 through Big Sur:



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:

[TexasDave]

Great story and a great car. Thanks for sharing. Dave