PURCHASE
In August 2003, I happened upon my future car on Ebay. Here is the history: The car is a 1969 Datsun 2000 Roadster (SRL311-12356). The original color was Sora Blue. It was repainted red at some point. The seller was an auto-body guy and repainted the car in its current color: British Racing Green. The seller bought the car from the previous owner who had done the engine conversion. The previous owner was into racing and his family owned one of the largest auto salvage businesses in Western Montana. Thus, he probably got the car and all his (used, sometimes very used) parts for free. The engine was advertised as a Ford 302 (I later found out it was a late '60's 289, bored out somewhat). It had a Ford aluminum two-barrel intake and an Autolite 2 barrel carb. The intake was likely from one of the late 1970's 302 engines, back when they had anemic power due to emissions requirements (i.e. free parts). The transmission was a C4 3-speed automatic. The rear end was stock Datsun (3.7:1 gear ratio). In order to fit the engine, the firewall was moved back about five inches. A larger radiator with a shroud and electric pusher fan was installed by the seller. The seller indicated he never had an overheating problem (LOL!). Considering the traffic situation in remote Helena, Montana, he was probably being truthful.
The hood featured a second functional hood scoop to clear the carb. Other modifications included an electric fuel pump in the trunk, which leaked copiously when the tank was full. The car also had KYB heavy duty shocks. Those wheels are very rare Empi two-piece aluminum wheels. If you are familiar with Volkswagens, then you know that original Empi products are held in high regard. Other than that, the car was bone stock: Stock front springs (too soft), stock front end, stock brakes. You may also notice that the seller shaved all the emblems, trim and side marker lights when he did the paint and body work.
Here is a photo of the car before the seller added the roll bar and did the body work:
Wow! I thought. A V8 roadster. Now that would be cool! When I was in high school, a friend of mine had a 1966 Mustang Fastback with a 289 under the hood. He used to buy used tires and u-joints every 3 months like clockwork. All we did was drive around town and lay down rubber. One time we got pulled over for drag racing in Whittier Boulevard. My friend was written up for speeding, speed contest, expired registration, car too low, exhaust too loud, and bald tires. Thank God Detroit had separate keys for the trunk in those days; keys which we claimed we did not have. Otherwise, the cops would have also found three cases of beer in the trunk and we would have spent the night in the Twin Towers "hotel" as bed warmers for some guy named "Tiny". A Datsun Roadster with a V8 under the hood would be the ultimate way to capture two fond memories from my youth with one car! I had to have this car!
Before I bid on the car, I figured I better ask the seller some tough questions. I figured I would gloss over all the light issues such as:
1. Has the frame been cut in any key areas?
2. Does the car have an overheating problem? especially when idling?
3. What RPM is the engine turning at 60 mph?
4. Do the brakes really work?
5. Has the front suspension been rebuilt to accommodate the greater weight in front?
Instead, I focused on the more important factors and queried:
1. Q: How long of a strip of rubber can you lay down? A: Pretty Long! (i.e. the tires are toast)
2. Q: Does the exhaust sound like its going to take a bit out of somebody's ass? A: Oh Yeah! (i.e. $10/each glass pack mufflers)
...and that was good enough for me! What could there possibly be to worry about? I mean, look at those pictures! It is so green and shiny! And so, with 3 minutes left to bid, I entered my first Ebay bid ever. Another bidder, "wirelessscottie", went berserk and jacked the price up another thousand dollars, but ultimately he pooped out. I prevailed! The car was mine! And thus I quickly learned the secret to winning on Ebay: Overpaying!
I made arrangements with the seller to pick the car up in Montana over Labor Day weekend. I reserved an auto transporter from U-Haul (i.e. the type of trailer that gets all four of the towed vehicles' tires off the ground) and prepared for my trip.
I decided that this must not be the first roadster in the world that has had a big engine swap so I decided to surf around on the web to see what I could find. I quickly came upon Mark Sedlack's website. At the time, he was putting in a Chevy V6 and T5 manual trans into a roadster (he recently finished it!). After reading a little bit, it became clear to me that what Mark forgets about building cars will be more than I would ever know! I started to shake and beads of sweat started to run down my eyebrows as I read about the previous owner's (of Mark's car) hack job in trying to fit the engine: The body was jacked up above the frame so the hood would close. The front cross member was almost completely chopped out. I became short of breath. I thought, if this guy did this much hacking to fit a V6, what was done to my car to fit a V8??! Oh my God! What have I done?! Buyer's remorse was beginning to set in...