Red Skelton's Explanation of the Pledge Of Allegiance
Charlton Heston Reads From Jurassic Park
Explains the natural cycle of our earth.  Keep your money out of Al Gore's wallet..


MR. Hyde - SRL311-12401

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DID YOU BUY OR SELL A ROADSTER RECENTLY?

If you recently purchased or sold a Datsun roadster, please e-mail Craig Halsted and let him know what the condition of the car is, and what the sale price was.  He is assisting NADA with their published values for Datsun Roadsters in their appraisal guide.  Your input will be greatly appreciated.

This is the beginning of my re-acquaintance with the Datsun 2000 roadster (and maybe a few memories along the way).  My third this time around.  

The first was purchased new in April of 1968 at Del Pranke Datsun in Gresham, Oregon.  My father worked with, and then for, Del for several years as the dealership changed from Dodge, to Edsel/Fiat, then Fiat, during which time Del Pranke bought the dealership from Dick Niles, and finally Datsun.  Del Pranke and my father became good friends, and on several occasions I was invited to attend circus and other events with the Pranke family. 

After reading about the Datsun 2000 roadster in magazines I decided I really wanted one of these neat little cars.  Without ever driving one, or even seeing a Datsun roadster in person,  I inquired about purchasing a new 2000 and was offered the very rare car for just over dealer invoice.  Around $2400.00 if I remember correctly.  An order was placed and I began to wait and wonder what color my car would be.  In those days color was often not a buyers choice for hard to get imported vehicles.

Finally the Datsun 2000 of my dreams arrived.  Yellow.  I like yellow.  While visiting my new car for the first time I asked if I could drive it to see what it was I was buying.  Actual delivery would have to wait for financing to come through.  Driving this car was a real experience for an almost 21 year old kid who had never driven anything like this.  This innocent looking little thing was cleaning up on 289 Mustangs.  If I remember correctly, 3 unsuspecting Mustangs.  I thought I was taking things at least a little easy.  Easy for a 20 year-old anyway.  Returning the car to the dealership I got out, stepped back to look at it, and wondered aloud what it was that I had just purchased.  Over the next 16 months I found out.

I bought a love affair for that car that lasted until a lady did not see me behind a Ford station wagon and turned her big 68 Chevy into my little yellow Datsun 2000 and sending me into a very high curb that brought the frame of the poor little Datsun to an immediate halt.  Your basic brick wall or federal safety test effect would be an accurate description.  
No bounce back, just STOP.  I think I was moving somewhere around 45 to 50 MPH at the time she hit me.  If not for the factory installed shoulder harness and belts, that I only put on to show off while leaving work that afternoon, it would probably been the end of me.  It was the end for for my Datsun 2000 roadster and the shatter resistant eyeglasses that left my face and smashed against the windshield.  I put the top down and climbed out.  If I remember correctly this was SRL311-08311.  My ex-wife recently found this photo after moving.  She also found one of the only pictures ever taken on the track of Bill Stevens racing his Scepter at Westwood in Coquitlam, British Columbia, just East of Vancouver.  I pulled wrench for Bill when I owned this car.

Next came a new 69 Fiat 124 Spyder that lasted for a year or so, but something was missing.  Attitude, I think.  It was a very nice car, but not a Datsun 2000.  Finally the Fiat gave way to a short stint with couple of Bugeye Sprites at the same time.  Both were soon to be traded in when I purchased a used silver 1970 Datsun 2000.

In 1973 I left roadsters for sedans, but the love affair never really died.

Now, some years later. I have purchased my third Datsun 2000.  A 69 this time.  SRL311-12401.  I searched for well over a year and finally found a car offered on eBay that looked like what I wanted, would need some work, and would be a project I could handle most of the work myself.  A winning bid later and I found myself driving from Portland to LA to tow my newly acquired yellow Datsun 2000 roadster home.

These are the eBay auction pictures that led me to my third Datsun 2000

She had been stored for 15 years prior to appearing on eBay.  I understood there was some light surface rust with some heavier rust behind the left real wheel opening and that the car had been driven into storage.  A hardtop in good condition was included, but there was no cloth top or top frame.

While minding my time waiting for the auction to end I began searching the web for Datsun roadster pages and clubs.  I read some of the tech notes posted on some pages and learned that I could expect the hydraulics to be completely shot.  At last the auction came to the end and I emerged victorious, which I was fairly sure of from the moment I first saw the auction page because as soon as I found the eBay auction page I scheduled vacation time to drive down to LA and bring the car home the first weekend after the auction was completed.

What I found after I picked up and closely inspected my Datsun roadster was the rust behind the left rear wheel opening, and what looked like light surface rust behind the wheel opening of each front fender turned out to be through holes instead.  The rust in this area is limited to the fenders and there does not seem to be any other rust in other parts of the body.  There has been some major body work done on the right rear quarter panel.  It looks like the right rear quarter panel was replaced at some point.