>I think I have only had a response or two with a number lower than >mine -
>#84. So, you now
>have one of the rarest of the rare!
If I was to place a bet on the VIN numbers of the SPL310s, I'd guess their
were duplicate SPL-00xxx numbers for the 63 & 65 years.
Preceding the SPL310 on the tags, many of the fairladys have a year stamped.
For example, 4-spl310-00xxx refers to the 1964 year. Therefore, with the
combination of the preceding year digit & the vin number most of the cars
actually have a unique identification.
If you look at the engine number on Duram's car, it seems as if the engine
has a 1964 G-Block number. My guess is that Nissan wanted to use up the rest
of the 3-seater parts, so they produced a limited run of 3 seater vehicles
in 1965, as well as the standard 2-seaters. For the 3 seater cars, they
started with the low Vin numbers SPL-0000x, and when they moved towards the
two seaters, restarted the VIN numbers at SPL310-1000X.
Dan Zubkoff
SPL310-10927D
San Mateo, CA
>From: "Arlo J. Levisen" <alevisen@gdhscats.org>
>Reply-To: "Arlo J. Levisen" <alevisen@gdhscats.org>
>To: Datsun Roadster Mailing List <datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net>
>CC: duram@mossy.com
>Subject: Datsun 1500 Fairlady
>Date: Thu, 01 Jul 1999 10:28:22 +0300
>
>Duram:
>
>I am the proud owner of two (2) Datsun 1500 Fairladies: SPL310 - #00084
>and SPL310 - #02015. Altogether there were only about 3,400 of these
>cars imported into the US beginning in the fall of 1962 and ending in
>the spring of 1965. I believe all of them were left hand drive, with
>the right hand drive ones going to Australia primarily. A few RHD's may
>have ended up in the US.
>
>Other than the number 1 car that is located somewhere in California, as
>I understand it, yours is the next lowest numbered 1500 Fairlady I have
>ever heard of. From time to time, on this Mailing List, whenever
>someone mentions a 1500 I ask them what their serial number is. To be
>honest, most of the time I don't get a response. I think I have only
>had a response or two with a number lower than mine - #84. So, you now
>have one of the rarest of the rare!
>
>As far as your questions are concerned:
>
>The car come positive ground. In my case, rather than fight worn-out or
>virtually unobtainable and/or way too expensive ignition parts, I
>switched both of my cars over to negative ground using Ford parts.
>These cars are soooo primitive that you can do that without worrying
>about blowing out anything of significance or consequence. Since I did
>that both of my cars start all the time without hesitation - and I even
>used old Ford stuff from the 1970's.
>
>My cars are non-metric.
>
>The 1500's were three-seaters.
>
>First gear is non-sychronomeshed.
>
>The question of the "year" is a puzzle and I have never had an
>explanation that squares with what I understand to be the facts with my
>cars. If you look on the plate, you will see that the "1 9 6" is
>pre-printed and then the "5" is handstamped. On my #84 car, which
>presumably had to have been built before my #2015 car, it is also
>handstamped "5" - meaning, I suppose, "1965". On my #2015 car, again
>assuming that it had to have been built well after my #84 car, is
>handstamped "4" - meaning, I suppose, "1964". So, that has never made
>any sense to me.
>
>Then, while I know nothing of the history of my #2015 car, I believe I
>know everything about the #84 car. I am the third owner and the
>original purchaser, a farmer from Kerkhoven, Minnesota, according to the
>family - ordered the car sometime in 1962 and then flew out to Santa
>Monica, CA., later in the year and drove it back. It is also titled as
>a 1962 car. I do not know why it has the "5" stamped on it - and your
>car, being #6 and having a "5" also stamped on it, makes no sense to me
>either. Maybe someone knows the "real" story!
>
>I have studied your pictures. The first thing I would do is get rid of
>that unsightly roll bar. The car doesn't go fast enough for that to be
>a need!
>
>You may consider taking the top off and the convertible frame out and
>hang them on a wall. I have Hartz cloth tonneau covers made locally for
>both of my cars and that is all I have used in the past three years.
>Such covers are offered by Rallye also, I believe. I think you will
>also find the top and the frame to be more of a pain you know where than
>you are willing to put up with - and the tonneau covers are the perfect
>solution.
>
>You do not have the standard-issue luggage rack, but so what! Yours
>looks more like one for an MGB.
>
>You also have an after-market radio and shift knob.
>
>Does your heater come through the center of the firewall or through the
>rider's side? Either way it probably doesn't work. The street-rodders
>have a great solution!
>
>My picture of your engine area was not very clear, but it looks to me
>like you have two (2) pots on your Hitachi carb set up. So does mine.
>Now, supposedly the "early" 1500's came with a single pot set-up. I
>don't know how much earlier you can get than #6 or even #84 - but I know
>my set-up is original. I suppose yours could have been switched to the
>two-pot system.
>
>BTW, does your convertible frame have some wood parts? That was another
>indication of "early".
>
>What I have shared with you is what I recall off the top of my head. I
>will check some of my information sources tonite and, if I have led you
>astray, I will make corrections and/or additions.
>
>Finally, I drive my #84 every day to and from work, from about the 1st
>of April until about mid-November, and then around the countryside.
>Yesterday was over 100 miles. No one knows what it is, so you get a lot
>of questions. While it is a very basic car, there is also not a lot
>that can go wrong with it, making it easy to fix. To be honest, since I
>switched to negative ground two years ago there hasn't been anything to
>fix. I routinely cruise it at 70 mph, but I don't push it much beyond
>that. I don't think the engine can handle the heat build-up all that
>well. This car now has 67,000 miles on it and it uses about a quart of
>oil in 3,000 miles or between changes.
>
>So, there is hope! They are good little cars.
>
>Arlo Levisen
>Revillo, South Dakota
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