Hi All,
The pictures from shasta have got me excited about finishing my
roadster.
I know your probably tired of this subject, but what kind of price am I
looking
at to replace timing chain assembly, all ten pieces? Is it really
necessary to change
all of it? I know I should do it, but like most of us I'm on a budget.
The local
Nissan dealer quoted me a price of $590.00.
Since I'm relatively new to the list, all give you some background on my
roadster.
I'm doing this for the people out there who think there cars aren't
really worth
restoring.
The car came out of Louisiana, I bought it from a fellow worker for
$500.00,
thinking I could recover my money by selling it off as parts. The car
didn't run,
all the parts were in boxes, the windshield was broken, and the body was
banged up. It sat in my driveway for two years before I started
tinkering with it.
A friend at work told me he would shoot the paint for free if I would
prep it.
I started stripping parts and old paint, all four coats, they didn't
even mask
over the ID plate on the last two paint jobs.The floor boards were so
rotted
Fred and Barney would have felt at home. The engine compartment had been
on fire so many times, the paint was missing from inside the hood, and
it was
rewired with stereo speaker wire, and plumbed with galvanized plumbing
fittings.
While I was working on it, I purchased a parts car for $800.00 it came
with a
spare engine and four truck loads of parts, many of these were still in
the Nissan
boxes. What a find! I also got another car for a case of cheap beer when
the guy found out what I was working on. Another strike of good luck!
This car was meant
to be finished. After allot of prep work and primering and sanding, and
primering and sanding. Allot of primering and sanding since, I had never
repainted a car before
and this had so much rust it could have been considered a factory
lightweight!
On to the paint it was applied in a former pot growing barn, were the
florescent
lights were at there use to be grow lights. I really mean former!
previous owner of the barn. All the Body panels were of the car except
the tub. doors, fenders and hood hung from the ceiling. It came out
great for my first time with bodywork and the free paint job! Next all
the new chrome went back, and the salvaged interiors from the parts
cars, with lots of vinyl paint they looked almost new.
The car still needed the engine compartment finished, but do to a long
illness
I moved to Idaho, and the cars went into storage in California in 1995.
I drove the partially finished one back to Idaho from southern
California in 1996,
after a quick trip to Vista for Les and his gang to check it out before
the trip.
They tuned it up the best, free of charge, and sent me on my way. 1600
miles
in two days, no top, and 45 degree temperature, and rain from the time I
left
the Shasta area until I reached home 15 hours later. I will never forget
that trip it, was a blast!
I have done all this work, not knowing a thing about Datsun's before I
started.
I had to rewire,replumb,repaint, reinstall missing interior parts,
replace brakes,
I enjoyed almost every minute of it!
Next is the motor she really deserves it.
Thanks for the time and the space to vent!
Mike
SRL 11714 With matching engine numbers I never bothered checking until
you started talking about it.
Hayden Lake, ID
P.S. I had a chance to buy a 63 split window in the seventies for
$2,200.
Who knew they were going to be worth what they are now!
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