Karate Kid II is on TV thursday next week in Sweden.
I will take another look at your car.
Thomas
Dan Zubkoff wrote:
> It so exciting when all the pieces start to fit together and the history of
> a car is finally documented......
>
> Rob B. informed me last weekend that my '66 Silvia CSP311 may have been
> originally owned by a person named Elroy Goto who was a Nissan factory
> sponsered race driver in Hawaii.
>
> Armed with the name and a few original photos....I set out on a quest to
> find out the history of the car.
>
> Originally, I had thought that Elroy may have been the Honolulu Datsun
> dealer in the 60's. So I decided to start at the top...and contacted Eric
> Miyasaki, CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation in Hawaii, LTD. We had a great
> chat about the Silvia and datsun roadsters. However, he didn't know the
> history of my Silvia, and didn't off-hand know who Elroy was. BTW....before
> I hung up, I made sure to ask him to ask Nissan Corp. to continue to produce
> the roadster parts!!
>
> Next, Rob informed me that he received the original Silvia photos from one
> of Elroy's race friends, Jim Kesser (SP?). Rob, followed-up by mentioning
> that Jim may contact me.
>
> Well, after several phone searches, I was able to locate an Elroy Goto in
> Hawaii. I placed a call to Hawaii and his wife answered the phone. She
> confirmed that yes, Elroy had been the original owner of the car!! She was
> very, very excited to hear the car was still in existence!!
>
> Finally, last night, I spoke with Elroy Goto. What a great guy. He was the
> race driver for Nissan's team in Hawaii in the 60's. He started off racing a
> 1500, then a 65 1600, then a 67 2000. He even went to Japan and raced at
> Fuji raceway in 1969 in a datsun roadster 2000. <NOTE: Rob B: You've GOT to
> interview Elroy for the registry>
>
> Elroy was actually the Parts Manager at the Dealership in Honolulu. Even
> after 30+ years, he could still rattle off silvia parts numbers and other
> nissan rare facts.
>
> How did he get the car?? Nissan at some point sent to Hawaii two right hand
> drive cars, a Silvia & a Sunny 1000. Elroy's friend, Jim seemed to think
> that the car may have been a Silvia that Bob Sharp had evaluated. But from
> my understanding, the car Bob looked at was a LHD car...but who knows??
>
> The dealership provided Elroy with the car for the first 6 months as a
> demo-type car, and he purchased the car shortly thereafter. He owned the car
> from 1966 till the late 70's. Due to inability to get new parts for the car,
> he decided to part with the vehicle. He traded it to a friend ( a local
> Mechanic) in exchange for a new toyota truck and a $40 japanese fan.
>
> About 3 years ago, Elroy mention that he saw the car in the local costco
> parking lot and was sadden by the shape it was in. He was so, so, happy to
> find out the whereabouts of the vehicle. He even still has a spare Key to
> the Silvia!!!!
>
> Now, here is the best part...Elroy is going to be visiting the Bay Area to
> check-out Sears Point Raceway on June 23/24. Either during that weekend or
> on June 25th, he will be visiting me at my home in San Mateo to check-out
> the car and take it for a spin!!!! Once the dates are finalized & I'll like
> invite BADROCrs over to my place to meet Elroy and chat roadsters. He really
> has an amazing wealth of knowledge!!
>
> http://communities.msn.com/BADROC&naventryid=131
>
> Thanks, All.
>
> Dan Zubkoff
> 1966 CSP311, SPL311
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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Thomas in Sweden
Nissan Silvia #319
Nissan Silvia #293
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