Hello All,
I was heading down Dien Bien Phu street heading toward Nguyen Binh Khiem in a
Taxi when up ahead, a small red car turned right on a narrow street. I just
got a glimpse of the tail when I noticed it said Datsun 1600... I went a
block, explaining to the Taxi driver why I was so excited, then realized, I had
to get more info on the car, so I told him in no uncertain terms that we had to
find that car. There were a lot of one way streets, so we ended up going in a
big circle, and the odds of finding the car were getting less and less, and
then down one street I saw it again, pointed it out to the driver, and we were
off. The car was a block or two away, and we ended up pulling out into the
scooter lane, pushing a few bikes and the likes out of the way, swerving in and
out of traffic, until we caught up to the car. We asked the car to pull over,
but the driver refused. Eventually the car got to its destination, and I
jumped out to say Hi.
Ok, some background information: I spent the last month in Vietnam, and I was
in the city formerly known as Saigon. I had been putting feelers out to find
an old Japanese roadster, either a Honda or a Datsun. My two weeks of casual
hunting had turned out a Fiat and a Peugeot, but nothing Japanese yet. My goal
for this trip was to find some work over there, and ultimately relocate.
Should I be successful, I am hoping to find an old roadster and fix it up.
Back to my story...
A Japanese man owns the roadster, but as is customary in Vietnam, he has a
Vietnamese driver. The owner was off doing his business, so I had a chance to
talk with the driver of the car. They told me it was a '68, but after a few
quick checks, I corrected them, it was a '66/67. A quick check of the ID tag
confirmed the year (All the ink was gone, but the number 6 was stamped in the
year section.) Nothing was original on this car. The tail lights had been
converted to a single pillar style, the engine is a later model Nissan, the
interior is all different, the dash has none of the original gauges, a D decal
had been placed in the front grill... But it still is a Datsun Roadster!
After chatting with the driver for a few minutes, the owner came out. He did
not speak much English or Vietnamese, but I was able to convey to him my
excitement for finding the car. He was very proud of it as well. I did not
have a camera on me, but did get his work address. Unfortunately, I was to fly
home to Arizona the following morning, so I left him my business card with my
website info on it, and a bit more Roadster info as well.
I also found out there is at least one more Datsun Roadster in the South, when
I return, I will find that one as well.
For the record:
(And for the Roadster Registry)
1966 Datsun SPL311
VIN SPL-01073
Color: Red
Interior/Exterior/Engine Heavily Modified
Hardtop
Owner's Name: Mr. Kaisai
Country: Vietnam City: Saigon
Why was the car so modified? Simple enough, they have had no spare parts, no
access to other owners or models, and had to make due with what was available.
That and the Vietnamese penchant for wanting everything to be new, made this
car almost unrecognizable the first time I saw it. Even the Datsun 1600 decals
were not from a Roadster.
Anyway, it made my day, and should I end up over there, watch out world, VNROC
here I come!
Ryan Bird
67 1600 Tempe, AZ
www.azroc.org/ryan
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