Hey, my name is Tom, and here is my current money-hole...

I bought a '68 Datsun "Fairlady" 1600 Roadster (SPL311) about a year ago. here is it after hours of cleaning right after buying it. (it sat outside for 2 years with NO top!) I drove it 100 miles back home despite this, in the rain. (yes it ran, even after sitting in a field 2 years! well enough to go 65MPH for an hour and a half!!!) :







shortly after getting her, i discovered she had been in an accident, and had received a hack job of putting her back straight. she had 2 different fenders (parts are hard to find too, so this was a problem) one of which was poorly welded together after being cut in half .

the bumpers were crushed and the frame where they mounted was deformed... part of the front clip was missing completely too. the whole car looked like a pop can that had been crushed and reformed poorly.

after changing the oil, i discover why the motor ticked so much... there was gas in the oil.... great.

after putting only a few miles on her, she wouldn't run at less than 3200RPM.

the headlights wouldn't even turn on without wiggling wires... later i discovered the relay was arcing!

so what i have is a car that barely runs, and some parts... fantastic...

THE SOLUTION: start over!

i found a '69 2000 with no motor, trans, interior (i had bought bumpers off it which is how i discovered the damage to my car), but the body and frame are PERFECT!!! absolutely no dents or rust! the sides of the car are straight as an arrow! the owner offered to sell the whole thing for... get this... 100 bucks. that's delivered to my house!!! so here it is!



then my luck came back, cheap parts fell from the sky. i bought a 91 KA24E motor and trans for 150 bucks (running, in good order, 150k on it), 2 Mazda miata seats for 25 bucks (for the pair!!!) a driveshaft AND harness for the 240sx for 60 bucks, and tons of parts from the junk yard.



time to make up for my misfortune!!! since it may be awhile before i drive the KA powered car, i may as well drive the other one. here is what i have done so far just for the hell of it:

Paint: (total spent, 6 bucks)





new shocks: (cheapos)

look how tiny they are!!!

the wrong center console for the year, but it works fine.



new tie rods, and center link:



Rebuilt the carbs:



replaced that leaky fuel pump:



and painted the rotors and hubs:



New rollbar made by AutoPower:



plus fixing the speedo (only to have it break again....), new brake master cylinder (second time was the charm), new headlight relay (rewired), a scrounged and repaired soft top, new air cleaner assembly, and cheapo 4 point harnesses.

She runs GREAT now... well enough, i splurged and bought some gold Drag DR20 15" wheels and 205/50/15 BFG G-Force Super Sports for her. should be here in the next few weeks!!!

i will keep you all updated as she progresses. the heart transplant in the other body has been postponed, due to having no garage.

My girls (before most of this work...):




Modified by Tomakze at 8:14 PM 8/14/2009

Welcome to NICO!

Rides look great!

Welcome home, the roadster is beautiful man. I dig the Z31 as well.

Thanks guys! I look forward to many good discussions.

nice, and the Z31 ain't bad either

nice...

good work sir.

whore out more pics of the all three cars

here are a few pics of the 300zx, as requested:

Before: (not running, sat in a field for 8 years... with NO sun protection....)







After: (countless hours of work, and suprisingly, i was able to buff out the horribly faded paint.)









And just because i love this pic, shows off the Datsun's behind quite well.



My first car (sold )




Modified by Tomakze at 8:15 PM 8/14/2009

a quick video of the datsun:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fXtXzZx6vg

enjoy!

Very nice, just about to start a new build myself!