1967 datsun 1600 roadster restomod

1967 Datsun Roadster Restomod

Hi, see below for extensive history and description of the 1967 Datsun Roadster Restomod up for sale. PLEASE note, despite what the Ebay shipping field states, if the winning bid is $40k+ I will ship the car to any location in the contiguous United States at my cost after confirming buyer payment. Anything below $40k and the buyer is responsible for pickup or shipping.

The story:The base vehicle is a barn find 1967 low windshield datsun 1600 roadster that I purchased from a well established wine grape grower in American Canyon of the San Francisco Bay Area in spring of 2009. The project started its journey as a non-running base vehicle being towed to the CHP (CA highway patrol) in San Jose, CA to obtain a Salvage Vehicle VIN verification that was required to be submitted with the initial vehicleregistration, since the gentleman I purchased it from had basically obtained it indirectly when a longterm residental tenant of his passed away and the car was found in the garage of the rental property. I was granted the CHP VIN release and received clear title to the car in the same year, and proceeded with work on it mid-2009. It has been registered only to myself continuously since that time. I have all the paperwork from this period up to now, and all stages of work were photo documented.The work presented in rough order of sequence:-All work unless otherwise specified was performed by Dan Gallmeister of DGR Fab in Redwood City, CA.-frame off build, frame was in very good nick so it was thoroughly cleaned and coated with rust conversion paint. -Stock ladder frame was cut and milled to fit a motor & transmission swap to close tolerances, engine runs smoothly and evenly. A 2.4L KA24DE power unit & 5 speed transmission combo from a 1990's Nissan 240sx was installed. Rock solid performance last +10 years, never any starting or running issues and no leaks of any kind. Odometer installed as part of the build currently reads just over 600 miles which reflects how many actual miles it has been driven after project transitioned to run and drive sometime in 2011.-A modified 1989 RX-7 rear differential was installed, cut and lengthened to match the track width of the front end. Stance of the car is much improved over stock as a result.-A custom fabricated four link rear suspension was installed/integrated into the frame and differential. It features QA1 ride height adjustable coilovers and an anti-wheel hop bar. -The custom fabricated brake and clutch system includes Willwood front disks and calipers, brake and clutch cylinders, and front/rear brake pressure equalizer mounted in the front wheel well. Rear disk brakes from the RX-7 rear end were left in place and integrated into the system.-Body was media blasted on a rotisserie and every surface was coated with primer prior to any subsequent body work to keep it rust free.-Custom driveshaft was fabricated to proper length and balanced with appropriate U-joints on either end to connect the different manufacturer drivetrain components with no vibration or clunkiness at any speed.-A Header back custom 2.5" borla exhaust with oversized tip was installed, and the pipes were run through the frame to avoid road contact due to its large diameter and the lowered vehicle ride height. Metal sleeves were fabricated and welded in the passthrough holes to counteract any frame strength reduction. An inline vibration isolation connector along with high temp urethane rubber isolation disks are installed to fully isolate and protect the exhaust system and frame due to the close tolerances.-Lucky's Speed shop of Fremont, CA created hand formed steel flares that were integrated into the stock datsun fenders and rear quarter panels. The steel air dam was also integrated into the front clip and fenders. -Wheels are 15"x8" rota's, with powder coated gold centers. Tires are Toyo RA-1 225/45ZR15 track tires with very little wear. The car has not been slammed to the ground, and fender flares were actually sized to fit up to 17" wheels so it is possible to upsize the wheels/tires with no subsequent clearance or rubbing issues.-I personally installed a flaming river electric steering system since the tires are so fat and the steering wheel is only 14". The system includes a speed sensor installed on the drivers side wheel and provides smooth and progressivesteering at all speeds, and is modern car easy to park and maneuver at slow speeds. An adjustment module is under the dash to adjust and set amount of assist as desired.-Uprated front performance coil springs and sway bar from Dean Apostal's datsunparts.com were installed by Competition Alignment of Mountain View, CA. They also performed all front and rear alignment and ride height adjustments to lower the car approximately 2 inches from stock height, front and rear.-The Mazda miata seats were re-covered with Katskin leather covers with 3 color trim combo and the original center console was trimmed with same leather to match by Premier Auto Upholstery of San Jose CA.-Interior trim assembly and carpeting installation was performed by Soft tops Upholstery of San Jose CA. -I peformed all of the following work and all of the following are non-stock parts. A 14" NRG leather wrapped and wood trimmed steering wheel replaced the original large diameter steering wheel. A blaupunkt USB/cdrom/AM/FM radio was installed in same hole where the stock radio was, and motorcycle speakers are tucked under the dash to avoid installing car speakers in the doors or behind seat panel spaces. The old style manually air pumped window washer button in the radio console was removed and replaced by a simple electrical pump setup with on/off switch mounted under the dash. The resulting empty hole in the radio console was covered and painted black to match the radio console color. The old cardboard glove box had gone off completely and was replaced with an replacement box fabricated from sheet metal and painted in black. The original datsun accordian style hifter boot cracked and was replaced by a universal Hurst shifter plate/boot. The shifter lever came with the 240sx transmission and a TWM performance aluminum shift knob was installed on top. The original dashboard was powder-coated and re-fitted with modern 12 volt guages with a new stock dashpad installed. All gauges with the exception of the clock were able to be fitted into the stock dash panel holes without cutting. The clock had to have an adaptor ring made and screwed into the dash to be able to fit that gauge. All other interior components are stock datsun parts, to retain the old style look as much as practical. ~80% of interior trim pieces were sourced from datsun parts vendors as new, the remaining ~20% are refurbished original parts from the base vehicle.-The original wiring harness was reused, with modifications and splicing as necessary. The 240sx ECM was mounted under the dash in the footwell and spliced into the wire harness. An Aeromotive fuel regulator with vacuum line hookup was installed and adjusted to proper fuel pressure by Tech3 of San Jose CA. The Optima High Perforance battery and associated wiring was relocated to the trunk.-The original gas tank was modified to accomodate a modern 300gph walbro fuel pump system, and in 2021 was sandblasted and coated inside and out by ABC radiators of Stockton,CA using the RENU chemical coating process and it will provide very clean and dependable fuel delivery for many years to come.In late 2022 the entire body was fully refinished, resprayed and clear coated with color sanding and pristine buffing job by Bernal Custom Auto Body of Modesto, CA. Hard top was also finished inside in same color with white center contrast to provide color matching and to provide the very small interior with a feeling of more openness and light. Hard top was finished and installed by Bernal Auto Body as well.I have the original soft top frame which will require re-skinning as original vinyl covering fell apart long ago, it will be included in the sale. I also have multiple other accessories such as foam race blocks, low profile floor jack, jackstands and creeper that will be included with the winning auction bid at no extra cost (if the buyer wants them..). Lastly, its a small thing, but if you prefer the look of clear front signal lenses as opposed to amber, I will provide a pair of those with the sale, they are very simple to swap out.Why did I do this project?I'm not a show car guy, have never been to one with the car, never taken the car to public spaces just for showing it. My motivation lay in always feeling like the 1960's-70's roadsters were very cool, but just lacked a certain something both engineering-wise and from an artistic/aesthetic perspective. They were built by companies that were just trying to produce cars for the weekend enjoying masses and as a result all of them, with few exceptions, followed the same pattern: a simple and mostly under-inspiring body shape, skinny tires, a small and many times underpowered motor, and not stirring performance. I wanted to see what one of them would look and feel like if they were given a modern treatment, not just the drivetrain, but the body and stance of more modern roadsters. Like the BMW z3 M roadster, but even more so its mad cousin, the BMW z3 M coupe. I took the body inspiration for this project in some part from from this vehicle. It really made an impression on me mainly for the mad side profile it possessed, with those huge flares and aggressive air dam on the front. This was my main inspiration for this build.Why am I selling it?It was a really fun car to build and drive around in occasionally, but I've sated my desire to own and drive my own custom car. I want to switch hobbies at this stage of my life to something more utilitarian, like woodworking/furniture crafting.This is a one of a kind, unique, and eye-catching restomod. Necks break, people shout and horns honk when it drives by, and everyone wants it when they talk to me. Bid now and have a chance to own one of the most unique and desirable rides around.