ambradley70

It's actually a PL411, not a PL410, but CarDomain didn't list the 411 model, only the 410. I originally put an MGB dual SU intake and exhaust on the J motor but discovered that the rear carb and air filter interfered with the brake master. I made a temporary fix by using a 521 brake master cylinder, but the mounting holes didn't quite match up so I had to slot the bottom of the master cylinder. Even then, I had to (crudely) fashion an air filter housing. I saw somewhere online where someone with an MGB had used household door handle striker plates from Home Depot. Worked more or less. Eventually I bought an MGB DGV intake manifold and carb, which let me use the stock brake master cylinder. I used an aftermarket throttle cable, discarding the original linkage. The original choke cable worked fine. At one point I had a single DCOE MGB manifold and carb but couldn't get it running well so I gave up. Was really cool looking, though. Exhaust was another story. The stock cast MGB manifold bolts on but the two outlets point directly at the suspension. I had a local shop (MufflerTech on Florin Road in Sacramento) construct the exhaust, which ended up sandwiching the suspension and joining aft. Looked and sounded pretty good. If I had to do it again I'd probably buy an MGB header flange and have the muffler shop build a header from scratch. It would be lighter and likely fit better. It had (has?) a J15 with KB "mild" MGB street cam grind and lightened flywheel. I have no idea if either really improved performance. IIRC, it was bored .020 over, which increased displacement from 1489cc to 1511cc if I did my math properly. Other than putting on BRE-style stripes, yellow headlights and stripping the paint off the valve cover, I didn't see any differences between how it looked when I sold it and the YouTube video posted in 2011. I still have a few spare parts for this car in my garage - a NOS transmission mount, my old (still serviceable) engine mounts, a few gauges/switches/knobs, etc.

I know this is an old thread so I apologize if it is inappropriate to reply, but there is a significant difference between the early and late 1600 Roadster water pumps. The late Roadsters had a fan clutch which pushed the fan further forward. To compensate, the mounting bracket on the shaft was pressed much farther back, if I recall correctly actually recessed back further than the end of the water pump housing itself. The bolt pattern for the fan was also different, as the 68-70 Roadster fan was a single plastic unit rather than two pressed metal pieces. I never had an opportunity to try it for the 1600, but I bought some parts for my '66 PL411 (J engine) from a Nissan forklift parts department. The H20, commonly used in forklifts, is the same block as the R16. It is possible that the H20 forklift water pump may work on the RL411, and if so is probably dirt cheap - at least they were back in the early 2000's.

Believe it or not, that was my car from 1986-1989, and again in 2005. I was under the impression it had been seriously rear-ended in 2009 (according to http://clunkbucket.com/return-of-bluebird), though maybe the damage was just superficial? The back story (stop here if this is boring or too far off topic): I purchased it in 1986 from the original owner, a now-retired teacher known as "Mr. K", who taught at Pioneer Elementary School in Sacramento, CA. It had around 70,000 miles at the time; I sold it in 1989 with something like 105,000). I drove it for three years, replacing the head gasket, clutch, radiator, rebuilt the transmission... you name it, it seemed to go wrong, but I always got it running again. I got to know the parts department at Turner Nissan VERY well. I eventually sold it to Earl Thomas, an attorney in Carmichael who collected (more accurately, hoarded) Datsuns. It wound up on a property he owned in Rio Linda and was eventually moved to the back yard of someone in Carmichael who helped Earl keep his "fleet" running. That person was forced by the county (I believe) to remove the cars from his back yard and advertised them on Craigslist in 2004 or 2005. I contacted him and yup, there was my car, with multiple broken windows, flat tires and water pooled in the floors. Thankfully it hadn't rusted (a miracle!) and the engine still turned by hand. It had maybe 4,000 more miles on it than when I sold it. It still had the Honda Accord seats and Kraco stereo I installed in the mid-1980's, along with the "93 Rock" bumper sticker on the dash covering where the vinyl had cracked. A ton of my original paperwork was still in the glove box, too! I put on new (and too cheap) tires, a new battery, and got it running - if barely. Then sadly I had to sell it and my other Datsuns (at the time I had a really nice 1966 PL411 (currently named Daisy and living in Modesto), a 1970 1600 Roadster, and a 1971 1600 pickup). I haven't owned a Datsun since that time, but occasionally search for them just for the fun of it. Here are a few of the Datsuns I've owned: 1970 Datsun Roadster - http://www.311s.org/registry/1970/spl311-28181.html 1966 Datsun PL411 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/18577795@N06/sets/72157602950512962/ and http://www.cardomain.com/ride/534452/1966-datsun-410/photo-gallery/ 1967 Datsun RL411 (the car in question) - https://www.flickr.com/photos/18577795@N06/sets/72157602950552462/ (includes a picture of how it looked when I found it again in 2005, and me trying to do some body work circa 1987) Adam