general safety of a roadster

[SLOroadster]

5 point racing harnesses, race seats and a roll bar. It won't make it as safe as a modern car but its a step in the right direction. a 120 Db airhorn might be a good idea as well. The roll bar and 5 points are a good idea if nothing else.

Will

[DatsunBucky]

The entire e-mail was a turn off to the idea of fixing up the car. He said the car will have an ambilical cord attached to my wallet. We'll see. Several times it was noted that these cars are not dependable and should not be a primary means of transportation.

(I tend to run on and on, but so what?)
I don't know about that. I bought my 1600 in 1967 and it was my daily driver until 1975 or '76. I put nearly 80K miles on it from L.A. to Salt Lake in the winter and everywhere in between. The only time I ever got wet was driving in the rain back from Lone Pine with no top on the car. (The top got run over at a slalom and hadn't been replaced yet.)

I have pictures of the tracks it made in the snow, and as long as I was really careful, I had no problems.

As a side note, on one of the trips to Utah for skiing, when I had the exhaust exiting in front of the rear wheel, it was so cold outside that when I stopped for gas, there were icicles hanging from the exhaust pipe! In fact the water temp had dropped a little bit according to the gauge. Poor little heater was working as hard as it could, but it wasn't quite enough. I had to wear a jacket.

I drove through puddles so deep the rear end floated and lost traction (I used to go looking for puddles when it rained), but it NEVER flooded out (although I usually had to pop off the distributor cap and dry it out the next morning), I was NEVER stranded and even though it was L.A., the top was down unless it was raining.

That was a long time ago, but when people suggest that Japanese cars of that era are less-than-reliable, I have to disagree with them.

As a final note, one night a drunk ran a red light and I t-boned him. Neither me nor my date were harmed, and my car spun him around 180 degrees, myself about 45. The car was undriveable, but was fixed, and that was before I started autocrossing. The little dears are simple and easy to fix. I once got a fellow Roadster owner on his way with a piece of wire 2" long. Try THAT with a modern fuel-injected car.

In short, don't believe it when people say the cars are unreliable. They give back the care they're given. A simple tool kit and some spare parts in the trunk will go a long way to keeping you on the road.

Have fun!!

[S Allen]

Hey Bucky I enjoy reading your posts. I am sure others do as well. I agree with you that the roadsters if taken care of will run forever.
--And yes-they are very simple to work on. I figure when your number is up it doesn't matter what you are driving. Might as well enjoy as many top up or down drives in a roadster as one can. See you on the road.

Steve

[Minh]

The entire e-mail was a turn off to the idea of fixing up the car. He said the car will have an ambilical cord attached to my wallet. We'll see. Several times it was noted that these cars are not dependable and should not be a primary means of transportation. I live in Brooklyn, NY and work from the home. The car would be a weekend car and used to drive out to Long Island or Eastern PA, which is only an hour and half drive from my apartment.

Every 1600 owner out here salls there 1600 "old reliable." Turnsover and runs everytime. They "maintain" them well too.

Hey, when you drive through Long Island and Eastern PA... get pictures. The fall colors over there should be stunning. We only have three colors here: green, yellow, and brown. It is a boring fall on the west coast. At least we have Halloween and kids running all around.

[nking79]

I think when I was told that the car would have an ambillical cord attached to my wallet, he was thinking I was going to totally restore the car. I'm thinking more along the lines of having a somewhat reliable car that is fun to drive.

I was talking to my roommate about the car's safety the other day. He said that if I got into an accident the car would be 'punted like a football' and mentioned that I should definitely install a rollbar incase the car flipped. Unfortunately, my girlfriend was right in the next room and now she's freaked out about the whole idea. She would rather I get a newer car that I won't die in. She doesn't like the idea of it being a primary means of transportation. Is there anything I can say to change her mind?

[Sloloco]

Interesting slideshow on the side ther Nking
When all else fails cage it! One of the cars outfitted with a 6pt. bar (from that suspension company I worked for) survived a collision with a garbage truck! NOTE: that was a unibody not even a solid frame car!

[Minh]

A lot of us on the board use the Roadster as daily drivers. Here are some threads of an recent ex-owner and what he had to go through to let go his Roadster.

http://www.311s.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=494
http://www.311s.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=433
http://www.311s.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=430
http://www.311s.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=399

Your girlfreind "sounds like" one of those typical girls who's reactions are dictated by her emotions and not rational. The kind that jump in fear of death by a black widow spider even though the fact that might happen is far and the result of death is even further.

If you can't get her to reason properly along with,.. You will cross the bridge of "ultimatums". If you plan on spending the rest of your life with her, the car is gonna loose. This is if you plan to make the car a daily driver and your a man of limites means of cash flow.

If she is still freaked out make it a weekend vehicle. Who knows maybe it will grow on her.

[Sloloco]

Good point Mingh! My girlfriend really did not like my car either when I bought it. She missed my Bimmer and the 929RR even more. Being that a Datsun Roadster is a far cry from either of the above listed vehicles explains why. BUT, she came around and thinks it's really neat now. I think you should both rent Ferris Bueller's Day Off and enjoy, then maybe she will re-think her opinion on convertibles.

[Dave]

OK, I'm going to throw my 2.5 cents in for what it's worth...

Accidents are so complicated and riddled with variables, it's impossible to predict what will happen. I'm sure there's someone out there who has rolled their roadster 15 times off a cliff and got out without a scratch. Just like there are people who have hit a pole in a parking lot in their Excursion, had the air bag go off, and broke both their wrists and nose. You just cant predict what will happen.

The three most important factors in my mind are vehicle size, engineering, and you. Of these, the roadster has 2 strikes against it. The 3rd is up to you...

If you are going toe to toe with a Hummer in your roadster you are in big trouble. The inertia of the other vehicle coming at you is enough to wipe you off this planet. It doesn't matter what the other vehicle is, when you pit 5,000 pounds against 2,000 pounds, the big guy wins.

As for engineering...All vehicles will absorb the energy of a collision. What matters is what they do with the energy after they have it. A well designed vehicle will deflect that absorbed energy away from you. This is what crumple zones do. The damage is severe, but the driver walks away because the energy of the collision was spent crunching up fenders, hoods, bumpers, and not you! Ever seen a Formula 1 crash? Parts fly everywhere making for a spectacular crash yet the driver (usually) walks away. It's all by design and clever engineering. The energy that is spent breaking off a 30 pound chunk of car and throwing it across the track is energy that is not being transmitted into the driver.

Collapsible steering columns, roll bars, and Volvo brakes will help you in some very specific incidents. It's money well spent in my mind, but don't be lulled into thinking you are safe. Driving a roadster is like riding a motorcycle. Your best defense is you. Use your brain. Use your brain. Use your brain. It's your number 1 safety feature. Know the limits of your driving skills (through track days, not reckless driving on the streets), stay within your limits when out on a fun country drive, keep your car well maintained, and pretend no one on the road sees you because most of them dont!

[TR]

I use mine as a daily driver, 20 miles each way in some of the worst traffic spots in the bay area. Traffic continually surges from 20 to 80 and nobody leaves enough space. There is always an accident, I am not kidding, at least one per day, typically a rear-ender...

I pay a lot of attention to the road and the other drivers, mainly because I used to ride a motorcycle on this same commute. Riding the motorcycle makes you hyper sensitive to all of the other idiots on the road. Not that I am not an idiot on the road, but the other ones are the ones that will hit you.

Do I feel safer in my truck than my car? Yes. Safer in my car than on the bike? Yes, but only a bit because a bike has many more options to get out of harms way. The key is the same as Dave states, you have to make up for everyone elses lack of caring about running you over with overzealous defensive driving.

Oh ya, if the girlfriend doesn't like the car, maybe she can buy her own or as the popular TV comercials state, maybe she isn't a "keeper"...All in poor taste...Take her for a ride, if she hates it, buy a Corolla, if not get the ring ready...TR

[311TONY423]

You don't want to go cruising the Point Whitehorn road at 60mph after having a few shots of Bushmills. (just my 2bits worth....)

[Crazy Backyard Builder]

I am going to chime in,

I think everyone is way to over sensative to Safety now. When I was a round age 5 I use to ride around in the in the back of my parents 1955 Ford ranch wagon while they drove around with me not in a seat or seatbelt. It was like a little play area behind the second seat, and I am still here. I also use to ride in the back of my dad's 1957 Ford Ranchero pickup, form age 10 to 15. Oh and wait I am still here. My dad loved Vintage cars.

I have Vintage cars because I have a passion for them. Dont get me wrong I think late model cars are great and safer, I even own a couple. But I drive older cars for the old car experience. I want old cars, I love old cars.

Girlfriend's come and go, if you sell a car because she wants you to you will always regret it. I dont believe in selling everything because she wants you too. I've tried it and you wont be happy. If it make's you happy she should give you a little slack. Let her have her own car so she is happy and continue on your path.

If you are truly worried about safety, maybe you should be driving something late model and faceless. I like my Roadster to be differant.


I will stop now.

[DatsunBucky]

I'm not trying to hijack this thread, but I think a small tangent here is relevant.

What if, when anybody bought a new car, they were told: "This car is an eggshell. Drive carefully. If you're in an accident, you will die."? Compare that to nowadays: "It doesn't matter how you drive, our airbags, sidebags, crumple zones, etc, etc, etc, will protect you. You can run over anything or anybody and survive."

I can't help but think that if the former were the case, a lot of people would be more careful about how they drive and would be aware of the traffic situation around them. I believe the military calls it "situational awareness".

Gasp!! No cell phones? No shaving? No applying make-up? No computer use behind the wheel? No note taking or newspaper reading? How could possibly even live?

But then I have a lot of radical ideas anyway.

Peace, Brutha!

(now back to your regularly scheduled forum)

[fergus]

"It is a very safe motorcycle", I like that.
I put 4-pt belts,a definite improvement, even if now I have to remember to get the garage closer out of the glove compartment before I belt up.
I installed a new exhaust tip, and the tone got milder, and I think I will do something to make it back to louder again. I drive to work in really heavy traffic 1-2 times per week, and the "drop a gear and make it roar" tactic in traffic helps.
But, all in all you have to drive like a M/C, no blind spots, in traffic always stay in a gear which has some 'bite' to let you react.
I'd recommend a 3rd brake lite on the rollbar as well.
just my opinion....