My car has never left me stranded. Its had its issues in the driveway, but I can't be stranded in my own driveway. I have always reached my destonation without any trouble.
You know, that's the funny thing about Datsuns. They seem to save the big explosions for the driveway. Just how do they know? It's the mystery of the Datsun.
I remember my 510 that I had back in highschool (which only left me stranded once when a front caliper locked up). I blew a hole in the radiator, popped the cylinder completely out of the clutch slave cylinder, lost the starter, and had an electrical fire. ALL in the driveway!!!
Dave Kaplan
68 2000 Roadster - Now with GT2560R power!
SR20-DET: 223 rwhp, 222 lb-ft.
well, if it isnt in the driveway its right close to it! 3 houses down: popped a few holes in the radiator/popped out the driveshaft bolts, driveway: nails in my 1 mile falkens, broke tranny mount, popped more bolts outta the driveshaft, blew the gaskets on my feul pump, sprunged(lol) a leak in the oil line from the dizzy to the block, burned the points out, and screwed up the reverse..... all in the driveway. I guess thats what i get for driveway drifting and driveway drags.... yall can call me rainman gone wild
In 11 years I've only found myself on the side of the road twice.
The first was a snapped throttle cable which was largely down to lasiness as I'd know it was suspect for a few months.
The seam from a piece of rag connecting the throttle linkage to the remains of the cable alowed me to get home.
The most annoying aspect of the whole thing was not the breakage but the fact I'd just rounded up a smokie old Series 1 RX7 that thought he was going to blow me into the weeds. By the end of 2nd gear I was already alongside but on the change to 3rd there was no more go.
The 2nd incident was very odd. The car had been stopping intermittently but on waiting a couple of minutes it would start again and run fine for weeks. Then one day miles from home it stopped and wouldn't start up. Diagnosing a fuel blockage I walked several kilometres to a petrol station which convieniently had a hardware shop next door. By syphoning petrol from the tank to a 4 litre tin and then connecting the length of plastic hose to the fuel pump I was able to drive the car home. If I'd been thinking I'd have bought the hose long enough to go from the tank to the pump but instead had to make do with the tin between my legs and the hose going over the windscreen (roof down) and into engine bay.
After a lot of looking it turned out one of the baffles inside the fuel tank had broken loose. It would slide around inside the tank till it slid under the fuel pickup pipe. The suction from the pump would then lift the plate up to block the pick up and instant stopped car. Nothing the local radiator place could cut open and weld back in to place.
Those were both years ago now and hopefully they will remain my only 2 breakdown stories.
Only when I replaced the stock coil with a chrome aftermarket.
It blew up on me while in the carpool lane. I didn't have a chance to get over to the right.
Ok... a 36+ year old car leaving me stranded? This is a trick question, right?
My '68 2000 has died twice... both times timing chain woes.
My wifes '67 1600 died when the wiring harness melted after the old alternator apparently short out....and had a brand new original alternator short out on it a few months later(almost taking out the new harness). Now, I am running a GM AC Delco 60 amp unit and it's rock solid... imagine that!
Those were the only ones that I had to get towed home. There's always some little stuff that happens, but hey, it's a 36 year old car now...
Well the answer was no until last thursday. My alternator mounting bolt fell out. It actually fell out in the driveway but I drove about 1/2 mile down the street before I noticed the Alt. wasn't charging and I couldn't hear the fan. It didn't get very hot. Got a lift home and found the bolt in my driveway. Went back, put it in, and drive it home. Another Datsun Driveway failure.
Ron
Ron
66 1600 Cherry
69 1600 Beast
69 2000 Rough
67.5 1600 Basket Case (in the family)
66 1600 race car (Steve Allen's)
70 1600 survivor (sold 2020)
68 1600 Beauty (sold 2014)
68 1600 My first (sold 1991)
My car left me stranded due to a clogged fuel filter. I didn't have any tools with me so I walked home and came back with a screw driver and some carb cleaner, left my truck and drove my datsun home. I went back later for my truck.
Not once, including a round trip to Solvang from Salt Lake City. On the way back, however, I did see an MGB stranded on the side of the freeway just north of Mesquite, NV.
I have owned several roadsters but have only been left stranded once and that was due to a practical joke. A friend of mine crawled up under my roadster and disconected the fuel pick-up from the gas tank. I drove about 3 blocks before running out of gas. Took awhile to figure out that problem too. I got even with him later.
This is about my "first" 1966 Roadster, purchased with 14,000 miles on the odometer and owned from 1968 - 1973.
My first roadster left me stranded only once, that was when someone swapped out my voltage regulator. That a-hole roadster owner left me with a totally screwed up regulator. The car had been parked in a municipal parking lot and would not run as a result of the regulator swap. The Datsun dealer said it looked like someone tried to adjust the regulator by bending the contacts. They didn't know what they were doing and ruined the regulator.
Another time, the ignition switch was lifted (Naval Base parking lot). That theft didn't leave me stranded. (Hey, I'm an Electronics Tech!)
My only serious major mechanical breakdown turned into an adventure. I was on holiday weekend leave from the Navy, driving straight through from Bainbridge, MD to Kenosha, WI. (800 miles). It was about 1 AM, when I pulled off I-70, just west of Columbus, OH. I was very low on gas and figured there'd be a gas station open at this exit since this was the first exit west of the beltway. I was wrong - and pissed off. Getting back on I-70, I accelerated exuberantly. When I went for 4th gear it wasn't there! None of the other gears were there - just lots of neutral. Pulled the shift boot and could see that the linkage was intact. About that time, a cop came along. Cop called a hook and I got towed to the next exit were there was a small full service gas station. The guy pumping gas at 1 in the morning was also a mechanic! What were the odds!
Anyway, the mechanic dropped the pan on the tranny. Something on the shift fork assembly was broken. The mechanic said he could get me back on the road again. He used a big screwdriver to pry the shift forks into the 4th gear position. The roadster could be driven! The mechanic cautioned that the tranny might pop out of 4th gear (it didn't).
I left that gas station only about an hour behind schedule. Talk about luck! This was a long Thanksgiving weekend, so there was no chance of doing a permanent reair, plus I didn't have the time. So, I drove from Columbus, OH to Kenosha, WI and then back to Bainbridge, MD. all in 4th gear. When I pulled the engine / trans at the Bainbridge Auto Hobby Shop, the clutch plate was still in good condition. I was able to pick up a used tranny from the Datsun dealer in Rising Sun, MD for I think...$75.00. The roadster was back on the road for a few more trouble-free years before I sold that rust bucket.
I did the Bainbridge - Kenosha - Bainbridge trip about 5 times with only that one problem. I also did Kenosha, WI - Portsmouth, VA non-stop twice in that roadster. Also did Bainbridge, MD - Knoxville, TN - Bainridge, MD in less than 48 hours.
Note: The Bainbridge Naval Base does not exist anymore. Nearest town to the former Naval Base is Port Deposit, MD (about 2 miles from the base). Substitute Baltimore for Bainbridge and that's close enough.
Had many other great adventures in that roadster. I guess that's why I bought another one!
I've been driving my roadster for 20 minutes (since start up) along the highway when all of a sudden the motor died. Luckily I was able to park it along the emergency lane. I tried to restart the engine again and again, but no use. So I called up the towing service as well as our family driver. It was really getting dark (around 6:30pm) when I suddenly noticed the smell of burnt rubber. I thought it must've been from a nearby house or building, but then thick black smoke started to engulf the hood of the car. I thought to myself, "Ok my newly owned roadster is going to roast!" Fire!!! Then I heard a loud popping sound. Quickly I grabbed my flashlight and opened the hood without concern to my safety. A lot of smoke was coming out of the engine compartment! I was ready to take of my shirt to put out the flames! I kept searching for the ignition source, but couldn't find it. There wasn't any flames...just thick black smoke. Then I saw the ignition coil...melted beyond recognition...its been turned into some sort of black goo. Thank God...no fire! Shortly after that the towing service arrived as well as our family driver. Luckily the driver found the spare ignition coil. I was able to drive the fairlady and party on! It turns out that I've been running the roadster without an external ballast resistor! That was one traumatic experience I don't want to ever go through again!
Steven '65 Fairlady Racer
"Life is like a box of used Datsun parts, you'll never know what you're gonna get..."
