Who did you meet today?

[unklpat]

I've seen so many pictures of our cars next to streams, mountains, bridges, pastures, barns, etc. When is enough enough? When I drive, I drive for the enjoyment of the drive, and also for the anticipation of the greet. I've had people pull me over, get out at a light, stop me at a gas station, grocery store, pet store, etc. I've had some great conversations with people who either had one, parents had one, or knew someone who had one.
In 10k of driving over the last 2 years, the best part of the drive, is the people that it brings out. What are some of your experiences during your drives? I had a gal behind me at a stop light, get out and tell me her dad had a datsun dealership, but she wasn't allowed to drive a roadster. Share your stories! Pat

[Alvin]

I've seen so many pictures of our cars next to streams, mountains, bridges, pastures, barns, etc. When is enough enough?

It's never enough. Brace yourself.

What are some of your experiences during your drives? Share your stories! Pat

I'm always encouraging owners to get out and drive. You never know who you could run into. I'm mean beyond the usual stoplight/gas station exchanges like "Hey nice Datsun I wish I still had mine!"

Here are a few stories/encounters that were memorable, all starting with a drive in my roadster.

SR20s and Llamas

In 2010 I was driving my roadster towards the freeway near my home. A red Infiniti G20 stopped at an intersection next to me and the driver started chatting. We both replied that neither of our cars were stock and pulled into a Jack in the Box parking lot to check our rides out. The owner belonged to an internet forum for the G20 cars and was on his way to a G20 gathering. Later that day I would learn that he was the owner/proprietor of G20.net!
He invited me to join him and drive the roadster to the meet, saying the members would get a kick out of it once they saw what was under the hood. (the Infiniti/Nissan Sentra series had SR20 drivetrains). I happily obliged.
The meeting place was waaay up in the South foothills. Great driving roads


Next thing I know I'm at a private residence. That also happens to be a llama farm. With more than a dozen Nissan/Infiniti SR20-powered cars on the long driveway and garage area.


It was weird. But what a great group of folks.

What was crazier is that an old friend was there. Scott Higashi drove his SR20VE-powered B13 Sentra over 150miles from Northern CA to be at this meet. It was so good to see him. He was a roadster owner many years ago. He is wearing the hat and red shirt below. Sadly, Scott passed away in 2014, may he rest in peace.



After a great BBQ (have you ever tried a llama burger?) a few of us went for a drive on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. I've met some wonderful folks through my roadster. Stay tuned for more!

[Gregs672000]

Talking to folks who are attracted to the car is part of being a Roadster owner for sure. Met so many interesting people, crossed language barriers and shared many smiles!

[Alvin]

The Tourist
In 2015 I attended a work conference in Monterey, CA. It was a great venue and a chance to experience the 17-mile drive so I drove my roadster. The ocean views were magical:


I had a co-worker riding shotgun to enjoy the 17-mile drive. At one of the stops along the coastline a tourist bus pulled up just behind me. A bunch of folks walked over to check out the roadster. I could hear Mandarin being spoken. These two nice ladies asked if they could take a picture and I replied back in my broken Taiwanese "please go ahead!". We exchanged pleasantries. Nothing out of the ordinary for the Datsun Roadster owner, right?


We continue on the drive and pull out on one of the viewpoints. An Escalade pulls up behind us and this lady rather loudly says "OMG is this yours?!" in the most Fran Drescher-like voice. She's dressed in reptile. From head to toe. She keeps saying OMG I love it! Turns out she's a car enthusiast and has a few Pagoda's, early P-cars and Jags. I'm having fun talking with her (and my co-worker is getting a kick of the whole thing) when she asks me to take her picture with the roadster. I was like, with my phone? The thing is, her husband (I'm assuming) is literally a few feet away from us, with a cellphone in his hand.

Didn't bother me, knowing I could easily text/e-mail the picture to her later. So I snapped a few shots and she was very thankful. Immediately she says "Honey! Can you get this young man's information?" The man walks over straight-faced and says "number please?" I tell him, and he just walks back to the Escalade. The lady, well she's already sitting shotgun in the SUV! It was a total trip.

[iloveredmeat]

That is so awesome.

It's our differences, and those unique characters, that make the world more interesting, eh?

And beautiful photos. Jelly.

Great idea for a thread, with great posts already.

[Alvin]

The Stalker

This is a story from 2011, enjoy.

Summer is here and we all know that Datsuns Are Driven! I've been seeing more classic cars on the road in this beautiful weather and it feels like Datsun owners are coming out of the woodwork. I drove my Datsun to work the other day and on the way home spotted this tennis ball green 240z:




I took some local roads to avoid traffic and I was at a stoplight when a Datsun roadster drove right past me! I crossed three lanes to catch up and got behind  it at the light:


I was very excited to stop and chat with the owner. I assumed he'd pull over but he didn't so I followed him thinking how terrible am I for being a stalker . That roadster scooted! I had to know what was under the hood.
I followed him all the way to his home and turns out it's his grandfather's roadster. He said it's the only car that made him enjoy driving! It is a '66 SPL:



He popped the hood open and there was a 1600 engine with dual Mikuni 40's!!! He made the linkage himself and also fabricated a nifty cold air intake/airbox!







Then I started noticing little details here and there like this oil cooler, elcctronic distributor, water tower conversion, Auto-Meter gauges and split-bumpers!




He invited me into his home, offered me a drink and started showing me his current home renovation project. I don't think his wife was comfortable with me being there randomly, but we both were having a great time.

So get out there and drive your Datsun, you never know what other Datsun owners you may find on the road!

[redroadster]

Mine was searching for a Roadster in the want ads. In 92 ,Finally there was a 2L Roadster ,which of course I perfered, in the metro , I called and a guy named Harley answered, he wanted to meet at a large parking lot instead of his home .
Said he preferred I drive it there instead of the roads, understandable .
I took my ex service manager boss at Datsun , he used to race 1200s 510s and 311s for expertise.

We found the place and soon saw the Roadster drive up , I was hoping this wasn't it , lots of putty
I assume done by chimpanzees, it was rough .
Meeting the burly guy I told him my name and said your Harley ? He wanted to shake hands and we did kind of crushing mine he said "I'm Harley Race " the boss just stayed in the car , but had stated where do I know that guy from?

He took me on a fast ride , I a bit concerned as pumping the brakes was only way they worked
It ran strong , he wanted more than I wanted to pay or work on so I started to leave he grabbed my shoulder stopping me wanting a counter offer
I never did though , he seemed a bit aggitated
I just said I really just want to look at more cars
But thanks and quicker this time he missed the grab ....I feel like I defeated or escaped from Handsome Harley Race...any WWF fans here?

[Gregs672000]

Unfortunately no pic because we took them with their cameras, but the Roadster was an ambassador on Sunday when we drove out in the Mt. Rainier area. We stopped in a scenic view pull out, and we're quickly surrounded by a large and nice group from India (pretty sure, but didn't ask). As always, the car created smiles and before long they're asking to take pictures with the car and everyone was happy and excited. "Of course you can sit behind the wheel! Have a great day everybody!" Smiles all around and off we go...

[Alvin]

Spotted!

From 2017:

On Saturday I took the roadster out for a DRIVE. I found some pretty plum blossoms:




Little did I know I was about to experience a roadster sighting of the best kind!
As I was taking photos I hear someone yell "Alvin!" and there in the middle of the street was another Datsun Roadster!


Turns out the owner is "oppositelock" (Joe) here on 311s. First time meeting him. He picked up this car from BringATrailer a few months prior. I had no idea he lived just a few miles from me.


He was on his way back home from his drive and I was just getting started on mine. We did a blast on the freeway to test 5th gear...it works!


Joe and I became friends and we would do fun run/events together for several years until he sold it.

[Gregs672000]

Really enjoying this, especially since Alvin has photo documented it All! My wife and I have often discussed having an autograph book for everyone who has approached us while driving. Just like this site, the car is all about smiles and fun and family. When I watch all the BS, division and stupid strife that goes on in our country and around the world, I remember all the fun encounters with PEOPLE from all walks of life and places in the world who have shared a nice, human moment with someone who, for just a moment, is no longer a stranger but a friend.

Seriously, can't we all just get along? We can and the Datsun will lead the way...

[garth]

I've seen so many pictures of our cars next to streams, mountains, bridges, pastures, barns, etc. When is enough enough? When I drive, I drive for the enjoyment of the drive, and also for the anticipation of the greet. I've had people pull me over, get out at a light, stop me at a gas station, grocery store, pet store, etc. I've had some great conversations with people who either had one, parents had one, or knew someone who had one.
In 10k of driving over the last 2 years, the best part of the drive, is the people that it brings out. What are some of your experiences during your drives? I had a gal behind me at a stop light, get out and tell me her dad had a datsun dealership, but she wasn't allowed to drive a roadster. Share your stories! Pat

This is an excellent topic!

I'm looking forward to some excellent stories!

[steve_car]

One day several years ago, I was driving my regular car when a 1500 drove by that I didn't recognize, going in the opposite direction. This had never happened in my area, as I thought I knew most Roadster owners. I decided to turn around and see if I could catch him. By the time I found a place to turn around, he was way ahead of me. I was going pretty fast and finally caught sight of him. There were several cars between us, but finally the road became two lanes in each direction and I was able to pull up next to him. I was honking my horn and waving when he finally looked over at me. I yelled at him and pointed to pull over. He must have thought I was nuts. We both pulled over and I explained that I had a Roadster and we checked out his car. When it became time to leave, I asked for his email address. When he told me the name on his email address, I said that my brother used to have a friend with that name in elementary school. Then I looked at him closer and It turned out to be the same guy. He just looked a little different after 35 years or so. Anyway, we got together several times after that.

[Alvin]

The Designer and Pizza Musician

In 2016 I was invited to participate in a rallye called the Touge California, about 450 miles from my home.
https://www.zcarblog.com/2016/04/12/eve ... eport.html



It was one of the best automotive experiences I've had with my roadster. I met a fantastic group of people with a few surprises. At the rallye start I noticed '65 1500! I was super excited and chatted with the owner, John Sahs.


After completing the rally on Saturday, I originally planned for a Sunday visit to the Petersen Museum in LA on the way up to San Jose. What I didn’t envision was making a stop at Nissan Design America, and here’s how I got there!


At the end of the rally we were treated to dinner at Mazda Headquarters. There I learned that John was a lead designer over at Nissan Design America! He suggested we take our roadsters to Nissan for a mini-photo shoot, citing the building’s interesting architecture as a nice backdrop.

Sunday morning I hopped in the roadster and drove a few minutes South to La Jolla to meet up with John. We took some fun photos. Although he didn’t bring his roadster, John was kind enough to show me around and I was thoroughly impressed. Thank you John!



You can see more about the return trip here:
https://www.zcarblog.com/2016/05/08/eve ... ornia.html

I left San Diego heading up to LA to catch a car show at the Petersen Museum. There I met Dominic Le! I've never met him in person but I've admired his SEMA Datsun builds for years. He was super-friendly and I got to se his Hakatora truck again:




From LA I drove back up to San Jose, but there was one lasting friendship I want to share that came out of the Touge California Rallye....
Any notions of this event being “relaxed” and “easy” were thrown out the door as we tried to chase down Smith M’s red SA22 RX-7 on the Touge stages. The “Couser Canyon Touge” was particularly thrilling with endless high radius turns and a sheer drop-off with no guard rails present. Outside of a track day at Laguna Seca, this 6 miles stretch was enjoyably intense! As we caught up to Smith at the stop sign he said with a smile “I don’t think anyone is behind us anymore”. Smith’s RX-7 was shakotan low sitting on NOS vintage Enkei barrels–10″ wide with stretched tires. He drove it passionately



Smith's co-pilot was his best friend Chris. Turns out they both live in Solvang, home to our yearly Roadster show! We had never crossed paths before, although Smith had walked through the show a few times. Smith worked in real estate and Chris worked at a famous pizza restaurant in downtown Solvang. Chris was also a talented musician. He is in the red flannel shirt playing bass guitar in this video:




I would meet up with Chris and Smith at Solvang for breakfast or if I was passing through the area while visiting family in Socal.
We finally got to browse all of the roadsters together at the 2017 Solvang Show:


We always made an effort to have pizza in Solvang to see Chris. He's since moved back to Texas but Smith is still in Solvang. We are all in touch to this day!

[Alvin]

I'm an MG Magnet

As you all know, my first car was an MGB. Since owning a Datsun roadster I've bumped into many MG's on the road with enough stories (and pictures) to start a sub-thread Well, this just happened a few hrs ago this evening...I was driving home in the roadster and while I was at an intersection I spotted a British Racing Green MGB at the corner gas station. I quickly made a u-turn and pulled up next the B. I asked if it was a '65 and he said you are absolutely right!


The owner just picked it up two weeks ago, from a junkyard! All it needed was carbs and a detail, what a find.


I didn't realize until later that the guy was smoking a cigarette, not the best idea near a fuel pump but hey!



We chatted for a few minutes..he owned a few Datsun 510s and 240Zs in the past and lived just a few blocks from me.


I took some video of the MG in action as we departed. As we got into our cars he asked if I was going to get fuel...I replied no I just stopped to see your MG! #stalker

[C.Costine]

I recently chatted with an old college buddy for the first time in over ten years. I told him about getting my 1600 on the road. I was surprised when he brought up about how whenever we had a quick informal race that I beat his MGB with my 1600.