Barn Finds reader Rick H. found this 1968 Datsun 2000 in storage where it had been sitting for a year and a half following an estate sale in Baton Rouge, Louisiana – not in a flood area, by the way. He “Drained the gas, squirted some oil in the cylinders, put in a new battery, and she fired right up.” He listed in the Barn Finds Classifieds with an asking price of $12,500 and it looked so nice we decided we needed to take a closer look!
What a great looking car. The SRL311 is the third iteration of the Datsun Sports or Datsun Roadster, coming after the 1963 version with a 1.3L engine, the 1965 1.6L and finally the 2.0L version seen here. The design changes were minimal and it’s hard to not smile when a person sees one of these cars in person.
This example has had a “respray in single stage red over the original Sora Blue.” Rick says that it’s “practically rust free” with a couple of areas that didn’t pass the magnet test being the “outer rockers where the seam between the rocker and the rear fender is, below the rear line of the doors, apparently leaded at the factory.” And also, “the front face of the front fenders between the headlights and the hood on both sides. Must have been a minor front end ding that did a little damage, and there is some filler used there to smooth it out.”
The interior looks good and the 240Z steering wheel may be noticeable to most of you. The dash pad isn’t fully installed “in case the new owner would like to work on the dash, instruments, knobs, switches.” The “glass and mirrors are all good – no nicks, scratches, rock chips, or cracks in the windshield. Turn signals, lights, emergency flashers, brake lights, windshield wipers all functioning normally. Horn works with an owner installed button, not in the steering wheel. The clock and the backup lights don’t work.”
This is Datsun’s 2.0L inline-four with 135 hp and with the 5-speed transmission made for a fun car to drive. This one starts “right away with the choke, and warms up to a smooth idle quickly. Loves to go, I have revved it up to 5,000 rpm on several occasions – pulls smooth and hard the whole way. I’ve driven it about 125 miles in the last couple of months. Transmission shifts crisply and smoothly, no grinding or noise. That 5th gear is marvelous for highway cruising.” Have any of you owned a Datsun 2000? If you’ve always wanted one, check this example out here on craigslist in Baton Rouge, Lousiana!
As an MGB driver I was always jealous of the power these things have. I have driven two – one like this and one with the factory Solex kit (a cam, a deeper oil pan, and what was essentially a Japanese clone of a dual DCOE setup) which made 150 horsepower. That one was scary in a good way.
Had a white ’69 Datsun 2000 roadster back in ’72 when I was 19. As I recall, fifth gear was such a tall overdrive that I didn’t shift into fifth until about 70 mph, and then it had legs up to around 140 mph. Fun car!
This 2000 looks way better than most, especially the underside, which looks pretty solid. This looks like a car you could drive for many summers and have a lot of fun with without spending a lot. And along the way you’d likely benefit from the appreciation that’s lifting values of so many vintage Japanese cars now.
Altho I have owned British sportscars including MGs, I think I would go for this in preference because of the big engine and the 5-speed.
I don’t know how it is now, but back in the late 70s and early 80s parts were scarce for these things. There is no Moss Motors for them.
First car I ever saw Randy Pobst autocross — in Lakeland or Tampa, I think. It was ragged, and he was so much quicker than all others as to be incomprehensible.
These Datsun sports cars surprised a lot of folk, way back when, especially the OHC 2 litre. Great cars, imho.
Cool! I recall the first road test done on these in a ’68 issue of Car & Driver magazine. They commented on the tall roof and windows, called the car a ‘Giraffe Transporter’. I always liked them.
My brother bought a 67 1/2 1600 when he was 15 1/2.
Then as a senior in college bought a 2000 with solexes (not factory) as a race car. He was racing with the 1600 so we swapped the engines. Can’t remember which transmission he raced with. But we pulled engines often. With a block and tackle strung from the tree out front. Great memories.
I thought the 135 hp was with the solexes? The 1600 was about 90 i seem to remember.
We have 3, the third being our last restoration in progress. Have an Oregon group that meets to drive to a Mt Shasta car show in northern California every July. Good network for parts