Of note: The majority of these cars had 4-speed manuals, and most were the non-SSS 1.3-liter version. Therefore, a SSS automatic in unmolested condition is a rare bird indeed. More than a few people have mentioned swapping in a manual, but that’s a foolish move – Some of its appeal is the old-school bulletproof Borg-Warner automatic. It’s a cruiser, and if we want to row gears, we have four other manual-trans Datsuns in the collection.
OK, back to the rescue effort. On the way out of Hollywood, we spotted the Peterson Museum and popped in for a visit. If you’re ever in southern California, I highly recommend a tour – there’s some amazing automotive exhibits and some one-of-a-kind displays on hand.
Heading across the California and Arizona desert at midday in early May is a questionable proposition without air conditioning, and even more so in a car that’s 43 years old. Hoping for the best, I checked the fluids at every stop, monitored the gauges, and crossed my fingers. She seemed to settle into a nice groove at around 70mph, so that’s where she stayed for the whole trip.
My partner in crime and fellow Datsun fanatic Jason (rotorimp) was following in the chase vehicle, and he made sure to inform me at every stop that she was running pig-rich… I didn’t need to hear it, I could SMELL it. He smelled like stale gasoline! Considering that the R16 engine only made 96 hp at the crank when brand new, and assuming drivetrain losses and 40+ years of wear, it’s pretty damn impressive that 40-something horsepower can effortlessly maintain freeway speeds. Definitely a testament to brilliant engineering from Datsun!
Here, in this picture, I’m refueling somewhere around the AZ border. Nothing too interesting about that, except that the fuel filler is located behind the license plate – but the plate won’t flip up or down! Quite a bit of searching revealed a small release button next to the hatch latch mechanism. Yes, you have to open the rear hatch to release the license plate latch, to access the fuel filler. That one almost stumped me.
Perfect. Alice was on her way home.
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