Trip 2000

No, it's not the year - it's a model number!


In December of 1996 after 2 years of searching the Internet for Datsun Roadster parts and several false starts I finally rebuilt the engine to my 1968 Datsun 2000. This was the first step in preparation for an adventure that would take me from NY to CA.

Little did I know at the time that it would also be an adventure for many others, many of whom I'd had never met before and many whom I now fondly call friends.

The web pages that are linked below were originally posted in 1997 during the actual trip across country and during my stay at Classic Datsun Motorsports. During those 2 months from the middle of June to middle of August of 1997 my roadster was completely disassembled, inspected, re-plated, re-coated, repainted, and reassembled under the watchful eye of Les Cannady and his crew. Les said it was the fastest restoration he had ever seen. For his part in this and his more than generous hospitality I am forever grateful. Les, I still owe you.

The original pages were lost during one of the inevitable ISP changes we all go through. Since then there have been several more ISP changes as well as a family relocation to North Carolina. It is just now that I have finally been able to piece the original pages back together again and get them ready to republish. The text stands unedited and still contains all the errors in typing and grammar that they had when I first tapped them out using Windows for Workgroups Notepad on my trusty laptop at the end of each day. Hard to believe that was over 4 years ago. During the page restoration process I have only changed a few link names and modified some of the HTML code so that I can easily transport them in the event that there is another ISP change in the future. I figure that should happen about 6 months.

In the meantime, thanks to all of you for reading them and for all the positive comments I have received over the years regarding these pages and the trip. I had always hoped that these postings would be of interest to a few. It is very gratifying to know that it meant more than that to many of you. I humbly thank you all and wish you all the best. May your roadster experiences be as rewarding to you as these have been to me.

Tom (Iron Butt) Phelan


Go on the Trip 2000


tomph@mchsi.com

Last revised: March 24, 2002.