1972 Datsun 240Z: Regular Car Reviews

if you want to trace Japanese car acceptance in the post-war United States the flashpoint 1958 is the Datsun 240z yes there was the Honda Cub Passport super dream and the cb750 those got in there first but those are bikes yes there's the Honda s600 with Shane Drive little quasi 1960s kei car thing but that was automotive curiosity not a title contender this is the Datsun 240z and if it wasn't for this car the import scene wouldn't really exist in the US or at least not in the current form we know it surrender yourself to the majesty Datsun owned by Nissan since the 1930s was among the first to introduce Japanese cars to the American market coming up only one year behind the Toyota Crown which became the first Japanese car to be sold in America in 1957 Datsun came to the United States in 1958 which is all well and good except they only sold about 123 cars Nissan was exporting the Fairlady roadsters and hoping like hell Americans would care when the reality was that anybody who wanted something sporty was likely gonna get a British or an Italian car just not something from Japan enter a Nissan executive by the name of yukata Katayama also known as mr. kay who talked the bigwigs into entering Nissan into the endurance based mobile gas rally in Australia the idea was that if people could see something like a Datsun 210 finish a course that others couldn't the company's stock would skyrocket figuratively speaking a Nissan actually came first in their class at the event surpassing other automakers with more experience in Motorsports than they had in 1958 so in the wake of the success mr. Kay was sent to Los Angeles with a mission of getting the company a foothold in the United States senior negatives that Nissan weren't expecting much but mr. K did market research on what Americans liked and what Americans were willing to buy so that when Nissan made the choice to purchase a Japanese automaker Prince Motor Company in 1966 mr. K was quick to pounce on the genius of its star engine air Shinichiro Sakurai the doctor had run a motoring Club that lost the Japanese Grand Prix to a privately entered Porsche and this loss forced the doctor to up the ante in the coming years so that by 1966 the prince motoring club secured the top two spots in the Grand Prix so when Nissan bought Prince motors that same year the doctor remained with the company to see things through as Nissan moved toward more of an athletic focus and the Datsun 240z began to take shape so long story short market research showed that Americans liked the more driver oriented cars that the Brits were getting but Mr K didn't just want to make another knockoff of British roadsters he wanted to make something unique that would put Japan in the conversation among automakers that offered true driving experiences they would achieve this in 1967 with the Datsun 510 or the Datsun 1600 which utilized a four-cylinder engine based off the doctor's 6-cylinder engineered at prince motors although some were calling the 510 the poor man's BMW the success of that dot's improved to mr. K that sport cars didn't have to be the sole domain of the European auto industry they could appeal to the US market by offering something familiar to European sport car enthusiasts but affordable for American sport car enthusiasts with an MSRP of around $4,000 which would round out roughly to $22,000 today mr. K and his team began work on the first of the Z cars a sports car running off of an independent suspension and the 6-cylinder layout from prince motors by the time the team was finished they had a car running off a 2.4 liter L 24 inline 6 offering 151 horsepower for the US market along with twin Hitachi su typ carburetors and a four-speed manual transmission released on October 22nd 1969 the Datsun 240z had finally arrived but not without some last-minute issues you see even though he president of Nissan Motors of the United States by 1965 mr. K had the fight to keep the senior Japanese executives from messing things up at the marketing stage back when Nissan was smaller mostly domestic automaker it teamed up with Yamaha to build the new Nissan Fairlady their competitor to the British and Italian roadsters of the late 50s and early 60s but the Yamaha 2-liter double cam engine was a disappointment so they put the kibosh on the whole project when mr. K was ready to bring the more affordable Datsun 240z to market several years later the senior executives wanted to use the fair lady name not understanding that nobody in the US market was going to buy a car named the fair lady it didn't matter that my fair lady was a huge success on Broadway and the best pitcher Oscar winner for 1964 it would have have been like naming a car the velvet ovary the type of grunting shadow jawed racquetball player who man escapes with embroidery scissors and washes and bond number nine isn't going to drive a damn car named a fair lady so they made a compromise the fair lady named which had a richer history in Japan anyway would stick to the JDM models while it would be marketed under its production model the 240z outside of Japan the first generation was an Asterix like intersection of performance style and affordability relative to the time it had a top speed of 120 miles an hour and went from zero to 60 in eight seconds it's two-seat fastback layout with a rear hat certainly pegged it as a smaller car but it was still capable to comfortably seat a six-foot tall American mr. K's principle was that a car like this would be quote easier to get into the US market than a roadster and perhaps he was right by 1971 the 240z sold more than 45,000 units and over 50,000 by 1972 the production materials proclaimed that the car was engineered for safety reliability performance and comfort with a wider front and rear tracks for stability and a wide cockpit for comfort along with weight distribution of 52.4% in the front and 47.6 in the rear the materials also boast about the cars sensible dimensions noting the spacious Headroom the low silhouette and generous turning radius the 240z was a success by letting Americans get back on track more affordably than they could be with British or European offerings also while offering the pragmatism of a hatchback by modern standards it's not the car you think you'd go out of your way to own not with those performance numbers but it's very much a product of its era like the internet culture is never-ending war on the name Kyle by now the astute among you have noticed that this 240 is not stock it's that a bunch of work done to it instead of twin carbs this has three two-barrel side draught Weber's with velocity stacks that makes the throttle response snappy raspy and satisfying the steering is fantastic sharp and very little on center slop brilliant switch gear clicks into place like a male chastity belt I'm talking about the real deal not that Chinese knockoff crap all rubber mounts that could have been changed are now polyurethane including all the suspension mounts and that turns the drive into squeak squeak slap bang bang bang sweet slap bang bang bang bang and and a curiosity of the fuel delivery causes this 2:42 fuel starve hard on left turns if you roll through the turn in neutral this is with an electric fuel pump by the way it's just sort of some sort of gremlin of the car I suppose which means if you're gonna make a hard left turn keep it in gear don't do that move where you just wiggle the gear stiff and just pop it into neutral I don't all agree I'm gonna know it's either stir neutral off sputter sputter dye also even though it's also running the triple Weber's the l/24 still air chokes at 5,000 rpm I mean it's just not breathing enough I suppose a solution would be getting on those weird kits where you get you know like a Holley four-barrel or or an Edelbrock or something on there so you get really get a lot of air but that's really for v8 applications and would look strange on this car which is fine because you're really not you think you got an inline six I'm gonna rev it a lot mmm not really the happy zone of this engine is 2,000 rpm the 4000 rpm anything above that yeah I know it's a it's a Japanese sports car rev it out yeah dude but it's not modern stuff you're not banging it off the rev limiter because there is no rev limiter so it's kind of good that it air chokes because as it doesn't you'd be floating valves like crazy these clear headlights right here super rare rare rare rare everything's rare I know but most US customers didn't ask for these headlight covers they wanted them without it because then the front of the car you know has some notes of light like Triumph Spitfire here it's kinda like the devil you know this oh gee steering wheel is not real wood it's pressed fiber so do you want to own one of these things well where does the 240z the classic 240z fit into modern sports cars this i know i've referenced this car before but that just speaks to what why I can compare so many classic cars to this the 240z is treated now how Fox Body Mustangs are being treated now in the u.s. we've finished with all the LS swaps now the ones that people want to drive are the Mustangs that have the original 500 in it people now realize all the potential that exists in these little notch backs in the fastbacks well let's let's really explore the Windsor block how much can we push these things safely I want to now people now want to go back and experience classic cars in the world in which they evolved with their original part slightly modified now I stand by my accusation of big-block American cars in the wake of the LS there's no room for big blocks anymore I know I can hear you now you don't like that but when it comes to these high-technology engines for their time yeah the L 24 is a pretty darn good motor you mean you don't drive it for speed or modern performance this is the proper way of restomod let's take an engine and make it run as good as you can without modern mega squirt interference maybe this is hipster but I look at cars like these like I look at mine all yes I know that Aflac file is better I know it'll never degrade but you can't hold Aflac file you can't get your hands on the tuning code of a mega squirt ECU the act of pulling the record out of the sleeve dusting it off putting it on the spindle moving the needle that's part of the song experience isn't the right word that's part of your music food so tuning carburetors getting around all the weird quirks that's your car food that's your car afternoon coffee or tea or snack I like that it fuel stars a little I like that it smells a little I like that it bounces and hurts you a little I mean look at the nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year this year of 2019 Pat Benatar Dave Matthews Band Depeche Mode the Doobie Brothers Whitney Houston Judas Priest Kraftwerk mc5 Motorhead Nine Inch Nails the notorious b.i.g Rufus featuring Chaka Khan Chaka Khan Todd Rudkin Rudkin Regan Rihanna Soundgarden t-rex and Thin Lizzy all of these artists are from eras of tactile media I even remember spinning like like like untangling the magnetic tape of Dave Matthews Band crash that I taped off of Barrett Remington CD sorry Dave I've been pirating music before with my GE tape deck oh no excuse me I used my parents good Iowa boombox that taped CDs really well anyway these people who to varying degrees of success cared about their craft and the maintenance of their craft artists who inspire debate over what constitutes classic what constitutes objective worth what constitutes iconic I know that because it's a classic car people are going to want me to give this thing more of a tongue bath to tell you that a Japanese car from the 70s lives up to the standards of contemporary cars like it's just as good to drive one and blowing through your 401k on Bringer trailers financially prudent decision but for as much as I enjoyed this car and as much as I would recommend taking one out for a spin if you gets a chance it's hard to recommend owning a classic Z car because if you enjoy this thing in the way you want you enjoy it the way you want to enjoy saltwater taffy you enjoy the texture of it all the experience and the time-lock satisfaction and the smell of ocean city boardwalk and formerly MCing Mancos pika pizza now Mack and mango and skee-ball and and and and roadblasters and pinball and all that stuff but there's no nutritional value in actually eating the saltwater taffy you enjoy it for what it is and the ability for you to go back in time or even to a time when you didn't exist like this is your time machine and that's okay but the problem is that internet culture has gotten so to the point that anything less enthusiastic praises an outright attack when there it's not really the case here this is a great car and a worthwhile experience so hop on the chance to drive one if you can and you don't have to enjoy things ironically Datsun 240z don't Murray said my name into Scarlett Johansson's ear at the end of loss of translation Datsun 240z the Voynich manuscript is basically just a rough translation in this review this is music and this is music this is music this is music [Music]

Channel: RegularCars

Views: 528,910

Rating: 4.9354668 out of 5

Keywords: Regular, Car, Reviews, Nissan S30, 240Z, Retro review Datsun 240Z, Classic Datsun, Datsun racing, restomod Datsun, 240C classic Regular Car Reviews, s30 review, Nissan s30 review, RCR Datsun, RCR Datsun 240Z, RCR

Id: vlncX0hIoQ8

Length: 15min 5sec (905 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 04 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/Mercurydriver]

I know the owner of this car. He's a good friend of mine for the last 12+ years. He restored this car to almost mint condition over the last 2 years. He's a really big car guy and it's the 2nd classic car he's restored.

He also brings his Datsun to a lot of car shows and cars and coffee events and every time he turns heads. It's such a rarity compared to the classic Mustangs and Chargers at these events; he's even gotten awards at said car shows for best car or most unique entry.

[u/chatapokai]

Their prices are skyrocketing. I bought my rusty roller for nothing in August and I'm seeing similar condition zs going for 5-7k now. Glad i got mine then, even if i cant work on it for another 6 months or so

Edit: running/low/manageable rust examples can fetch 10-22k and I've seen clean/showroom examples go anywhere from 40-70k and higher.

[u/Baron_Von_D]

My dad (30 years ago) had a late 70's silver 240 280Z 2+2, absolutely loved that car.
We were going on a weekend road trip and my mom (divorced) agreed to let my dad use her van, she would use his Datsun while we were away. Didn't see his car when we got back and he had a different car a week later when I saw him again.

Turned out, my mom let her boyfriend drive it and he wrecked it into a pole. He is still pissed about it to this day. So, If I every get rich, fist thing I would do is find him a mint Datsun 240Z.

[u/KungFuChicken98]

Honestly I think the 240z is one of the most beautiful cars ever created... I wish I had the know how to restore one of these beautiful machines

[u/CodewortSchinken]

I think Mr. Regular realy made a point with the last lines.

Those internet-hyped cars, might it be a 240Z, an MX-5, E30s or what else, they are all pretty damn good for what they are or once were. But at the end they're just regular cars. There's no magic happening inside them.

[u/Chancellor_Knuckles]

I WAUUNT IT.

[u/170footYACHT]

I bought a Datsun 240Z as my first car one year before I was able to get a drivers license. I kept it in my yard until I had my license. With that straight 6 and dual carbs, I lit the wheels in the first 3 gears when I wanted with ease. It was an absolute blast to drive. The car was super responsive. One time I was cruising down a side street and a guy partially ran a stop sign before seeing me come from his left side. Just prior to potentially colliding, I locked the brakes, turned the wheel hard to the left and did a complete 180 in the span of the small intersection. It was the fastest, shortest, tightest 180 I could have dreamed of... the kind I needed to save my life and the cars...a second or two after realizing, both cars were safe and never hit, I felt immediately relieved and I revved the engine , dropped it in first and burned rubber now heading in the direction I came from. The dude who almost hit me probably couldn’t believe what just happened. It was a scary yet completely adrenaline fueled situation that could have ended terribly but now I look back on as a purely exhilarating experience.

I friggin loved that car and miss it.

[u/kurbycar32]

Hey everyone, PSA time: Dont forget the 260z! The 260z was available for 1 model year only in the states and that was split between "early": and "late" models. The early model was a 240z with upgraded electrical, a stiffer chassis and a new HVAC control set. Due to crash and emissions regulations the car was also saddled with slightly larger bumpers and some emissions equipment. The aftermarket has replacement bumpers and performance parts to solve the emissions equipment too so with a bit of work you can have a car that's actually better than the legendary 240z.

Source: Serial 260z owner

[u/Drzhivago138]

Never driven this car, but I have a belt buckle. That counts, right?