Rusty But Trusty

With the vintage Japanese car scene growing, these cars have finally been getting the attention they deserve. The 2-liter engine cranks out respectable power (more than many of its competitors), and the styling is as good as that of most of its sixties English competitors. This particular car is under restoration, but looks like it would make a good driving project. As a good runner with many new parts, it should make a fun driver while you get the cosmetics fixed up. This Datsun 2000 is available in Tucson, AZ for $3500.

Back when I was looking at buying my first sports car, this was among the list of possible cars. They were (as they were originally marketed) a reasonably-priced sports car with European style and near the top of their class (4-cyl. roadsters) in power. As it happens, I ended up with my Alfa, largely because the Datsuns were fairly uncommon, even in the early 90s, and 60s Japanese cars did not have as much cachet as they do now. As with most older sports cars, their shrinking numbers, and the increasing disposable income of buyers, means the cost to purchase one of these has gone up, at least one that fits into the rusty-but-trusty segment of the market.

The subject of today’s post is this 1966 Datsun 1600 Roadster in Placerville, CA for $2500. As one of the earlier cars, this has less power (a still respectable 95hp), but no doubt, fans of the 1600 will tell you a smaller engine revs more sweetly.

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