What with getting the interior back in the Lancia Beta and other stuff, it’s been a busy couple of weeks. But, inspired by the August issue of Grassroots Motorsports I picked up at the Concours d’LeMons, I wanted to return to the mainstream and see what was available in the way of Datsun’s mainstream breakout hit (ignoring the 510). They were commenting on how their first project car was a Z, and that back in 1984 it was just a used car. While I’ve never been a huge fan of the early generations of Datsun Z (probably just because of their popularity), they are an attractive car with a good power-to-weight ratio that are on the cusp of being valuable the same way 1950s sports cars are now. And with their spec, they’re still perfectly capable of keeping up with today’s traffic. Also, as with most cars, when they’re not so common the road I remember what I like in the few examples I do see running around.
Let’s go to today’s example, a pale yellow (just like GRM’s) 1972 Datsun 240Z in Sacramento, CA for $2900. According to the seller, it’s got its original paint and has been upgraded to a 5-speed, which should make for easier freeway cruising. At this price level, you’d want to ask how the work was done and about the origins of the transmission to make sure it’s not part of the reason for the sale. In fact, at this price level, when buying a car that’s more popular than, say, a Renault 17, you’d want to do your homework well since even the worst cars command higher prices.
Rusty But Trusty 