Datsun 240 Z

[dlazarus6660]

I'm watching The Bionic Woman and I forgot that Jamie drove a Blue Datsun 240 Z. I thought they looked cool. I was looking at one on Friday afternoon completely restored. The owner was in a hurry and couldn't talk about his ride. I should have snapped a pic. Oh Weller.

 

[JStarStar]

A friend of mine when we were both working at a gas station about 1980 had one, a 1971 I believe. It was a rusted-out hunk of junk.

 

[Pantherjon]

Reminds me of a joke..

Japanese car manufacturer is about to announce its first production line of cars..Only drawback is that the company is still nameless..So the CEO calls his friend Wolfgang in Germany..
W:Venn do you need a name?
J: Tomorrow
W: Datsoon?
:eyeroll::rofl:

Sorry..

Had an uncle who bought one when they first came out..Then bought the zX when it came out followed by the 260z and then the 280z..Then Datsun became Nissan...And rumor has it they MAY be reverting back to the Datsun name?

 

[jd2cylman]

Years ago, there was a young college girl who boarded a horse at our stable that had one (240Z). Got to be pretty good friends with her, and one night she let me drive it.
I was around 14 give or take a year. She wanted to know how to do a burnout. I showed her
We left several marks on the road. :grin:

Adrian

 

[JDcluster]

My uncle had a Datsun it too rust to dust...especially in the fender wells.
I always thought that they changed their name because of their rust problem.
I still hate them even though they go by the name: Nissan now.


JD

 

[chrism]

Reminds me of a joke..

Japanese car manufacturer is about to announce its first production line of cars..Only drawback is that the company is still nameless..So the CEO calls his friend Wolfgang in Germany..
W:Venn do you need a name?
J: Tomorrow
W: Datsoon?
:eyeroll::rofl:

Sorry..

Had an uncle who bought one when they first came out..Then bought the zX when it came out followed by the 260z and then the 280z..Then Datsun became Nissan...And rumor has it they MAY be reverting back to the Datsun name?

They are going to use the Datsun name on cheaper cars in some countries.

 

[hornet driver]

Yea, they were rust buckets but they could be made to handle great and the motors were about bullet proof. Great lines for the time too !!!

 

[bobkrech]

Very innovative car. Handled great, better than most European competitors. Until the early 80's and mandatory rustproofing, all cars rusted out quickly except for the Southwest where the climate is hot and dry.

 

[Aero B]

My brother had a metalflake green one in the late 70's. First car I ever drove that sent the speedo past 145. The other one that went that fast was a four door Chevy that had several extra lights and a noisemaker on it.

 

[UPscaler]

My little brother really wants one...they are pretty cool.

My dad used to drive a 280z. I like the 300zx, and the newer 370z, but have never been a fan of the 350!


I'd drive one, but they aren't quite ideal for rocket launches :wink:


Braden

 

[bobkrech]

The Z's were great in the '70s, but the best all-around street drivable performance car currently produced today for under $100K is the Nissan GT-R. https://www.nissanusa.com/sportscars/gt-r

 

[closet astronaut]

I owned a 1980 280 Z, a friend of mine parents had an 81 280 Z turbo with a sweet leather interior and full digital gauges, after the divorce his dad was awarded the Z which the wife had been driving, she was ordered to return it to him, so she drove it into the drive way, right up under his truck, got out and proceeded to key both sides. I came up and bought it for 1,000, took it home stripped it and swapped the engine, interior, guages and complete wiring harness. I painted it in the back yard, silver, wet sanded, clear coated then wet sanded again then a high speed buffing with compound, it came out like glass. It had rear and side window louvers also silver, and a tail fin that came from a 260 I had to cut down the outer turn downs. I did suspension work, all new struts and springs so the the back end wouldn't sag.

Out of all the cars I've owned this was my favorite, super sharp looking and with a five speed stick and a turbo, it was quite the screamer, and the most comfortable to sit in and drive.

 

[o1d_dude]

I had a 1975 Datsun 280z back in the day. Bought it new off the showroom floor. Had to sell it six months later when I was laid off from my job with the state highway department.

Went back to work for a different state agency two months later but the Z was gone.

Great car.

 

[KenRico]

Here is a Pic of Don Gates and his 1/2 scale Patriot missile circa 1989 .

You can see his 260Z with the door open, he used to remove the passenger seat to take the big rockets out .

I have a 1978 280z parked next to it, miss that car. CaveDuck still has his 78 280z and will grab a pic at the next launch!



Kenny

 

[boomtube]

But long before the “Z-Car” came upon the scene Datsun gave us the “Fairlady” which got a bad rap in this country. It had a nifty five speed manual transmission and roller main bearings.

Dimwitted drivers in the U.S. tended to shift at very low RPMs, which bogged the motor and ground those roller bearings to dust.

Interestingly enough many years later Honda brought a motorcycle to the U.S. with an engine that also included roller main bearings and it suffered the same fate, and for the same reason, as the Datsun Fairlady.

 

[Fred Garvin]

I had a buddy in high school ('82 or so) who had a 240z.....it was black and in perfect condition....I want to say it was a '72 or so....that was a sweet little car. Also around that time, my brother's 2nd wife had a 280zx Turbo...one of those black and gold ones....that car was screaming fast for back then....and alot bigger than my buddy's 240z....I always liked the smaller size of the 240 but the performance of the 280zx Turbo.....

Looked just like this: