My father had a Datsun B210 hatchback that could barely get out of its own way and had horrible visibility that I certainly have no desire to ever drive again. That one was around when I was in high school. It did get great gas milage, though....
That's not right. The understanding that I had with my father was that if I paid for four years of college, he would buy me a car for graduation. I accepted that deal. I graduated in 1978, a time of high inflation and gas shortages. Maybe I could have stuck the old man for an expensive car, but I wanted a new car that would suit my needs and be cheap to maintain and run, so that I could accumulate money for a house faster. My first choice was a Honda Accord hatchback, but my father claimed he could not find find one, and suggested a used 260Z. I did not like that idea, although I might have accepted a 240Z in immaculate condition. I then settled on the Datsun B210 GX. It was a 5 speed manual rear wheel drive hatchback weighing a bit over 2000 pounds with a 1.4L pushrod four-banger. It had manual rack and pinion steering with excellent road feel. It was rather spartan, and low quality, but I was able to install a decent stereo, and I did most of my own maintenance.
It was a fun car to drive, in the sense that I was frequently extracting maximum performance from it. I did well with it on autocross courses, and I could just edge out a more experienced driver with a VW Sirocco. Top end was 90-95 MPH depending on conditions, although that is way too fast. There was a shimmy or resonance at about 85 that reminded you to slow down, but it smoothed out if you pressed on. It had good visibility, and no trouble "getting out of the way". It had great gas mileage and it got me to many rocket contests and conventions.
It did have a U-joint on the drive shaft that went bad, but the dealership found a used one and fixed it cheaply. The head gasket blew, not from abuse, but something about an aluminum head on an iron block. I managed to fix that myself. I always wanted to rebuild a motor, but the head gasket replacement was as close as I ever got. I shattered the clutch, but that was pure driver error. I was driving on an unfamiliar two lane highway in central Missouri, going to support a launch with a new group getting started in Independence. I was stuck behind a slow moving vehicle, and when I finally got the opportunity to pass, I down shifted from 5th to 4th. When I noticed oncoming traffic I decided 4th gear was not going to get the job done safely, so I down shiffted to 3rd. And then nothing. It took me a monent to realize that clutch was gone, and I had to get on the brakes. Had I down shiffted to 3rd to start the pass, and upshifted to 4th midway through the pass, everything would have been fine. Getting the clutch replaced in the middle of noware was another experience. By the time I got to Independance, the lauch had been cancelled. Still, a higher quality car probaly would not have given up the clutch.
After I bought a house, I bought a very nice car, a 1984 Toyota Supra. Still, the B210 was such a good car that I kept it. It was the worst of cars that I have owned, but I would certainly put it on the good car list.
