Posted on 10/03/2012 8:59:24 AM PDT by Red Badger
Datsun's marketing was always at odds with the product. I had one of their earlier attempt at performance
NO just the standard instruments from the muggle version
only 100MPH? Yeah they claimed a 93mph top speed, but I once ran it out full scale (and it was later calibrated to be reading 2-3mph under true at that speed)
I had a ‘72 240Z. Took all the air pollution junk off the engine
Not to put you down, but it just shows where we have come since then.
Towing a race car with a 260Z!
LOL! Must have been a sight!
I had a 260z in the mid 1980’s with (aftermarket)triple Weber carbs.
the original Hitachi carbs were junk.
it was fun,but not real reliable.
510 sedans were pretty good handlers. Well balanced and responsive. But they would roll if you weren’t careful.
We took a 210 out to Road Atlanta out in the day, tipped it over square on its top, rolled it back over, and kept going. Top looked like a moonscape after that. LOL
Nice car pics.
BTW I sold my 510 and got a 73 BMW 2002. Now that was a fun car. I can still smell the leather.
The engine was saddled with exhaust port air injection and a throttle-lag controller.
lOL, the trailer and race car were about twice the length of the 260Z. It was a giant tail on a little dog.
“The engine was saddled with exhaust port air injection and a throttle-lag controller.”
Didn’t know that. Makes sense to pull. IIRC my dad had a BMW of about ‘75 that he disabled the air injection by simply taking off a dedicated belt. Come inspection time, he would put it on for the drive up.
Was yours a Cali model?
The Amazin' Mets were in the World Series and I found that the best way to hear the games was at 2AM on Armed Forces Radio happily ensconced at a small Japanese bed and breakfast with a refrigerator full of Kirin beer and other assorted amenities...it was wonderful.
The Mama-san decided I should sleep in after all that whoopin' and hollerin'all night,some of it actually about the ball game...but I digress.
I was supposed to be back aboard by 0800 for Quarters so Mama-san called me a cab and I knew it was gonna be close.
The cab was a Datsun Bluebird and the driver spoke no English so when I got in I mustered up my best pidgen Japanese and said,"Consterration Hayako!"
He took off downhill as fast as that little Datsun could go. Now the B&B was up in the hills and the pier was at the bottom...about half-way down the driver looked over his shoulder at me and said,quite coherently "No blakes!"
I have to admit I was a little concerned,especially when we ran through the gate at the pier while the driver was downshifting and exercising the parking brake for all it was worth.
The pier was a little shorter than the Connie,but we stopped just before we were gonna go for a dip in Sasebo Harbor...so I made it for Quarters after all.
The Mets won BTW>
I’m sure you had electric brakes for the trailer, being safe and all ;)
Yeah, I took the whole air injection mess off and plugged the injection ports.
In my dreams, I wanted to put on 3 40 DCOE Webers and a hot cam and go hunting for Porches. 8-)
Ah so, Dat-Sun! The original “made from recycled beer cans” car from Japan. The rust is just a feature.
The problem with my Hitachi/SUs was that the holes in the side of the body that took the butterfly valve shaft wore oblong after 80K miles or so, and after that you couldn't set the mixture stably, or precisely synchronize the carbs.
The Weber aftermarket fit was, as I recall, pretty popular.
Other mods to the early 240s were
1. A bigger rear anti-roll bar
2. Adjustable plates for the top of the McPherson struts
3. Remounting the differential slightly rearward (production change to later units)
4. Factory available 5-speed with better, Porsche-style, synchronizers
5. Wider wheels--you had to get the right offset to keep things from rubbing, though
6. Headers
7. Air conditioning. For the 240Z, this was strictly aftermarket dealer-installed. Mine was the first one done in town, and they made kind of a mess of it.
8. Cosmetics--Mag wheels, front chin spoiler, headlight "sugar scoop" covers, driving lights, etc.
I did only a handful of these things to mine.
my fave option was the small block 350
The pictures were from the ‘net. Both were the same colors as my cars.
The Alfa must have been seriously autocrossed by a previous owner. The wheels & tires had been switched from 165-15 to 185-14. He had added a rear anti-roll bar and a larger front anti-roll bar, plus Koni shocks. The front disks had been swapped from 10.5” to 11.75”. My 3/4 ton GMC P/U had 11.5”. Finally, he had added 4-Point harness, unusual in a street car in 1973.
The seats were terrible, but that Alfa stopped like it had snagged an arrestor cable.
The next time we went to a Datsun dealer, all the cars hid in fear.
____________________________________
POST OF THE DAY!!
Thanks. It has been another tough day and I needed the laugh. Badly.
Your first guess might have been closer. There wasn’t a lot of metal to them - not like my parents’ Olds station wagons that kids could climb on without denting. That doesn’t work on today’s family cars. (See my Chrysler Town and Country and Pontiac Grand Prix for proof.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.