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240z anyone
- Thread starter GChief
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For me the 240 was the best of the bunch. The 280 they had lost what a sports car is supposed to be. Mitsubishi did the same with the Eclipse. It's called bloat when what was a sports car morphs into a larger caricature of its former self. Couldn't stand the bubble butt Eclipse's. The Eclipse's turbo 2 liter double overhead cam 4 engine was a thing of beauty and when they stopped using it and replace it with a V6 it became a pedestrian car.
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You didn't watch the video did you
The 240 is just one of the cars they are repopping
Come on Chief. I'm a car guy. I know about the repops. The repop Mustangs are nice but man are they pricyYou didn't watch the video did you
The 240 is just one of the cars they are repopping
I was more interested in the LC's but they didn't discuss those, they moslty discussed the Corolla.
They needed to repop the Datsun z cars because they were rust buckets. That's why there aren't to many originals left. They all rusted out real quick.
That's pretty-much the same for all the Datsuns. You could get over 200,000 miles out of the drivetrain but the bodies would turn to dust after 100,000.
That's pretty-much the same for all the Datsuns. You could get over 200,000 miles out of the drivetrain but the bodies would turn to dust after 100,000.
Depends on where you are. We still have lots of older ones here in Georgia. They realistically didn't rust out any faster than Chryslers or many other domestic products.
I just saw what looked to be an effectively brand-new-condition 920 Datsun pickup (80-something model, four square headlights) the other day. Turned out to be UN-restored- a survivor. The owner and I traded some notes (I have a near "time capsule" 1995 King Cab). His great uncle bought it new, and kept it in covered storage its whole life. It's got close to 300K on it, with only minor and normal scheduled repairs. His carburetor even worked correctly!!
Regards,
Gordon.
Every Datsun I ever had or saw back then all seemed to rust-out quicker than just about any other vehicle on the road. Back in the 70s I had a Datsun 510. It never had any mechanical issues and was very reliable. I think the only things I ever changed was the clutch once and the usual brakes, tires, exhaust. Still ran like a champ right up to the day I junked it after the body disintegrated. Before I junked it, I had a road sign pop rivited to the driver side floor board covering a huge hole. You could feel air coming in through the sides. I had duct tape covering them.
My dad had a Datsun pickup and it turned to dust too. Virtually every one I saw was a rust bucket - especially the z cars.
Now I guess if you live some place where it never rains or never took the car out in inclement weather it might last but so will any car under those circumstances.
From my personal experience though nothing rusted out as fast as Datsuns did in PA. It was a shame because mechanically you could get 200,000 or more miles out of them if you didn't mind having fenders flopping around in the breeze like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and gaping holes in the floor boards like the Flintstones.
That's why you don't see too many Datsuns around anymore. I remember seeing 240, 260, 280z cars for sale in the 80s that were just total rust buckets.
I did see a nice restored 240z at a car show a few years back though so there are some survivors. Probably from Arizona or somewhere very dry.
My dad had a Datsun pickup and it turned to dust too. Virtually every one I saw was a rust bucket - especially the z cars.
Now I guess if you live some place where it never rains or never took the car out in inclement weather it might last but so will any car under those circumstances.
From my personal experience though nothing rusted out as fast as Datsuns did in PA. It was a shame because mechanically you could get 200,000 or more miles out of them if you didn't mind having fenders flopping around in the breeze like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and gaping holes in the floor boards like the Flintstones.
That's why you don't see too many Datsuns around anymore. I remember seeing 240, 260, 280z cars for sale in the 80s that were just total rust buckets.
I did see a nice restored 240z at a car show a few years back though so there are some survivors. Probably from Arizona or somewhere very dry.
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I've never seen a car rust the suspension completely off of the frame, other than a Chrysler product (1969 Dart). And it was less than 10 years old at the time.
IME, 1970s Hondas also rusted far worse than Nissan products.
Regards,
Gordon.
Mystic
We're all born mad
Dang it, Chief, I can't see the video. When I hover over what you see below, message says YT unexpectedly closed the connection.
That sux, i just tried it from my OP and it's still there and works. Maybe go to YT and do a search.
Mystic
We're all born mad
I'll try that.
Mystic
We're all born mad
Hagerty has a YT channel? I did not know this. I will have a look.
The video in the OP is on their YT channel.
This is why the Datsun 240z's were rust buckets. I can remember when they were brand-new and then were rusting out just a year or two later.
Internet AI
Datsun 240Zs are notorious for rust. Because they were built with minimal factory rustproofing and contain dozens of moisture-trapping crevices, the cars often rust from the inside out. By the time bubbling appears on the exterior, severe structural damage is likely already present.
Critical Rust Areas to Inspect
When evaluating a 240Z, you must look past shiny paint and inspect these highly vulnerable areas:
Frame Rails: These are structural and hold the car together. They often rust from the inside out. A light tap with a hammer should yield a crisp, metallic ring; dull, hollow, or "tinny" sounds indicate severe rot.
Floor Pans: Moisture trapped under the carpets or failing weather stripping causes the floors to rust through.
Rocker Panels & Lower A-Pillars: Rust frequently accumulates in the door sills and the lower corners of the windshield, where water often pools.
Rear Hatch Threshold & Spare Tire Well: The area directly beneath the rear hatch glass and the spare tire well are highly susceptible to corrosion from the inside and below.
How to Address It
Surface rust can sometimes be sanded back and treated, but scaling or perforated metal requires a proper cut-and-weld repair.
Assess the Damage: Use a wire wheel or drill-mounted wire brush to take the metal down to bare steel and evaluate the strength.
Source Patch Panels: Instead of fabricating every piece from scratch, specialized reproduction parts are widely available. Sourcing restoration patch panels from specialists like KF Vintage can save countless hours.
Weld and Protect: Drill out spot welds to remove the rusted factory panels, and weld in your new patch sections. Coat all bare metal immediately with high-quality epoxy primer and seal enclosed cavities with cavity wax to prevent future oxidation.
Internet AI
Datsun 240Zs are notorious for rust. Because they were built with minimal factory rustproofing and contain dozens of moisture-trapping crevices, the cars often rust from the inside out. By the time bubbling appears on the exterior, severe structural damage is likely already present.
Critical Rust Areas to Inspect
When evaluating a 240Z, you must look past shiny paint and inspect these highly vulnerable areas:
Frame Rails: These are structural and hold the car together. They often rust from the inside out. A light tap with a hammer should yield a crisp, metallic ring; dull, hollow, or "tinny" sounds indicate severe rot.
Floor Pans: Moisture trapped under the carpets or failing weather stripping causes the floors to rust through.
Rocker Panels & Lower A-Pillars: Rust frequently accumulates in the door sills and the lower corners of the windshield, where water often pools.
Rear Hatch Threshold & Spare Tire Well: The area directly beneath the rear hatch glass and the spare tire well are highly susceptible to corrosion from the inside and below.
How to Address It
Surface rust can sometimes be sanded back and treated, but scaling or perforated metal requires a proper cut-and-weld repair.
Assess the Damage: Use a wire wheel or drill-mounted wire brush to take the metal down to bare steel and evaluate the strength.
Source Patch Panels: Instead of fabricating every piece from scratch, specialized reproduction parts are widely available. Sourcing restoration patch panels from specialists like KF Vintage can save countless hours.
Weld and Protect: Drill out spot welds to remove the rusted factory panels, and weld in your new patch sections. Coat all bare metal immediately with high-quality epoxy primer and seal enclosed cavities with cavity wax to prevent future oxidation.
Chevy trucks in the mid-70s were known to rust as bad as anything - including Datsuns. Apparently there were several factors that combined to create a PR mess for GM. They used recycled steel that had contaminants. In a cost cutting move they reduced their investment in metallurgical services, and the paint used wasn't as thick as it should have been.
There were a myriad of design flaws that lead to dirt and moisture being trapped on the body, such as fender lips that curved upward in addition to poor drainage.
Someone I went to HS with lived on a farm. He drove a mid '70s GM truck to school. It was only a few years old and had holes through the bed. They painted something on the side of it stating 'This is a 1976 Chevy POS' or something to that effect.
It's a wonder there are any square body GM trucks from that era left.
Everything from that era rusted. Did Datsuns rust worse than anything else? Maybe, don't really care.
The 240Z is an iconic car.
There were a myriad of design flaws that lead to dirt and moisture being trapped on the body, such as fender lips that curved upward in addition to poor drainage.
Someone I went to HS with lived on a farm. He drove a mid '70s GM truck to school. It was only a few years old and had holes through the bed. They painted something on the side of it stating 'This is a 1976 Chevy POS' or something to that effect.
It's a wonder there are any square body GM trucks from that era left.
Everything from that era rusted. Did Datsuns rust worse than anything else? Maybe, don't really care.
The 240Z is an iconic car.
Every vehicle can rust out but none were as bad as the Datsuns. That's why there aren't very many around today.
Between 1969 and 1973, Nissan produced approximately 168,584 Datsun 240Z units globally. The highly successful sports car quickly became a massive hit in the North American market, with tens of thousands of units assembled and exported each year of its production run.
Production Breakdown by Year
While individual sales totals sometimes skew by model year, the estimated factory production figures for the Datsun 240Z are as follows:
1969: 543 units (Pre-production and initial pilot run models)
1970: 17,005 units
1971: 40,219 units
1972: 60,025 units (Peak production year)
1973: 51,332 units (Transition year to the 260Z)
How many Datsun 240Z are left?
There are an estimated 3,000 to 10,000 Datsun 240Zs still surviving worldwide, but the exact number is impossible to pinpoint. Out of the 168,584 units manufactured globally between 1969 and 1973, the vast majority were lost to rust, collisions, or being parted out. The survival rate varies heavily by region due to climate and salt usage:
United States & Canada: These markets received over 96% of total production, with an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 cars still existing in various conditions (ranging from restoration projects to pristine show cars).
United Kingdom: Only around 150 to 170 examples remain registered on the road or recorded on SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification).
Australia & New Zealand:
Of the roughly 3,000 to 4,000 imported, experts estimate fewer than 5% survive (fewer than 200 cars) due to severe body rust.
So if we look at the numbers here, there are far less than 1% of all the Datsun 240z cars are still in existence today (0.59% on the high side and 0.18% on the low side). The rest are dust.
Take that in contrast to the estimated number of Chevrolet pickup trucks produced in the 1970s. There are more than 10% still existence (10% on the low side and 25% on the high side).
As you can see, it ain’t even close. Less than 1% of the Datsuns survived and 10% to 25% of the Chevys survived.
That’s why you don’t see too many Datsun Z cars anymore.
Production Breakdown by Year
While individual sales totals sometimes skew by model year, the estimated factory production figures for the Datsun 240Z are as follows:
1969: 543 units (Pre-production and initial pilot run models)
1970: 17,005 units
1971: 40,219 units
1972: 60,025 units (Peak production year)
1973: 51,332 units (Transition year to the 260Z)
How many Datsun 240Z are left?
There are an estimated 3,000 to 10,000 Datsun 240Zs still surviving worldwide, but the exact number is impossible to pinpoint. Out of the 168,584 units manufactured globally between 1969 and 1973, the vast majority were lost to rust, collisions, or being parted out. The survival rate varies heavily by region due to climate and salt usage:
United States & Canada: These markets received over 96% of total production, with an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 cars still existing in various conditions (ranging from restoration projects to pristine show cars).
United Kingdom: Only around 150 to 170 examples remain registered on the road or recorded on SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification).
Australia & New Zealand:
Of the roughly 3,000 to 4,000 imported, experts estimate fewer than 5% survive (fewer than 200 cars) due to severe body rust.
So if we look at the numbers here, there are far less than 1% of all the Datsun 240z cars are still in existence today (0.59% on the high side and 0.18% on the low side). The rest are dust.
Take that in contrast to the estimated number of Chevrolet pickup trucks produced in the 1970s. There are more than 10% still existence (10% on the low side and 25% on the high side).
As you can see, it ain’t even close. Less than 1% of the Datsuns survived and 10% to 25% of the Chevys survived.
That’s why you don’t see too many Datsun Z cars anymore.
