Fresh Pumpkin: ’70 Datsun 240Z

Japanese collectibles may have a short list compared to other countries of origin but the cars that made list are pretty neat. We include in that short list the Toyota 2000 sports car, the Mazda Cosmo and a few models not imported here that have the word Skyline in it (there are more, we know). But the one everyone remembers fondly is the 240Z. It is one of those cars we owned and miss terribly or wish we did buy when they were really cheap. What a formula the folks at Datsun conjured up. The engine belonged to a 510’s 1.6-liter with two more cylinders added on to make it a 2.4-liter SOHC Inline-6 with dual SU-like carburetors. The 240Z also featured a four-speed manual transmission, disc brakes in the front and drums in the rear. The exterior styling was inspired by the Ferraris and the Jaguars and still makes your heart skip a beat when you see a nice one. The interior sports hi-back bucket seats with distinctive vinyl material.The big question here is finding a good one. Z-cars are ripe for rust, tuning and playing with so nice originals are very hard to come by. This one turned up on eBay and looks like a great candidate for further investigation. It looks fresh out of a full restoration and that is either great or cause for alarm. We lean towards “it could be the one”. If you are a frequent reader of Mint you know by now not to trust great pictures. It sports a white California tag which means it could have begun life in Buffalo, New York and moved to California. We have a white-plate Alfa in the shop with what appears to be concrete filling the rockers. Trust but verify with a PPI. BTW, we think it is missing the Z logo on the nose. Perhaps the restorers personal preference? The eBay copy says matching numbers engine, nice shifting transmission and rebuilt suspension. Sounds good to us. Oh and the wheel covers are perfectly cool and very hard to find. Check out the listing on eBay here.Watch Full Movie Online Streaming Online and Download