Yesterday's acid flashback to the era of full mustaches and odd-even gas buying surprisingly brought about a 65% NIce Price vote for the lowly $3,000 Cosworth Vega. Today, since we're still in a malaise-induced '70s stupor, let's take a puff on another little blunt that warrants our attention.

The Datsun 1200 was originally slotted in under the worthy 510, as a competitor to the Toyota Corolla in the get-you-there-but-not-much-else category. A small, light, and eminently modifiable car, it's been popular with hoons of limited means for years, although that popularity, and the tin worm, have sent many to the big parking lot in the sky.

Today we have a bit of a mystery- advertised on eBay, and looking a bit worse for wear, is a '72 1200. While an old Japanese car on eBay isn't all that unusual, the buy-it-now price is - $8,000. And the description of it having minimal rust damage is a bit brow-furrowing. Looking at the scaring on the nose, you get the impression that the seller is a master of subtlety. The three years since last starting is a bit concerning, although these things were pretty hard to kill. But then all may not be as it seems. A quick scan of the interior pictures notes the lack of a passenger seat, and the inclusion of a racing fuel cell- the first indications that this 1200 may not be bone stock. Then there's the rest of the description, that the car does 11.5s on street tires, and a check of the picture of the engine bay reveals not the expected Datsun OHV four cylinder, but what appears to be a Mazda two-rotor. The twin coils and and apparent lack of height to the motor lend credence to this assumption, despite the seller's dearth of detail and questionable grammatical skills. Another interesting tidbit is the appearance of what looks like a wastegate mounted next to the radiator. A Mazda does go hmmmmmmmmm.

That all makes this a Datsun of a different color, and makes that eight grand seem a little more plausible. How plausible, and whether the appearance is accurate is up to you to decide. What do you think of $8,000 for this mystery Datsun with the claimed quarter mile creds- is that a Nice Price? Or do you think the seller was owning the Crack Pipe along with rusty here when putting together that ad?

You decide!

eBay or go here if the ad disappears.

This car may spend most of its time garaged, but I see it on the street in my neighborhood from time to time. It appears to be an original, unrestored time capsule of an early Datsun. I'm hoping I'll be able to find the owner one of these days and ask him about this little jewel's story.


Known as the Sunny back in its homeland, the 1200 was cheap, got great mileage, and was way more reliable than its European and Detroit competition. And it has an interesting Japanese racing history as well!


Who knows, maybe this is the original Yankees bullpen car (though apparently the Dodgers had one too).