Yes, the 350Z is cool—but the original 240Z is cooler. Actually, make that Fairlady Z as we’re in Japan, the land of cute names and incredible attention to minutiae. YouTube user Luxe37 has created this series of car chase videos set in the 70s, of which we present Episode VI. They are made using Tomica toy cars and what we assume is thousands upon thousands of man-hours.

See them all on his YouTube page in glorious HD.

Hat tip to Zsolt Csikós, who probably knows everything there is to know about every car in every frame.

And calling the VG30DE-T the Plasma is pretty cool; apparently the name is an acronym for Powerful, Economic, Lightweight, Accurate, Silent, Mighty, Advanced.

When I first caught sight of this thing from a block or so away, I thought I'd found a Triumph. Hooray! I wasn't disappointed when I saw it came from an island nation other than the UK, because we've only seen one of these before in this series. I can't figure out the exact year on this machine, but the side marker lights make it a '68, '69, or '70. Note: It appears that the non-teardrop-shape side marker lights indicate that this is a 1970 model year car.


There's always the name problem with these cars; Nissan marketed this car as the Datsun Sports 1600 in North America, but I've yet to hear anyone use that name. In Japan, it was sold as the Fairlady, the official company designation was SPL311, and most Americans call it the Datsun Roadster. When you see Keith Maney's GM V6-powered Datsun at LeMons South, you'll call it madness!


Look, it's the DOTS 1975 Celica, with the Evil Primer Chevelle parked right in front of it! The '71 510 lives nearby as well. Great neighborhood for old iron.

Unfortunately, the Rusty Bandit had the shop guys cut the one unrusty part off (the roof) and the rest went to The Crusher. Time for Plan B: a $300 '69 Datsun roadster. No engine or transmission, but another couple hundred bucks is all you need to obtain an S10 with an allegedly good-running 4.3 V6 sitting in the bed, and that's what Keith and accomplice Phil Brewer went ahead and did. A 39-year-old Detroit V6-powered rusty Japanese sports car- what could possibly go wrong? We'll let Keith describe his idea for the team's name in his own words

I'm thinking of a play on the father of Datsun Racing - Bob Sharpe. How about (not too) Sharpe Racing, with the finest rattle-can white paint job accentuated with lovely red and blue duct tape striping? Hell, in honor of the recently departed ex-Sharpe racing driver/actor, maybe we can find some Paul Newman masks and wear those. So many possibilities. We're planning of Sawzalling the fender and quarters (they're mostly bondo anyway) for massive tire clearance. Probably run 15x8s all the way around if that gives us enough brake clearance.

You've got to have something extra to get your decal on my laptop, and Lucha Libre Racing has definitely earned a place of honor, along with Belvedere Adrian's I'm Gonna Total This Thing sticker, the Porcubimmer Pricks Inside sticker, Malt Liquor Tech, and Evil Genius Racing. So head on over to the Lucha Libre store and pick up some gear; better still, become a team sponsor!

It's funny that the car known as the "Poor Man's BMW 2002" is now worth more than a 2002. In 1971, you could buy a brand-new 2002 for $3,275… or a Datsun 510 for $1,990. Both cars had IRS, disc brakes, etc., but the BMW had the power edge, with 114 horses versus 96. With the money the Datsun buyer saved, however, another 50 horsepower could be added, with enough left over to buy better wheels. Many did, and that's why almost all of the 510s have been hooned to death by now.


The original carbureted L16 is long gone, replaced by what appears to be a fuel-injected L20. I neglected to ask the owner what junkyard donor provided this powerplant, so you Nissan aficionados will have to help ID it for us.


I'm glad we finally have a 510 for Down On The Street, not least because Alameda is in the 510 area code. We've had a 411 and a 610, but the once-common 510 is a rarity these days.

We really dig the Dangel 4x4 conversions for the Peugeot 504, and we'd totally drive one... but we Norteamericanos can't get them, thus sparing us the agony joy that is French four-wheelin' action. Or so we thought, prior to Kleinlowe sending us the tip on this Dangel-ized 1981 Peugeot 504 wagon (go here if the ad disappears). As Kleinlowe says "check out the angle of the Dangel," and we have to agree there's something a little off about the extreme nose-high stance of this car. Does it have any engine, much less the turbodiesel the seller claims? And a station wagon! Reet! Best of all, the seller states "As far as I can tell this is the only one in the USA" like that's a selling point! Better brush up on your French Parts Guy slang, because you'll be needing it!

A diesel- even a turbocharged diesel- is just too slow for serious Hell Project hoonage; what's the point of wrenching for years on a project if you can't wrap it around a tree 50 yards from your garage? That's why you need a tiny sports car with a big rip-snortin' Detroit V8. But not a British sports car; ever since the Cobra, we've seen all manner of British machines getting all sideways and backwards with Ford and Chevy V8s. What you need is a Japanese sports car with a V8, and what better choice than this '68 Datsun Fairlady (go here if the ad disappears)? Just $1,500! What are you waiting for? It's got $6K in "professional chassis work" already, yet there's "much work left to do." We don't doubt it, and we also don't doubt that the 302/5-speed combo won't give you a deadly respectable power-to-weight ratio if when you finally get it running. Just be sure you understand that "this is NOT a running car!" and everything will be all right. Thanks to Brian B for the tip!

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And no racer would be complete without some sort of carbon fiber, so that's been thrown in as well. If you've got a quarter-mil just sitting around and don't feel like taking the time to build your own we say go for it. [Nismo via Japanese Performance Car News]

Ever since we saw a Fairlady down on Alameda's street, I've been looking for just the right one to use in this series, and this 1965 Datsun Fairlady seems just about right. You see, a Japanese project car needs to be old, with plenty of mystery, because Japanese cars tend to be insufficiently hellish. This one has the "mystery" part covered, because all the owner says about its condition is "Complete minus interior and top." Could that mean all the connecting rods have been sawed in half, to make them fit in storage better, and the sheetmetal is a thin layer of paint over crumbly ferric powder? Hey, it's 500 bucks! Maybe it will fire right up! Parts should be difficult, though not anywhere near impossible to find, and if you're willing to drop in the right engine (SR20DET), it will be plenty zippy.

Bah, everyone's heard of Datsun... but we guarantee 99% of random passersby will say "DK what?" when you clatter by in your two-stroke Dampf Kraft Wagen. Of course, 99% of the parts you'll need to restore this '58 DKW will require long, expensive searches to obtain, but the cost of admission to this project is quite reasonable: $450! This car comes from South Africa, where no doubt many of its components still reside. The seller says it has body rust but no rust-through (with the caveat "as far as I can tell," which may translate to "didn't really check"). The windshield has a hole in it, but replacing it is just a matter of heading over to your nearest DKW dealer and... oh, wait. The ominous words "previous owner had started taking it apart, so unsure if everything there" make their appearance here. But don't let any of that stop you- you want something different, don't you?

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This car was never a huge seller in the United States, though you used to see them every so often.


I found this car parked quite close to the 1964 Dart, so it's possible both are owned by the same person.


It looks sort of British, but there is a distinctive Datsunly flavor about it.


Yes, SR20DETs have been swapped into these cars, an upgrade we recommend highly.

Effective immediately, there's a higher spec Nissan Fairlady Z (that's Japan's 350Z) tuned by Nissan Motorsports in the land of Nihon. Nismo's given the Z a few tweaks to provide extra body stiffness, better cornering and more downforce. Power's still the same, at 313 hp for the JDM model, which makes a seven-horsepower mockery of US-sold 350Zs. Now is that fair? I ask you. – Mike Spinelli

Press Release:

Nissan Motor Sports International Co., Ltd. and Autech Japan, Inc., wholly owned Nissan affiliates, have jointly developed a new Fairlady Z Version NISMO, which launches today at Nissan dealers across Japan.

Based on the new Fairlady Z, the Version NISMO fuses NISMO's extensive racing expertise, gained through competing in SUPER GT and other race series as the Nissan works team, with the Autech Japan's extensive experience in manufacturing completely customized vehicles. The new model provides a heightened dimension of sporty driving pleasure, backed by the Fairlady Z's renowned performance capabilities. The customl Version Nissan can be purchased at Nissan dealers nationwide and receives the same after-sales service as regular Fairlady Z models.

To help enhance driving performance, the Version NISMO's body stiffness has been improved by increasing the welded area of the body panels and adding additional reinforcement bars and panels, among other measures. High-grip Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R tires have been adopted to absorb high input forces from the road surface. In addition, the suspension system has been totally retuned to further boost cornering performance. An optimum balance of handling and driving comfort has also been achieved by adopting Performance Dampers that effectively damp force inputs to the body.

The exterior design was developed on the basis of meticulous studies conducted by the Design Group and the Vehicle Performance Testing Group. A supercomputer was used to run design simulations based on aerodynamic data collected with SUPER GT race cars. The distinctive body form obtained as a result provides superior handling and stability, together with aerodynamic characteristics for creating effective downforce.

The interior is also distinguished by its unique, premium-quality ambience, resulting from the use of exclusive metallic-looking genuine leather trim. Seats are upholstered with a perforated Alcantara center section that holds the body more firmly during sporty driving.

Fairlady Z Version NISMO specifications

Specification:
Version NISMO

Major equipment / specification additions / changes relative to base vehicle (Fairlady Z):

Exclusive front bumper
Exclusive combination meter cluster
Exclusive sill protectors
Exclusive aluminum accelerator pedal
Exclusive rear bumper (6-speed MT models only)
Exclusive rear spoiler
Exclusive large-diameter sports muffler
Exclusive front & rear fender moldings
Exclusive suspension
Exclusive emblem
Exclusive tires (Potenza RE-01R)
Front: 245/40R18 tires
Rear: 275/35R19 tires
Exclusive seats
Exclusive door trim
Exclusive genuine leather-wrapped seering wheel and parking brake level
Exclusive Rays
Exclusive genuine leather-wrapped shift knob forged aluminum wheels
Exclusive higher stiffness body
Exclusive Yamaha Performance Dampers
Exclusive seatbelts (Gray)

Revised Fairlady Z
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today launched nationwide sales of a new, revised Fairlady Z with a more powerful, next-generation engine, refined hood and new exterior and interior color availability.

Leading the changes to the new Fairlady Z is Nissan's new VQ35HR engine with nearly 80% of major parts redesigned, providing improved acceleration and overall power for enhanced driving pleasure.

The exterior styling continues the Fairlady Z heritage, with the new hood design closely resembling that of the first generation Fairlady Z (S30). Three new body colors include Premium Passionate Orange (3P), a revival of the Gran Prix Orange body color of the original model.

Fairlady Z Roadsters offers a new gray top color that accentuates the exterior. On the inside, gray has been added to the available interior trim colors for a heightened impression of highly refined taste. Other enhancements include larger head restraints for more comfortable head support and adoption of Potenza RE050A tires to reduce road noise.

VQ35HR engine: maximum power: 230 kW (313 PS)/6800 rpm, maximum torque: 358 N-m (36.5 kg-m)/4800 rpm. Top engine speed: 7500 rpm.

Related:
Nissan Engineers Tease the Masses: 350Z GT-S Concept; Top Secret's Fair Nissan 350Z Is No Lady [internal]

While American youngsters tend to think of the Nissan Silvia as a 180SX-type drift car, if they think of it at all, there was an era, long, long ago — when their fathers were slogging it out in the jungles of the nation formerly known as Indochina — that the Silvia was actually a limited-run Fairlady Roadster-based coupe. However, the corporate masters in Nihon feared that interior-wise, the Silvia was simply too cramped for the typical American frame, so although there were a few LHD examples, they were never exported to our shores. Pity. A few of us would have a torsoectomy to drive such a fine-looking automobile. – Davey G. Johnson

The Nissan Silvia 1964-1968 [Datsun.org]

Related:
Toshiki Yoshioka Wins Vegas D1GP Event [Internal]