The Los Angeles Times recently ran a story about how classic Japanese car values are taking off in the market. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe Fairlady Z is not just Japanese, it's a JDM homie, but does that help its price look like it's not a ripoff?
Okay now, let's not all freak out. Yes, yesterday's 1986 Dodge Caravan apparently did lead a pampered life, resulting in its being in otherworldly good shape. And yes, its seller was asking five Loonies shy of thirteen large for it. However, I can always count on you, and as expected that clean machine fell in a massive 92% Crack Pipe loss. Order was restored, planets realigned, and dogs returned to licking their balls.
You may not be in the family way necessitating anything as commodious as a van, but what if you did need something sporty that could also carry a small cadre of friends in a pinch? And what if in addition to those criteria, you were also a mailman (or woman)?
Today's 1975 Fairlday Z has come all the way over from Japan to fulfill those exact wants and needs. Rocking the 2+2 body that was elongated by 304mm and made taller by 10. The cut of the side windows' jib was also modified giving the greenhouse profile more than a passing resemblance to the 1970 Ford Mustang. It should be noted that - like Trix - the seats in the back of this sort of Z are strictly for kids.
This car is totally '70s JDM, rocking RHD, and bullet mirrors way out on the front fenders. It also has amber turn signal lenses in the rear clusters instead of the red of the U.S. cars. This is said to be a 1975 model, and were it an American it would be sporting massive battering rams. Instead it wears the thin blades of the 240Z.
Bodywork looks to be in fine shape with only a few boogers here and there. Wheels and tires are questionable choices, but are easily changed if they are not your scene. The interior however may need some attention as it presently has covers on everything you touch - seat, wheel, pedals - but again, all that is easy to fix. The dash is cracked in places, as are almost all at this age, but caps are available. I know, I have one on my S30.
The gearbox is a five-speed and this being a '75 that would be bolted up to a… You're absolutely right, it's a 1998-cc L20 straight six. Tell them what they've won, Johnny!
According to the car's info plaque this fuel-injected engine produces 130 PS (128 horsepower) or about 2o ponies shy of the output of the L28 in the American 280Z. It's weird looking under the hood on this car as everything looks eerily similar to my 240, only with some of the elements - battery, brake and clutch, etc - reversed. It's like it's Bizzaro World!
As is almost always the case, when converting a two-seater car to accommodate an additional pair in the back, the results can be ill-proportioned and far less than aesthetically pleasing. Take Jaguar's XKE 2+2 as an example - belch!
Datsun's Fairlady, and the 260/280Zs here in the states, didn't lose quite that much in the looks department when turned into a 2+2, but the added wheelbase does make them look like cartoon wiener dogs. The fact that this is a right-hand drive car that's as Japanese as floating sushi and tentacle porn may more than make up for that fact, but the question remains, is this low mileage (45,000km) Fairlady worth $27,000 American?
What's your take on this Fairlady for that that much, is that a fair deal? Or, does that make this an S30 that es no bueno?
You decide!
Los Angeles Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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