1970 Datsun 240Z Series 1 Coupe
The difference between the Datsun 240Z and your everyday three-and-a-half thousand dollar sports car is that about twice as much thinking went into the Datsun. It shows. For the money the 240Z is an almost brilliant car.
The 1970 240Z was introduced to the American market by Yutaka Katayama, president of Nissan Motors USA operations, widely known as “Mister K”. The early cars from 1969 to mid-1971 had some subtle differences compared to late-71 to 1973 cars. The most visible difference is; these early cars had a chrome 240Z badge on the sail pillar, and two horizontal vents in the rear hatch below the glass molding providing flow through ventilation.
The decades-long this Car legend starts with the original Datsun 240Z, which entered production in October 1969 as a 1970 model year vehicle. Produced as something of a response to Toyota’s 2000GT sports car, the Yamaha proposal for which was passed over by Nissan before it became a Toyota project, the 240Z would ultimately be far more successful, with more than 160,000 of the two-door, two-seat, rear-drive sports cars sold in just four years of production in the United States. With a 151-hp 2.4-liter straight-six engine paired with a four-speed transmission, fully independent suspension, the 240Z was seen as a performance bargain, with 0-to-60 mph times in the 8.0-second range and a 125-mph top speed.
The early-style hatch features vertical defrosters and small vents below the rear window. The upholstery, interior panels, steering wheel, seats, and radio are all described to be original, though the seat padding is beginning to age. The seat vinyl shows minimal wear. The interior features to work correctly, including the radio, power antenna and clock.
The Datsun’s comparison to the Jaguar E-type also holds on the collector market. The most valuable E-types are the 1961–1967 Series 1 cars. Of these S1 Jaguars, the first few hundred cars are valued much higher, due to unique features like external bonnet latches and “flat” floors. So it goes with 240Zs: The first 500 or so cars are unique in many details, extremely difficult to restore properly, due to original early-production parts being unobtainable. The balance of the Datsun Series 1 cars, built through the middle of 1971, are the second most valuable. All Series 1 cars are identifiable by the two external vents on the rear liftgate under the window and chrome “240Z” badges on the rear sail panels.
