So, as I mostly sit outside on the deck after work and drink cocktails or sit on the couch drinking cocktails (when the weather is less than convivial, as on this cloudy Thursday afternoon), I am likely to be perusing a favored FB group, Finding Future Classic Cars.
Earlier examples include my posts on the ’78 Bonneville Brougham, ’79 Mark V and ’76 Ninety-Eight Regency coupe. But today I spied something a little different.
To wit: An ’80 Datsun 200SX coupe. Looking somewhat like a Japanese version of, say, a Pontiac Grand Prix. Yes, I do like cars other than 70s to late 80s Detroit gunboats, believe it or not. I’ve always liked these, though I’ve seen only a handful on the roads since the mid 1980s.
Because at the tender age of three or four, my parents, noticing my love of cars, started buying me Pocket Cars.
I had a lot of health issues during my early years, thankfully mostly forgotten because I was so young.
But while I was ensconced at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, my father, God bless him, went to the local Drug Town pharmacy and brought me lots of little Pocket Cars.
One of them was this beige metallic 200SX. Well, not this EXACT one, I got this mint one on Ebay a few years back. But I still have my original one!
Anyway, this one, in remarkable shape, is currently listed on Idaho Falls Craigslist for the dirt-cheap price of $1200. I probably spend more than that in a year on model cars.
So, for such a cheap price, what’s wrong. I’ll let the seller tell you. “Right now the engine needs a tune. It idles really rough and can occasionally lose power. Other times it runs strong. In any case, it will get you around. I’ve thrown new injectors at it and it helped a tiny bit. The new mass air flow sensor did nothing. Either drive it as with the quirks, or trace the problem. Fuel gauge broken is the only other thing. Paint and interior are doing well. It was garaged since the 1990s until I bought it last year, then I stored it over the winter. No salt, no subcarriage rust. Must see, can show anytime.”
That said, this car still looks exceptionally nice. And so cheap. This was the second generation of the 200SX. It was originally supposed to sport a rotary engine, but that was nixed after, ahem, problematic testing.
A hatchback was also offered, but I don’t recall ever seeing one. And I’d rather have the coupe with that excellent opera window anyway.
Initial 200SXs had the 2.0L “L20B” 4 cylinder. It was backed up by either a five speed manual or three speed automatic transmission. It was replaced in ’81 with the “Z20” inline four. And finally with the 2.2 L “Z22E” engine in 1982. That mill produced 103 hp at 5200 rpm.
So, if you have $1200 and room for a surplus car, you may want to look in to this one. It’s pretty much guaranteed you’d have the only one at the cruise nite or car show!