The original S30 Datsun 240Z was among the greatest underdog stories in automotive history. Priced around the same as an MGB, this six-cylinder beauty was ready to take on Porsche’s 911 and Jaguar’s E-type for a fraction of the price. It made a great street car, and an even better racing car, kicking off a decades-long family of Z cars that lives on today. Competitive performance at a reasonably affordable price. How can you beat it?
This 1972 example is powered by a 235-horsepower modified 2.8-liter version of Datsun’s famed L-series engine, stacked with triple Mikuni carburetors. The car is said to have been treated to a full nut and bolt restoration back in 2010. It has only run one test day since then, though the owner still starts it up every month to get it up to running temperature, for some reason. It’ll probably need quite a few things to get it race ready again, but this is a gorgeous starting point. You could be on track in no time flat!
Here’s an onboard video from the perspective of a competitor’s Supra in 1992 to show you just how long this car has been going fast on race tracks, and beating up on Toyotas.
The seller is looking to get $29,950 for this car, which seems sorta okay in today’s 240Z market, given this car’s period-correct race car modifications and fairly recent restoration.
If I were you, which I’m not, I’d snap this bad machine up and give it a once over on the way to any number of SoCal race tracks. This thing seems like it needs to be reunited with Willow Springs in a big way. You could be the person to make that happen. And rack up a ton of cool points along the way.