1978 Datsun 120Y review from Australia and New Zealand
"Butt ugly. Gutless as. Horrible seats. Easy to push start. Hard to kill"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Starter ring gear rotated on flywheel. Needed multiple start attempts before she roared (wimpered) into life. I just got into the habit of parking on hills facing down.
Fouled the plugs all the time (but then I was running it on AVGAS)
The Cam and cylinder bores were heavily worn when the previous owner (a work mate) bought it. He pulled it down. Decided it wasn't worth investing in repairs, and just reassembled it. The plan was to just thrash it about till it died.
General comments?
The 120Y is the ugliest car I have ever owned.
I knew the motor was about stuffed, as I saw it disassembled about six months before. It had survived those six months so I figured it was worth NZD $450.
I got posted to Pilot Training squadron (Piston powered aircraft) so I ran the Datsun on AVGAS for the next 18 months. Think it got super twice. The Lead fouled the plugs, but then we had a plug tester and sandblaster so they just regular cleaning.
Couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding. Really, really gutless car.
Sold it for NZD $550 when I emigrated. A year later my old man ran into the new owner in the pub and he was raving about how reliable it was.
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| Honest utterly reliable transport |
|
| The horrible thing just wouldn't die.. |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Year of manufacture | 1978 |
| First year of ownership | 1992 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 1993 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.2L Manual |
| Performance marks | 2 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 6 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 2 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 10 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 120000 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 140000 kilometres |
| Previous car | BMW 3 Series |
| Date of Entry | 2nd January, 2004 |