Datsun 260Z Reviews

Recently, after I bought the car, the engine started to show huge signs of wear. After discovering that it was nearly impossible to tune the twin su’s to run together well, I then stuck in a dual throat carburettor off a Datsun 260c, which didn’t help very much.

I then worked out that it needed a complete rebuild, and that it would cost in excess of $6,000.00. I decided that it would be a better and a more reliable car if I put a different motor in, which was a Holden VP Commodore motor and gearbox. This has improved the power of the car dramatically.

The differential in the car was a bit funny, if you could call it that, so I have a rebuilt one ready to put in when this one gets over the hill.

The car is a really good car to drive and really fun. You can drive it like a real sports car, which takes a bit of work, or like a standard car with less work.

I have rebuilt the car so that it is rust free, after I removed all the rust and put a cover of body filler on the whole car to remove the rivets. I haven’t had a lot of rust for the 5 years that I have owned it.

Rust, rust and more rust.

Seats torn.

Poor weather stripping.

Radiator corroded.

Seals leaking.

Other general wear and tear.

This car was not well looked after. It apparently spent most of its time near the ocean. It had heaps of rust in it, but I'm slowly restoring it.

Otherwise these are great cars. Even with nearly 300,000km it runs beautifully! Original auto trans is shifting nice and smooth. These are beautiful looking cars and I would reccomend them to anybody looking for a original '70s GT car! Blew away 911's of their time!

With my Z being almost 30 years old, and poorly maintained, I had a fair amount of work done to the car bring it back to a good standard.

Generally speaking, 260Zs have a tendency to rust if not maintained. Mine was no different with rust in the battery holder, the floor and the tailgate. If you are looking to buy one always get one with as little rust as possible. Reconstructive bodywork is expensive and/or hard work.

The engine and drive train was also quite tired and needed work. Fortunately Datsun ran the a common motor in numerous cars from 1969 till 1983, giving you many options to scavenge parts from.

The radiator and head was an issue with my car. One of the previous owners had put tap water in the coolant system, this resulted in much corrosion of the head. The radiator was also in very poor condition for similar reasons. Both were replaced.

I also replaced the distributor with an electronic one (no points). This made the car run a lot better and is one less thing to worry about when tuning.

The air con was also dead - now removed.

The 260Z is a great looking car and now quite collectible. It has that classic curvaceous shape that never goes out of fashion. Don't be surprised if some people mistake it for a European exotic.

Even today it still remains a quick car, and is also fun to drive with good handling provided by the independant suspension.

Avoid the 3 speed auto though, that slows the Z substantially. I should know as I swapped my car over to 5 speed manual as soon as I could.

Coupes are better looking and harder to find than the 2+2 model. The 2+2 is still a decent car though so don't discount it, the longer wheel base provides some advantages.

The value of Zs is continuing to climb. I've noticed also that the number of wrecked Zs has dropped significantly over the last few years, perhaps indicating that the daily beaters Zs have all been driven into the ground. Rarity can only drive the value up further.