- C/D called the Datsun 240Z "worth its price" back in 1970 when it cost $3600.
- This 1972 model, owned by one person and refurbished over the past few years, is currently going for $16,000 in an auction that ends on Tuesday, January 7.
- Exterior, interior, and powertrain have all had work done after 30 years in storage.
Even half a century ago, we knew the Datsun 240Z was an "almost brilliant car." That was the takeaway message of our original review, and while 50 years are rarely kind to an automobile, sometimes one survives the time relatively intact. And sometimes, just sometimes, one of these examples goes up for sale.
Like this one, currently listed on Bring a Trailer. It's an impeccable-looking 1972 240Z in New Sight Orange (repainted) with a black vinyl interior (refreshed) and 33,000 miles on the odometer (rolled over twice, so a total of 233,000 miles are on the car). Apparently originally purchased by the person now selling the car and driven mostly in California, the Datsun spent three decades in storage before starting the refurbishment process a few years ago, the auction listing says. The price has undergone some changes with the times as well. Originally, 240Zs could be had for around $3600. The current bid for this example sits at $16,000, and the auction ends in three days, reminding us all that even after 50 years, time keeps slipping away.
To know the exact condition of the mechanical components here would require a road test, but the seller says the brakes (master cylinder, booster, rear shoes and cylinders, and fluid) were all replaced in 2019, and new KYB shocks were installed. The interior was refreshed in 2018, including adding new speakers and a Bluetooth RetroSound radio.
The refurbishments didn't end with the look of the car. The engine, a 2.4-liter L24 inline-six that produced 150 horsepower when it was new, was rebuilt back in 2006. That's how far back the owner's service records go, and those show that a lot more work was done to the powertrain in 2018. The aluminum radiator, replacement hoses, clutch fan assembly, fan blade, alternator belt, water temperature sensor, valve cover gasket, fuel hoses, and clutch master cylinder were all installed in 2018. The twin SU carburetors were also overhauled at that time and then adjusted again last year, according to the auction listing.
Speaking of a road test, when we tested the 240Z in 1970, we found that it was kind to the driver, with shifting motions that we found to be "light and acceptably precise." The engineering wasn't perfect—braking and understeering issues were noticeable—but overall, we said the 1970 240Z was a good purchase at $3600 and predicted Datsun would likely improve the 240Z in the following years. The 1972 example up for auction seems to have heard about the last line of our original review: "The 240Z is worth its price. Just between you and us, when Datsun gets it all straightened around, it might be worth a little more."
Sebastian Blanco has been writing about electric vehicles, hybrids, and hydrogen cars since 2006. His articles and car reviews have appeared in the New York Times, Automotive News, Reuters, SAE, Autoblog, InsideEVs, Trucks.com, Car Talk, and other outlets. His first green-car media event was the launch of the Tesla Roadster, and since then he has been tracking the shift away from gasoline-powered vehicles and discovering the new technology's importance not just for the auto industry, but for the world as a whole. Throw in the recent shift to autonomous vehicles, and there are more interesting changes happening now than most people can wrap their heads around. You can find him on Twitter or, on good days, behind the wheel of a new EV.
