(first posted 8/14/2017) The 1977-79 Datsun 200SX, not the most beloved of 1970s sport coupes, had the story behind its quirky styling told by Paul a year ago, then received a detailed treatment from Eric703 with a 1977 200SX found curbside in March of this year. The 1977 200SX featured by Eric703 then appeared near my office on a rainy morning in June, ready to be photographed having done what daily driven cars do the most, take their owners to work. A 40 year old car sitting in the rain after morning commute duty is not living the classic car dream, but it is a fine example of the site ethos of memorializing classic cars still driven regularly.
This 200SX is also a fine example of how the passage of time can redeem even the cars that we once disliked. I recall seeing this generation of 200SX everywhere during the 1980s when my impressions of cars were being formed in my teenage mind, and I recall it being one of the cars that I instantly disliked the most. The strange massive C-pillar, kinked character line, and most of all the rubber-edged park bench bumpers all made the model appear horribly ugly, and having no known performance credibility completed the impression of it having no redeeming value.
The reliability and durability of its B210 underpinnings did not occur to me at the time, of course, and neither did the fact that a lot of them were still on the road almost a decade after they were made. The 200SX then was forgotten after the last of the daily drivers succumbed to rust and beyond-economical repairs, so much so that I paid little attention to the CCs by Paul and Eric when they appeared.
Seeing this 200SX parked in the rain after having done daily driver duty instantly made the car’s righteousness obvious, though, regardless of any faults of its design. This 40 year old car was again hard at work after its stop for repairs and a cup of coffee at the diner, photographed by Eric703. (That this car is the same is clear, with the license plate number being the same and the passenger side front fender having the same shade of yellow that does not match the rest of the body.) It reappeared parked on the same street frequently during the weeks that followed before disappearing. Its owner may have retired it after getting a new daily driver, or it may still be handling morning commute duty but with underground garage parking now hiding it. Either way, this 200SX was a perception changer, as many CCs seen on the streets are.
I always liked the styling of these, they give off a very “Jetsons” vibe. I’m also liking the repeat performances of some of the featured CC’s as of late. This poor thing thought it was retired, then bam! Back to the daily grind.
My thoughts were very similar, but Thunderbirds came into my mind.
There is reference in the comments to the car being ugly, I would agree, but ugly in a fascinating and endearing way in the same manner that certain French cars are.
I like it
I still find it incredible that someone was able to find and photograph one of these 200SXs 40 years later, I don’t think I’ve seen one in 20 years. Even the generation that followed this one is extremely rare.
This is one of those cars that looks fairly decent on the inside, and while it’s not ugly on the outside it still comes in second in a 2 way beauty contest with the Celica.
Second to the Celica, for sure, but I’m amazed how light and delicate it looks (bumpers aside) compared to the modern blob in front of it.
Beloved? Quirky?
Try ugly. UGLY!!! The ugliest car ever! 10x uglier than a B210!
Still, I am always happy to see a well-cared for older car, no matter how bad it was ‘back in the day’.
I remember actually seeing these! The next generation was tolerable, and the late 80s 240SX was a credible car–last of the 4-cyl rear drive sport coupes. Ten years apart–they looked like they came from totally different worlds!
Perhaps they did. Thanks for another good car memory
You think THIS is ugly? How about the F-10? Or even the 1st B-210s?
And for all those Toyota lovers/defenders: the ECHO? Some generations of the Tercel? The Scion xd?
When these came into the dealership, new model right off the truck, Datsun NA had us [staff & mechanics] fill out a multiple-choice question form about the looks of them.
I chose “spiffy”.
Datsuns of that time had surging & missing issues @ constant speed. The Datsun rep was amazed that they ran fine if the main jet was drilled out just a tiny bit.
I remember being involved in discussions about Datsun changing to Nissan years, if not decades, after the transition took place. The lament always went like this. “Everybody knew what a Datsun was, and when they changed to Nissan, they lost their identity, nobody knew what Nissan was, yadda yadda….”
“They should change back to Datsun”
My counter was, I sure as H… knew what the Datsun image was. A rotted out, floorless clunker roaring away with the exhaust pipe rusted off the manifold,occupants choking on blue oil fumes , swiss cheese front fenders flapping in and out in the breeze looking like the gills of a fish! Everything from B-210s to so-called upscale 810s
exhibited the same traits.
That’s what my mind conjures up when the Datsun name is mentioned, and that’s how I see this hideous POS, regardless of it’s “mintiness” !
Flimsy is how I remember Datsuns, good cars, well ok I owned a ‘goodish’ 120y, Datsuns seemed either rust away before your eyes or be unaffected by bodycancer at all,
The styling dept needed better drugs.
Wow! It’s great to see this car on the road again. I’ve seen this SX around Northern Virginia occasionally, and was glad to finally catch up to it earlier this year. But at the time, it seemed to be enduring an extended stay at a repair garage, which is isn’t always a promising sign for a 40-year old car.
But… I guess it’s back on the road! It sure seems to have a dedicated owner. Hopefully, we’ll see it again sometime too.
These pictures are interesting, particularly showing the contrast with the red Chevy Cruze. In the second picture especially, it’s interesting to notice how fragile the Datsun appears next to the chunkier and taller Cruze (and the Cruze is, in my opinion, one of the best smaller car designs these days).
While the 200-SX’s design wasn’t received very enthusiastically at the time, and certainly didn’t age well afterwards, nowadays it almost appears like an aged modern art piece, one in which the oddities (like that meandering side crease line) are now somewhat interesting to look at.
As a Cruze owner I heartily endorse your endorsement, except that mine is the KDM version.
Is the KDM version any good? we got them badged Holden and the values have plummeted, why is that?
I think I’ve seen it too, or one very much like it, parked from time to time in front a garage on Lee Hwy in Fairfax City, next to the 29 Diner. I’ve mostly seen it there while slogging my way home through rush hour traffic, so I’ve never stopped to snap a picture.
Just now I was hoping maybe the Google Street View car had caught it there, but no such luck.
That’s exactly where I photographed it earlier this year.
It is actually parked there on Google Street View, back in the 2014 imagery:
https://goo.gl/maps/RuFJFzQvZ5C2
Well, I learned something today. I didn’t know old Street View photos were accessible.
It’s a great feature. The older images are accessible by clicking on the little clock logo on the upper-left of the screen. That will show any past images, and you can toggle between them. For major routes like Lee Hwy., there’s usually quite a few archived images to look at.
Your description of the 200SX as appearing “like an aged modern art piece” brought to mind this cinematic moment:
These were such a mystery to me. Just a few years before, the 510 sedan and coupe were such a clean and crisp design, and the 240Z was indeed a fair lady. Having established the validity and indeed the desirability- of Japanese cars, Datsun/Nissan threw it all away. I am sure that cutting ties with the European design houses (Thank you Paul for your article) saved the company hundreds of thousands of dollars, but I am convinced that it cost them millions.
This marked the turning point between Toyota and Nissan in the American market for me. Even in those days, Toyota was pigeonholed as making rugged, if boring appliances (Volvo?) while Datsun/Nissans were fun to drive and good looking (BMW?).
Then Datsun changed their image….and their name. Suddenly they were not different and fun: they were in a straight-up commuter-car fight with Toyota. And then Toyota came out with the Celica.
What price pride?
well said Lokki!
As a kid, I thought Datsuns were “good Japanese cars” because I associated Datsun with the 510. I also liked the original Celica.
Otherwise, in the early 70s, it was all downhill for Japan. By the late 70s, it was downhill for Datsun, but the rest of the Japanese were credible to me.
Datsun’s design language of the 70’s was “quirky” at best, and downright misguided by many estimations, but I kind of love this car today. Had I the knowledge or understanding of where Nissan’s designs of those days were derived (or cribbed) from, I might have had more appreciation for them. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, as they say, and time heals all wounds, and so on and so on. I was never fond of these as a kid, and to add insult to injury I was given a remote control version of one as a Christmas gift one year and can recall being very disappointed. I Googled around trying to find a photo, as I thought it had come from Radio Shack, but I can’t verify that.
This is the grandfather to the Juke and Cube. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Cool car, nice write-up.
Wonderful
I don’t want it, but I want to be in a world where this car exists 🙂
+1
(Great post, Robert!)
Beautifully said.
These things were incredibly rare in my neck of the woods (Central Ohio) even when new.
Given that these 70’s Japanese cars didn’t last long under our heavy use of road salt, I’m going to say that it has probably been 25 years since I’ve seen one of these in any condition (on the street, car show, or junkyard).
” A 40 year old car sitting in the rain after morning commute duty is not living the classic car dream”
Disagree most strongly ~ my newest car is approaching the 40 year old mark and it does it’s daily Yeoman duty or goes on down the road .
The entire point of loving old vehicles is driving them as much as possible before you can’t .
? I thought these had the NAPS – Z dual spark plug engine that was fairly peppy ? .
-Nate
What about a car that’s unsafe to drive, or unreliable, or very expensive to drive, or impossible to repair, or has unique attributes that would be impossible to replace (like original paint, or upholstery that Steve McQueen or Charles de Gaulle sat on)? Is there a way to enjoy the good parts of such a car without the consequences of those problems?
Not the kind of cars Nate is talking about, Hubba.
He didn’t qualify it that way.
I suspect you don’t really care, Hubba but I’ll try to post a photo of an unrestored oldie here, to make it safe I did go through the brakes, suspension, tires and so on .
If it has provenance, I guess you’d maybe want it in a museum, me I’d let someone else do that as i actually _enjoy_ older motor Vehicles and they’re reliable unless you fail to take care of them .
-Nate
I’m with Nate. My primary driver is a 40 year old Mercedes-Benz. Unrestored and parked in the rain. So long as I attend to things, it remains as safe and reliable as is needed.
The NAPS-Z wouldn’t arrive in the 240 AND the truck until the mid 80s….IIRC.
Thank you .
I had a GF who wanted to buy a Datsun Coupe with the NAPS-Z engine, it was a whipped dog for $150 and I still said ‘PASS !’ even rust free with good seats .
Then a buddy was given a ?1977? Datsun pickup with “blown engine” so i said let’s have a look ad it turned out that Tune Up Masters had mixed up the plug wires, a couple hours of tune up and tinkering work resulted in a good running trucklet he didn’t really like, he gave it to an elderly Mexican man who’s still giving thanx for the wonderful, life changing gift….
-Nate
This model of 200SX had the L20.
I can’t remember any of these 200SXes that weren’t that shade of yellow. Haven’t seen one in decades, unless there was one at the Concours de Lemons I went to in Monterey a few years ago. And then I tried to wipe it from my memory 🙂
I don’t think it’s engine is similar to B210.my guess is that they used L20 on200SX.A12_A14 on B210s.
I hated the looks of this 200SX car then, and now. I managed to talk my older sister out of buying a new one; she bought a Celica GT instead. I don’t recall the chassis relationship with the B210, but despite the AstroBoy styling of the B210 I have a soft spot for it. My Dad bought a lightly used ORANGE! B210 hatchback for my brothers and I to share. It was bog slow, not particularly comfortable, and the suspension may have been related to that of a coal cart… but: it got great gas mileage (averaged 44 MPG driving from New England to Indiana and back), was stone cold reliable, and with the seats laid flat could swallow a huge pile of gear. Terminal rust was no issue for us, as a brother totaled it before the tinworm could eat it up.
There are definitely echoes of this car in the design of the current 370z, especially in the greenhouse.
1967 Fury mini-me?
It was ugly in the ’70s and it’s still ugly.
I think what made these cars attractive was the interiors. While the early 510 was the high water mark for Datsun in terms of style and function for the 70’s, the interiors on the otherwise inferior cars (leafs spring SRA vs IRS of the early 510); including the B210, later 510, 610, and SX was the nicely styled and functional dashboard.
Loved these when they came round! A “Datsun” was still a “Datsun” then.Understand they could be “rough riders”.
Beautiful creature.
From when the japanese were beginning to make a significant push into the American market. I understand why they managed to dominate it.
I don’t remember this from the era, but in Europe we had the Renault 17, which was revived rather well as a EV show car last year.
Back when these were new, my car was a 1974 Datsun 710, which I believe had the same 1.8 litre engine. It wasn’t obvious, but probably best choice I could have had as a college undergraduate. It was utterly conventional, so it was pretty easy to work on…the only problems I remember having with it were a bad alternator and a leaky heater hose…besides the rust (it had Tuff-coat on it when new but apparently it didn’t help much up in Vermont. It also had a high idle when cold. which meant when streets were slippery (most of the time in Vermont) it had to be shifted into neutral at stop lights else the rear end would crab the car around.
My now deceased youngest sister bought an ’85 Nissan 200SX, then a 1991 240SX. In addition, my middle sister bought a ’92 240SX and currently owns a 1997 240SX she bought new. She just got the ’97 back after 7 months; someone broke the side glass and rear window in January and it took that long to locate and install replacement glass.
It’s a pretty rare car, and many people seem to want to buy it from her (probably not a bad idea). All 4 of them were coupes, none hatchbacks, and all of them were automatics with A/C. Guess we are a Nissan/Datsun family…my sister briefly had a Tercel but other than that we haven’t owned any Honda nor Toyota automobiles.
I smile when I see these (not very often these days) when you could easily buy a sporty import coupe…now just the Mustang is sold new, these are mostly long gone. My first job I was in a carpool where all 3 of us had 2 door cars (in the early 80’s)…kind of funny but we were young back then and didn’t mind at all.