In 1975, there was a decided move towards adopting fuel injection—by the imports, that is—in order to mitigate the deleterious effects of the primitive emission controls of the time. Opel adopted it, to good effect, as we saw here recently in a Vintage Review. One of the more significant new adopters was the Datsun 280Z, whose predecessor, the 260Z, was feeling decidedly wheezy compared to the original free-running 240Z. Not only did the revived 280Z get, but also a larger 2754cc version of the SOHC six. The combination perked up the Z, but even then, it still couldn’t quite match the performance stats of the original. Still, the also-heavier 280Z acquitted itself well, given the difficult times.
I’ve always lusted after 71-77 z cars. I may have to pull the trigger on one soon.
I owned a 76 280Z, when I got it it was about 20 years old. I bought it partly to help out a cash-strapped co-worker and partly because I was coming off driving a “string” of small Japanese sedans with engines that produced maybe 85-95 horsepower.
The Z was what many guys might call a “ballsy” sporty car: a bit loud, able to jump off the line fairly quickly, and yet in it’s old age a bit stiff/clunky.
Drawbacks? The seatbacks had a very minimal range of adjustments and were flat and not all that comfortable. With no luggage cover in the back, nearly everything inside the car was visible from outside, and even with the fuel injection, with only the 4 speed transmission it wasn’t very economical….at least not in my humble opinion.
And yes, with the heavier bumpers and no power steering it was no fun at slow speeds or in close quarters.
Interesting write-up.
The rear axle in my [bought new] 1978 280 (last of the original) Z did make a clearly audible whine, but one must remember that the driver was sitting just an inch or two in front of it.
I did have the dealer re-spec the differential to eliminate a variable noise on light/neutral throttle pressure that I related to improper setup of the gears – not sure what they did, but it worked.
At the time I thought of it as more of a Machine than a Sports Car, such was its auditory performance. It was one noisy machine, but that was not a problem for me back then.
I also recall a change in engine response at around 3,000 rpm and this review seems to explain that. Maybe, like the 1975 model in the above article, mine actually had that awakening moment at 2700 rpm.
The relevant COAL on my 1978 Z can be found a the following location:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-1978-datsun-280z-baby-blue-rocket-old-school-driving/
From the engine photo … the air cleaner appears to have ended up outside the engine compartment.
Yes.
I’ve always admired these, but prices for decent ones have risen to the point that it’s now unlikely I’ll ever own one.
And speaking of prices–from $3500 in 1970 to $6300 in ’75? That’s an 80% price increase in 5 years. Egads, that’s rather horrendous!
Japanese and German makes really were hit hard by the changes in the exchange rate during this period. The Capri, for instance, had a near identical increase over the same period; $2,295 in 1970 jumped to $4,117 in 1975 (79%).
And the exchange rates really were the principal cause. Obviously, big bumpers and catalytic converters weren’t free, but they weren’t thousands of extra dollars.
No kidding. Try a 37 percent drop in the dollar versus the deutsche mark from this day in 1970 to this day in 1975. The yen strengthened by 20 percent. Both kept on going from there.
For a long time, four marks bought a dollar, and the mark coin was even the same size as a quarter. In 1970 it was at 3.67, 2.32 in 1975. By 1980 it was at 1.88, a 49 percent drop in a decade. The yen went from 360 in 1970 to 249 in 1980 (30 percent) to 128 by 1989 (64 percent).
It’s really a tribute to Japanese production efficiency that they were able to stay competitive despite the skyrocketing yen. German companies, on the other hand, either moved production to this side of the pond or concentrated on high-end products. Which made them vulnerable to something like Lexus.
Of course, the exchange rates were not the only culprit. Double-digit inflation throughout the 1970’s didn’t help. The Consumer Price Index doubled from 1967-78. It doubled again in 1990. It hasn’t doubled yet since.
Thanks for quoting the exchange rate of Deutsche Mark and US dollars during the 1970s.
In the early 1980s, the rate had inverted once again. During our 1984 Christmas holiday in Germany, it was 3.05-3.45 DM to one US dollar, making everything so ridiculously cheap for us in Germany.
Funny story: I had always wanted to buy a highly detailed Bugatti car kit by Pocher. Unfortunately, the kit cost upward of $600-$700 thanks to Sharper Image catalogue that inflated the price considerably.
One day, I went to a small town with my uncle and cousins. I checked out a hobby store on the high street and lucked out in seeing this exact kit! I was so psyched about it and asked the store employee to pull it from the display. My uncle saw the price, quickly recoiling in horror and vigorously tapping his temple.
It cost only 800 DM or about $250, a bargain for me! Like a typical old school German tightwad, my uncle was absolutely against me buying it and having none of the foolishness by dragging me out of the store. When my father learnt of it, the bitter disagreement about the money ensued between my father and his younger brother, and it continued for many years. So sad…
Until 1971, most currency exchange rates were actually fixed by what was called the Bretton Woods Agreement. It’s sort of beyond the scope of CC, but it’s worth reading up about because that system and its demise explains quite a bit of background.
Paul, you have touched on the subject of fuel injection and the American auto industry before. Wouldn’t this be an overarching “deadly sin” of the American auto industry in addition to the particular models offered as such due to their poor conception?
In the 80s I think most of the american car industry sold cars equipped with fuel injection. In Europe we mostly drove cars with carburator in the 80s, except for MB and some bigger or other high end cars.
The biggest difference when you drive an american car with carburator and an european car with a carburator is that the automatic choke on the american one actually does work quite nice. My 1981 BMW 518 had a manual choke… My 1987 VW Golf had an automatic choke that never worked as it should.
German makes went to fuel injection on US imports in the 1970’s when it became more and more difficult to make carbureted engines meet emission standards and be even remotely drivable. VW was putting it on Beetles and Rabbits (MkI Golfs). Every single BMW had an “i” in its model name and no Mercedes made the trip across without an “E” on its trunk lid unless it was a diesel, which has fuel injection by definition.
American makes tried computerizing carburetors but had given up on the idea by the mid-1980’s.
The then-new 1985 Pontiac Grand Am’s V6 engine not only boasted sequential port fuel injection but a coil-fired ignition system with no distributor. Still had pushrods instead of overhead cams, though, but so does the LS V8, and nobody disputes what it can do.
The net result was that power skyrocketed across the board. The 1984 Corvette had 205 hp standard, the 1992 ‘Vette had 300. Nowadays, you have to get at least 300 hp out of your standard normally aspirated V6 just to distance it from the turbo fours that get nearly as much.
Germans went to fuel injection in the states because they had to. In Europe we didn’t have any emission rules to follow. As late as in the early 90s you could buy an Audi 80 1.8 S with 90 carburated horsepowers 🙂
1985, distributorless ignition, at a time when europeans still sold cars without electronic ignition.
Fuel injection is great, but you americans tend to think that Detroit was far behind in the race, which they where not.
Maybe 300 hp in the US is normal today, in Europe the normal family car have about 115- 180 hp.
It’s important to remember that not all fuel injection systems were computerized (just as not all carburetors were not). A lot of German cars of the late ’70s into the mid-80s had Bosch K-Jetronic, which was a mechanical system at heart. (It could be supplemented with electronic controls for mixture and idle adjustment, just as carburetors were, but that was still the same sort of belt-and-braces approach as electronic feedback carburetors.)
I had a very nice one owner ’77 2+2 with five speed manual transmission that was about 23 years old when I bought it. It had about 90 miles on it and it looked like new. I also had a 73 240Z with auto for a time. I owned the ’77 for over five years and thought that it was a great versatile sports car. The back seats were great for my young kids and allowed me to use the car as a daily driver. The steering was very heavy in parking and it could get pretty hot in there when the temps rose into the 90s. The ergonomics were very good and I found the seating position and range of adjustment were great. Performance was only so-so, but the handling was good. Not bad for the 70s. Fuel economy was only about 20mpg, even with the five speed. These were very good looking cars though, especially the two seat models.