Classic Wheels: 1970 Datsun 240Z

Not every classic-car owner discovers their gem in a dusty barn that hasn’t been opened in 50 years.

Colin Gentle, who lives in Beacon, found his 1970 Datsun 240Z the old-fashioned way, on Autotrader.com. He was living near Boston and the car was in North Providence, Rhode Island. It’s not the most romantic plot, but it didn’t dampen his affection for the iconic sports car, a love affair that began when he was young.

“As a kid, I was at Lime Rock racetrack in Connecticut with my dad quite a bit and saw Bob Sharp race 240Zs there,” said Gentle, 50. “They were quick and fun — I always thought it was such a beautiful design.”

That beauty isn’t surprising: Many believe the Datsun 240Z was inspired by the Jaguar E-Type.

Gentle also liked that the car was affordable. He paid $3,500 for it in 1999, the same price it sold for when introduced 30 years earlier (although, with inflation, that was the equivalent in 1969 of $30,000). 

“I was looking for a relatively inexpensive 240Z that wasn’t completely rusted away,” he said, noting that Northeast winters were particularly hard on the car. “To do it again, I’d probably fly to California or Arizona and grab one.”

The Specs

Assembly: Hiratsuka, Japan
Units (1970): 15,076
Production (1970-73): 165,000
Body: 2-door coupe, hatchback
Engine: 146 cubic inch inline 6 cylinder
Transmission: 4-speed manual, floor mount
Carburetors: Twin, single barrel Hitachi’s
Horsepower: 151
Top speed: 125 mph
0 to 60 mph: 8 seconds
Fuel economy: 21 mpg
Curb weight: 2,302 pounds.
1970 Cost: $3,526 ($30,328)

Once a year, Gentle gets his Datsun onto the Lime Rock track during a vintage race weekend. “The car is wonderfully behaved,” in part, he said, because of its racing tires. “It’s forgiving; I’ve had it up to 115 mph on the straightaway.”

He restored the car’s rusted lowered portions and “refreshed” the suspension but little else. The interior is original and in great shape. “I’m amazed how new the headliners look and the dash is beautiful and uncracked,” he said. 

He thinks the car was repainted, probably in the 1980s. “The original color was a more muted, straight-up red,” he said. “Now it’s persimmon, a color from 1972 or ’73.”

Gentle said 240Zs traded at a premium when introduced, and dealers were known to add aftermarket parts to enhance the look and mark up the price. “They’d add little doodads,” he said. “I don’t think the rear bumperettes and side molding on my car were from the factory.”

The car has about 130,000 miles on the odometer. Gentle occasionally goes on three-to-four-hour drives as far as Vermont and takes it to nearby car shows, including at Bear Mountain State Park, where it draws many admiring eyes.

Asked if he’d change anything, he said he’d love to switch to stiffer coilover suspension and larger sway bars. “And I might upgrade from the 2.4-liter engine to the 2.8-liter,” he said.  

Japan’s Nissan Motor Corp., founded in 1933, began production of the Datsun 240Z in late 1969 for the 1970 model year. It was produced through September 1973, when it became the 260Z with, among other changes, a 2.8-liter engine. 

The 240Z isn’t known only for its beautiful lines; it turned heads in motorsports, as well. One of its most impressive wins came at the 1971 East African Safari Rally, a grueling five-day, off-road race.  

The seventh-generation 2024 Nissan Z sells for $42,970 and features a 3.0-liter, 400-to-420 horsepower engine. It can reach 60 mph in 4.3 seconds with the nine-speed automatic transmission (or 4.5 seconds with the six-speed manual), nearly twice as fast as its 1970 predecessor. 

One of the rarest Z cars never made it to the U.S. market. The 1970-73 Nissan Fairlady Z432, sold only in Japan, was an upgraded 240Z with a twin-cam, three-carburetor, 158-horsepower, 2.0-liter straight-six engine.  

Since 1970, more than 1.7 million Zs have been sold worldwide. According to Motor Trend, all have promised “fun, reliability and accessible performance for the masses.”