Digestible Collectible: 1972 Datsun 240Z

I was turning sixteen the autumn of my junior year in high school, and if I wanted to get a job, I needed a car. Ideally, I’d have begun working at 14 and saved up myself, but I lived several miles from anywhere a teenager could reasonably expect to find gainful employment.

Dad took pity on me and offered to give me a car. Not just any car, mind you, but a pristine 1973 Datsun 240Z that he and I had done a mechanical restoration on. However, the Z had never seen snow, and I told my dad that it would be a crime to subject the Z to an Ohio winter.

So he sold it, and used the proceeds to buy me an ’85 Nissan Maxima. I’m still kicking myself.

Clearly, the collector value of the 240Z has risen a bit since the early ’90s. Back then I’d be surprised if dad got more than $4,000 for his car. These days, it would likely pull between $15-20k easily, like the 1972 Datsun 240Z featured today. The Z is the OG Japanese sports car. While they were built in large numbers, few clean original examples remain today due to the dual threats of rust and tuners.

This one, like most clean Zs, is in California. Cali cars tend to have great sheetmetal, but sun-baked, cracked interiors. This one looks pretty good on both fronts, though it has been repainted. The seller hasn’t posted any photos under the hood, but mentions that a later 2.8 liter block has been fitted, as well as a five-speed transmission which will help a bit on long highway cruises.

I don’t love the polished slot mag alloy wheels, but they were such a common dealer add-on to replace the ugly factory hubcaps that they still look right. I’d either fit Panasports — like we did to the ’73 that got away — or VTO replicas of the American Racing Libre wheels that ran on the BRE race cars.

I will own a vintage Z someday. This one is not far from being perfect, and I keep looking around the house for things I can sell to afford this. Anyone need a spleen?