School me on Datsun/Nissan S30's

[golde30]

Sold this one last year.

[lolcantturn]

Do they really feel that old to drive? Dang. I should test one out. My e30 doesn't feel like i'm driving a really old machine, though everything is up to date. Oldest car I've driven was a 69 Firebird, and that felt old to drive. Hope it's nothing like that haha

[golde30]

yes, its like a Japanese Muscle Car. Im sure if you replaced EVERYTHING and stiffened up the chassis it wouldnt feel that bad, but the ones I have driven were only refreshed, not restored and they feel old.

[lolcantturn]

Sorta like driving a 2002? Or older feeling?

[golde30]

Can't say, never drove a 2002...

[rturbo 930]

Do they really feel that old to drive? Dang. I should test one out. My e30 doesn't feel like i'm driving a really old machine, though everything is up to date. Oldest car I've driven was a 69 Firebird, and that felt old to drive. Hope it's nothing like that haha

Well, it's definitely gonna drive a LOT better than a Firebird - thank god. But yes, it's going to feel old, for the simple reason that it is old - it was designed nearly 45 years ago! However, I think the biggest difference you'll notice is that it's a lot more raw. Manual steering, thinner metal, less sound deadening will result in a lot more feedback in the driver's seat. This is an upside for me - I think my E30 is too refined. But if you want an E30 in a Z's skin, I'd recommend a 280z. My parents have a '78 280z, and I have a '71 240z. The 240z is light and nimble, drives like an oversized gokart, but it's much louder inside (for a number of reasons - my car is modified), and when you close the doors, you don't get a nice solid 'thunk' like on an E30. It's more of a hollow, rattly tin can sound. However, if you close the doors on the 280z, you get the same, solid sounding 'thunk' that you get with the E30. It's fairly quiet inside (it's also bone stock, unlike my 240z), and it's something that would be much more tolerable as a daily driver. IMO, it's comparable to my E30.

It's a bit heavier though. The doors sound more solid because they are more solid due to safety standards. The chassis is stiffer, and I'm fairly certain that it has more sound deadening. A late 280z ('77-78 ) weighs around 2700-2800 as I recall. But you can drop 100lbs pretty easily just by shaving or converting to 240z style bumpers, another 50 by removing the AC, etc.

If a late 280z is a little too refined for you, look into an early (75-76) 280z. They're still more refined than the 240z with most of the chassis improvements that make them stiffer, but also a bit lighter than the late 280z. An early 280z with lighter bumpers, and an F20c would probably come in around 2500lbs, which would make for a pretty fun weekend car/autocrosser.

Hope this helps.

[peytonracer4]

Mi padré

it's one of my dreams to buy him one just like he had in the late 70s, after i graduate, get a job, and make a stable living.

where was this picture taken? are those mountains in the background?

[Deluxe34]

40mins but worth it.

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/40-minutes-of-car-porn-290647643?autoplay=1

[bikerbill2021]

getting a real itch for these cars, my shop foreman has a 240z so im always chatting with him about it, trying to take in as much as i can about them. ive always loved the styling, when the time comes for another project car its either going to be one of these or another e30, or both ;)

[King Mufasa]

Do they really feel that old to drive? Dang. I should test one out. My e30 doesn't feel like i'm driving a really old machine, though everything is up to date. Oldest car I've driven was a 69 Firebird, and that felt old to drive. Hope it's nothing like that haha

I ran into this vid, kinda tells you about its handling with new vs old.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VRnBKfPOvw

[freeride53]

where was this picture taken? are those mountains in the background?

i dont know. probably utah or wyoming. ill email him and ask.

[lukeADE335i]

WTF are you saying? I don't even .... Your link describes an amount of work very few have bothered taking the M20 to (partially thanks to twits like you spouting idiocy).

If you're even going to get close to an apples to apples comparison, enjoy reading in here for a bit .... http://speedtalk.com/forum/viewtopic...31132&start=30

And as Lorin already said the M20 has nothing to do with the M10 or M30.

Agreed here - was into Nissans before my BMW habit bit. Only got into BMWs because Datsun 1600s were too expensive down here, so I bought my first M10 powered e21 instead. Then got into an e21 323i before getting into e30s.

Between me and my dad we've had plenty of different Nissans and there's some beautiful ones in this thread, but the L-Series is in no way superior to the M30 (or the M20 for that matter outside the timing belt).

Why would you go an M30? Shorter / lighter engine, better head design, better engineered overall, better specific power output, the slant gives you a lower centre of gravity for better handling etc. Reliability is about line ball.

Interestingly - if you look at a single cam Nissan RB series combustion chamber it looks suspiciously like an M30 but with mirrored inlet and exhaust ports (the inlet and exhaust are on opposite sides of the engine on an RB series vs the M30).

For comparison as far as the compactness of the BMW engines goes - the M20 is similar in length to the Nissan L-series 4. The M30 is still shorter than the L-series 6.

Still - I'd love to get hold of a 260z as a weekender one day. Personally I'd go an L28 with triple Webbers for an OEM+ kinda deal :)

[lolcantturn]

Just realized how silly my "are they really that old feeling?" comment was.

The difference between my E30 and the 240Z is 21 years. I'm not even 20 years old.
The difference between my E30 and an E92 is 15 years.

:|

[ColdAccord]

I got my first 240z when I was 15. I always wished I had the money to make them newer. RB26. New seats. Get the interior re-done, carpet instead of that diamond pattern stuff, new stereo, etc.

13 years later, the antiquity is a major appeal to me. It's a piece of history, an appropriate representation in its original form. The sound of the Ansa exhaust note is distinct in my head. That vinyly museum smell that wooshes out every time you open the door after winter storage.

Maybe it's because I was watching so much Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, but I want to maintain that old feel. New brakes and suspension? Sure. But I want original interior, that faux wood steering wheel and shift knob, diamond vinyl. L series motor (though I have an L28, and hope to have funds for webers some time). I like that vintage appeal

[ColdAccord]

snapped this at my shop the other day. dad's uncle's mine



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