a copy of the article

I
past blast
jOHN BOWE
above This ‘60s roadster classic was followed by
another Japanese legend, the Datsun 240Z
below Drive a Datsun 2000 Sports and you too
can wear the JB grin; Datsun name set to return
Datsun
2000
’ve mentioned that I grew up in an
MG family before: my dad was very
MG (and slightly Healey!). So when
the Datsun Fairlady came out, it
was regarded as a bit of a girl’s car.
But you have to keep in mind this was
at the height of the British Empire and a
lot of people born in Australia considered
themselves to be British Subjects, old chap
(truly!) and things from Japan were treated
with some level of disdain.
The Fairlady name was soon dropped as
the Japanese learned that effeminate names
didn’t suit sporting cars in export markets.
Of course, the Datsun 2000 Sports was a
far better thing. It had the larger 2.0-litre
engine (the original Fairlady was a 1500,
later upped to 1600) and twin carbs. Those
carbs were interesting; they were Japanese
Mikunis, made under licence to Solex, and
are a very good carby! I had a mate, Mick
Arnold, who owned one of these 20-odd
years ago but I never got to drive it, only
ride in it. Thanks, Mick!
This model was launched around 1968
and there’s not many of them around. At
one stage, a lot of them were shipped back
to Japan (from Australia and the US, where
they were also sold) so that makes them
even rarer on our roads. So all up, I was
interested to drive this car.
What could you buy around 1970? The
MGB was a bit soft by the late-1960s (it
was an eight-year-old design and our roads
were filling up with fast Holdens and Fords)
and there was the exotic Alfa Spider 1750.
So, when you look at it in that context, this
Datsun was quite significant.
It was the time when the Japanese car
industry was starting to design and build
Photos stuart grant
this datto roadster was the forerunner to Nissan’s giant killers
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Pastblast
above Diminutive Datsun manages to look
pretty and purposeful at the same time
clockwise from below
Fairlady name too girly for blokey Oz;
great gearbox; twin carbs sound tops
cars for international tastes. It had some
cred. If you know about these things, you’ll
realise it was replaced by the 240Z.
This thing had a claimed 150hp
(112kW) in 1970 but it was measured
with the SAE scale and they were slightly
happy horses! Lift the bonnet and the
engine looks like others from the era, with
a cast-alloy rocker cover like a Datsun
1600, but it was a special engine, not just a
hotted-up family car donk.
Those Mikunis are 44mm, which is
quite large, and they’ve got big 37mm
chokes, which means it’s more top-endy
than torquey, and of course, a drive
confirms that. The gearbox is a five-speed,
with Porsche-designed synchromesh.
Porsche revolutionised synchro technology
and Datsun bought it, as did other
companies. The result is a beautiful ’box.
When you start this thing up you
realise just how awesome classic multi-carb
engines really are. It sounds fantastic
because it has something most modern cars
have lost – induction noise. Modern cars
are just so refined and quiet and with a few
exceptions, like atmo BMW M-cars, you
simply don’t get induction noise. I guess
that’s because not everyone likes the noise,
but I do and it’s simply fantastic!
This is a very well-sorted car. When
short-shifted, it shuffles along easily at
low revs but the engine is what you’d call
flexible rather than torquey – there’s not
a lot happening down low. It doesn’t fart
and carry on, though, which is a sign that
everything’s well-tuned, sometimes difficult
with older multi-throat carby systems.
Pile on the speed, however, and it just
loves revs! Loves it! When you start rowing
it along with the gear lever, it really makes
some pace. I was spinning this thing to
six-five, six-seven and it was still happily
chiming along so, for its time, it was a
really good country drive car. It has quite
a tall diff, too.
Out of respect to the owner, I didn’t go
any further but I reckon this thing would
fly past 7000 and be really happy doing
it because Datsun ensured it had good
hardware like a forged steel crank. In typical
Japanese fashion – something we still see
today – it is over-engineered.
This car is very much as it was when
new, but there are changes from standard,
which enhance the original aspects, so it’s
best to think of it as an improved original; a
‘restification’ rather than a modified car.
Out the back there’s a live rear axle
and on this car there’s a single-leaf kit to
replace the laminated spring pack. It also
carries those beaut Minilite-look mags
that everyone seems to fit to classic cars.
That makes perfect sense as you can buy
better tyres for them. The original had 14
x 4.5-inch rims and you simply can’t get
a good tyre for those. This one has 15s so
there’s a wider range of decent radials.
It has recirculating-ball steering rather
than a rack and it steers well, but this is
the one area where an MGB is nicer; the
Datsun doesn’t have that delightful tactility
of the MGB’s rack-and-pinion system.
Like just about every car without a roof
there’s a hint of scuttle shake, but the front
disc brakes have good pedal feel and the
driving position is excellent. And it has
headrests, which I think were a new feature
of the 1970 model. Roof down, it was a
great drive. Bottom line, this car is a whole
lot of fun. I expected it to be a 5/10 but it’s
an eight! It far exceeded my expectations.
Here’s something you probably didn’t
know. Datsun Australia used to have a
factory racing team. I remember seeing
a champion driver of the era, Doug
Whiteford (he won the Australian Grand
Prix several times in the ’50s) race a works
Datsun 2000 Sports. That was before the
awesome Turbo Bluebirds of the ’80s, the
later Skylines, and the Godzilla.
It’s a shame Nissan is not really known
for its racing, but that’s more a fault of
PR and marketing than teams and drivers.
But now that Nissan has joined the V8
Supercars, it’s good to look back on its past
racing heritage.
Fast Facts
1970 datsun 2000 sports
Engine 1982cc 4cyl, SOHC, 8v,
twin Mikuni carburettors
Power 112kW @ 6000rpm
torque 187Nm @ 4800rpm
Weight 910kg
gearbox 5-speed manual
brakes disc (f), drum (r)
0-400m 16.0sec (claimed)
Top speed 200km/h (claimed)
price new $3495
I Own One...
LOU HAS owned this
Datsun 2000 Sports since the
mid-1980s. “It was probably
only the third one I’d ever
seen,” explains Lou, who
trained in electronics.
“I discovered it was the
fourth-last one ever made and
the last one exported. I found
there was very little in the way
of spare parts or knowledge
for these cars [so] I made some
contacts in Japan.”
Since then, Lou’s enthusiasm
for these classic Dattos has
turned into a small business
that specialises in parts,
maintenance and modification
of Datsun Fairlady and Sports
models. “I know many of the
cars in Australia,” says Lou.
“I look after these cars doing
everything except the bodywork
– I have another company who
assists with restoration and
making panels.” – GT
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