Rare To See Today: 1978 Datsun 200SX
U.S. safety regulations weren’t kind to bumpers during the 1970s, but I’m sure they saved a few lives, so there’s that. Retrofitting Japanese-market bumpers to a car like this 1978 Datsun 200SX is a thing, and it’s doable, but anything is doable if a person has the right income. This is a very rare car to see in the U.S. today as most of them rusted away, and you can see that it’s starting to rear its ugly head here.
The Nissan Silvia is a car that we never had here in the U.S., at least by either of those names in 1978. We didn’t get vehicles named Nissan until the early 1980s, first as Datsun by Nissan and then Nissan. The Silvia name wouldn’t have gone over here, just as the Nissan Fairlady wouldn’t have worked, name-wise. We’re Americans, we need our vehicles to have numbers and at least one X in the name!
Built on the new S-platform, the Silvia, or 200SX was known as the S10 – not to be confused with Chevrolet’s small pickup, not that it’s remotely possible to get these two vehicles mixed up. I absolutely love the space-age design of 200SX and I would restore this one to bone-stock condition right down to the fantastic wheel covers. The only Datsun I like better may be the spectacular F-10, preferably in two-door Sportwagon form.
Other than the visible rust shown on the exterior photos (what does the underside look like?), the biggest drawback with this 200SX is the three-speed automatic transmission seen in the photo above. A five-speed manual would have meant that this car would already be sold, but I bet it has also helped to preserve this “librarian’s car” from boy racers. We don’t see the backseat area but the seller includes a photo of the trunk, showing a ton of spare parts and that’s always a good thing for a rare Japanese car that’s creeping up on being five decades old.
The motivation pulling this 2,400-pound, 14-foot-long car is Nissan’s 2.0-liter L20B SOHC inline-four with 97 horsepower and 102 lb-ft of torque. Power goes through that three-speed Jatco L3N transmission to the rear wheels and the seller says it runs and drives. That’s never a glowing report, but if it runs as good as it looks, this would be a fun weekend project car. It’s posted here on craigslist between Manchester and Lumberton, New Jersey and they’re asking a very reasonable $4,000 or best offer. Here’s the original listing. If I were still in rabid car-buying mode this ad would be gone already. Have any of you owned a Datsun 200SX?
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Comments
Another one of those “So Weird/Ugly It’s Cool” cars.
If I found one for sale for the right price,in rust free condition,
I’d probably buy it for a daily driver.
Here’s one I found in our local wrecking yard in Eureka,CA.
Troy Ermish bought it,& is returning it to track use.It was raced by
the Eureka High School auto shop racing team.
The 5 speed transmissions have found their way into hundreds of race cars and are still the trick for converting street cars. Solid drive train on these.
Goofy looking then, goofy looking now.
Rear wheel drive…
I thought so, but it’s been awhile.
Gaaa! Thanks for catching that flub, Mark in WNC!
Weird.
I had a ’77 200SX in high school. Mine had the 5 speed. It was actually fun to drive. I wrecked mine in 1985, and even though the damage was relatively minor parts were not available so insurance totaled it. Mine was a brown color with a dark brown interior. And yes, it is rear wheel drive.
Some later style cues on this one.
A mass produced risk maker like this somehow attracts me. It’s not as wrong as many styles right now and stepping out of the box was not very common then.
It’s cool, rare, dependable and affordable.
An affordable, quirky, and kinda cool car from a time long gone. Here’s the perfect antithesis to the monotony of grey crossovers we have today. We need more reasonably priced entry-level classics like this.
Back when the Asian car designers were all required to be fans of Speed Racer. They put out some hilarious looking vehicles.
Lovely looking car. Rare would be an understatement. I haven’t seen a Datsun 200sx in more than 30 years! It’s insane what our government does with car companies when they offer a car here in the USA.
Back in the day, I worked at Texas Instruments. My then girlfriend bought a new F-10, automatic tranny. What a slug it was. Got pretty good MPG, but was cramped, slow, and rattled. It’s most redeeming feature were the full reclining front seats. Took advantage of those on many occasions during our “extended lunch breaks”. Of course, I was much thinner then and a whole lot more flexible. To say that she was too is quite the understatement. Come to think of it, I guess I do miss both her and the F-10. Thanks for all the good times Tonya.
Fraternity brother had one new in yellow with skin searing black vinyl, no a/c. When the auto transmission would shift the thing made ‘I’m gonna die’ noises. Rolling down the street smoking joints in a mobile sauna is firmly etched in my brain some 46 yrs later
A face only a mother could love !
You knew Tonya too?
It has the ever-popular Weber carb conversion, as, for the most part, the originals were near impossible to reliably fix. Was in the biz in those days, did a bunch of them on Toyota Datsun Mitsu etc. Was a good solution.
Had a co-worker that traded in a Comet GT for this identical car! :-)
I got a 5 speed out of a wrecked one and bolted in my Datsun 510, easy swap only had to fab a rear crossmember and made a nice freeway flyer!
Had a classmate in cooking school who had an F10 he got from his older brother. Yellow with a lot of brown vinyl. Pretty “meh” to me at the time. I definitely preferred my 1985 Prelude twin carb 5 speed.
I had one in high school, 78 200sx w/ 5 speed. Silver w/ Black pin stripe. Funnest car I ever owned. If this one had a 5 speed I’d be all over it.