Hi Mike
This car is still in the UK - I was offered it by the owner 6 months ago, a
friend of a guy at Nissan GB - he wanted around $10,000 for it. I declined.
Rob
<< In a message dated 08/06/2001 21:38:54 GMT Daylight Time,
datsunmike@nyc.rr.com writes:
> This is the review of which I spoke about. Sorry for the typos but scanners
> are't perfect. Think of it as written in Engrush, like our manuals.
>
> Mike
>
>
>
> DATSUN FAIRLADY 2000 SPORTS
> YEAR OF MANUFACTURE: 1969
> RECORDED MILEAGE: 56,993
> ASKING PRICE: #8000
> FOR SALE AT: Carrington Classics, 12 Carrington Crescent, W endover , Bucks.
> Tel: 0296624885
>
> The convertible Datsun Fairlady is the first of a distinguished line of
> Nissan Fairladysportscars, including the 240Z and cuhninating in the recent
> 300ZX. Being an early Japanese vehicle, the Datsun could easily be accused
> of aping the styling of the MGB or TR4, just as the new Mazda Miata draws
> its inspiration from the typical British sportscar. This is doing the
> Fairlady a disservice, however, as the model was launched before the Triumph
> and MG roadsters in 1961. Around 40,000 Fairladies were built between 1961
> and 1970. The majority of production was exported to the USA with none
> corning to Britain. The car is stilI a familiar sight in the States but less
> than haIf-a-dozen are thought to exist in the UK' and Carrington's late 2000
> model is possibly the only 2- litre SR311 Fairlady over here. Air-cooled VWs
> and US-spec Fiat Spiders are the usual fare for Alan and Martin Cave of
> Carrington's. They spotted the light blue Datsun on their last trip to
> California and decided to bring the car back to test the market here. If
> British demand is favourable, the Caves have other Fairladies (mainly 1600s)
> waiting in the States. Stateside photographs show the Datsun to be very
> clean and original. The paintwork had been untouched since it left the
> factory and the interior was (and still is) in good shape. The car did have
> some rust on the front valence and some minor scuffs around the wheelarches,
> but basically it was sound. Unfortunately, although con- tainerised, the
> Fairlady was damaged at the port when it arrived in England. Incredibly, the
> shipping agency used a forklift truck to move the car around the compound!
> Consequently, both sills were damaged, the rear bumper was bent and the tops
> of the front wings were dented. The mighty steel chassis was unscathed
> though. When we saw the Datsun it had been partially stripped so that the
> bodywork could be straightened out. New sills have been welded in place and
> the wing tops have been filled. Rust has been cut out of the corroded arches
> and these have also been filled to an acceptable standard. Light rust at the
> trailing edge of the rear wings has not been attended to though as you read
> this the bodywork should have ben repainted in its original shade of pale
> blue. Although much of the Datsun's brightwork had been removed we were able
> to inspect it and confirm that all pieces of external trim were pre- sent
> and in good order. The headlamp bezels (which look identicill to Austin 1800
> units) are pitted but these will be rechromed. The dented rear bumper will
> also be repaired or replaced. stan- dard Fairladies were fitted with bland
> full-length chrome wheel trims. The Carrington car has alloy Shelby Cobra
> slots though, an original Datsun accessory that suits the rorty char- acter
> of the 2-litre Fairlady. The tyres and exhaust are reasonable. The black PVC
> interior has lasted its 21 years moderately well. Trim on the driver's seat
> is beginning to split at its base and the warm California sun- shine has
> cracked the top of the plastic dash panel. A new dash will be fitted before
> the car is sold. The convertible hood is undamaged but the tonneau cover is
> ragged and should ideally be replaced. The Datsunis also sold with a factory
> hardtop, complete with niftYli '55 Thunderbird-style portholes. The overhead
> cam, four-cylinderi 1982cc engine puts out 145bhp and isl unique to the
> Fairlady. The unit in; Carrington's Datsun appears clean and unabused. The
> car usually fires up: instantly and ticks over smoothly once i warm, no sign
> of oil or water leaks. : Because of its dismantled state it lwas not
> possible to take the Datsun for , a decent run. However, a brief excur-1
> sion around the block revealed the! convertible to be a hairy and raucousl
> beast in the Big Healey tradition. The chassis is fairly primitive with
> little grip but a lot of grunt. The steering is very woolly but brakes and
> transmis-1 sion are up to standards of the time. I Verdict: Surprisingly
> capable and dif-i ferent from the herd of European two-! seaters. We will
> reserve judgementl on the price until repairs are complete.
>
> CLASSIC AND SPORTSCAR, JUNE 1990
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