1971 Datsun 240Z Is Our Bring a Trailer Auction Pick of the Day

• Presumably a daily driver before it was refurbished 20-plus years ago, this 1971 first-generation Z dates from the desirable pre 5-mph bumper era.

• Some 44,780 miles are shown on the 5-digit odometer, but there’s no telling how many times it has rolled over during this car’s 51 years of existence.

• Bidding is open until Wednesday, May 11, and the current high bid of $8,000 already eclipses its original base price.

This is not a concourse-level example of the 240Z. But it is a fairly clean car that has spent its entire life in California, apparently in the hands of one primary owner until it changed hands last year. The car underwent a fairly comprehensive refurbishment back in 2000, and looks like it has been treated as the classic it has become since then. But 22 years ago is not recent, as evidenced by the included VHS tape that documents the restoration. Still, the end result is a Z that’s mostly faithful to its as-new condition in a way that suggests that this is how it may have looked when it was, say, three years old and still partially owned by the bank.

The original skinny wheels and rim-protector tires have been replaced, as they almost always were, but instead of going for the slotted 5-hole mags that were the default choice back then, this owner opted for Center Line lookalikes. It also has period-correct aftermarket side mirrors but, thankfully, the owner did not see fit to install a set of the rear window louvers that were all the rage at the time.

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Looks-wise, this car’s best feature may just be that it predates the 5-mph bumper era. Z-cars that were produced from 1973 onwards, such as this other listing for a 1977 280Z, looked a little less cool because of the huge bumpers that were grafted on to meet the new rule. But that other listing also underscores a fact that is often overlooked. The first-generation of the Z-car consisted of lookalike 240Z, 260Z, and 280Z phases, which is probably why people started simply calling it the Z-car. The second-generation was called the 280ZX, with the added X probably deemed necessary by the marketing department at the time to denote the model’s redesigned status. And that’s why we’re not bothered by the fact that the 2023 Nissan Z is named Z. The number never mattered much. The Z was the thing.

In this car, you can see hints of what the new Z’s designers were going for. It’s even yellow, the color chosen for the 2023 Nissan Z Proto Spec, the special launch-edition that will be limited to just 240 units. The long hood and its domed center appear on the new car, and they faithfully reproduced the sloping roofline and sharply-defined Kammback tail. The new Z’s taillights are reminiscent of the taillights on the Z32 300ZX, but the designers of that car were in turn paying homage to this one.

It’s also worth looking at the squared-off grille opening just below the lip of the hood, which appears smaller than it is because the chrome bumper bisects it. There is a horizontal mesh grille above the bumper, and a similar-looking mesh also appears on the top half of the new Z’s grille opening. Inside, the three pods on top of the dash represent a through-line that appears on the new Z, but the interior is far more raw and bare-bones.

It will be interesting to see how much this car goes for–and the 1977 280Z, as well. With the swell of hype and nostalgia in the air surrounding the new car, we can’t help thinking these listings are trying to surf that wave.

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