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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