Datsun 240z - Meeting the Legend - Everyday Driver Review 

This is James, the owner of the car. I just wanted to add some clarification with my ownership so far. Starting with all the small issues that happened with simply getting the car there. The reason the front lip is misaligned is because I actually hit something on the way to the video location, and had to fix it on the spot. The squeaking is from the window glass mech (not fixed yet). The clunking/crashing sound is from the springs binding (common tokico issue), it has been replaced. And one last thing, this car has RUST. I had to cut out many sections and weld on new metal in places like the frame rails, and rockers.

4 year update since filming. The L24 used during filming was retired, pending a special rebuild. In goes an L30 race motor I spent a summer building in my last year in college. I found more parts of the frame that needed fixing so the frame has been repaired better. A new suspension setup has been put in. Overall it is still driving on the road today. Thank you everyday driver for the opportunity. To those who are asking what exhaust set up: thrush muffler 2.5 inch mated to a 3-2 header. Tire Setup 225/50r15 going to be a R888 slick set up soon. Springs in that filming are the Tokico Lowering springs but I has a set of custom springs in now.

The first sports car that could last a long, long, long time.

There's nothing quite like driving an older carburetted car with no power steering and no driver assists. It's noisy, fume-y, exciting and yet so rewarding when you get it right. Great review & great choice in car, James!

Probably one of the most well balanced designs in automotive history.

Everything sounds so raw, really great video guys! I think you perfectly captured the essence of that car! amazing!

The road footage in full 1080 Hi-Def is so gorgeous, would you consider releasing an alternate, expanded version of this video, with only the exterior road footage, please? No music, just the engine sounds. Love it. Thanks guys.

Nothing will ever out do the sound of an L Series engine for me.

my first car.. '73 240z. 34yrs later and it's still the best car i ever owned. true

The last 20 seconds or so with the car gurgling is so great, nice work guys. Good luck on Velocity too!

Wonderful review. Truly expresses and describes the exact same love and passion I feel about my 240Z.

all observations in this video are exactly as I have experienced. An incredible joy to slam this car hard into a corner and have it hold the curve way beyond common sense g forces. I am an original owner of 1970 green 240 z ( owned car for 48 years now). Put 225/50r15 Bridgestone potenza re71 tires to support the 300+ hp of the 280ZX turbo engine I swapped out ( 5 speed T5 tranny and 2+2 rear differential). A fabulous traction tire for wet or dry roads. Unfortunately Bridgestone does not make that tire any more. Nearly 200,000 miles of pure driving joy and it still has the original dashboard, door panels, and seat cover backs (some rust around rocker panels and wheel wells). The car costs very little to maintain over the years.

Great review and the car looks and sounds absolutely amazing! 240Z has been one of my dream cars since I was a teenager. It is such a elegantly designed car, and a true legend.

WHY DON'T YOU GUYS HAVE MORE SUBSCRIBERS?! Been a fan for years and you both deserve at least 700k+++

Really Beautiful Z James! '77 owner here. Thanks for not cutting into the fenders!!

this video has aged so well nice work guys

Amazing video guys! Loved it, what an awesome car :)

Thanks for another excellent video. This was a nice nostalgic ride for me. I drove a 1972 240z while in College (in the 80's), and to this day I regret selling it. Hard to find one under $10k any more.

My favorite reviewers! Bought my 2015 z28 because of your review. Love this review of my fav classic dream car

I had a 1973 240Z with a 4 speed. It was a blast to drive. I bought it from a friend who had used it for hill climb racing. I added a new dash that I ordered from Japan, and took it pretty much back to stock, except the engine had triple Webbers and was bored, ported and polished, and had mags with larger tires and a front air dam. It really screamed, rattled and smelled of gas etc, but I didn't care. It always put a smile on my face.

I went with the '73 Porsche 914, 2.0L back then. Both were great cars. I'm driving a '14 Subaru BRZ now. I guess my tastes haven't changed a whole lot.

As a young man in the 80's I was fortunate to own and drive a 1973 240Z in orange. I left it a little beat up on the outside (to better deter thieves in Los Angeles), but under the hood I installed triple weber side-draft carbs, racing headers, a 5-speed sourced from a later 280Z, shortened steering knuckles, etc. Tried to emulate the 1973 Datsun racing team cars. She was a blast to drive fast, but I had to watch out on wet roads! Very light tail so I would add weight in the back. I would love to own one even now.

Interesting change of pace, usually you guys don't review older cars. Pretty cool to be able to appreciate them alongside modem ones, such as the Cayman.

This is on my short list of project cars. I've loved them since I was a kid, and hearing that throaty engine and listening to you guys wax poetic about it...gotta have one.

I had a 280ZX in my Army days in 84 to 88, Man, I miss that car! So much fun.

Another great one guys and yes if possible a sights and sounds would be delightful! Thank you.

In April of 1987 my best friend bought a 240Z. We had both just turned 15. For the next 4 years, he always had 2-3 240 & 260Zs at his house. He'd buy and sell them. In retrospect, his mother was even cooler than I thought she was at the time to let him do that. One of those Zs always ran. Sometimes two of them did. Whatever wasn't running was being used as a parts car. These were the cars that I learned to do everything in. First manual I drove. First brakes I changed. It's a shame they cost so much now. Probably also a shame that Casey didn't take all the ones he had and put them in a garage somewhere. :) Great video!

Came here because of Gears and Gasoline, and the first video I see is an classic Nissan 😍 instant subscribers, love the cinematic seen combined with the great informative parts in between, love it

This is still my favorite 240Z video

What a nice channel, I was just browsing through videos on you tube and i saw a nice thumbnail...Little did I know what a great hidden gem I've discovered!

I just love the elegant body style of the 240z. The raw sound of the engine. The way it takes corners and curves so smoothly. When I took a ride in my friends several years ago I just knew I had to have one.

Great production value on this one guys!

Admired these cars back in the day as well. That's part of why I bought a 2016 Mazda MX-5...similar power and weight, but with modern day handling and braking. Similar driving pleasure, just a few decades apart!

My good friend had a new 73 and we did so many Road Trips, the River, Vegas, San Jose Mile, there were a Dream to drive New, I had a 510 at the time witch was a hoot to drive with my Goodyear tires, and I still love driving to this day, you guys are one of the reasons I bought my 2014 Fiesta ST, it has 47,000 Miles on it and I’m on my 3 rd set of tires, what a blast to drive, I’m 69 and still love hauling Ass, love the Videos, keep up the good work. The Fiesta Flash

Can't believe I am just now discovering this channel...great content. subscribed

I've seen this like 10 times... love the sound and how original and loved that Z looks... can't wait to start working on my 240Z

Just bought one in February. Love It!

Great video, blokes! I also enjoyed your 356 / Daytona video. A great setting, too; reminds me of Tasmania, Australia, with its Targa roads.

my favourite video from you guys so far

You guys are the ones that made me ultimately buy a BRZ and now I’m gonna buy one of these within a couple months. Love your guys input and reviews

i drove a new one lol and Drove the hell out of it as a young man ! Sold it for a TR8 bad mistake :=)

Nice review, I actually had a 1970 240Z when I was in college. Mine was also red, great fun to drive. Unfortunately the wiring harness shorted under the dash and melted most of the harness into a charred mess and that was the end of it. Still one of my favorite cars I ever owned.

Amazing production quality good job

James, it was great to meet you today at the import auto show at UCI. Very nice car! I was the guy with the white 240 w/ black stripes. No fender flares needed to make your car look awesome. Keep up the good work!

Great presentation! As an owner of a '73 240z I fully agree on the "fun factor" these cars provide - they do however demand your full attention when driven aggressively. Once you upgrade the brakes, control arms, add coil-overs and LSD these cars can keep up with most modern cars in the canyons. A true Driver's car.

That's such a beautiful shape. I'd love to add an older Z to the garage one day. Awesome video and filming/editing, btw!

240Z is one of my all time fave. I've just cone back from driving my old Camaro and this video is perfect viewing material after that :)

I had a 1973 240z when I was 18 back in 1985. I had a lot of fun with that car. Wish I still had it. I remember the dual carbs were a pain to tune.

It sounds just like my old 71 and 73's did and I love it! But to correct you on tire size, the original tire width was 175mm. I had upgraded mine to a 195/70 on a 7.5" wheel and it made a huge difference.

Great video guys

These are the car videos that I come here for!

Awesome car... I had a 76' 280, simply loved it... Wish I still had it...

I've got a 370z but I have to say that I want a 240z as well after watching this! Great video guys, i've been a fan for years!

While in university; I sold my 1974 Vega in 1976 and bought a 1972 240Z. I still regret selling that car. Various sports cars I've bought since including a new 2002 Acura RSX and a 2016 Porsche 911 have only tried to unsucessfully emulate the driving experience and fun quotient of that car. None have reached that level. Yes they rust, yes they have various issues with balancing the SU carbs, but overall, repairs where something you could do (for the most part) and it was fun to work on. It was a simple car, without the computers taking over so many aspects of car ownership now. Not much DIY I can do easily on modern sports cars. Thanks for posting this video!

I had three but my favorite was a '76 280Z that was the same color with matching red turbine wheels. I had a Big valve 240 head that was ported and polished with triple carbs and headers with dual 3" exhaust and a 5 speed out of a 280ZX with a shortened shifter. Inside I had matching red leather Dino steering wheel and shift knob. I even hand covered the door panels in red leather. It is still my dream car.

I miss my '73. When I owned it I installed new struts, electric fuel pump and headers. I then paid to have dual exhaust with an H pipe and glass packs that pointed upwards under the bumper installed. That car sounded great and could run 125. In the end the encroaching rust in the floor boards/rails made me part ways. What a fun, little car that gets a lot of attention

Here because the 2023 Nissan Z sent me down the classic Z cars rabbit hole. I always enjoy these guys and this was no exception. If this was my car I would be in relentless search for those interior chirps and squeaks with screwdrivers and lithium grease. So fantastic that its not slammed but just has more rubber.

240z's rock! One of my dream cars in high school along with the BMW 2002, I was fortunate enough to have a 72 2002 in high school. 240z was that other great car of the era!!! Love it!

I had a Datsun 280z car back in the day. Loved it.

More videos like this please!

This was a fantastic video

I love these cars. I currently own a 76 and a 78. Both 280z's But, still an S30. These things are amazing.

I drove a stock, classic Datsun (Nissan?) 240z, I loved it. For a really old car it does drive really well. Really raw!.

I love this channel!

I had a 1972. It was perfect with ZERO rust and turned heads everywhere I went. Best comment I ever overheard was a man talking to his little son. He said “That’s the car daddy always wanted..”

I use to own a 260Z, 4 speed manual back in the day and man did I love the rawness of the car compared to cars of today. I swear that little car would get up and go! It felt like it had much more than 150 plus hp. I had to fix rust issues on the car though, the metal they used back then was so thin it rusted out easily.

In the early-to-mid 80s I had one of these when I was in college. Great engine! The '73 Hitachi carbs were a pain in the ass so I swapped them for SUs. The radiator was too small for the car and highway at speed it got up to 250F in the summer. It never overheated, but scared the crap out of me until a Datsun specialist told me it needed a 3 row radiator. My best friend and I drove it from St. Louis to Dallas non-stop for the '84 Formula 1 Grand Prix. It was so damn hot the weekend they almost cancelled the race. It was even hotter in my Z because I had to run the heater to keep it from overheating. It was so hot inside the car that after qualifying that beer bottles blew up like hand grenades when I pushed the rear hatch button. Once I got that all ironed out it was good, but it was a rocky, yet still very fun start. I'd do it all over again if I could. What a great car!

nice reminds me very much of mine, to the day still miss it!

I owned a 240Z, 4 gear - lived in Carmel Valley during mid to late 80's. The Z-car was always great running "over the hump" from Boronda Rd up to "The City" or south Big Sur to L.A. - winding her out along Pacific Hwy. A couple trips Hwy 99 to Canada, never a handling issue. Drove it from 20 through 50 odometer miles , written off when girlfriend was T - boned on passenger side, not hurt much. Gradual loss of genuine road feel cars and myself fading away into digital control land 😂 Have fun, be safe everyone edit: no gas smell then

I loved my 1972 240Z so much, and when I went to a 1982 280ZX I noticed that the soul was still there but just a little diminished. Sometimes you do have to go back to move forward, sorry Matthew Mcconaughey, I had to steal your line. Someone before me had rattle can painted the car, which didn't look bad except they took off driving before the paint had cured on the hood and it turned kind of matte finished(now looking back it might be in style today). First time I had a date in this car, so the memories came right back watching this 240Z in action, even sounded like mine. Brilliant car!

This video helped me with my decision to purchase a 280z and start a build series. Beautiful z

This takes me back to my '83 ZX. Not quite as light (2600 lbs), a bit bigger (actually, quite a bit bigger when you see them side by side IRL), and with another gear in the trans. Identical wheels to the ones in this video, even down to the color (yay zero offset!), although I had 215s where this had 225s. Handled like it was absolutely bolted to the road. Same noise when you caned it, too.

I listen to the Everyday Driver podcast and I know you advocate variety in ownership experiences, but I'm on my fifth early Z-car and I just can't give them up. I've tried, but no other car resonates with me like an S-30 chassis Z-car. I've bought and sold other cars without shedding a tear over any of them, but each and every time I sell a Z and think I'm done with them, I feel true regret. No other car in my experience has the blend of sporty handling, friendly ergonomics, cheap mechanical maintenance costs and dead-nuts reliability of a purely mechanical 240-Z. All that, and they're beautiful to look at, too? Come on, how could a gearhead possibly resist! Thank you both so much for making this video, so that thousands of other car nuts can experience what it's like to drive one of these lovely cars. Although come to think of it, I probably shouldn't thank you - you've probably ginned up enough interest in these little beauties that their market value will skyrocket!

To this day my friends from high school and college years remembering me as the one who drove 280Z . I remember a guy who drove a Prelude. Funny what we remembering each other by.

I would love to own one of those! Such a beautiful car.

My first car. It was pretty dogged out and rough looking as hell, but it was still a fun car. I had a couple others (260Z and 280Z) and a 280ZX. I was never a fan of the 300ZX. They looked like they were taking a shit when you gave them some gas, with all of that rear end squat, and making them all comfy and whatnot. The original Z's weren't built for a comfortable ride, they were built to be fun to drive. 120MPH on I95 in a 260Z 4 speed felt like 65MPH. And you got a good upper body workout when parallel parking.

drove a 1979 280zx for six years, im itching to build another soooo bad. favorite car ever.

And you were correct these have shot up in value in the last two years(now late 2020).

Even today the car's styling, is very modern and sleek looking, it's a beautiful car for sure.

such a timeless design

Had a 74 Datsun 260Z back in the late 70's, early 80's when I was stationed out in northern California . I really miss that car. I always said it was the right car, at the right time, in the right place. Koni shocks, Mullholland springs, FR 60/14 BF Goodrich tires on US slotted mags and a Pacesetter exhaust system. I used to get up early on Sunday mornings just so I could take that car up around Lake Barryessa so I could catch as little traffic as possible. My first four wheel drift was in that car. :)

Sounds glorious. Music to the ears.

So beautiful. Modern cars have changed so much, fortunately motorcycles have changed with technology but you still need to do work every single twist, change gears, listen to the engine, use your strength, feel the road.

This reminds me of driving a friend's TR6 years ago.

Don't know what kind of exhaust system James chose to put on his car, but I love the way it sounds. Great choice!

Fantastic review of an automotive icon from the 70s..

Lovely car, lovely exhaust note, lovely road.

This one does sound beautiful. Man would I love to own one of these and make it my perfect weekend car.

My Dad bought the same car in 1985 less than 50k miles for 1,800$$ i loved that car it's what i learned to drive in then upgraded to 1969 Ford Torino GT 428 Mean Machine

The Datsun Z's are beautiful!

I know that road, it's Castaic Lake to Lake Hughes. I live right there. It's so interesting seeing my local driving roads pop up all over RU-vid and SmokingTire etc.

woww the interior looks so new and clean

E type right down to the straight 6 and twin SU carburetors. I had a 1972 Z I bought in 1976 the same color as James...such a beautiful car. Regarding the brakes...chasing a friend of mine down Little Cottonwood Canyon from Snowbird resort..had scary brake fade. Switching to disk brakes would have been much better. Overall, a great car!

the sound of old engines, the time when you remove your foot from the gas pedal and when you step on it ❤️

I had 2 of these, if you crack one window the low pressure air outside will draw exhaust fumes from the back of the car towards that window. Either leave both 1/4 down or more, or leave them up and use the fan .

Great looking car! Very cool

I had a 260Z 5 speed 1974, with the later 2.8 but still on the 240 Hitachi carbs... 180bhp and Janspeed exhaust.. sounded fab and revved to 7000.. and pulled an indicated 130 on an emergency run to the vets on the highway one day - the wipers ended up pushed half way up the screen... and it did not rattle at all. Sounds like he has some work to do on that one.

I bought my 73 z a year ago for $1800.00. I have put close to 4 grand into it and still have a ways to go to get it the way I want. I am going with a mix of modern components with luxury detail. I have a touchscreen radio installed too with some 15x8 rims. I am working on upgrading front brakes to four piston calipers. I am looking forward to installing an 280zx turbo motor in the future with a blow through carb with a t3/4 turbo.

I have a 260Z that has nowhere near that amount of squeaks and rattles! I think the rear hatch seal may have been shot and in need of replacement which would account for the exhaust/gas smell in the cabin as well. Beautiful car and great review!

Just now watching this. Dayum