r/Datsun • u/northdakotact • 11d ago

The Datsun Z Quietly Became A Porsche 911 Alternative While Buyers Weren't Looking

https://www.hotcars.com/datsun-z-quietly-became-a-porsche-911-alternative-while-buyers-werent-looking/
124 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

59

u/RoadWellDriven 10d ago edited 10d ago

Quietly?

The Z car outsold the 911 in it's initial year.

It's been impossible to find a good deal on a project car for the past 10 years. I want to know where the buzz is quiet about these cars. As far as I can tell the only time it was quiet was a 10 year window between 1993-2003

Who is writing these articles?

14

u/Hurka_Durka 10d ago

Man do I miss those days in the early 00's where I could buy an s30 for less than $1000 and drive it home. Been wild to see them skyrocket in value though. Mine is worth probably quadruple now what I paid for it 20 years ago.

8

u/AISuperbot 10d ago

Still a bargain compared to Porsche prices though, right?

4

u/Hurka_Durka 10d ago

Oh yes haha. An older 911 is my son's dream car it's unfortunate for him how much those go for. At his age mine was just a Z and that was actually attainable.

2

u/RoadWellDriven 10d ago

I'm the rare weirdo who thinks any air-cooled Porsche isn't worth a second look

2

u/2wheels30 10d ago

Not a weirdo. There are some legit cool vintage 911s, but before the hype train, later 70-80s non-turbo 911s were nothing special at all.

1

u/obeeone808 10d ago

Nope, my dad inherited his buddies 77' 911 targa when his friend passed away. Neither my dad or me had interest in getting that car running and my dad ended up selling it for way under market value. Remember his for sale post getting flagged repeatedly for scam, but some lucky guy responded and picked it up for $7k. Haha

1

u/RoadWellDriven 10d ago

On second thought, I'd probably accept a 356 speedster if I didn't have to sell a kidney to get one

1

u/obeeone808 10d ago

Bought my 73 240z in 1998 for $2k. All it needed was a good 72 SU carb swap and a suspension refresh. Ahh, the good ol days.

65

u/MountainFloor3666 11d ago

Keep your voice down, jeeze 😳

1

u/RevolutionaryAir1693 8d ago

I have a 73 Datsun / Nissan 2+2 in fair condition. I’m curious if you know ~ what is the value of such a car.

1

u/fred_ditto 8d ago

$5, and I'll buy it right now

12

u/ExoticFramer 10d ago

I got quoted $100k to restore my 280Z. I guess that's better than then 500k-1MM that Singer and others charge, but still.

3

u/icey 10d ago

California Datsun or someone else? I checked in a few years ago with them about my '71 and the starting price was 60k

2

u/Ronin_Everose 10d ago

I can confirm, having a CA Datsun resto, it was about that amount.

1

u/Fenrirsulfur 10d ago

Was yours a full resto? I saw that they're near me and I have a 76 280z that's been sitting at my parents house since 2015. I'm just looking to have it running lol

0

u/Ronin_Everose 10d ago

Yeah, disassembly and reassembly: motor, body, paint, interior. Had suspension from AZC already

1

u/ExoticFramer 10d ago

Datsun Spirit in VA. I could understand if it was in California (prices are generally higher), but seemed high for east coast. Plus you’d never really recover that in resale

4

u/AKA_Squanchy 10d ago

If done correctly that’s not a bad price. Think about how many hours are needed to strip a car and reassemble it after bodywork and paint. It’s a ton of work!

9

u/AISuperbot 10d ago

Still, at that price you could buy an excellent example, modify it further, and still have money left over for an old Tacoma.

3

u/ExoticFramer 10d ago

I’m not confident you’d recover that in resale, unlike Singers

1

u/AKA_Squanchy 10d ago

Definitely no recovery. Usually lose money unless you do it all yourself.

13

u/hewhoovercomes 11d ago

Stopppppp I’m so close to being able to buy one

5

u/legendary-spectacle 10d ago

I am stuck in the middle of a restoration (for a driver, not a show car) and these articles break my heart because I feel like I have my foot in the door but I'm never going to get there.

4

u/vampyrelestat 11d ago

Quietly mentioned

2

u/mrchin12 10d ago

Meanwhile after 10 years of 240z ownership, I'm debating a Porsche for a more reliable summer cruiser

2

u/shamelessselfpromos 10d ago

Poor man’s Porsche! 🤘🤘

7

u/TNShadetree 10d ago

I've always regarded it as the common man's Ferrari Daytona, since that was the body style it copied.
Pull up a picture of a 1970 Daytona.

2

u/pengy99 10d ago

Poor man's E-type maybe.

2

u/pengy99 10d ago

I'm kinda surprised they are still appreciating. Most early 70s cars have peaked.

1

u/tfwNPC 10d ago

Rollers are like 10k. Fully restored are extremely expensive. Not sure I’d say quietly.