Comments | whitetail: '71 Z

whitetail

'71 Z

Sep 16, 2013 02:26

These beauties made their debut the same week I got my driver's license in September 1970. Perhaps needless to say, they were my first car crush!

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cars

Comments 27

avon_deer September 16 2013, 10:09:55 UTC

Sporty.

hrrunka September 16 2013, 13:47:17 UTC

I remember them featuring fairly prominently in the East African Safari Rally way back then...

whitetail September 17 2013, 17:00:21 UTC

They probably did rather well, too! I heard they had great handling.

hrrunka September 17 2013, 17:30:13 UTC

Well enough that they're among the classic Safari Rally cars, yes. The winners were driving them in '71 and '73, and in the Classic in 2003.

mondhasen September 16 2013, 18:19:22 UTC

One of my eldest brother's friends bought one new! He promptly flipped it taking a corner too fast (claimed the wheel just broke off...).

whitetail September 17 2013, 01:51:27 UTC

Yeah, I understand the '71s had a lot of problems. Same with the very first Mustangs. My dad dropped two gearboxes before he gave it up for an automatic. Never had a problem after that.

albear September 16 2013, 18:21:58 UTC

OMG Rabs! you had a crush on a jap copy of a Jaguar XJS? (kidding, I'm just repeating thoughts of many closed-minded people back then) The Datsun was more reliable will ever be than the Jaguar with the infamous Lucas electric system popular in British cars back then.

EDIT: Just found this. http://www4.ncsu.edu/~mtmorris/index3.html

crim_ferret September 16 2013, 19:34:14 UTC

Heck, I wanted a Datsun when I got my licence in 1980. Didn't get one.

whitetail September 17 2013, 01:49:14 UTC

Heh, after I got the big NO from Dad re: the Z, I remember seeing a fine-looking late model Jag at a used car lot in my home town. I couldn't believe they were only asking $1000 for it. So I told my dad about it and how cheap it was, and he laughed - told me all about the serious electrical problems that Jags were famous for, and that the dealer was probably just desperate to get rid of it. Anyway, eventually I ended up with his '67 Mustang, so I got my sporty car that way - and for free!

ducktapeddonkey September 16 2013, 23:11:32 UTC

Hardly ever see these around here. I still love 'em though.

whitetail September 17 2013, 16:58:58 UTC

I heard that one of the early Z car's problems was undercarriage rusting. This made them pretty much unfit for the snowy regions of NA.