Car Of The Day: October 16, 2011

Today's car of the day is King Star's 1981 Datsun 280ZT.

The Nissan 280ZX (also known as the Datsun 280ZX and Fairlady Z) was a sports coupe produced from 1978 to 1983. It was the second generation Z-car, replacing the Datsun 280Z in late 1978. The 280ZX was the first time where the "By Nissan" subscript was badged alongside the Datsun logo, along with the Nissan trucks. The 280ZX was Motor Trends Import Car of the Year for 1979. The 280ZX was replaced by the Nissan 300ZX in 1984.

For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: Datsun 280ZT

I understand this model of Datsun was so popular in Italy they named a pasta dish after it.  And this is why I'm not a comedian.  Anyway, this is a recent purchase from Pegers (as in, the box arrived at my house on Friday and was so big I'm still finding new cars inside!).

The 280ZX was a complete redesign, retaining only the L28 inline-6 engine and other driveline components from the 280Z. Both two-seater and four-seater (2+2) designs were offered. For the first time, the 2+2 was a new design rather than a stretched version of the two-seater.

With a focus on the oil crisis of the late 1970s, Nissan improved fuel economy, emissions, and aerodynamics over the first generation Z-Cars. In addition, high-end audio systems were standard.

[quote=Wikipedia]The 280ZX was branded in the American and Australian markets as the Datsun 280ZX; and in the local Japanese market as the Fairlady Z. In the 1979 model year in the American market, it was co-branded Datsun by Nissan through the 1983 model year. These were considered transition years as Nissan began to phase in their new global brand under the Nissan name.

The Japanese market got both 2.0 L and 2.8 L engines. The 2.0 L-engined Fairlady 280Z used the L20 engine common in Nissan family cars of the same era. Export markets all got the L28-powered version. The preference for 2.0 L engines in the Japanese market was a by-product of taxation laws.

Two trim levels were offered in America, with a no-frills 2-seater and the Grand Luxury (GL) ZX carrying the full equipment list. Leather seats were optional, and an optional digital instrument cluster was introduced in 1982.