It’s raining Datsun 200SXs here at Barn Finds, and for those of us who love vintage Japanese tin, that’s a good thing. Speaking of tin, maybe that’s why there aren’t many left; they have a tendency to rust away, and then they go to the big junkyard in the sky. The seller has this 1977 Datsun 200SX listed here on eBay in Bohemia, New York. There is an $11,995 buy-it now price, and an opening bid suggestion of $500 that hasn’t been clicked on yet.
Where were these cars a few years ago when I was in rabid vintage Japanese car-buying mode? I looked for a year or two and didn’t find any, now they’re coming up like dandelions. We saw one a week or two ago that was painted a non-factory color of black, and this one is the correct #216 shade of Polar White. The seller says it was repainted at some point in its history, and they also say there are no rust issues with this example.
The Nissan Silvia came to this side of the pond as the Datsun 200SX. We didn’t get Nissan-badged vehicles until the early 1980s, but this is a Nissan Silvia under the skin, and even the skin is, now that I think about it. I can’t get over how nice this car looks, and if it really doesn’t have any rust issues, this is a heck of a find for Datsun/Nissan fans. The US-spec bumpers are a major bummer, but a friend of mine had one a few years ago, and he sourced Japanese market bumpers; they really made a difference in the look. Here’s an old ad showing this same car but without the stripe. I wonder if this one had that stripe before it was repainted?
That olive green interior is fantastic! I didn’t expect to see that color inside, but that ad we just saw had the same interior. I normally like a red interior, but this is changing my mind pretty quickly. The seats look great, with just a bit of sagging on the driver’s seat, but the back seat looks like new. The headliner is sagging, so that’s one thing that could be redone by your favorite upholstery shop. The seller kills it with dozens of fantastic photos inside and out, including photos of the glove box and the gauges with the lights on. Very well done! There is heavy surface rust underneath, that’s my only worry on this car. The light surface rust in the crevices in the hatchback area doesn’t look concerning to me.
The super clean engine compartment houses Nissan’s L20B, a 2.0-liter SOHC inline-four with 97 horsepower and 102 lb-ft of torque when new. It even has AC that works! Thankfully, this one is backed by a five-speed manual sending power to the rear wheels as car Gods intended, and the seller says it runs smoothly, quietly, and the shifter works like new. They have provided a video here on YouTube, and the only thing I noticed was that the driver’s side door gasket was worn at the top. I hope I’m not the only fan of these unusual vintage Japanese cars here?
From “back in the day” when you could tell one car
from another.You definitely don’t confuse this for any other
vehicle.
When I bought my ’73 Capri 2000 from the original
owner (it had 99,000 miles on it,as I remember) for $500,
he bought his Sister’s 200SX (red) from her.
When I was a kid I thought these were pretty cool looking. I still think they’re pretty cool looking and pretty rare too.
That underneath picture looks pretty scary so I don’t know about this one.
The taillights on these always made me think of those ’80s Nu Wave sunglasses that wrapped your head. Too bad about the rust. I’d need a real close look before taking a chance on this one.
Lovely looking car. If only more interior pics were posted. There’s plenty of exterior pics to look at, but I don’t see any interior pictures.
You have to scroll down on the EBay ad to see the interior pics. I was thinking the same thing until I did that.
just me, or are all the interior and engine picts now gone from the ebay listing??
I guess that I’m in the minority. I think these are ugly. BUT, I’m not sure that this is the correct year. But if you are an MGB guy, the rear diff is a virtual swap (even the same bolt pattern for the wheels) into an MGB. You don’t have to ask me how I know. It also has the plus of rear disc brakes and is quite a it stronger the the Brittish diff. You do have to move the spring perches about 1/2″ on each side. Again, I’m not positive on the year. But I thought that any 200SX with the rear disc brakes was the one to get.
I’m surprised to see the tach showing a redline of 7K.
This “sold” recently on Bring A Trailer for $6900. The winning bidder had no history and it was suspected they wouldnt follow through. Since seller is asking the ludicrous price of $12k I’m guessing they refused to sell at the auction price. Probably set up a fake account to “buy” the car and just eat the auction fees rather than a $6000 loss on what delusions they have of what the car is worth. Shady dealer tactics, but I see it frequently on these No Reserve auctions. I have a ’79 510 and ’77 B210 both in similar condition to this 200SX and paid less than his asking price for BOTH combined. This poor car has been tossed around a bit for a couple years now. Wish I had the funds to rescue it from dealer purgatory (at a realistic price of course).
Auction update: this one ended at $5,300 and no sale.