In the spirit of great British sports cars, Datsun’s Fairlady (simply named 1600 or 2000 in America) offered nimble fun in a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive drop-top two-seater. Though not a factory option, this 1969 Datsun 1600’s Buick V8 took another page from the sports car history book. What’s more American than stuffing V8 engines in sports cars like the Sunbeam Tiger and the AC Ace (Shelby Cobra)? Our thanks to reader T.J. for spotting this interesting San Tan Valley, Arizona ragtop. Fairlady fans may groan imagining the backyard butchery; beer-fueled barbarians ruining the diminutive 1600 just to say they V8-swapped it, but someone took some care with the engine selection on this one. More on that later. The description here on Craigslist leaves many questions unanswered, but $6500 seals the deal.
Buick developed America’s first aluminum V8 in the late ’50s to power its upcoming “compact” Buick Special, and the lightweight 324 lb mill made 185 HP and 230 lb-ft of torque, about double the output of the 1600’s double-carb four. Despite the clever and successful design, GM sold the engine tooling to British carmaker Rover and it powered various English rides into the 1990s. Thanks to Hemmings and Wikipedia for some details.
A nondescript transmission presumably changed gears at one time. Maybe “sitting for years” says it all. Don’t buy this ride unless you’ve had a nice chat with the seller and preferably checked it out in person to establish an “as is” price you like.
The hard top makes an awkward lid for such an elegant sportster, but this Fairlady exists to put wind in your hair. I looked at one of these in college, a 2000 in rural Pennsylvania, but it was too rich for my wallet and too obscure for my skills, so I filed it in the memory banks and moved on. Where does this Japanese Fairlady rank on your list of tiny two-seaters?
An old concept with a slightly new twist but appearance-wise poorly executed. Too, nothing is said about changes to the rear drive gears to handle the doubled engine power.
Fun to drive maybe, but could be more so with a manual gearbox!
Flat tires and all for only $6500. Such a deal!
I built one with a Chevy 327 and was a show stopper flared the back end and put 55 belair tail lights flared the front fenders and I had a Chevy Cobra . Don’t know about a Buick engine but if it was mine anybody want a Buick engine lol
Wow, your car must of been a blast to drive. I see why he went the aluminum v8 route, Buick v8’s were always the lighter of the gm small block line. In fact even a iron Buick 350 was a hundred pounds lighter than a 350 Chevy.
The car looks remarkably straight and rust free to me. The Buick V8 was a lightweight engine that weighed about 325 pounds, great for swapping into small cars. May need some sorting out, but very interesting project.
Very dirty or rusty under the hood, master cylinder cap missing (dirt in brake system. dirty interior, poorly fitting boot, what transmission, suspension and axle changes for 2 x the power … Did you say $650? I was given a ride in a Datsun 2000 by a NYS Trooper. Very exciting stock in skilled hands.
The radiator & cooling system on the 1600 was not efficient and they overheated!
2000 wasa v e r y nice rig. This one? i’d almost pay the 6k$ for the motor (not). The yellow stain @ “A” pillar has me concerned esp w/a plastic cover on it all the time. Better w/the 2393 cc 6 in there’n a sale. Details on all this needed 1st, then an in-person look asa 900$ investment to fly-in/out. Nope, dont think so. That ‘buick motor’ might B found easier (less expensively).
Drafted and in infantry training in the Army and headed for Vietnam I was in California and had a 2 week break for Christmas. I went to my uncles house in LA for the break and he handed me the keys to his new Fairlady and said it was mine for the stay. I drove it everywhere and loved it. He’s 91 now and the car is still parked in his shed. Hasn’t been run in 40+ years. If I didn’t have other projects I would love this.
The Fairlady was a Japanese copy of the MG B, and Leyland eventually built a Rover V-8 engined B, so this is coming full circle.
Looks like someone had Sunbeam “Tigeritis”. I put this silliness in the same category as the Alpine/ Tiger debacle, what was wrong with the way it was designed for? I too always thought this was the Asian MGB, some disagree, but what is clear, it was designed for an archaic pushrod 4 cylinder, putt, putting down the motorway,top down, enjoying life, not peeling the hides with every gear change, and can’t stop the dang thing. The 1600/2000, like the Alpine, were great cars, and never asked for any of this V8 foolishness. More is not always better.
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The Fairlady in its original form (same body, 1500cc engine) came out 2 years before the MGB.
This looks like a fun project, expecting to do brakes and some more to get rolling safely. Will need a narrowed Ford rear end somewhere down the road.
Roadsters are rear rubber limited, as the leaf springs vs fender clearance limits you to 195’s (some have managed to squeeze 205’s in there).