Strange object of desire

[Sclerotic Hen]

I had a metallic snot coloured four door one of these as my first car in the eighties. Didn't think much of it then but on seeing this advertised I got all misty eyed and if I had the spare cash I would be buying this all (although not at the asking price)




Would anyone else buy the same model as their first car? I remember this little Datsun doing over 50mpg on a run and cruising on the motorway alright. The memory of it doesn't compare too badly to the little citroen C1 I've just had to drive for two days )although thats probably rose tinted specs).

[Paul1566]

Passed me driving test in one of those, me nan and grandad ran a driving school and always had datsuns, either 100A or 120B's.
Great cars, went everywhere in them and they had dual controls fitted.
Mate would stick his foot on the clutch and when i went to pull away nothing would happen till he started laughing and and i twigged he was arsing about.
5 quid would fill the tank halfway and get us from WGC to southend and back 4 up and they where pretty nippy too........ rusted to death in the end.....

[Apache]

Is it just me or does the front end bear more than a passing resemblance to a mk1 Escort?

[slobodan]

Is it just me or does the front end bear more than a passing resemblance to a mk1 Escort?

No, I had to look twice too.

From the windscreen forward it's Escort.

[J i m s t e r]

I remember them, they were Ezzie copies. Back when Japan were great at copying things cheaply but at lower quality. They sorted that out and took over.

A bit like the Chinese cars of today... Once the Chinese get the quality up to standard there will be some sad faces amongst the non-Chinese makers...

[Bogus]

I still get Capri ( Mk1 of course ) hankerings and look lovingly at them on ebay from time to time. Sometimes I even drool a little at the Mk11 and 111.

[Ambobeer]

Nothing like an Escort or Capri. For one they would start every morning unlike the Fords.

Glad to say I continued to buy Fords despite the supposed no brainer. Might have been reliable and had a radio as standard but they were a bit naff weren't they? And some of their colours?

[captain_chaos]

My first car was a d reg renault 9. It was about 12 shades of red, the front passenger wing was made from mostly filler. After 9 months of happy motoring it started overheating a lot until i was at a set of lights and the engine began to smoke. I still managed to drive the last five miles home at a speed of 15 mph (on a road where you're meant to do 50) needless to say it was off to the scrap yard after the smoke died down lol.
My next car was an Austin meastro and that should have been scrapped before i bought it!

[Vultch]

Datsun 120Y all the way ...little flying machine..well sort off

[Ambobeer]

Datsun 120Y all the way ...little flying machine..well sort off

Only flying machine bit I recall was the drivers seat flying forwards every time my mate braked hard in his as the floor had turned to rust.

Mind; they did also make the 240Z and the 160J SSS. I think you needed a pilot's license for both way back then.

[Shaft120]

Mine was a Vauxhall Chevette



It had a metal bumper and was built like a tank. I remember a woman turning right in front of me and other oncoming traffic in a Fiat punto, thinking she had right of way. I went straight into the side of her and the punto was mangled (she was fine). There wasn't a scratch on the Vauxhall.

Always had dreams of putting a Pinto engine ino it, but a rusted through floorpan saw the end of her days in the end.

After that it was my Renault 5 Turbo - black with gold MO compomotive rally wheels on her. An awesome car, but made out of papier machete, so always had the adrenalin pumping...