1976 (see text) Datsun 260Z, 2565 cc. Registration number RD...

Hammer

£9,000

1976 (see text) Datsun 260Z, 2565 cc. Registration number RDZ 289. Chassis number GR530010995. Engine number L26174476.
The legendary Z car was conceived by Nissan's North American President, Yutaka Katayama as a cheaper alternative to Toyota's exotic 2000GT and became the first truly successful Japanese sports car. Using a six-cylinder engine, the motor had a single overhead camshaft and 150 bhp. The attractive styling, with long bonnet and compact cabin area, has widely been credited to German designer Albrecht Goertz and still looks sharp today. The 240Z was an instant success, particularly in America, but with emissions controls increasingly diluting its performance, Nissan sought to restore some of the power lost by increasing engine capacity.
The 260Z was produced between 1975 and 1978, before being replaced by the 280Z. The engine was enlarged with a longer stroke to 2.6-litres with a consequential increase in power from 150bhp to 165 bhp and the car was stiffened by the extension of the chassis rails and the addition of a rear roll bar. Much like the 240Z, the car was fitted with a five-speed manual gearbox as standard and the car featured independent suspension all round with MacPherson struts at the front and Chapman links at the rear. There was also additional stiffness in the chassis due to a redesign of the chassis rails which were larger and extended further back than previous models.
The 260Z had a redesigned dashboard, console and door panels for the interior, together with updated tail lights; it was also on a slightly longer wheelbase and with a higher roofline to increase cabin space.
This example was originally registered on the Isle of Man in 1976 and then brought to the mainland in November of 1979 and registered with DVLA. Our vendor purchased her in October 1989 and already had a 240Z that had terminal rust so that one broken up and some parts, along with the remains of another 260Z were combined to rebuild this one in 1997/98. It was stripped back to bare metal and had the sills replaced, Waterloo engineering in Hull rebuilt the engine, polished the crankshaft and reskimmed the head. The mileage at this time was some 46,000.
Since the rebuild it has been rarely used and was last on the road in 2002 when the mileage was a little over 48,000. Stored in a garage, a recent move to a smaller property means that there is nowhere to house the car so it is being reluctantly sold. She will need recommissioning due to the time off the road; she turns over but the fuel lines need cleaning through.
Sold with the V5C, cherished number plate and five MOT's between 1989 and 2001.