There was no 220..

The Datsun 240Z was a 125mph, 0 – 60 in 8s car which looked like a European supercar but at a fraction of the price. It was given the 240Z name because it was powered by a very nice 2.4 litre OHC engine.

It’s a copy, exclaimed the British public, and it has no racing pedigree. Oops..

Nissan had an answer for that. In 1971, a 240Z won the East African Safari Rally and it looked like a …. 240Z.. and then Nissan did it again in 1973, by which time it was all getting a little boring. The winning, not the car..

It is a difficult car to criticize, and as time marched on, it became even more difficult because Nissan released a 260Z and then a 280Z and it still looked almost the same and it was fast and cool and cheap, apart from the insurance of course.

There was enough room up front to fit a 350 small block V8 too, and some did it. Wah.. Cars that looked this good and fast shouldn’t ever be as cheap as the 240Z. Owners never complained, and the rest of us look enviously from the interiors of our 1300L Capris. It was tough but somebody had to do it.. 

The car still looks good today, bodied as it was in timeless elegant GT attire.

A look around a very nice example of the marque.. worthwhile watching..

Chevy S-10.. the ‘big’ little truck..

I am annoyed that I can’t find a photo of the S-10 that we had. It was a real workhorse and had helped move a few people and their chattels from one house to another. With the extended cab and long bed, it was a real handful to park anywhere.

This is NOT the actual S-10. Ours was two tone Bright Teal and cream, a fairly rare colour combo for the S-10 pickup, but the photo above shows the 1992 type admirably well. There aren’t too many around that look like the one above because the S-10 is a very popular vehicle for customizing, as in low riders, high riders, and the type that can jump about like a scalded cat.

On the topic of scalded cats, the 4.3 V6 could step of the mark very quickly indeed, reaching its top speed in remarkable times. Of course, being a pickup there was little weight to hold it back.

Unfortunately, having little weight meant that wet weather and snow were not the best times to go out. I used to load it up with bags of salt/sand mix and leave the snow in the back in an effort to increase traction, but even that could work against what I was trying to achieve. To suggest that the S-10 was tail happy is something of an understatement.

On the bright side, the cab didn’t take too long to warm up as there was not too much of it, even in extended form.

With all of the options, it was comfortable, fast, and you would get to know every gas station for miles because you would have to pull into one at regular close intervals. Gas mileage was not a strong point of the 4.3, but fun was in abundance. It could pull 6000lbs too, better than many SUVs can do today.

S-10 owners will tell you that it is the best truck they have ever had. I would agree.

Re customizing, there is no shortage of ‘go faster’ parts from just doing little bits to personalize right up to 12 second quarter miles..

More on the S-10, the small truck with a huge heart..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_S-10