Datsun 200B
| Purchase Price | Sales Price | Year Purchased | Year Sold | Years Held |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $3,900 | $2,500 | 1987 | 1989 | 2 |
I bought my Datsun in 1987 after trading in my Escort for $750, which was coincidentally the same price that I bought it for. My new ride cost me $3,900.
My 1979 Nissan Datsun 200B GX was a real step up from my 1970 Ford Escort XL. It was way more refined, was quieter, was more comfortable, was much nicer to drive and it’s 2.0 litre motor had plenty more power.
The interior was also a step up from my old Escort. The Datto had velour seats, a radio in the top part of the dash, a tape player in the top portion of the centre console, three gauges and a four speed gearbox.
Later on I bought a Formuling steering wheel and boss kit and swapped out the factory wheel for something a little cooler.
Other mods included:
- Lowering (after I bought this car, my dad lowered it for me)
- Shortened gearshift (did it myself and re-threaded the gear stick)
- Tinted headlight protectors (also done myself with a can of spray tint)
- New stereo for the top part of the dash
- Spectrum Analyzer that replaced the tape player in the top part of the centre console
*Not actual images of the interior of my car as I don’t have any. These ones are sourced from the internet.
Favourite Memories
Racing my mates
One of my favourite roads to drive in the late ’80s was the road from Pipers River.
I had traveled it so many times with Mum and Dad over the years that I knew it off by heart and couldn’t wait until I had my own car to drive on it.
I remember at some stage some mates and I raced this road starting at Pipers River. Contestants were DB in his Mazda, Baz in his Mazda and me in my Datto.
DB was given 60 seconds head start from Baz, who was given 30 seconds head start from me as I had home ground advantage.
I rounded up Baz near Lower Turner’s Marsh and a few minutes later I spotted DB on the hill near Nicholls Road just as I was passing Laurel Park a bit before Karoola Straight. Now that I had DB in my sights, I drove even harder and finally rounded him up going down Fingerpost Hill, a couple of kilometres shy of Rocherlea.
Good times and great mates!
Hospital Corner
One rainy night Baz and I were doing blockies in Launceston in my Datto and we happened on ‘Hopital Corner’, which is an almost hairpin where Brisbane Street turns into High Street.
I took it at a fair speed and gave it some beans on exit causing the rear to lose traction. I kept the boot in and we drifted around the corner and fishtailed up the hill (it wasn’t even called drifting back then)
As it was up hill, speed washed off really quickly which made it pretty hard to hurt anyone or anything. Also the Datto was pretty underpowered, being a carby-driven 2.0 litre with 72 kW, so we thought what the hell and I spent the next little while perfecting my drift. My new mod of a smaller Formuling steering wheel made the car much easier to control too.
Not sure how many reps we did or how long we persisted but I know we had a LOT of fun.
Random other memories (good and bad)
Blowing diffs due to shit driving.
Doing circle work at Swansea in a gravel carpark. I was in third gear, going backwards doing close to 100kph on the speedo, when I hit ashphalt and stopped the back wheels dead in their spinning tracks. Broke every sun gear in the diff with that one.
Jumping the train line at Western Junction with a car full of people
We were coming back from the Drags at Powranna and doing about 120kph when we hit the train line and jumped the car about 20 metres, bottoming out the suspension in the process.
Pretty sure when we initially got to the drags, Baz was in the boot and got smuggled in for free.
Blockies in Launceston
I remember one night Damian and I did blockies from around 7pm until the sun came up the next day.
- Billy Idol on the stereo
- Full tank of petrol
- Youthful exuberance
Back in the day both petrol and time were plentiful.
A usual night included hanging out at the various car parks talking to mates in between blockies.
Every now and then someone would be ‘asked out the highway’ for a drag, starting at the Victoria Hotel, heading towards Invermay.
Getting my car keyed by a cop
I was doing blockies one night with Nathan and a whole lot of us were hanging out in Bathurst Street car park, across the road from the Vic Hotel. The police turned up and moved us all on. Nathan and I jumped in the car did a few more blockies and then headed for Patterson Street car park. The cops went past and saw us and stopped. We jumped out of the car and hid in the stairwell while the cops walked around the carpark. We then watched a cop look around to make sure he wasn’t being watched and then walk slowly down the passenger side of my car. He then jumped back into his van and headed off. Nathan and I went back to my car and it had been keyed by the cop from the front guard right through both passenger side doors to the back guard.
Nathan and I went to the police station and lodged a report so that they actually had to do something about it. A few days later a cop came to see me at work and wanted to interview me. Nathan had the same happen to him. It was followed up by Internal Affairs within the police department and their findings were that there was not enough evidence for us to continue pressing charges or for them to continue the investigation any further.
* All stats on this page from https://www.automobile-catalog.com
Identification Data
Datsun 200B GX Sedan (man. 4 speed) as offered for the year 1979 since October 1979 in Australia.
Production/sales period of cars with this particular specs:
October 1979 – May 1981
Country of origin: AUS Australia
Make: Datsun (Australia)
Model: 200B (810-series) 1977-1981
Submodel: 200B phase-II Sedan (810-series) 1979-1981
Class: mid-size / large family car
Body style: sedan
Doors: 4
Traction: RWD (rear-wheel drive)
Basic dimensions
Length: 4330 mm / 170.5 in
Width: 1630 mm / 64.2 in
Height: 1400 mm / 55.1 in
Wheelbase: 2500 mm / 98.4 in
Fuel capacity: 60 liter / 15.9 U.S. gal / 13.2 imp. gal
Drag coefficient: estimated by a-c: 0.45
Weights
Curb weight estimated: 1160 kg / 2560 lbs
Engine Specifications
Engine manufacturer: Nissan L20B
Engine type: spark-ignition 4-stroke
Fuel type: gasoline (petrol)
Fuel system: carburetor
Charge system: naturally aspirated
Valves per cylinder: 2
Additional features: 2-barrel SOHC
Cylinders alignment: Line 4
Displacement: 1952 cm3 / 119.5 cui
Horsepower net: 72 kW / 98 PS / 97 hp (DIN) / 5500
Torque net: 138 Nm / 102 ft-lb / 3500
Car power to weight ratio net: 62.1 watt/kg / 28.2 watt/lb
Car weight to power ratio net: 16.1 kg/kW / 11.8 kg/PS / 26.4 lbs/hp
Transmission specifications
Gearbox transmission type: manual
Number of gears: 4