03-02-2010 08:13 AM

Datsun 1200s of any condition are rare enough, but gaze upon the minty freshness of this 1972 example of the USDM Sunny B110 on craigslist. According to the seller, the previous owner worked at a Datsun/Nissan dealership for 33 years. Everything is in supposed perfect working order like it was on Day One. This Florida [...]

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Beauty! Paint looks like a frame off resto. Would have liked it more if it was a manual shifter...

It seems like most of the kidney cars are automatics. Maybe the stick shift ones are driven into the ground because they're more fun to drive.

In college we used to drive our 1200's from Berkeley down to baja Mex.-we'd beat the hell out of them and they'd always make it back, (we'd bring the toolbox of course). Mine had the roof cut off and a drive shaft welded on for a roll bar, and it looked like crap.

I still remember pulling up to a gas station and the attendant walking over and shaking his head. He said "I've heard of people driving these things into the ground......but never back out." Truer words were never spoken.

1200 Coupes are sort after here to. But that price is crazy. Nice 90% job well done I'd say. Have a close look at the radiator, hot air feed to the air cleaner etc. For that money you'd expect it to be top notch wouldn't you?

It seems like most of the kidney cars are automatics. Maybe the stick shift ones are driven into the ground because they're more fun to drive.

I have a friend who is an Opel admirer and he has often made the same commend about those cars. At least in the U.S the only Opels that ever seem to turn up are automatic cars. (He is still pining for his 1975 Ascona, which was one of the last Opels sold in the U.S., at least under their real name.)

My guess is that the automatic cars were mostly bought by adult women who didn't drive them very much and kept them serviced regularly. The manual cars were mostly bought by teenage boys who flogged them until the wheels fell off.

I don't get it. Eye of the beholder, I guess.

I don't get it. Eye of the beholder, I guess.

It's a survivor, not many still around, a nice looking car, and part of our Datsun heritage. Some of us still have first-hand memories of the 1200 in some way; younger people may not. I traded in a 510 wagon on my Z-car in 1972; while in the showroom, I remember looking at the 1200 coupe and thinking it was kinda cool. The Datsun Comp catalog back then had some go-fast goodies for the 1200 that would have been fun to play with.

Although I couldn't afford it, today I'd get a kick out of having a '72 510 wagon and a '72 1200 coupe to go with my '72 Z-car