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Final Parking Space: 1984 Nissan 200SX
We’re now more than a year into this series. So far, on Final Parking Space, we’ve covered three discarded Toyotas and just one vehicle from Toyota’s traditional Japanese rival, Nissan. Since my very first car was a 1969 Toyota Corona sedan in vivid beige, and I’m a big fan of the Tercel 4WD wagon, a spot of pro-Toyota bias may have crept into my choices. So, here’s a product from the folks in Yokohama, spotted a while back in a boneyard next door to Travis Air Force Base in California.
I really should write more about interesting Nissan machinery, since I’m even now looking at importing a Nissan Silvia S13-based Mitsuoka Le Seyde and I’ve enjoyed a great Yokohama BayStars baseball game with unlimited beer and sushi from the Nissan-owned luxury box… on a trip paid for by Toyota, and just a few months before Carlos Ghosn was smuggled out of Japan in a musical instrument case. By the way, congratulations to the BayStars for winning the Japan Series title last year!
This car is a Silvia S12, which was the third generation of Silvia imported to the United States and available here with 200SX badging from the 1984 through 1988 model years.
1984 was when Nissan finally completed its rebranding from Datsun in North America, though these cars were still sold out of Datsun dealerships and many U.S.-market Nissans still carried vestigial Datsun badging that year. The S12 200SX, like the Sentra and Stanza, was officially a Nissan here from the beginning.
These “The Name Is Nissan” commercials (above) were so good that we should watch one right now.
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The 200SX name goes back quite a ways in the United States. The S10 Silvia was sold here as the Datsun 200SX from 1976 through 1978, followed by the S110 Silvia-based Datsun 200SX from 1979 through 1983. The S12’s successor, the S13, was badged as the Nissan 240SX in the United States.
All of the 200SXs and 240SXs sold in the United States were rear-wheel-drive coupes or hatchbacks. This one has a 2.0-liter straight-four rated at 102 horsepower and 116 pound-feet. A 1.8-liter turbocharged engine with 120 horsepower and 134 pound-feet was available as well.
A five-speed manual transmission was the base equipment; this car has the optional automatic.
Nissan offered some futuristic (by mid-1980s standards) audio equipment in its vehicles. Here’s a digitally-tuned AM/FM radio with a separate cassette deck.
There are extra-cost options galore in this car beyond the automatic transmission and audio rig, including air conditioning.
These were some rad pop-up headlights in their day.
It traveled well over 200,000 miles during its career on the road (the highest-mile junkyard Nissan I’ve ever documented was a 1980 Datsun 210 wagon with 445,440 miles).
Pick-n-Pull tried to sell this car as a “builder” but couldn’t find a buyer at this price.
The body was solid and the interior looked good when the car arrived here, but the S12 just doesn’t have as large a following as its S14 successors.
It began its career outside California, as a “49-state” federal car.
These cars weren’t particularly fast, but they looked cool and had plenty of available gadgetry.
As was usually the case with Japanese cars of the 1980s, the home-market TV commercials were a lot more fun than their American-market counterparts.
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Have a LeSayde. Has good power for such a small engine. Also handles very well for a large vehical.
When I lived in CA during the 80s, a coworker bought one of these – a hatchback ’84 MY, I believe. His was copper-colored. Nice looking car. I had a 1980 200SX hatchback at the time, dark blue. Don’t remember if his was an auto or stick. I remember thinking his car was quite a bit bigger than the earlier version. But still pretty comfortable to sit in, even for a 6 footer. Had to replace the transmission in mine twice due to popping out of 2nd gear. The second replacement (at 80000 miles) from a junkyard went the distance. Mine went to 268,000 miles before vandalism did in the front windshield, which by then (2008) was NLA. Replaced by a Supra with a blown head gasket (no surprise). Still prefer Toyotas.
My brother had a 1984 Nissan 200SX notchback, red with a 5-speed. When he went on vacation in Mexico, my dad decided that would be a great 8time to teach me to drive stick with the 200SX.
When he came back about a week later, he did ask if I knew anything about that burning clutch smell from his car…
Good times.
I’m going to deduct 2 points from Murilee for not extracting that cassette and letting us know what it was.
Those Nissan stereos were quite good. I can’t remember if it was a Fujitsu Ten or not but they did sound good with Dolby B on cassette.
Nissan used both Panasonic & Clarion brand audio at the time, and for many years since. Agreed, they were decent audio systems, and they sounded a LOT better when replacing the stock speakers with almost any aftermarket name brand.
These were also available with the VG30E V6 in 1987-88. They were actually faster than their sibling 300ZX.
I used to PDI (pre-delivery inspection) these vehicles when new. Although I wasn’t one of their big fans, they were reliable, and I really liked the Recaro style front seats – firm and held you in place. The CA18ET 4-cyl turbo engine pulled strong. I replaced quite a few turbos under warranty that failed mainly due to owners not knowing how to operate them (let the engine idle for about a minute before shutting off/parking).
The V6 SEs got five lug wheels and rear disc brakes, too. Essentially all the 300Z running gear in a car that was 600 pounds lighter!
My girlfriend (now wife) owned one of these. Quite possibly the most dangerous car a have ever driven in snow. Six months after she bought it, I took it back to the dealer and told them to refund the full amount because it was, for five months of the year, undrivable. They grudgingly agreed.
My first new car when I graduated from college in 1984: Dark blue 200SX hatchback. Loved that car. I had the digital dash option, which was pretty cool at the time. Should have opted for AC. About 45-50 MPG on the turnpike if I set the cruise at 55. It has been decades since I’ve seen one on the road. The Japanese sounding voice (“lights are on”) was a bit quirky, but I often wished I would have held on to that car.
It would say, “I wish I was a turbo with a 5 speed!” A friend in college had a later model with the 300zx engine and stick. They were cool cars back in the day and the 80s cheese is extra charming these days.
I believe the S110 was 1980-1983 (at least in the US market), not the claimed 1979-1983. I owned a 1981 hardtop (as opposed to the hatchback). I’ve read that Nissan aspired to employ a Wankel rotary of their own design. What ultimately was sold to consumers was the Z20E (Z22E for 1983-1984), which was a dual spark plug, Bosch fuel-injected version of the I4 engine in their pickup truck.
correction to myself: Z22E was 1982-1983, not 1983-1984
My old Nissan Trail Hustler was a gas to drive and a head gasket eater.
Looks like the sad puppy at the pound who desperately needs you take them home before….
My first new to me car I bought was a 1987 Nissan 200SX with the CA1.8ET with a 5 speed in red. This car was so much fun to drive and great in our cold and snowy Alberta, Canada winters. Some quirky things about that engine was the twin spark plug setup and the non-intercooled engine which would heat soak in the summer time. It wasn’t a common engine here and most parts stores didn’t even list the 1.8L so a lot of cross referencing or Nissan direct parts. Head gasket issue were common and eventually my engine had a piston come apart which lead to boring out to a 2.0L with oversized pistons. I loved this car and drive it for 5-6 years before replacing with a 1990 240SX which was a major improvement over the S12. I learned a lot owning this car and the many different repairs during our time together. Great memories!
At the time I learned how to read, I always wondered why it said “Nissan” on the valve cover of the 620 king cab my family had, but “Datsun” everywhere else. Seeing that little 5 speed sold to another owner at 300,000 miles was all the motivation I needed to trust the brand. And I put hundreds of thousands of miles on my beater Altima, ultimately selling it at 270k (I felt my upgrade to a modified 370Z was in order). I’m currently fighting issues with my other 2 Nissans, but they’re 20 (6MT Xterra) & 21 (Maxima) year old vehicles at this point.