There were a lot of really cool Japanese sports cars that were coming into existence in the 1980s. You might think about legends like the Toyota supra or the Mazda RX7 that by the 90s became absolute icons. The 1980s was a time of change where there was an integration of technology, a lot of stuff became electronic, and the difference in many of these Japanese sports cars from the 70s into the 80s was a pretty drastic difference. This is pretty clearly seen in the Nissan Z series. In this video, I got to drive a 1 owner, 1984 naturally aspirated Nissan 300ZX. This is an excellent example to see what sports cars were like during the 1980s.
This particular car is quite special, it’s actually one of the reasons why I am a car enthusiast to this day. It belongs to my friend Gary who purchased it brand new in late 1983 and used it on his commute for decades. During this time, when I was in grade school, I rode in the back of it as a kid and loved how it drove much differently than the minivan that my parents had at the time. It looked really cool as well because even at that point it was starting to become retro. It was an absolute blast from the past to be able to drive this for myself. Funny enough, I don’t think I ever rode in the passenger seat, only in the rear seats because it is a 2 + 2 configuration. So, driving it was a real treat.
As this is an excellent example of a well-maintained car, the paint and the interior are all in nice shape. This really highlights the style of the vehicle at the time. I love the look, the shape, the overall presence, and the orange gauges. I noted in Hagerty’s 2018 car of the year video with my Subaru that I loved these orange gauges and other Japanese cars had the same color, including this one. From the moment that Gary fired up the engine and when I started driving it, I was reminded that it is an old car that has 206,000 miles on it, and it’s not refined like most of the sports cars that we have today. However, after a brief warm up drive out of the neighborhood, the 3.0L V6 engine really started to come alive. And the thing that I noticed almost immediately is just how incredible the steering is. It might be one of the most direct steering cars I’ve ever driven in my life.
In many ways, the 300ZX was a pretty big departure from the predecessor, the 280Z. This car had a lot of historic roots with the 240Z that helped make Datsun and the Z series well known in the car community. The 300ZX has a couple of fun electronic things like a voice that tells you when you are alone fuel or if you leave your lights on, or if you leave a door open, which seems very gimmicky now. This one was the lower trim model for the time so it sadly does not have the digital dashboard, but I could easily see how it would fit in this vehicle stylistically.
The red interior has held up very well over the last several decades and the seats are extremely comfortable, very supportive. The visibility is excellent and although it is a very low car, it has enough suspension travel that driving around the back roads with potholes and railroad tracks, it was still a very smooth and comfortable ride. Almost like a grand touring suspension instead of really tight sports suspension. Although we checked into turns a couple of times including a very tight 90 degree turn and the car did not skip a beat, even on its all-season tires. But the thing I kept coming back to once I got used to the quick engaging clutch, was the steering and the handling. It’s hard to describe that when we were just driving around normally, it was a very civilized car, and I could understand why Gary was able to daily drive this for several decades. But then going into more aggressive driving, it was almost like a completely different experience. I am spoiled with driving more modern manual transmissions and so shifting into third I wasn’t as smooth as you can see in this video as I probably wanted to be, but I started to get the hang of things towards the end. I loved the way that the exhaust sounded, slightly enlarged from the factory, but also how quiet and comfortable the car was.
As a part of this experience, I also learned that it’s getting handed down to Gary’s son, Alex. Alex is quite the car guy apparently and even though the last time that I saw him was probably when he was in the second grade, I’m so happy to see that he gets to have it, and it’s going to be much closer to me over here in the Willamette Valley. The very special story of this 1984 Nissan 300ZX continues on into the next generation and I’m very glad that I got to be a part of this.
Gary mentioned that these are not particularly rare cars and they made thousands of them, so purchasing one is not very difficult. If you’re looking for one, find one that has a good service history simply because they are old vehicles now. Finding one that has a good interior in particular is helpful because tracking down replacement parts can be difficult. Otherwise, finding one of these could be a very good car, either for pleasure, or for a daily driver.
