Faults:
Starter ring gear rotated on flywheel. Needed multiple start attempts before she roared (wimpered) into life. I just got into the habit of parking on hills facing down.
Fouled the plugs all the time (but then I was running it on AVGAS)
The Cam and cylinder bores were heavily worn when the previous owner (a work mate) bought it. He pulled it down. Decided it wasn't worth investing in repairs, and just reassembled it. The plan was to just thrash it about till it died.
General Comments:
The 120Y is the ugliest car I have ever owned.
I knew the motor was about stuffed, as I saw it disassembled about six months before. It had survived those six months so I figured it was worth NZD $450.
I got posted to Pilot Training squadron (Piston powered aircraft) so I ran the Datsun on AVGAS for the next 18 months. Think it got super twice. The Lead fouled the plugs, but then we had a plug tester and sandblaster so they just regular cleaning.
Couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding. Really, really gutless car.
Sold it for NZD $550 when I emigrated. A year later my old man ran into the new owner in the pub and he was raving about how reliable it was.
12th Jan 2007, 08:36
An update. Had an accident in the car. Needed a new wing which we managed to get brand new (thanks to Datman.) The other car (a Mondeo) came off a lot worse, so I'm pleased with the strength of the little beast.