Datsun 260Z

The Datsun 260Z is the middle chapter of the original S30 Z-car story: recognisably descended from the 240Z, still front-engined and rear-wheel drive, but with a larger 2.6-litre straight-six and a range that became more complicated once market rules and the new 2+2 body are taken into account.

That complication is why apparently simple 260Z questions often produce conflicting answers. A US article may describe the 260Z as a one-year 1974 model. A British car can legitimately be several years newer. A period US road test may quote 139 hp, while a European reference gives a materially higher figure. Neither is automatically wrong; they are describing different market specifications.

The safest way to understand a 260Z is to establish market, body style and chassis identity first, then compare the car with evidence that actually applies to it. For a step-by-step comparison across the original Z range, use the TMJC S30 identification guide.

For the car that came before it, see the Datsun 240Z reference. For the wider marque story, see Datsun.

Where the 260Z fits in the S30 story

The 260Z did not replace the shape and basic layout of the 240Z with a new-generation platform. It was an evolution of the same first-generation Z-car idea.

In Britain and Europe, the 260Z followed the 240Z during 1974 and remained part of the range for several years. The United States followed a different timetable: its 260Z was a 1974-model-year bridge before the fuel-injected 280Z took over for 1975.

That difference matters to collectors because the internet contains an enormous amount of US Z-car information. A statement such as “the 260Z was only built for one year” can be perfectly sensible in a US-market discussion and still be misleading when applied to a 1977 UK car.

Period British reporting makes the distinction unusually clear. Motor Sport tested a two-seat 260Z in April 1974; in the same issue it reported that Datsun U.K. had announced the four-seat 2+2 after the road test was written. In December 1977 the magazine reported that both the two-seater and 2+2 would be freely available in Britain again.

Those reports establish British availability, not the exact build date of an individual car or one global production endpoint. They do show why market history must be checked before a registration year is judged against a US-only timeline.

The 260Z also introduced a more obvious split in body type. Buyers could encounter the familiar two-seat coupe as well as a 2+2 with a longer wheelbase and rear seats. They share the 260Z name but should not be treated as one set of dimensions with a different seat count.

The L26 engine: what changed from the 240Z?

The central mechanical change is in the name. The 240Z's 2.4-litre six gave way to Nissan's 2,565 cc L26 straight-six.

Period Nissan workshop material identifies the L26 as the engine used in the 260Z family, while FIA homologation for the 260Z 2+2 records 2,565 cc and six cylinders. The basic formula remained familiar: a longitudinal six-cylinder engine driving the rear wheels through a manual or automatic transmission, with independent strut suspension.

The larger engine was not simply about adding a headline power figure. Contemporary and specialist accounts describe the 260Z as gaining flexibility from the extra capacity and torque, while Nissan also revised gearing and chassis detail as the S30 developed.

That is a more useful way to think about the car than assuming every 260Z is simply a 240Z plus 200 cc. The exact driving character also depends on market emissions equipment, gearbox, final drive, body style and model year.

Why 260Z power figures disagree

There is no single power number that can safely be pasted onto every 260Z.

A period US Car and Driver test of a 1974 260Z 2+2 records 139 hp at 5,600 rpm. Datsun U.K.'s own 1974 brochure quotes 162 bhp (SAE) at 5,600 rpm and 152 lb ft at 4,400 rpm for the UK two-seat car; strong specialist material is consistent with that period figure. The difference is not a reason to decide that one publication is mistaken. US emissions requirements and market specification materially changed the American car, and period power measurements are not always directly comparable across standards either.

For a collector, the rule is straightforward:

• establish the car's original market;
• identify its engine and emissions specification;
• establish whether the engine remains standard;
• then compare output claims with the correct period source.

A UK-market 260Z should not be marked down because its period literature disagrees with a US specification sheet. Equally, a US import should not be advertised using whichever European figure looks most attractive without explaining the difference.

For that reason, any quoted power figure should be labelled by market and measurement context rather than presented as universal.

UK and European 260Z versus the US 260Z

The easiest 260Z mistake is to combine the American and European cars into one generic specification.

One universal figure would mislead, and model-year changes also occur within both markets.

The collector lesson is more important than memorising a specification table: the original market is part of the car's identity.

What did Datsun U.K. specify in 1974?

A surviving Datsun U.K. sales brochure gives a much better anchor than a generic online specification table for the early British-market two-seater.

Datsun described the 260Z as a 1974 development of the 240Z and specified:

• 2,565 cc inline-six capacity;
• 162 bhp (SAE) at 5,600 rpm;
• 152 lb ft at 4,400 rpm;
• twin Hitachi HMB46W SU-type carburettors;
• a five-speed all-synchromesh manual gearbox;
• a 3.70:1 final-drive ratio;
• a 90.7-inch wheelbase for the two-seat car.

That is useful because it puts the familiar 162 bhp and five-speed claims onto period Datsun U.K. evidence rather than leaving them as repeated secondary figures. It also explains why the contemporary US 139 hp road-test figure should not be treated as proof that the British specification is wrong: the cars were sold to different market requirements, and the UK brochure itself labels its figure only as SAE without stating gross or net.

The brochure is still a 1974 two-seat snapshot, not a universal 260Z data sheet. Do not transfer its weight, dimensions, transmission or output automatically to a 2+2 or to every later UK/European model year. For an individual car, market, body style and build period still come first.

Two-seat 260Z versus 260Z 2+2

The 2+2 is not a two-seat 260Z with a small rear bench squeezed into the same shell.

It uses a longer wheelbase and longer body to create rear-seat space. The roofline and rear-quarter treatment change with it, so the side profile is one of the clearest ways to distinguish the two bodies when they are close to standard.

The homologation record makes the identity distinction explicit. The FIA lists the Datsun 260Z 2+2 as GR(L)S30, with 2,565 cc, six cylinders and rear-wheel drive. Period Nissan material uses the RS30 / RLS30 family for two-seat 260Z applications.

Those codes are more useful than calling every car an “S30” and stopping there. S30 is the wider first-generation Z family; the extra letters help narrow the actual derivative.

Because suffixes can encode body, steering side or market applicability, do not guess an individual car's full code from a photograph. Read the stamped chassis/car number and type plate, then compare it with documentation for that market.

What do RS30, RLS30 and GRS30 mean for a buyer?

For practical due diligence, the important point is that a 260Z should have a 260Z-family factory identity that remains traceable even if the visible car has been modified.

Nissan's own heritage record of the 1974 Safari Rally calls the competition 260Z an RS30. Period Nissan service documentation also places 260Z applications in the RS30/RLS30 family. FIA material separately records the longer 2+2 as GR(L)S30.

That gives a buyer an evidence hierarchy:

1. record the stamped chassis or car number exactly;
2. compare it with the type plate and registration documents;
3. establish whether the body is two-seat or 2+2;
4. identify the original market and steering configuration;
5. only then use cosmetic features to check whether the car still resembles its factory specification.

The same principle matters on a 240Z, which is why the existing 240Z restomod due-diligence guide puts shell identity ahead of visible modifications. For the paperwork side of that check, use the collector-car provenance checklist.

How do you tell a 240Z from a 260Z?

There are useful visual clues, but no single bumper, indicator or badge is strong enough to replace the chassis identity.

The 260Z received detail changes around lighting, trim, bumpers and other exterior hardware as the S30 evolved. The difficulty is that these cars have now had five decades of repairs, restorations and modification. Backdated bumpers are common. Engines and gearboxes are swapped. Lamps and badges can be replaced. A reshelled or heavily restored car may contain parts from several years.

A sensible inspection therefore works from strongest evidence to weakest:

• stamped chassis/car number and type plate;
• old registration, import and ownership records;
• engine number and engine type;
• body configuration and structural details;
• date-coded or period-correct components where useful;
• bumpers, lamps, badges and wheels as corroboration rather than proof.

Community identification discussions regularly show why this matters: knowledgeable owners can disagree over a photograph because a modified 260Z can wear 240Z-style bumpers, while an early-market detail may overlap another year's appearance.

If originality affects the price, buy the paperwork and the shell identity as carefully as the cosmetics.

Is the 260Z simply a less desirable 240Z?

That is too crude a way to judge the car.

The 240Z has the advantage of being the original export version and usually carries the strongest historical recognition. The 260Z develops the same basic package with more engine capacity and, in period European form, a useful increase in flexibility. Later cars can also offer detail improvements that make them appealing to someone who wants to drive an S30 rather than collect the earliest possible specification.

The 2+2 is a different proposition again. Its longer body and rear seats move it a little further toward grand touring. Some collectors strongly prefer the two-seat proportions, but that is a taste and market question rather than evidence that the 2+2 is an incorrectly configured 260Z.

Condition can dominate the ownership experience. A structurally sound, well-documented 260Z is usually a better starting point than a supposedly more desirable 240Z with hidden rust, confused identity or years of poorly documented parts swapping.

What to inspect before buying a Datsun 260Z

The major buying risks are familiar to anyone who has looked closely at an early Z: corrosion, old repairs and cars that have accumulated parts from different specifications.

Shell and rust

Treat the monocoque as the expensive part of the car. Inspect:

• chassis rails and floors;
• sills and jacking areas;
• inner wings and suspension pick-up points;
• battery area;
• rear arches and lower quarters;
• hatch and spare-wheel area;
• previous welded repairs and fresh underseal;
• alignment of doors, hatch and front panels.

A shiny exterior does not tell you how much original metal remains underneath it. Restoration photographs are particularly valuable on a car that has already had major shell work.

Identity and market

Write down the complete chassis/car number and engine number. Confirm that the V5C, import paperwork and old invoices tell a consistent story.

If the car is presented as a UK-market two-seater, a US import, a 2+2 or a backdated example, ask for evidence that establishes that history independently of the current appearance.

Engine and fuel system

Confirm that the claimed engine is actually the L26 or, if it has been replaced, that the change is documented. L28 swaps are not unusual in the S30 world and can make an enjoyable car, but they should not be hidden inside an originality claim.

Check cold start, oil pressure, cooling behaviour, carburettor condition and fuel-system work. A car that has sat for long periods may need more than a cosmetic recommissioning even if the engine itself is fundamentally robust.

Gearbox and driveline

Do not assume that the transmission currently fitted is the one the car left the factory with. Check the gearbox type, clutch operation, prop-shaft work, differential noise and universal joints. Period market specification matters, and five-speed conversions or later Nissan components are common on modified Zs.

Suspension and brakes

Inspect struts, springs, bushes, steering joints, wheel bearings, brake hydraulics and mounting points. Modifications such as coilovers, larger brakes and non-standard wheels need to be assessed as an integrated chassis setup rather than counted as value-adding parts.

The 260Z and TMJC's current 240Z

TMJC's current S30 example is a 1970 240Z Restomod, not a 260Z. Its documented US origin, later right-hand-drive conversion and extensive mechanical changes are useful for one reason here: they show how far an S30 can move away from its original visible specification while its underlying factory identity still matters.

The 260Z therefore needs to be identified on its own evidence rather than by borrowing 240Z specification or treating later-looking S30 components as proof that the base car changed identity.

The same evidence-first approach matters for the 280Z. A broad “240Z vs 260Z vs 280Z” comparison is most useful when each car’s market, body style and factory identity have been established first.

Which 260Z figures need extra context?

There are several 260Z numbers repeated widely online that are not strong enough to present as universal facts.

Most notably, production totals vary between secondary sources and are often unclear about whether they include two-seat and 2+2 cars, which markets they cover, or whether they are actually totals for a broader S30 period. Nissan's own heritage material gives more than 520,000 first-generation Z sales globally, but that is not a 260Z-only production number.

Without a model-specific Nissan production ledger or equally strong primary record, it is safer not to quote a single global 260Z total as settled fact.

The same restraint applies to power, dimensions and gearbox specification: qualify them by market and body where the evidence requires it.

Sources and further reading

• Nissan Heritage — Nissan's Safari Rally results
• FIA Historic Database — Datsun 260 Z 2+2, homologation 5588
• Nissan Motor Co. — L20A/L24/L26 engine service manual, third-party document host
• Classic & Sports Car — Datsun 240Z / 260Z buyer's guide
• Classic & Sports Car — Datsun 240Z, 260Z and 280ZX
• Datsun U.K. Limited — Datsun 260Z Sports, 1974 UK sales brochure
• Car and Driver — 1974 Datsun 260Z period test
• Motor Sport — The Datsun 260Z, April 1974
• Motor Sport — 260Z 2+2 announcement, April 1974
• Motor Sport — Return of Z, December 1977