Welcome to another Shitbox Showdown! Today’s cars are about the same age, and are both, well, funny-lookin’. Not ugly, exactly, just a little weird. But we like weird, don’t we?
But before we get there, let’s finish up with Friday’s four-way shootout. It’s only Saturday afternoon as I’m writing this, a little early to call it, but the results seem pretty conclusive: You all want to road-trip that little red Mercedes, premium fuel be damned. I applaud your courage, and I hope nothing goes wrong anywhere outside of a big city.
For me, among these, I think the choice is the Cadillac, even though it’s a distant third place in the votes. It’s comfy, it has a dirt-common Chevy V8 under the hood, and you can sleep in it in a pinch. And to the thirty-seven of you who chose the truck, my hat’s off to you. You’ll make it, I have no doubt, but it will be an arduous journey.
Did you ever have a line from a movie that just lives in your head, and pops out once in a while? Happens to me all the time, and more often than not, they’re lines from either Quentin Tarantino or Coen brothers movies. As soon as I saw the photos of today’s choices, a bit of dialogue from the 1996 classic Fargo came to mind, a description of Steve Buscemi’s character Carl: “Like I say, he was funny-lookin’. More n’ most people, even.”
Today’s cars are funny-lookin’. More n’ most cars, even. Let’s check them out.
1977 Datsun 200SX – $3,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter overhead cam inline 4, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Pasadena, CA
Odometer reading: 39,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
When Nissan entered the US auto market, it wasn’t content to simply use a different name for the whole company – Datsun – but it created alphanumeric names for models that already had names back in Japan. This car is known as the Nissan Silvia in its home country, but here in the US, it’s the Datsun 200SX. We also got massive battering-ram 5 MPH bumpers, of course, and a whole slew of emissions control devices bolted to its L20B four-cylinder engine.
Disappointingly, this example is Americanized in another way as well: it has an automatic transmission. Camaros and Mustangs had been rocking automatics for ages by this point, so two pedals in a sporty coupe was not unusual. But there is no question that this car would be better served by Datsun’s slick-shifting four or five speed manuals of the time. But there aren’t many first-generation 200SXs left, so you have to take what you can get.
It runs and drives great, according to the seller, and is an original one-owner car. The odometer shows only 39,000 miles, but I believe these have five-digit odometers, so it may have rolled over. Probably not more than once, however, from the look of it; it’s mighty clean inside.
Outside, it’s nice and straight, but it does have some rust. Southern California cars don’t generally rust, but ’70s Datsuns are apparently the exception. To be fair, however, in the Midwest, these cars looked worse than this by the time The Amityville Horror was in theaters.
1978 AMC Pacer Wagon – $2,850
Engine/drivetrain: 232 or 258 cubic inch overhead valve inline 6, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Peoria, AZ
Odometer reading: 100,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives, but needs brakes work
Perpetual underdog AMC threw everything it had into the development of the Pacer. Unfortunately, everything AMC had never amounted to much. Originally intended to be a technological masterpiece, the Pacer ended up just being wide, weird, and pretty ordinary under the skin. Instead of a Wankel rotary, it made do with the same old inline six as the rest of AMC’s lineup.
I mean, that’s not a bad thing; it’s a good engine, but it dates all the way back to 1964 – hardly state-of-the-art by the Carter years. It’s smooth and powerful enough for the time, but it got mediocre gas mileage at a time when EPA estimates were printed in great big numbers in every ad. This one runs fine, according to the seller, and the car is drivable, but it needs the brakes redone before being put into regular service.
The seller also says this Pacer needs some interior work but doesn’t include any decent overall photos to show what needs work. In fact, none of the photos in this ad are great. Ordinarily, I’d probably skip over an ad like this, but how often do you find a Pacer for sale, let alone a wagon? From what I can see, it’s in presentable condition outside, at least.
It’s not uncommon for project-y cars like this to come with some spare parts, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen five spare taillights included with a car before – three rights and two lefts, it looks like. Why so many, I wonder? Are they expecting a buyer to just back into stuff with wild abandon?
Yes, they’re both a little weird, but the more I look at them, the more I like them both. I can’t remember the last time I saw either one of them in person, and I know either one would turn my head. And isn’t that kind of the point? Why drive the same thing as everyone else? Get yourself a funny-lookin’ car, and live a little. Which one will it be?
Image credits: Craigslist sellers
TIL there was a 70’s 200sx lol only new the 80’s gen 2 (which I liked). Voted for the pacer tho, easier to get parts I imagine.
While weird, the pacer definitely has a solid following so someone will buy it. The Datsun, on the other hand, may just rot. Sarah McLachlan is tugging at my heartstrings today so I’ll rescue the little 200SX.
That 200 SX needs a smallblock V8.
The Pacer needs an LS and it would most surely fit.
I don’t care for the face lifted 78 much, but, how often does a Pacer wagon come up for sale? It’s weird enough to be cool in my book.
Voted Datsun even with the auto. 70’s Datsun was peak Nissan here. After that downhill. Well, a weird downhill with a nice surprise once in a while but they’re just terrible now.
As for the Pacer, I.just.can’t. I rode part of the way cross country in one of these and it broke down 3 times. So finally in Nebraska, somewhere outside of Omaha, I grabbed a Greyhound and let the college ride-board driver to deal with the Pacer.
Voted Datsun but obviously anyone who wants one of these would also take the other one in a heartbeat.
Now on to read the comments to find out how wrong I am!
If both choices are automatics, I’ll at least go with the 6 cylinder. Plus that 200SX has an awful lot of rust. It’s the Pacer for me.
I had a 78 200SX once upon a time with the dogleg 5 speed. I was ready to hop in the truck down to Pasadena with a fistfull of Benjamin Franklin portraits until I saw the automatic. Still gets my vote, just not my money.
Easy choice here, give me the 200SX. It’s always going to be a funky looking car but the USDM 5mph crash bumpers really massacred the looks of these. In Japan, they were sold as the “New Silvia” and had much better looking bumpers. Sourcing a set of JDM bumpers would be rough because they’re just as rare over there too but I’d still probably try.
Extra fun fact, when I said it was sold as the New Silvia, I meant it. It was even on the badge so you didn’t forget that it was new
To add insult to injury the prior year’s owners were forced to rebadge their car “The Old Silvia”.
The rust on the 200SX was enough for me to know the underside of that thing has more holes in it than plot of the Star Wars sequels. Also I find myself weirdly drawn to the Pacer, probably because I saw one with a twin turbo V8 doing a burnout competition recently. Pacer, please.
Yeah, and a 200SX looking like that in southern California explains why there are precisely zero of them left in any condition anyplace else
Those cars would rust in the Sahara. Or on the moon.
My first car was a 1982 200SX (S110, the generation after this one). It was 11 years old and already very rusty when I bought it in Buffalo, NY. I used to say that the only way the car could have oxidized faster was if it was on fire.
Went with the Pacer wagon even though it’s a ‘78, which means a worse facelift than Michael Jackson’s. I know it’s not nice to make fun of the dead, but to be fair, I made fun of him when he was alive, too.
The way I found out Michael Jackson had died was from my uncle rattling off one dead Michael Jackson joke after another while we rode a bus to a family wedding.
“Contrary to news reports Jackson did not die at home. He died at the children’s hospital while having a stroke.”
“The coroner was puzzled to find a pair of little boys’ underwear wrapped around Jackson’s arm. His friends said it was just a patch and he was trying to quit.”
My oblivious ass- Uh, did Michael Jackson die or something?
The 200 is no good, not with that transmission. These cars should never have automatics.
The Pacer will grab more eyeballs, and will drive quite well on Midwest roads. I had several teachers back in the day who drove Pacers, even one with a wagon. It just has way more potential than the 200.
Beezelbub has a devil put aside for me, for meeee, for meeeeeeeee!
I think you know how I voted.
There’s one painted like that around here. Even has the little flames behind the front wheels. On the occasions I see it out and about, the song automatically pops into my head, and I must sing.
My wife tends to flee in shame at this display.
You could try making it up to her by blasting Foxey Lady whenever she enters the room, but I can see that backfiring.
That would go off in my face like a Jeep clutch.
200SX with that good ol’ L20B. Still a lot of old Datsun pickups with that engine, and spare transmissions to go with them. I’ll bet it moves OK enough even with the auto.
I have a list of around 10 items for Pontiac Fieros that if I see one in a junk yard I just grab the parts knowing I will turn a profit selling them. For some reason junk yard Fieros almost always have good sail panels and those things are always in demand.
I vote the Pacer, then hope I’d find a good donor 2WD Jeep with the 4L/AW4 combo to swap in.
I had a 1966 AMC Rambler wagon that was super rusty. One day on the way to work, one of the taillights lenses and bezels just fell out on the interstate. I went back to try and find it, but no dice. It took me 3 months to track down another one on ebay.
I’d have been so happy to have a pile of spare tail lights.
The Nissan wins. At least the Nissan is sorta looks like a shuttle craft from Star Trek or from the planet Omicron Persei 8.
edit: I have seen these Nissans back in the day. And I miss ’em.
I love Lrrr.
“We will raise your planet’s temperature by one million degrees per day. For five days.”
That’s one alien who really likes his network television.
*I’ll take the Pacer*
Those are words that I thought I’d never type. Interesting that it has that many spare taillight lenses, because one thing that jumped at me on the Datsun is the broken turn signal lens. Something like that could be unobtanium at this point, and would prevent it from being legal in PA.
The Pacer presents itself weirdly well by not pretending to be anything but Weird at this point. In the modern era, it leans into it nicely. It’s also pretty straight, not rusting, and let’s not forget those spare taillights, that might bring in some extra bucks at the Pacer swap meet!
Now this is my kinda showdown! One car is well known but super weird, and the other most people will have no idea what they are looking at. I went for the Silvia, and would love to see this thing with an SR20 under the hood! I would of course go for the manual swap at the same time, but just enjoy it while working to get the funds. Sure it’s slow, but I would embrace the ugly duckling and have fun having the most unique car in the neighborhood. And another thought, it being so slow allows people more time to gawk.
The Datsun wins by default.
FIVE EXTRA TAILIGHTS?!? I was already gonna vote for the AMC, even if I have to fight Torch for it. He’s in a weakened state, so I think I’ve got a decent chance.
Pacer ad is gone. I’m thinking Torch snapped it up from his hospital bed.
He probably just thought he was having another fever dream.
The spare taillights are pure Torch bait.
This generation 200SX always looked like a kit car to me, especially the rear third, so I’m going with the Pacer.
I cannot recall ever noticing a 200sx in the wild, and I got my license in 1978. B210s everywhere, though.
Same. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one myself. I got my license in the ’80s, and in a B210 was the first time I ever drove stick even.
I briefly owned a 2G and see those from time to time, but I’ve never seen a 1G with my own eyes.
I’ve seen a few in my time, most notably the one my uncle briefly owned. The interior was funky, but kind of cool. It wasn’t baby-friendly, so I think he had it for about a year before trading it in on a station wagon.
we had an apple green B210 hatchback and drove the daylights out of it for years until the front of the hood rusted off. great basic transportation of the kind which is no longer available
These are both magnificent garbage, but my grandma bought a Pacer brand new, so I’m gonna go with the Pacer. I wonder what she would do if she saw I had one.