well fooey....

i still think sedans look tough, and handle better....maybe if i didnt own two sedans, my thoughts would be different....

and i have driven all 1200's, cept a wagon, and i reckon the ute handles the best! hehe. love that 'no ass end' feeling, just drift that weightless ass all over the place, hehe

-Jesse

The coupe handles better than the 4 door sedan. It's COG is lower and I think it's a little longer. Sorry Jesse history is on the coupe's side here - it's been the 1200 of choice for racers in Japan, NZ and Australia for 30 years. Datsun Australia nailed Bathurst in one - all the way through to the current NSW Under 2.0 litre State class which has 3 running. The only thing the sedan had in it's favour over the coupe was the 90 degree rear shocks but I reckon the drum fronts give that advantage away!

ok ok, sedan is definately the better handler of the two, coupe and sedan, and yes, it does weigh less. Just because it may be only 10kg's different, doesnt mean it doesnt make a difference to handle and performance. When your talking about such light cars as these, even the slightest weight change can be noticed.

As for ground clearance, the coupe is actually higher than the sedan. 16.8cm for the sedan, and 17cm for the coupe.

ciao

-Jesse

ACTUALLY IT IS CORRECT
standard Nissan practice was/is to give weights with all fluids in place including a full fuel tank. the discrepency between the coupe listed at 1609 lb. and 1640 lb. is the difference in model years, the 1609 lb. figure is for a 1971 model, while the 1640 lb.figure is for a 1973 model.
for the 1973 model year, the bumpers on USA models were heavier as they were required to pass a 5 mph crash test.
the 2 dr. sedan is definatly the lightest weight of the 4 bodys produced, but that difference is so small that it won't make that big of a difference, the coupe having a lower over all height more than makes up for it with a lower center of gravity

See http://www.ratdat.com/brochuregal/b110brgal/index.htm which is a scan of a Nissan brochure. It states this:

2-dr Sedan: 1587 lbs [720 kg]
2-dr Coupe: 1609 lbs [730 kg]

I'm pretty sure this is incorrect. The US safety listed by Nissan at 1640 lbs (744 kg). This is with the stock 12 wheels and tires, and presumably with 1/2 tank of fuel, although Nissan didn't list the exact criteria. Maybe the above brochure was without any fuel or water in the car.

The 4-dr sedan would presumably be heavier than the 2-dr sedan.

<small>[ Edited by ddgonzal on 2002/4/26 18:02:17 ]</small>

half of people says the 1200 weighs 700kg others say 750kg, which is it? Americans all seem to say 700kg but im sure the paperwork says 750kg here in Aus at least. is there a diffrence between countries? ive got a coupe so please dont tell me its 50kg heavier than sedan cause ill f'n spew cause ive bought the wrong car then.
Also a guy i spoke to who has had various 1200's says he's best handling 1200 was a sedan, i realise the sedans rear shockers are vertical and the coupes angle in, and the sedan has the fuel over the rear axle but what do you guys reckon?
Ive been told the 1200 has practically a 50/50 weight distribution front to back, im wondering if thats for the sedan and because the coupes fuel tank is located undeneath that weight distribution is lost?