My 1st car was a 71 1200 fast back. It was really rusted but it never left me stranded. After 20 years, I found 1 the same color and same year in mint condition !!! This 1 will be my casquet !!!

I picked up a 1200 GX Sedan really cheap and started working on it.....I then found a blue coupe.

I put the Coupe around Sandown with just the stock A12 and turned a better laptime than my mate (at the time) in his non turbo Silva - felt really nice and decided I liked these cars!

Lost the 1200 GX sedan sadly - probably only one of it's type in Australia too.....ah well win some lose some.

For me it was when I saw this car Marsh Coupe at a hillclimb. It was black when I first saw it few years earlier around 1987 and ran 4 motorcycle carbs (mikuni's?). I was astounded at how quick it was - up till then I thought you needed a big engine to go fast. I also worked with guy at the time who'd had a very quick light blue 1200SSS who was forever on about how great these cars were.

Was then hooked - traded in my Mk3 Ford Cortina on a std B310 sedan, Worked the engine and raced it etc plus still used as daily driver. Rest is history.

Yeah but its a disease that we can live with and enjoy till we die of a natural death. Hopefully just go out peacefully in me Datsun at a red light one day.

It started for my back in 1996. I was kicking around in a 1963 push button auto valiant. It could do the meanest skids. The early push button 904 torqueflites had copper impregnated clutch linings. So I skided the tyres down the the canvas every weekend. But with 4 wheel drums, and 33 year old shocks it wasn't a sports car.
A mate of mine had a partly primered 1200 coupe. I used to ring him to pick me up after being at the clubrooms after rugby on a saturday night. He drove around a corner that would have been a 35mph corner in my Valiant, at 75pmh in his 1200. I was sold on them after that. He went on to almost kill me and two other mates one night on the piss. (Totally destroyed the car) I got a 1200 of my own in 1997. A (so called) mate of mine wrote that off for me. (in 1998) And I spent a week in hospital. I swore off them after that. BUT, it wasn't too long before I felt the yearning to have another 1200. and in 1999 I got another. I've had 3 since them. Datsuns are a disease. Once you catch it, there's no going back..........

I blame my brother, he helped me buy a car when i was 18, and it happened to be a nice cream 1200 coupe. Now, many dollars the poorer i still love my 1200's. It's an obssession really, very unheathy ;)

funny that,i can't bring myself to sell the ute...it's too rusty..and also too much fun...no comparison i'm afraid.the plymouth is real steel.the other is just a little toy!but,both are great fun cars.

What a coincidence. I let my Duster go because it rusted out ... long before the 1200 did.

Sometimes I think about getting another Duster (like everytime one's on the cover of Hot Rod) but ...

dunno about falling in love,never seen so much rust in such a small car!...but,i could not say no to a little 1200ute with a 3800v6,5speed and locker after seeing it reverse out and go !st,2nd,3rd,4th,and into 5th on the limiter on the spot.power to weight,unbeatable.
but,my heart also really is with a big block Plymouth Duster.

For me, and I'm sure for some others, it really began after I got another car and didn't drive a 1200 for a couple years.

I got a 1200 at 17 years old -- first car. My second car was a couple of year later as I recall an '71 Plymouth Duster (valiant coupe). I loved that car too. In the meantime my mom drove my 1200 for a couple of years.

You don't know how good a 1200 is until you miss it. Other cars might be better in some ways, but nothing did I miss as much as a 1200.