When you think of race cars, a first-generation Nissan Sentra might not be the last car you would think of, but it’s pretty far down the list. That’s why I was surprised to find not one, but two race-prepared Sentras for sale, on opposite sides of the country, for about the same price. Sometimes the car choices just fall into my lap.
None of you were very happy with me for yesterday’s choices, but if you don’t scrape the bottom of the barrel once in a while, you don’t appreciate the better stuff. Grudgingly, you gave the rusty, high-mileage Mitsubishi Lancer the win, but I don’t expect to see any of you driving around in it any time soon.
I disagree. I’m going to take the Accent for my choice. Yeah, it looks like hell, and the damage is all the result of one person’s bad driving, but that one person can also tell you everything that has happened to that car since day one. I’d rather offer them $1,500 for that than give some scummy dealership a grand more for a car they probably paid $400 for.
Race cars come in all shapes and sizes. You name it, somebody has put it on a track. I’ve seen a race-prepared Morris Minor, watched a Plymouth Reliant make a twelve-second pass down a dragstrip, and witnessed the hilarity of a Rolls-Royce Corniche autocrossing. (Remember the dancing hippos in Fantasia? Like that, only less graceful.) At the moment, amazingly, there are two unlikely old race cars for sale – both early Nissan Sentras. Let’s see which one you’d rather hoon around a race track.
1982 Nissan Sentra SE – $6,950
Engine/drivetrain: 1.5-liter OHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Tallmadge, OH
Odometer reading: 11,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
In 1982, the Nissan name was new in the US; prior to that, its cars were sold under the Datsun nameplate. The Sentra was the second car to carry the Nissan name here; the larger Stanza was the first. What we have here is one of the very first Sentras, an early preproduction car that was used in an endurance race series sponsored by Playboy magazine and Escort radar detectors. I don’t think it has ever been registered for street use; it has only 11,000 miles on its odometer, all from racing.
The engine in these early Sentras isn’t exactly racy: it’s a 1.5-liter four-cylinder with a little two-barrel carburetor. It makes all of 67 horsepower, delivered to the front wheels through a five-speed manual. This car weighs less than 2,000 pounds, so it’s not as sluggish as you might think. It runs and drives great, according to the seller, but I don’t know if it could be driven on the street. I guess it depends on your state laws and whether or not it has a title. Race cars often don’t.
There’s a lot of original Sentra left inside; the door panels, carpet, dashboard, and even the rear seats and cargo cover are still intact. The driver’s seat has been replaced by a racing seat, and there’s a full roll cage installed, but otherwise it’s not far from stock. Strangely, the speedometer needle has also been removed. Is that a requirement for a race car? Are you not allowed to know how fast you’re going?
I never would have thought a Sentra hatchback with racing numbers and sponsor decals would look so cool, but here it is. It’s probably one of the cleanest ’82 Sentras left, by virtue of never having seen road use. It would almost be a shame to drive it on the road after all this time, but it would also be a ton of fun to roll up to a car gathering in it.
1983 Nissan Sentra – $6,250
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter DOHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Silverton, OR
Odometer reading: unknown
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Most amateur race cars don’t start out as new cars, of course. I imagine this ’83 Sentra started out as someone’s grocery-getter, and only after a long life of daily service was it converted into the racing machine you see here. It’s no grocery-getter now, unless by “groceries” you mean snacks from the track’s concession stand.
This car looks like it was built for a “Prepared” or “Modified” class, or something that allows engine swaps as long as the new engine comes from the same manufacturer. This Sentra is powered by a Nissan SR20DE four-cylinder engine that probably makes twice the horsepower of the stock engine. It has a five-speed manual gearbox with a limited-slip differential. The seller says it is “very quick” and “handles amazing.” I believe it.
This one is a lot more gutted inside than the other car. It has only one seat, no carpet or door panels, and not much of the dashboard either. I don’t think you could put this one back on the street without finding a donor Sentra and putting a lot of stuff back. But if you have the ability to trailer it to tracks or autocross events, it could be a lot of fun.
Outside, it wears the livery of a famous Datsun race car, and it looks pretty good. It has a few dings and scuffs, but hardly anything worth worrying about, and there’s no rust on it. I don’t think a car will pass a race inspection with any rust on it, except maybe Lemons.
Used race cars have a limited audience, I know, but finding two examples of such an unlikely race machine was just too good an opportunity to pass up. So just imagine you were going to try your hand at racing. Which one of these looks like a better starting point? Or, if you really have no interest in racing, which one would you try to put back on the street?
I went with the red one. Red makes ’em go faster. IRL I have zero interest in owning a race car at the moment. I see a roll cage I’m out.
I think the Playboy connection is kind of interesting, but not all that much in the end, the faster unit would get my vote in this case, though only with autopian money.
Throw in 4K to find an aluminum 2008-09 LS 5.3 motor out of a Canyon/H3 Alpha to plop in either of those and I would be far more excited to own one of those, but that would ruin them in the end. So….
That being said, if we are looking for a shitbox sentra for far less that can actually be used for a bit for something other than towing to a car show, this would be my jam. https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/f903b092-8e05-4f3b-8eed-439fff410973/
Both look great, I’ll take the ’82 to race in a stock class, just need a tow rig and a second bucket seat/harness and I’m off to my stage rally debut.
Probably a “neither” day for me. These cars aren’t my thing.
For voting, I went with the ’83. It is a nicer looking car (I like plain/understated styling). I also like the two tone paint job, the black wheels, and the checkered flag decals covering the headlights.
I also don’t want a car that has advertisements for both “Playboy” and “Escort.” I know the latter is a radar detector and not a company that provides “companionship” for the evening, but the combination of those two sponsors looks particularly unsavory.
Agreed, the Sentra is the better choice in this scenario. Lol.
Yeah, I noticed that after I wrote it. I edited my comment to clarify I meant the ’83 Sentra. My brain hasn’t fully turned on yet this morning.
Although, if anyone wants to place any wagers, I’ll take $50 on the Sentra winning.
I had to scroll up and down a couple times to make sure I was picking the right year and to keep track of what everyone else was voting for, so I fully understand
I’ve got $50 on the Sentra to lose.
I have $50 on both of them placing
The sponsors was what killed the 82 for me too. It’s the better body style, has the better interior, and is a legit, low mile race car with a cool story behind it, but I am not about to drive anything with playboy all over it, and for sake of originality I would not want to remove them either.
I prefer the body style and aesthetics of the ’83, but without the sponsors I might have voted for the ’82 for the racing provenance and condition. Based on the comments it appears several others have found the sponsors problematic – I wonder how much that is affect the voting?
The ’82 is cooler looking, but as a preproduction car I don’t think it has any shot of being road legal.
I think racing would be fun, but the smiles-per-dollar ratio tends to be pretty poor compared to my other hobbies even with a cheap car as a starting point, so I gave up on pursuing it a long time ago.
Since I’m not going to race it and with some parts it seems like the ’83 is the only one that might make it back to road legal, that’s my pick. Being faster and cheaper just sweetens the deal.
The hatchback because it’s a relatively unmolested 44 year old classic race car with a documented history. I figure that’s got to be worth something.
I can believe it. People will make race cars out of pretty much anything.
Honestly, the ’82 seems like a better time. And it’s the better looking of the two.
Even with like 40hp, I’d rather race with that ’82 lol
This feels like a no bad option one!
It’s gotta be the ’82, I can’t be driving a car with a cracked dashpad like the
’83.
The ’82 is cooler in my opinion, but the 83 is undoubtedly the better race car. I have never wanted to own a car that can only be driven to the track so I prefer something with a title but give me the Playboy Escort.
“better race car” really depends on the class it’s in. Maybe that 2.0L puts the car out of its depth, maybe the ’82 dominates the <1.6L stock class, or it could be the opposite, but the only way to know would be further research on what they’re up against.
Fair point, I meant the ’83 would beat up on the ’82 around a track, but they probably aren’t racing in the same class!
’83, primarily because it seems more likely to actually pass inspection.
I audibly gasped at the under hood shot of the 82, my aunt had one for over a decade, and as a young wrencher I spent many weekends working on it for her.
It is a lot more fun to drive than you’d expect, and honestly a lot more reliable than most cars produced in the early 80s, I was working on it ten years later.
I’d happily hoon that little 82 a couple weekends a year, I’d even be willing to buy a tow rig to haul it around.
Build wise, I’d do nothing but maintenance and sticky tires.
Sorry, but I’m not getting into anything that says “Playboy Escort” on it! Sorry all you playboys out there, but you have to look elsewhere for your escort!
Aslo, if you don’t know whether the speedo works since the needle is missing, how do know if the mileage is accurate?
Plus, the BRE livery is one of my favs. So, no consideration needed on my part, I’m going with the 83.
Haha I raised an eyebrow at the pedigree in the text but didn’t see it had “playboy escort” printed on the side
I certainly don’t have the clout to pull off driving a car labelled “Playboy Escort”, but that’s what put this over the top for me. Not for actually racing, but for shows and meets (a Playboy sponsored Sentra?!). The ’83 is the better vehicle for actual track use, but there are probably better cars to consider for $6k.
Hatch for practicality.
We had an 84 (I think) Sentra wagon. I think it still had both Datsun and Nissan badges on the back? Also cavernous – could tote a sousaphone around when you took the bell off.
Yes, specifically it had a badge that said Nissan by Datsun on the back for the first year or two of production.
I’m picking the hatch for no other reason than I like the looks better.
Either of these would be a ton of fun at a track day.
…I do think that depends on what group you end up in and what’s in it. Both of these would end up with the slowest cars there that day. If it’s Miatas and Toybarus with the odd Civic, you’d probably be fine in the ’82. You’d still be slowest (unless someone brings a LeMons car,) but you’d be fine. But I wouldn’t get on track with BMWs, Mustangs, Corvettes, and Porsches with anything less than the ’83. And even then…
“Oh, there are two of them. Well, there’s one of me…”
“Deleted!”
“…wait, no! Undelete! Undelete!”
…anyway, on a modern track, you’re less likely with the SR20 to get run over by a GT3, and that car has a better cage. The Hatch is historic, maybe folkloric, but even in basically Gr.N condition it’s more a museum piece than something you’d track today. Would like both but in 2026, the notchback is more fit for purpose.
Come back Ali!!! Come back Ali’s sister!!!!
My thoughts exactly.
I think before either of these we’d want to know what current classes or spec they qualify for. The 82 references a spec c class (presumably not around anymore?) and hints they have logbooks etc. which is great.
The 83 obviously has a SCCA ICSCC sticker and ITS class sticker on it so at one point it was compliant as well.
One thing I’ve learned is if you want to race, keep the class in mind first, otherwise you’re in for a world of hurt with mods, purchases, etc. In other words, are there actually classes that these could compete in these days outside of general track days or autox? They’re actually pretty decent for generic track day cars too – its what you’d drop on a track-decent miata.
I’d just run them at open track days once or twice a year, at least for the next five years or so until my kids either want to go to the track with me, or are old enough to be left unattended for most of a weekend, without worrying about house fires.
By then I’ll have a good understanding of where they would slot in for actual competition, and have the car well sorted for competition. Probably be pretty comfortable with the car on track as well.
And the ’83 is apparently built for SCCA’s Improved Touring C class. I know some guys doing Honda’s in IT. They say it’s the most fun because it’s the least serious and most fun…
THe ’82 is interesting as a time capsule; and I’m sure the prep and fab work on it were done pretty well for the high-profile series back in the day.
If you intend to race it again, though, I’d guess you’re in for expense and re-fit before you’ll pass safety inspections.
Is the cage up to snuff for current rules? Harnesses are old and will need to be replaced. Etc.
It is neat, though!
If you actually wanted to get out there and bomb around, the BRE ’83 is more viable and has more power for more fun, anyway. And it’s less of an heirloom you might feel bad about cracking up.
I’m taking the ’82 simply because I wouldn’t have to drive as far to go get it.
How about both? Then do a super sketchy VIN swap. Then you have a minty original car to occasionally drive on the street AND a beat-but-prepped car for the track!
The red 1982 looks like Myron Vernis’ car so I’m voting for it.
Definitely his car, and it’s in his location.
My thoughts exactly.
My old S12 Nissan Silvia turbo was as stripped out as the 2,0 option, and that made a hilarious if noisy road car. So the one with the big engine please.
For racing? Obviously the highly modded ’83 with the 2.0-liter.
Attempting to use it on the road as a daily? I like the ’82 with it’s hatch, more original interior, and low (but mean) miles.
Unfortunately I don’t think there’s any chance the preproduction ’82 will ever be road legal anywhere, or it would be my choice. It likely doesn’t even have a VIN.
We need a both option.
I guess I’ll go ’82 for the old Cibie lights. (And Escort heritage.)