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While at the Motoring J Style show in May, I spotted an amazingly original Datsun 510 two-door parked in the exhibition hall. Turns out it was owned by David Swig, the guy in charge of the event, and now I've managed to get him to bring the car to the former Alameda Naval Air Station (where they now make absinthe ) for some photos. The car was purchased from its original owner, who always garaged it and for many years drove it just once a month or so; this Datsun is solid Compare its condition to that of most 510s, which have spent their lives in glorious clouds of tire smoke and- all too often- wrapped around telephone poles! galleryPost('OrangeDatsun510', 6, '1973 Datsun 510');
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Welcome to Down On The Street , where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Today we're going to check out one of my all-time favorite Japanese cars, the one that started the whole hot-rodded Japanese machinery thing here in the US of A: Datsun 510! Sometimes I get asked whether irate car owners come running after me with a shotgun when they see me shooting their cars, but my experience with this Datsun was more typical; the owner came out to see what was going on, was glad that someone appreciated his car, and opened the hood and trunk so I could get better photos. It's funny that the car known as the "Poor Man's BMW 2002" is now worth more than a 2002. In 1971, you could buy a brand-new 2002 for $3,275… or a Datsun 510 for $1,990. Both cars had IRS, disc brakes, etc., but the BMW had the power edge, with 114 horses versus 96. With the money the Datsun buyer saved, however, another 50 horsepower could...
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The Malaise Era Japanese cars are just about all gone by now, and it's especially obvious with Datsuns. The Datsun-Nissan changeover happened during the early 80s, just as digital engine controls and less restrictive catalytic converters signaled the end of the Malaise Era and the beginning of the Turbo Mullet Era (feel free to start throwing that name around). Today we're going to look at one of the last of the rear-wheel-drive econo-Datsuns, sold during the crazy gasoline price spikes of the 1979 Energy Crisis . Yes, back when disco was king and the echoes of Jimmy Carter's Malaise Speech were still reminding us of the diminished expectations that lay ahead. Malaise or not, the B310 Sunny (as it was known in Japan) got the job done. You got the gas-sipping 1.4 liter A14 engine and pretty solid reliability. It was crude by the standards we've come to expect in an econobox these days, but you weren't paying to haul around 800 pounds of sound insulation and fake wood...
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The little Datsuns of the early 70s are just about gone now, though a few still roam the streets of the Island That Time Forgot. We saw a '75 B210 last fall, and now we've got an even rarer machine in this early-70s 1200. I'm calling it a '71, but it might be a '72 or maybe even a '70; we'll need to rely on the serious Datsun fiends out there to nail down the exact year. This car may spend most of its time garaged, but I see it on the street in my neighborhood from time to time. It appears to be an original, unrestored time capsule of an early Datsun. I'm hoping I'll be able to find the owner one of these days and ask him about this little jewel's story. Known as the Sunny back in its homeland, the 1200 was cheap, got great mileage, and was way more reliable than its European and Detroit competition. And it has an interesting Japanese racing history as well! Who knows, maybe this is the original Yankees bullpen car (though apparently the Dodgers had...
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Six months since the last DOTS Datsun Z? What's going on here? Since they don't really rust here, I think the shortage of early Zs on the street has something to do with their hoon-friendly qualities; most of them were wrecked, blown up, or otherwise hooned to death. We know they can take a lot of punishment on the race track , too. I've found a few of the early-80s ZXs I might go ahead and shoot, since now I know we have fans of the Late Malaise Zs here. I spotted this Middle Malaise Z parked just a few spaces down from the beateriffic Toyota AE86 . Naturally, the first thing I thought was "track down the owner and see if he'll sell it for under $500," because this beast has 24 Hours of LeMons written all over it. Of course, that was before we found the $100 Volvo . This 280Z has been hit, Bondoed, hit, Bondoed, and then hit some more. The owner finally gave up on the whole rear bumper idea, opting for a devil-may-care bumperless treatment. Now the big tailpipe...
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Since the readers have spoken on the DOTS Pickup Truck question, we're going to look at another old truck today. And, since we're turning Japanese this week, we're going to make it a Japanese truck! And not one rebranded with some Detroit carmaker's name; no, this is a genuine 200-proof Datsun. The old Toyota trucks get all the press, what with their being the vehicle of choice for strongmen and warlords the world over, but Nissan made some pretty solid ones as well. Check out those funky tailgate latches and plywood bed cover. It doesn't matter what continent it comes from- this thing kicks shit! Ahhh, take a whiff of That Junkyard Car Smell: mildew, sun-baked plastic, and decaying foam rubber. This truck probably has 500,000 miles on the clock and no doubt will start right up after sitting immobile for six months. It's a damn shame that you can't buy a truly small, simple Japanese pickup these days. Why, even warlords insist on AC nowadays! This truck parks next to the 1976 Monza we saw...
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Once again, I must rail against the sad fact that just about all the Malaise Era Japanese cars have been crushed by now, victims of their own utilitarian reliability and perceived lack of soul. Now that most of what we see from the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere are scientifically de-soul-ified transportation appliances, we realize too late what we lost when the genuinely quirky Japanese machinery got melted down to make... Avalons. We saw a '76 Civic here not long ago, but it's been two long months since we saw a Datsun down on Alameda 's streets. Known as the Sunny in The Sphere and the 120Y in Europe, we North Americans knew this car as the B210 . While the gas mileage claims for the B210 may have been on the ludicrous side, the car was cheap and (for its era) quite dependable. Look at it this way: You need to drive across the country with no tools. B210 or Chevette? I'd been seeing this car driving around town for a while, but I could never figure out where it lived. Most of...
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